--> Abstract: Evolution and Reservoir Significance of a Mixed Carbonate-Siliciclastic Sequence Stratigraphic Model of the Grayburg Formation, Permian Basin, by Robert F. Lindsay; #90078 (2008)

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Evolution and Reservoir Significance of a Mixed Carbonate-Siliciclastic Sequence Stratigraphic Model of the Grayburg Formation, Permian Basin

Robert F. Lindsay
Geological Technical Services Division, Saudi Aramco, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Reservoir characterization studies of the Permian (Guadalupian) Grayburg Formation, a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic sequence, were carried out in several oil fields located along the northwest margin of the Central Basin Platform during and following their unitization. Characterization studies led to the development of multiple generations of sequence stratigraphic models, of which initial models were conceptual and, through time, were high-graded into more robust static models as additional data were gathered and a better understanding of the reservoir evolved.

A study of Grayburg outcrops in the Guadalupe and Apache mountains has improved and constrained the models and assisted prediction of potential reservoir architecture. Significant challenges to understanding reservoir architecture had to be addressed to explain how reservoir thickness dramatically increased down-dip and basinwards across these fields. These efforts proved fruitful and contributed significantly to the design of the sequence stratigraphic models. Successive updates of earlier versions dramatically improved the understanding of the reservoir architecture and increased development of these fields.

Production, engineering, and geological data, such as log-derived data (open-hole and production/injection logs), pressure distribution, water chemistry (connate, bottom and edge), floodable pay, carbonate rock types, siliciclastic distribution, position of exposure surfaces and conformable surfaces, and cyclicity, were overlain on the sequence stratigraphic models to help understand reservoir architecture and performance. This integrated approach and methodology was used to solve day-to-day production problems.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90078©2008 AAPG Annual Convention, San Antonio, Texas