Beyond Parasequences: Reservoir Characterization Using
High-Resolution (Bedset-Scale) Physical Stratigraphy in Shallow-Marine Strata
Hampson, Gary1,
Peter Sixsmith2, Oliver Jordan1, Richard Sech1,
Sanjeev Gupta1, Matthew Jackson1,
Howard Johnson1 (1) Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
(2) Chevron Energy Technology Company,
Shoreline-shelf deposits contain a
high-resolution physical stratigraphy that is below parasequence scale, and which records the evolution of the
shoreline-shelf system over short geological time-scales (100-105
years). This presentation aims: (1) to document outcrop and subsurface examples
of this high-resolution stratigraphy, (2) to
demonstrate its impact on rock-property distribution and fluid flow, and (3) to
present generic correlation templates for use in reservoir characterization and
modelling.
Physical stratigraphy
at sub-parasequence scale is defined by discontinuity
surfaces that bound packages of beds (“bedsets”).
Discontinuity surfaces are marked by: (1) erosion or non-deposition, (2) small
(typically <1 km) landward or basinward facies shifts, and/or (3) localized changes in the
depositional process regime. The geometry of the surfaces approximates the shoreface-shelf profile, while “bedsets”
are comparable in geometry and scale to geomorphic elements of analogous modern
shoreline-shelf systems.
Insights from outcrop datasets of
net-regressive, wave-dominated shoreface-shelf
successions (Cretaceous Blackhawk Formation, Book Cliffs,
AAPG Search and Discover Article #90063©2007 AAPG Annual Convention, Long Beach, California