Three-Dimensional Fluvial Architecture and Reservoir Modeling of the Green River Formation (Eocene), Southwest Uinta Basin, Utah

Jessica Moore Ali-Adeeb
University of Utah Department of Geology and Geophysics
Salt Lake City, Utah
[email protected]

Lacustrine strata are increasingly being recognized as important components of petroleum systems worldwide and are beginning to be analyzed and interpreted using high-resolution outcrop examples. The Nine Mile Canyon region of the Uinta Basin, east-central Utah, presents three-dimensional exposures of lacustrine strata from the Eocene Green River Formation. This project proposes to create a high-resolution sequence stratigraphic interpretation of the fluvio-deltaic successions encompassed within this region.

Scientists have attempted to predict the position of sandstone bodies in fluvial depositional environments with difficulty owing to the heterogeneous character of successions both laterally and vertically. It is recognized that two-dimensional fluvio-deltaic models capture the essence of deposition patterns, but since these controlling factors vary in space, it necessitates modeling in three dimensions. This project proposes to use ground-based lidar to obtain a three-dimensional digital model of the outcrops. Geostatistical data and fluid flow modeling will be applied, providing better documentation and visualization of the effects of geological heterogeneity and compartmentalization in these reservoirs. The three-dimensional model will utilize geologic bounding surfaces determined in the field, vertical measured sections, petrographic data, and porosity and permeability values derived in the laboratory.

This project offers both economic and academic significance. The quantitative modeling illustrated in this project may be used in predicting subsurface reservoir quality and dimensions, and may be extrapolated to other fluvio-deltaic lacustrine prospects around the world. A better understanding of non-marine sequence stratigraphy, fluvial processes at paleolacustrine margins, and the ability to quantify dimensions of these ancient fluvial processes will be achieved.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90033©2004 AAPG Foundation Grants-in-Aid