Integrated Genetic Analysis of Sediment Generation and Evolution to Predict Basin-Scale Clastic Reservoir/Seal Distribution and Character

Abstract

TX 75083-3836, U.S.A., fax +1-972-952-9435. AbstractDescription: Genetic history ultimately determines the geographic and stratigraphic distribution of clastic reservoirs, clastics seals, and their quality. A thorough accounting of sediments' life history, including sediment generation (where, from what kind of provenance lithotypes, under what environmental conditions), sediment transport (topographic gradients, transport mechanisms), and sediment deposition (basin bathymetry, depositional mechanisms), can delineate the most likely distribution and character of clastic sediments in the basin. ExxonMobil integrates formal workflows, extensive global databases, and patented software to ensure that appropriate genetic information is consistently incorporated during exploration to guide reservoir/seal play-element interpretation and risking. Application: We have used this approach to identify plays and reduce exploration risk in basins where reservoir/seal distribution and quality are not well documented because the basin is remote or the interval is difficult to image or drill. Results, Observations, Conclusions: Observations in modern environments, where genetic conditions are known, and drilling results in ancient environments, where genetic conditions have been reconstructed, verify that this analytic process successfully predicts the distribution of sediment character. Significance: Remote basins or basin intervals that are difficult to image or drill have the least existing exploration information and require the greatest expense to acquire more information; therefore, uncertainty is always high. Integrated genetic analysis provides a relatively rapid and cost-effective way to maximize the value of existing information and reduce exploration uncertainty in the most data-challenged settings.