Forward modelling of porosity and pore pressure evolution in sedimentary basins

Audet, D. Marc; McConnell, J. D. C.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2117.1992.tb00137.x

Cited by 61 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The effects of a, which controls the sensitivity of permeability to porosity, were studied in Audet & McConnell (1992). From these considerations, it was decided to use a constant viscosity with 7 = 0 (see eq.…”

Section: I1mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mathematical modelling of gravitational compaction and clay dehydration in thick sediment layers

Audet

1995

Geophysical Journal International

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S U M M A R YGravitational compaction is an important process in sedimentary basins which controls the reduction of porosity with burial depth and the development of high pore fluid pressures. Often, sediments contain hydrated, expandable clay (smectite) that can undergo a transition to a dehydrated, non-expandable clay (illite). During dehydration, structural water bound within the sheet layers of smectite is released into the pore space, which can increase the pore pressure and influence geological processes such as solute transport, hydrocarbon migration and hydrothermal fracturing.A multicomponent continuum mechanics model that accounts for Darcy's Law, Terzaghi's principle of effective stress and a thermally activated dehydration reaction is derived and solved numerically. A closed-form solution is available in the limiting case of hydrostatic pore pressure and no dehydration. The results show that excess pore-pressure development is controlled by the sedimentation parameter, the dimensionless ratio of the hydraulic conductivity to the sedimentation rate. For relatively impermeable sediments, chemically released water can increase the excess pore pressure by as much as 30 per cent, and the excess pressure persists over geological time-scales. The pressure contribution due to the excess pore water is important provided that the dehydration goes to completion at sufficient burial depth, which depends in part on the activation energy of the reaction. If sediments overlie a permeable basement, fluid can flow out of the sediments and relieve pore pressure throughout the sedimentary column.

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Section: I1mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mathematical modelling of gravitational compaction and clay dehydration in thick sediment layers

Audet

1995

Geophysical Journal International

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“…The behavior of argillaceous materials during sedimentation, burial and uplift has been extensively studied and presented in the literature (e.g. Athy, 1930;Audet & McConnel, 1992;Burland, 1990;Chandler, 2000;Dewhurst, Aplin, Sarda, & Yang, 1998;Gibson, 1958;Hedberg, 1936;Jones & Addis, 1985;Magara, 1978;Rieke & Chillingarian, 1974). Early relationships for the compaction of argillaceous sediments relate sediment compaction with depth of burial (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compaction behavior of argillaceous sediments as function of diagenesis

Nygård

Gutierrez

Gautam

et al. 2004

Marine and Petroleum Geology

119

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“…Audet & McConnell 1992;Gaarenstroom et al 1993;Giles 1997;Bloch et al 2002;Taylor et al 2010). The preservation of enhanced secondary porosity has also been attributed to high overpressures and increased porosity at depth (e.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

Enhanced porosity preservation by pore fluid overpressure and chlorite grain coatings in the Triassic Skagerrak, Central Graben, North Sea, UK

Stricker¹,

Jones²

2016

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Current understanding of porosity preservation in deeply buried sandstone reservoirs tends to be focused on how diagenetic grain coatings of clay minerals and microquartz can inhibit macroquartz cementation. However, the importance of overpressure developed during initial (shallow) burial in maintaining high primary porosity during subsequent burial has generally not been appreciated. Where pore fluid pressures are high, and the vertical effective stress is low, the shallow arrest of compaction can allow preservation of high porosity and permeability at depths normally considered uneconomic. The deeply buried fluvial sandstone reservoirs of the Triassic Skagerrak Formation in the Central Graben, North Sea, show anomalously high porosities at depths greater than 3500 metres below sea floor (mbsf). Pore pressures can exceed 80 MPa in the upper part of the Skagerrak Formation at depths of 4000-5000 mbsf, where temperatures are above 1408C. The Skagerrak reservoirs commonly have high primary porosities of up to 35%, little macroquartz cement and variable amounts of diagenetic chlorite grain coats. This research sheds light on the complex controls on reservoir quality in the fluvial sandstones of the Skagerrak Formation by identifying the role of shallow overpressure in arresting mechanical compaction and the importance of chlorite detrital grain coatings in inhibiting macroquartz cement overgrowth as temperature increases during progressive burial.Gold Open Access: This article is published under the terms of the CC-BY 3.0 license.

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Forward modelling of porosity and pore pressure evolution in sedimentary basins

Cited by 61 publications

References 25 publications

Mathematical modelling of gravitational compaction and clay dehydration in thick sediment layers

Mathematical modelling of gravitational compaction and clay dehydration in thick sediment layers

Compaction behavior of argillaceous sediments as function of diagenesis

Enhanced porosity preservation by pore fluid overpressure and chlorite grain coatings in the Triassic Skagerrak, Central Graben, North Sea, UK

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