Abstract: An Integrated Approach
to Deep-Water Reservoir Prediction
Garfield, Timothy R. & David C. Jennette - Exxon Production Research Co.; Franklin J. Goulding & Donald K. Sickafoose - Exxon Exploration Co.
Accurate pre-drill predictions of deep-water
reservoir facies, architecture and producibility are fundamental to the
economic success of high-cost exploration and development projects in deep-water
settings. Exxon has been able to reduce these predrill uncertainties and
improve its success in reservoir prediction
by using an integrated approach
that is collaboratively supported by business-unit, technology, and research
staff. Key facets of this approach include: 1) a readily accessible proprietary
data base of subsurface and outcrop
analog
studies, 2) experimental and
numerical modeling of sediment gravity flow transport and depositional
processes, 3) seismic and sequence stratigraphic analysis, and 4) 3D seismic
attribute and seismic facies analysis.
Underlying the reservoir prediction
effort is
Exxon?s global
analog
database populated with exploration and production
analogs from a variety of settings and a comprehensive suite of carefully
studied outcrops. These data include detailed facies architecture and dimensional
data for deep-water channels and sheets, well-bore measurements of reservoir
properties and associated geophysical parameters. Collectively they provide
a statistical basis for reservoir
prediction
.
Analog
selection is aided by relating numerical
and experimental models of sediment gravity-flow transport and depositional
processes to basin-specific controls on reservoir development such as provenance,
transport distance and basin physiography. These models provide an improved
understanding of characteristic depositional geometries for debris flow
and turbidity current deposits, which aid in the subsurface identification
of these facies types.
Sequence stratigraphy provides a framework for reservoir analysis and can be used to relate inferred changes in shelfal accommodation and sediment supply to observed vertical and along-slope variations in reservoir properties. Sequence stacking patterns on the slope and basin-floor reflect periods of waxing and waining coarse clastic influx and can be used to constrain pre-drill predictions of deep-water reservoir facies and net-to-gross.
3D seismic attribute analysis performed within a tightly constrained sequence stratigraphic framework yields a detailed understanding of vertical and lateral variations in reservoir properties of genetically related strata. When fully integrated, these data are the basis for more accurate characterizations of deep-water reservoirs in the subsurface and provide new insight into the complexities of deep-water sedimentation.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90933©1998 ABGP/AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil