Basin Modeling as a Tool to Evaluate Satellite or Marginal Oil Fields

Carpentier Bernard, Rudkiewicz Jean-Luc, and Thibaut Muriel
Structural Geology, Institut Francais du Petrole, Rueil-Malmaison, France

In exploration areas, larger prospects are usually drilled first and the smaller fields tend to be left apart because of their lesser commercial value. With increasing demand of crude oil and the approaching oil peak, the small fields can become economically attractive but their value is highly dependant on their hydrocarbon fluid composition and producible volume. This is particularly important in complex areas where rapid lateral variations exist.

3D compositional basin modeling has high potential for fluid prediction, because it simulates the complete filling history, takes into account HC generation and migration, structural evolution, fluid phase changes, dysmigration, and seal capacities.

Because marginal and satellite fields are often present close to large structures already in production, a high amount of chemical and geological information is available to constrain the simulations. This paper aims to present the potential of basin modeling for such purpose and to propose a methodology to follow. The reduction of the commercial risk though a better evaluation of HC volume and quality for marginal or satellite fields can be performed following these different steps :
-Simulation at basin scale of the structural evolution of the area of interest,
-Determination of the drainage area of the different prospects
-Simulation of the maturation, expulsion and migration using complex compositional primary and secondary kinetic models,
-Calibration of the migration or dysmigration parameters on the already producing fields;
-Evaluation of the HC volume et composition on the undrilled satellites and marginal fields.
-Sensitivity and risk analysis.

Field examples illustrating the potential of basin modeling tools for reducing risk in small field appraisal in mature sedimentary basins will be presented.

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