Fractured Reservoir Description: An Example for the Monterey at Hondo
SCHWALBACH, JON R., Exxon Production Research, Houston, TX
A fractured reservoir description for the Monterey at Hondo has been developed based on substantial core and outcrop observations. The fracture network is divided into four components: (1) large faults, (2) smaller faults, shear and breccia zones, and megafractures, (3) small scale fractures, and (4) microfractures. The choice of techniques used to characterize individual components of the fracture network is dictated by the scale of the features, the availability of surface and subsurface data, and the resolution of the method of investigation. Lithology and structural position are identified as the major controls on the fracture network.
Quantification of levels of fracturing is accomplished by a visual technique applicable to both core and outcrop. Fracture density (fracture surface area/unit rock volume) is calculated as a function of fracture spacing and degree of development of the fracture set. The fracture density parameter allows us to compare the level of fracturing in cores from a variety of structural positions, and also allows us to compare core and outcrop data. The resultant geologic model is flexible in scale and level of detail. Stratification can be portrayed on the individual bed or subzone scale, and reservoir anisotropy is modeled relative to the structural setting.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91009©1991 AAPG-SEPM-SEG-SPWLA Pacific Section Annual Meeting, Bakersfield, California, March 6-8, 1991 (2009)