--> Fluvial Architecture of the Burro Canyon Formation Using UAV-Based Photogrammetry: Implications for Reservoir Performance, Rattlesnake Canyon, Colorado

AAPG ACE 2018

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Fluvial Architecture of the Burro Canyon Formation Using UAV-Based Photogrammetry: Implications for Reservoir Performance, Rattlesnake Canyon, Colorado

Abstract

The stratigraphic variability of fluvial architectural elements and their internal lithological and petrophysical heterogeneity influence static connectivity and fluid flow. To explore the impact of fluvial architecture and facies heterogeneity on reservoir performance, well-exposed outcrops of the Burro Canyon Formation in Rattlesnake Canyon, Colorado, were evaluated. Analysis of sedimentology and channel-stacking geometries of the Burro Canyon Formation provides insight into the low net-to-gross ratio braided fluvial style during the Early Cretaceous.

Stratigraphic measured sections, thin-section petrography, outcrop gamma-ray measurements, and UAV- (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-) based photogrammetry are used to constrain three-dimensional (3-D) geologic reservoir models of the fluvial deposits. Measured sections and thin- section analysis capture the sedimentology and stratigraphic variability of the fluvial sandstone bodies. UAV-based photogrammetry and outcrop gamma-ray measurements are used to classify stacking and geometry of the channel-complex systems. Outcrop data are used to condition three-dimensional (3-D) geologic (static) and dynamic reservoir models using multiple scales of heterogeneity. Large-scale heterogeneity is associated with architectural elements and their geometries. Small-scale heterogeneity is related to sedimentary structures and internal fluvial sandstone variability.

With multi-scale heterogeneity captured in petrophysical property models, subsurface fluid flow is simulated under various conditions. Using a 5-spot pattern, a single injector surrounded by four producing wells, both the large- and small-scale geologic models are simulated over 30 years for both black oil and condensate gas production. Comparison of the impacts of large- and small-scale heterogeneities on reservoir fluid flow, storage capacity, and recovery provides insight into the impacts of fluvial heterogeneity on reservoir performance.