Geoarabia, Volume 3 Number 1, 1998
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GEO'98 Abstracts GEO'98 Abstracts Integration of Geology and Geochemistry into Basin Modeling and Exploration Risk Analysis: Case Study from Central Saudi Arabia Mahdi A. Abu-Ali, Saudi Aramco James E. Lacey, Adry K. Bissada Houston Advanced Research Center and Jim G. McGillivray, Saudi Aramco This study involves a new approach for play/prospect James E. Lacey has been a Senior evaluation that combines basin modeling technology with Research Scientist for the Houston risk analysis. In this method geologic and geochemical data Advanced Research Center since are integrated to develop a probabilistic estimation of oil September 1995. He previously and gas reserves. worked for 28 years for Texaco in exploration research and for three The process estimates oil and gas generated and expelled years as a development geologist for by comparing the organic richness, maturity, kerogen type Chevron. James received his BSc and and other factors with the results of a very large number of MSc degrees from the University of basin modeling runs. The hydrocarbon charge arriving at Pittsburgh and a PhD degree from the the trap is computed by subtracting from the expelled University of Illinois. His current interests include the hydrocarbons the amounts leaked, retained by the carrier, application of risk analysis to petroleum exploration and or dissolved in the formation water. Due to the inherent the development of geochemical techniques to allocate uncertainties in estimates of the relevant data, the technique commingled production streams to specific sources. inputs most likely values and probable ranges. Finally, the volume of hydrocarbons trapped is set equal to the lesser Adry K. Bissada is a Senior Research amount of either trap capacity or hydrocarbon charge. Scientist and Director of the Results are expressed as the mean and median reserves, the Geochemistry Unit at the Houston probability of reserves greater or less than critical economic Advanced Research Center. He holds thresholds, and the possible range of reserve values. This an MSc degree in Geology/ process can provide a powerful tool for high-grading Geophysics and a PhD in Geology/ exploration prospects in terms of the desired combination Geochemistry, both from Washington of reserves potential and exploration risk. In this paper, University in St. Louis. He has 30 details of the process will be highlighted and illustrated by years experience in the petroleum examples from Central Saudi Arabia. industry. Adry has published numerous papers on principles and practice of geochemistry Mahdi A. Abu-Ali is a Geologist/ in exploration and production operations, and lectured Geochemist with the Regional extensively around the world on many aspects of petroleum Mapping Group of Saudi Aramco. geochemistry. He has developed a variety of geochemical He has 13 years of experience in tools and processes for which four patents have been issued. exploration and basin analysis studies. His areas of interest include Jim G. McGillivray is currently in- hydrocarbon generation and charge of the Regional Mapping migration modeling, geologic Group with Saudi Aramco. He has 27 mapping and exploration risk years of petroleum and exploration analysis. Mahdi is affiliated with the industry experience represented by AAPG, EAOG, and ACS. He holds BSc and MSc degrees in 12 years with Chevron Standard Industrial Chemistry and Geochemistry from King Fahd Limited and Wainoco Oil and Gas University of Petroleum & Minerals, Saudi Arabia and the Limited in Canada, and 15 years with Colorado School of Mines, USA, respectively. Mahdi has Saudi Aramco. Jim has BSc and MSc published and presented several papers on the Paleozoic degrees in Geology from McGill petroleum system of Saudi Arabia. University. 38 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/3/1/38/4552334/geo98.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 GEO'98 Abstracts Geological Reconstruction of the Jean-Luc L. Rudkiewicz is Project Leader for Pilot Studies in Basin Paleozoic Hydrocarbon System, Evaluation with Institut Français du Central Saudi Arabia Pétrole (IFP) in Rueil-Malmaison, France. He completed a PhD from Mahdi Abu-Ali, Saudi Aramco the Paris School of Mines in 1989. Jean-Luc L. Rudkiewicz, Starting in 1987, his initial research Institut Français du Pétrole focused on stochastic modeling of Jim G. McGillivray, Saudi Aramco heterogeneous reservoirs. Since and Françoise Behar 1992, Jean-Luc has been involved in Institut Français du Pétrole compositional modeling of generation and migration of hydrocarbons in sedimentary basins. He currently applies In this paper an integrated geochemical model is developed IFP’s basin modeling tools to basins worldwide, in for the Paleozoic oil and gas system of Saudi Arabia. The cooperation with industrial partners. generation and migration history has been reconstructed through geologic time to assess gas and oil expulsion, Françoise Behar is Project Leader migration, entrapment and future exploration potential. with Institut Français du Pétrole for compositional modeling of The Paleozoic oil and gas system in Central Saudi Arabia hydrocarbon generation and consists of the Lower Silurian Qusaiba Hot Shale as the degradation in sedimentary basins. major source rock and the Permian Unayzah sandstone as She completed a PhD in Geology the main regional reservoir. To reconstruct the hydrocarbon from the University of Paris in 1978 generation, immature and mature source rock samples were and a PhD in Chemistry from the recovered, and their compositional kinetics were determined. University of Strasbourg in 1982. The gas potential of the most immature sample amounts to Françoise joined IFP in 1982 and 101 mg/g Total Organic Carbon (TOC), compared to an oil currently works on kinetics of oil and gas generation in potential of 384 mg/g TOC. The thermal regime and source rocks and thermal stability of the hydrocarbons in migration directions were reconstructed through time using reservoirs. a 3-D data set comprising the major formations from Paleozoic to Cenozoic over the 480 by 550 kilometer study area. Present day bottom hole temperatures and past maturity indicators were used for calibration. The 3-D data First Results of 3-D Seismic Prospecting, set was then backstripped to reconstruct paleoslopes for all Onshore Azerbaijan Republic layers, with special emphasis on the Unayzah and Qusaiba formations. Ibrahim D. Akhundov Socar The expulsion history of the Qusaiba source rock shows a peak expulsion younger than 52 million years, with a The Azerbaijan Scientific Research Institute of Geophysics significant amount of gas being created from secondary has developed a new technique for seismic prospecting cracking of oil retained in the source rock. Paleostructure which was tested in Jafarly and Nasibbeyli in onshore of the Unayzah reservoir and associated capture areas were Azerbaijan. The technique is suitable in conditions of computed at different times, especially after peak expulsion. complex topographic relief and is based on a non-standard The expelled amounts of hydrocarbons from the Qusaiba system for areal observations on profiles of arbitrary form. source rock were then added up to rank the different The processing of the data includes 3-D time migration and structures according to their charge volume and the nature the data is presented in depth. of trapped components. This highlighted the most promising structures for more detailed review of future exploration. In the areas of Jafarly and Nasibbeyli, the exploration play is a stratigraphic trap in the top of the Mesozoic which Mahdi A. Abu-Ali and Jim G. McGillivray (see abstract pinches out below a thick series of Miocene-Pliocene "Integration of Geology and Geochemistry into Basin deposits. The play was initially defined with 2-D seismic Modeling and Exploration Risk Analysis: Case Study from lines acquired by Azneftegeofizika which imaged the top of Central Saudi Arabia" on page 38 for biographies and the Mesozoic pinch out. The distribution of the pinch-out photographs) was mapped using the new technique on 3-D seismic data. The 3-D survey also increased the areal distribution of the exploration target. 40 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/3/1/38/4552334/geo98.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 GEO'98 Abstracts Ibrahim D. Akhundov is currently Head of the Laboratory of Total The Heavy Oil /Tar Mat in Minagish Field, Seismic Prospecting at Azerbaijan Kuwait: Detection, Characterization and Geophysical Scientific Research Impacts on Reservoir Performance Institute of the state oil company of Azerbaijan Republic. Ibrahim Hamad Al-Ajmi, Ram S. Gaur graduated from Azizbekov Industrial Kuwait Oil Company Institute, Azerbaijan, in 1957. He has and Andrew Brayshaw 40 years experience in formulation British Petroleum, Kuwait techniques and processing 2-D and 3-D seismic surveys. He is a member of the National In common with many giant oil fields worldwide, the Committee of Azerbaijan Geophysicists. Minagish field (Minagish Oolite Formation) in Kuwait has an areally extensive and variable thickness, heavy oil zone at the base of the oil column. The heavy oil zone, or tar mat, is thought to represent a partial permeability barrier between The Impact of 3-D Reservoir Modeling on the aquifer and oil leg, but its fieldwide effect and properties Field Development: Case History from are unknown. As the Minagish field undergoes full-field the Warad Field, Oman waterflood, understanding the distribution and properties