Quantitative prediction of sub-seismic faults and their impact on waterflood performance: Bozhong 34 oilfield case study

Gong, Lei; Liu, Bo; Fu, Xiaofei; Jabbari, Hadi; Gao, Shuai; Yue, Wenting; Yuan, Hongping; Fu, Rongzhi; Wang, Zijie

doi:10.1016/j.petrol.2018.09.049

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…According to reports from major oil fields and previous research papers, it is evident that fault-related oil and gas reservoirs continue to play a significant role in the rift basins of eastern China (Fu et al, 2021;Gong et al, 2019;Chu et al, 2019;Zhao et al, 2016a). The structural analysis of fault systems in the oil-bearing areas of the Bohai Bay Basin has received considerable attention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on fault-controlled hydrocarbon accumulation in rifted lacustrine basins based on structural geological modeling: a case study of the Banqiao area in Bohai Bay Basin, China

Chen,

Liu,

Jiang

et al. 2024

Front. Earth Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Banqiao area in the Bohai Bay Basin has experienced three stages of extensional deformation, leading to the formation of numerous fault-bound traps. Faults, acting as boundary conditions for these traps, play a crucial role in hydrocarbon accumulation. In this study, we conducted a 3D structural modeling of the area using high-resolution 3D seismic data and established a fault-reservoir database based on previous research. Our findings reveal four levels of faults in the Banqiao area: basin-controlling faults, boundary faults, derivative master faults, and secondary adjusting faults. The structural units can be categorized into subsag areas, slope areas, stress tran-sition zones, bifurcation and main incised fault zones, and southern block areas. The segmented growth of the main boundary faults controls the evolution of the subsags, with the subsidence center gradually shifting eastward from Rift Phase I to Rift Phase II, aligning with the distribution of source rocks. Fault-bound traps in the Banqiao area include single faults, intersecting faults, and side faults. Faults primarily act as barriers to lateral hydrocarbon migration during the process of hydrocarbon accumulation, while also providing pathways to a lesser extent. By integrating the fault-reservoir database with the fault system classification, we identified four types of fault-controlled hydro-carbon accumulation models: like-dipping fault barrier model, oppositely-dipping fault barrier model, intersecting fault barrier model, and reactivation-controlled secondary hydrocarbon ac-cumulation model. This structural geological model effectively demonstrates the spatial configura-tion of faults and their role in hydrocarbon accumulation in the Banqiao area. The fault control mechanisms presented in the model can also be applied to other blocks in the Bohai Bay Basin, laying a foundation for future petroleum exploration in continental rifted basins and facilitating the ap-plication of big data algorithms in various geoscientific research fields.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on fault-controlled hydrocarbon accumulation in rifted lacustrine basins based on structural geological modeling: a case study of the Banqiao area in Bohai Bay Basin, China

Chen,

Liu,

Jiang

et al. 2024

Front. Earth Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Due to the overall uncertainty, sub-seismic faults characterized by offsets <20 m cannot be properly identified neither by the 3D-seismic data nor from borehole data and laterally delimit thin reservoir layers impacting heat storage potentials and operation (Glubokovskikh et al, 2022). In order to cope with these structural uncertainties, mathematical models have been developed to characterize these faults due to their abundance and importance (Gong et al, 2019;Rotevatn and Fossen, 2011;Harris et al, 2019;Damsleth et al, 1998). Fractal theory is applied to predict the number, strike length and throw of sub-seismic faults by extrapolating the power-law distribution derived from properties of the identified faults (Wang et al, 2018;Hooker et al, 2014;Twiss and Moores, 2006).…”

Section: Greater Geneva Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing meshing workflows for Geologic Uncertainty Assessment in High-Temperature Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage

Dashti

Grimmer

Geuzaine³

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Evaluating uncertainties of geological features on temperature and pressure changes in reservoir’s fluids are crucial for a safe and sustainable operation of the High-Temperature Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (HT-ATES). This study uses a new automated surface fitting function in Python API of GMSH (v. 4.11) to model the impact of arbitrary structural barriers and variations of roof and floor geometries on temperature and pressure in heat storage application. A workflow is developed in Python to implement an automated mesh generation routine for varying geological scenarios that cannot be predicted by surface-based exploration methods. This way, the geologic models and their underlying uncertainties are transferred into reservoir simulations. We applied our modelling approach on two case studies: 1) Greater Geneva Basin with the Upper Jurassic (“Malm”) limestone reservoir of 100 m thickness and 2) the DeepStor project in the Upper Rhine Graben with an Oligocene sandstone reservoir of 10 m thickness. In the Greater Geneva Basin showcase, the upper and lower surfaces of the reservoir are shifted ± 8 and ± 10 m, respectively to perturb topology of the thick reservoir. Independence of the heat plume from reservoir's topology indicates the limited propagation of the induced thermal regime in thick reservoirs and redundancy of the advanced exploration campaigns like 3D seismic. In DeepStor, an arbitrary sub-seismic fault juxtaposing the permeable sandstone layers against low-permeable clay-marl units is introduced to the base case model. The arbitrary fault is located in distances varying 4 m to 118 m from the borehole and resulted in a ~10 % difference in the pressure field of the cases. Modelling the pressure and temperature in the tilted reservoir reveals that heat tends to accumulate updip while pressure values are higher in the downdip side.

show abstract

“…A good linear relationship was identified from the data points in the middle of Figure 7(a) (fault length between 2000 m -7000 m). However, data points with fault length less than 2000 m and greater than 7000 m deviate from this linear relationship, which is caused by the low quality of seismic data and some large faults beyond the scope of the study area, respectively [20,25]. By fitting the relationship between the fault length and the cumulative frequency, the cumulative numbers of different scales of faults were predicted (Table 1).…”

Section: Fracture Prediction Based On Fractal Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, it is difficult to accurately predict the location of the small-scale fractures using this method. Maerten et al [24] and Gong et al [25] proposed a method to determine the number, development location and orientation of fractures based on the combination of the fractal growth model of faults and geomechanical simulation. This method assumes that the surrounding rock is homogeneous and mainly predicts the fractures formed by the disturbance stress field caused by fault activity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative Prediction of Natural Fractures in Shale Oil Reservoirs

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Natural fractures are the key factors controlling the enrichment of shale oil. It is of great significance to clarify the distribution of natural fractures to guide the selection of sweet spots for shale oil. Taking the Qing-1 Member shale oil reservoir in the northern Songliao Basin, China as an example, a new method considering the factors affecting fracture distribution was proposed to quantitatively predict the structural fractures. And the effect of natural fractures on shale oil enrichment was discussed. Firstly, the types and characteristics of fractures in shale oil reservoirs are characterized by using core and outcrop data. Combined with the experimental analysis, the influences of fault, mechanical stratigraphy, mineral composition and content, TOC, and overpressure on fracture intensity were clarified. Then, the number and density of fractures are quantitatively predicted according to the power-law distribution of fault length. Next, geomechanical simulation and fracture prediction were carried out on the model which was established with comprehensive consideration of the influencing factors of fracture distribution. Finally, the fracture distribution is evaluated comprehensively based on above prediction. The prediction results in this work are consistent with the core measurements.

show abstract

Quantitative prediction of sub-seismic faults and their impact on waterflood performance: Bozhong 34 oilfield case study

Cited by 16 publications

References 32 publications

Research on fault-controlled hydrocarbon accumulation in rifted lacustrine basins based on structural geological modeling: a case study of the Banqiao area in Bohai Bay Basin, China

Research on fault-controlled hydrocarbon accumulation in rifted lacustrine basins based on structural geological modeling: a case study of the Banqiao area in Bohai Bay Basin, China

Developing meshing workflows for Geologic Uncertainty Assessment in High-Temperature Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage

Quantitative Prediction of Natural Fractures in Shale Oil Reservoirs

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About