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Browsing by Author "Taylor, Rochelle"

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    The effects of dolomitization on petrophysical properties and fracture distribution within rift-related carbonates (Hammam Faraun fault block, Suez Rift, Egypt)
    (2018) Korneva, Irina; Bastesen, Eivind; Corlett, Hilary; Eker, Anja; Hirani, Jesal; Hollis, Cathy; Gawthorpe, Rob; Rotevatn, Atle; Taylor, Rochelle; Laubach, Stephen E.; Lamarche, Juliette; Gauthier, Bertrand D. M.; Dunne, William M.
    Petrographic and petrophysical data from different limestone lithofacies (skeletal packstones, matrix-supported conglomerates and foraminiferal grainstones) and their dolomitized equivalents within a slope carbonate succession (Eocene Thebes Formation) of Hammam Faraun Fault Block (Suez Rift, Egypt) have been analyzed in order to link fracture distribution with mechanical and textural properties of these rocks. Two phases of dolomitization resulted in facies-selective stratabound dolostones extending up to two and a half kilometers from the Hammam Faraun Fault, and massive dolostones in the vicinity of the fault (100 metres). Stratabound dolostones are characterized by up to 8 times lower porosity and 6 times higher frequency of fractures compared to the host limestones. Precursor lithofacies type has no significant effect on fracture frequency in the stratabound dolostones. At a distance of 100 metres from the fault, massive dolostones are present which have 0.5 times porosity of precursor limestones, and lithofacies type exerts a stronger control on fracture frequency than the presence of dolomitization (undolomitized vs. dolomitized). Massive dolomitization corresponds to increased fracture intensity in conglomerates and grainstones but decreased fracture intensity in packstones. This corresponds to a decrease of grain/crystal size in conglomerates and grainstones and its increase in packstones after massive dolomitization.Since fractures may contribute significantly to the flow properties of a carbonate rock, the work presented herein has significant applicability to hydrocarbon exploration and production from limestone and dolostone reservoirs, particularly where matrix porosities are low.
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    A geocellular modelling workflow for partially dolomitized remobilized carbonates: an example from the Hammam Faraun Fault block, Gulf of Suez, Egypt
    (2021) Corlett, Hilary; Hodgetts, David; Hirani, Jesal; Rotevatn, Atle; Taylor, Rochelle; Hollis, Cathy
    Constructing geocellular models of carbonate rocks using standard software is challenging since most of modelling packages are designed, first and foremost, to represent siliciclastic depositional systems, where rock properties are strongly facies-controlled. The distribution and components of carbonate depositional facies vary drastically across the geological timescale as a result of paleoclimate and its effects on carbonate-producing biota. Furthermore, reservoir architecture is less strongly controlled by depositional environment than in clastic settings, and rock physical properties, including fracture networks, are controlled by both primary components and their subsequent diagenetic alteration. This means that rock property distribution is less predictable than in siliciclastic systems, and less well represented by geocellular models that are designed to represent sedimentary architecture. In other words, in carbonate systems, the depositional and diagenetic history needs to be reconstructed in order to successfully model reservoir properties. In this study a geocellular model was created by using a well-characterised outcrop analogue obtained from the Hammam Faraun Fault (HFF) Block, located on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Suez in Sinai, Egypt. This model integrates sedimentological, petrophysical, diagenetic, and structural information into a single database. The workflow utilizes the regional tectonic history, upscaled lithological logs, and two-stage facies modelling (reflecting in and ex situ depositional facies) and resulted in the creation a realistic model of remobilized carbonates that were deposited on the slope of a carbonate platform during a period of tectonic instability. Diagenetic overprinting was achieved using probability functions to reflect the history of burial, rifting, and the spatial relationship of stratabound and non-stratabound dolostone bodies. The study demonstrates a workflow for modelling mass-transport carbonate facies and multistage fault-related diagenesis so that flow controlling facies and diagenetically altered poroperm and fracture networks are accurately represented using commercially available modelling software, and in particular demonstrates how diagenetically controlled geobodies can be captured using simple algorithms.