Are stylolites fluid-flow efficient features?

Bruna, Pierre Olivier; Lavenu, Arthur P. C.; Matonti, C.; Bertotti, Giovanni

doi:10.1016/j.jsg.2018.05.018

Cited by 57 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(71 reference statements)

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“…Therefore, and although we provide laboratory measurements for the permeability of stylolite-bearing limestone from six formations collected from two locations within France, more laboratory measurements on stylolites that are characterised by thick and continuous layers of clay-rich material are now required to further explore the role of stylolites on the regional-scale permeability of limestone reservoirs (as concluded by Bruna et al, 2018). Laboratory measurements on stylolite-bearing sandstones also offer an interesting avenue for future research.…”

Section: Implications For Fluid Flow In Limestone Reservoirsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The permeability of stylolite-bearing limestone

Heap

Reuschlé

Baud

et al. 2018

Journal of Structural Geology

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Stylolites are planar features that form due to intergranular pressure solution. Due to their planar geometry and relative abundance in limestone reservoirs, their impact on regional fluid flow has attracted considerable interest. We present laboratory permeability data that show that stylolites can be considered as conduits for flow in the stylolite-bearing limestones measured. A combination of analysis techniques shows that this is due to a zone that surrounds these stylolites that is more porous and contains larger pores than the host rock. Our data also show that the water permeability of a sample containing a stylolite parallel to fluid flow is typically lower than its permeability to gas, explained here as a result of the expansion of minor amounts of clay found in the stylolite, and that, due to their microstructural similarities, tectonic and sedimentary stylolites affect sample permeability similarly. Finally, we show that the permeability anisotropy that develops in the rock mass due to the presence of sedimentary stylolites makes it appear as though the stylolites are acting as barriers to fluid flow, and may explain the discrepancy between laboratory measurements and field-scale observations. This approach can provide estimates for the equivalent permeability, and permeability anisotropy, for stylolite-bearing limestone reservoirs worldwide.

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Section: Implications For Fluid Flow In Limestone Reservoirsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The permeability of stylolite-bearing limestone

Heap

Reuschlé

Baud

et al. 2018

Journal of Structural Geology

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“…Along with sub-seismic-scale fractures, understanding the controls on stylolite network distribution is hampered by the high reactivity and complex mechanical behaviour of carbonates (Fabricius, 2014). Stylolites can control petrophysical properties and fluid flow in different ways (e.g., Paganoni et al, 2016;Martín-Martín et al, 2017;Heap et al, 2018;Toussaint et al, 2018;Bruna et al, 2019). However, despite their abundance in carbonate rocks, less attention has been paid to their study compared to fracture networks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative analysis of stylolite networks in different platform carbonate facies

Humphrey

Gomez‐Rivas

Neilson

et al. 2020

Marine and Petroleum Geology

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Stylolites are rough surfaces that form by pressure solution, and present variable geometries and spatial distributions. Despite being ubiquitous in carbonate rocks and potentially influencing fluid flow, it is not yet clear how the type and distribution of stylolite networks relate to lithofacies. This study investigates Lower Cretaceous platform carbonates in the Benicàssim area (Maestrat Basin, Spain) to statistically characterize stylolite morphology and stylolite network distributions in a selection of typical shallow-marine carbonate lithofacies, from mudstones to grainstones. Bedding-parallel stylolite networks were sampled in the field to quantify stylolite spacing, wavelength, amplitude, intersection morphology and connectivity. Grain size, sorting and composition were found to be the key lithological variables responsible for the development of rough anastomosing stylolite networks. Poorlyconnected stylolites with large vertical spacings were found to be dominant in grainsupported lithofacies, where grains are fine and well sorted. Anastomosing stylolite networks appear well developed in mud-supported lithofacies with poorly-sorted clasts that are both heterogenous in size and composition. Mud-supported facies feature stylolites that are closely spaced, have high amplitudes and intersection densities, and predominantly present suture and sharp-peak type morphologies. Larger grains and poor sorting favour the formation of stylolites with small vertical spacings, low wavelengths and high amplitudes. This statistical analysis approach requires only limited information, such as that from drill core, and can be used to characterise stylolite morphology and distributions in subsurface carbonate reservoirs.

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“…The occurrence of sedimentary stylolites, usually oriented parallel to bedding (bedding-parallel stylolites or BPS) impacts fluid flows, by forming either barriers or drains in reservoir rocks (Koepnick, 1987;Ehrenberg et al, 2006;Hassan, 2007;Heap et al, 2013;Baud et al, 2016;Koehn et al, 2016;Bruna et al, 2018;Martín-Martín et al, 2018, Toussaint et al, 2018. The characteristic teeth of stylolites, oriented oblique or normal to the dissolution surface, are related to the distribution of insoluble elements in the host rock, leading to local pinning under an oriented applied stress (Fletcher and Pollard, 1981;Merino et al, 1983;Koehn et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bedding-parallel stylolites as a tool to unravel maximum burial depth in sedimentary basins: Application to Middle Jurassic carbonate reservoirs in the Paris basin, France

et al. 2018

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In recent years stylolites, which are rough dissolution surfaces commonly found in carbonates, have been used for paleopiezometry estimates. The Stylolite Roughness Inversion Technique (SRIT) applied on sedimentary bedding-parallel stylolites (BPS) grants access to the maximum principal vertical stress experienced by the host carbonates and thus to their maximum burial paleo-depth. This study reports the results of SRIT applied to a BPS population hosted in carbonate platform reservoirs of the Paris basin sub-surface (France). Middle Jurassic carbonates from two well cores from the depocenter and margin of the basin, for which the burial and thermal history are known, based on a thermally calibrated 3-D basin model, were analyzed. By defining a consistency criterion and using two signal treatment methods, we propose a new approach to select which BPS can be reliably used to reconstruct the maximum vertical stress undergone by the host carbonates, which then can be converted into maximum burial depth. The study of a BPS population shows that there is a control operated by the host rock texture and the stylolite morphology on the burial depth recorded. Especially suture and sharp peak BPS are better suited to estimate the real maximum depth, whereas seismogram pinning BPS record preferentially intermediate depths. Median values of maximum depth derived from our data set (1300 and 1650 m for the margin and depocenter cores, respectively) are in line with maximum burial estimates provided by conventional basin modeling (1450 and 1800 m, respectively), thus showing that SRIT is a standalone robust depth gauge in sedimentary basins, provided sample selection and data treatment are carried out in a rigorous and thoughtful manner.

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Are stylolites fluid-flow efficient features?

Cited by 57 publications

References 44 publications

The permeability of stylolite-bearing limestone

The permeability of stylolite-bearing limestone

Quantitative analysis of stylolite networks in different platform carbonate facies

Bedding-parallel stylolites as a tool to unravel maximum burial depth in sedimentary basins: Application to Middle Jurassic carbonate reservoirs in the Paris basin, France

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