Reservoir Characterization, Parsons Lake Gas Field, Northwest Territories, Canada

Gary Prost¹, David Bywater¹, Guy Peasley¹, Anh Duong¹, Michael Hearn¹, John Suter², and Gordon Fielder^2
1 ConocoPhillips Canada, Calgary, AB
² ConocoPhillips, Houston, TX

One of the largest new sources of gas in North America, Parsons Lake field development requires information on gas-in-place and factors influencing flow. A geocellular model was created for the Lower Cretaceous Kamik Formation reservoir in order to provide this information, and to provide information for the full-field simulation. The Kamik Formation is a deltaic to near shore sand-shale sequence deposited along the southeast margin of the Canadian Arctic basin.

A 3D survey provided surfaces that bracket the reservoir. Sequence stratigraphy was combined with a facies model based on log motifs, core, biostratigraphy, and ichnology in 18 wells, as well as outcrop work. Petrophysics provides interpreted porosity and permeability, and these plus water saturation populate the cells in the model. The final model contains 13.8 million cells, each 125x125x2 m. Porosity is derived at wells and is distributed according to the facies model. Permeability is a function of porosity as determined by corrected core measurements. Water saturation is a function of height above a gas-water contact and is conditioned to facies and permeability.

Modeling results provide a range of 2.8 to 4.5 TCF gas-in-place. The model also provides information on reservoir compartmentalization that will determine the number of wells required to effectively drain the reservoir, production rates, and field life.

ConocoPhillips Canada acknowledges the participation of our partner Exxon Mobil Canada (Aart Dronkers, Ian Fahrner, Art Siewert, and Gene Ostapovich, among others).

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90039©2005 AAPG Calgary, Alberta, June 16-19, 2005