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Abstract

G. M. Grammer, P. M. ldquoMitchrdquo Harris, and G. P. Eberli, 2004, Integration of outcrop and modern analogs in reservoir modeling: AAPG Memoir 80, p. 215-234.

Copyright copy2004. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.

An Integrated Approach to Characterization and Modeling of Deep-water Reservoirs, Diana Field, Western Gulf of Mexico

Morgan D. Sullivan,1 J. Lincoln Foreman,2 David C. Jennette,3 David Stern,2 Gerrick N. Jensen,4 Frank J. Goulding4

1ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.; Current affiliation: Department of Geosciences, California State University, Chico, California U.S.A.
2ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.
3ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.; Current affiliation: Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
4ExxonMobil Exploration Company, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank Dave Larue, Mike DeVries, Arfan Khan, DeVille Wickens, and Arnold Bouma for their assistance in collecting outcrop data from the Skoorsteenberg Formation. Ian Moore, Chris Armstrong, Kevin Keogh, and Trevor Elliot are also thanked for their assistance in collecting portions of the outcrop data from the Ross Formation. Permission to publish this paper was granted by ExxonMobil Upstream Research and by BP Exploration. The authors would also like to thank Grant Wach, William Schweller, Jim Borer, Michael Grammer, and Ray Sullivan for reviewing and improving this paper. In addition, we would like to acknowledge Ed Garza for all of his assistance in producing the illustrations presented in this paper.

ABSTRACT

The situation presented at the Diana field in the western Gulf of Mexico is a common one in exploration and early development: a hydrocarbon reservoir expressed by a single-cycle seismic event and limited appraisal wells spaced thousands of feet apart. There is excellent core coverage that enables close calibration of seismic and well data. Integration and analysis of the data suggest a relatively channelized reservoir in an updip position, becoming more sheetlike and layered downdip. This subsurface data, however, does not have the resolution to provide the dimensional and architectural information required to populate an object-based three-dimensional geologic model for more accurate flow simulation and well-performance prediction. To solve these uncertainties, deep-water outcrop analog data from the Lower Permian Skoorsteenberg Formation in the Tanqua Karoo Basin, South Africa, and the Upper Carboniferous Ross Formation in the Clare Basin, western Ireland, were integrated with the seismic and well data from the Diana field. Bed-scale reservoir architectures were quantified with photomosaics and by correlation of closely spaced measured sections. Bed continuity and connectivity data, along with vertical and lateral facies variability information, also were collected, as these factors ultimately control the reservoir behavior. From these measurements, a spectrum of channel dimensions and shapes were compiled to condition the modeled objects. These dimensions were compared to Diana specific seismic and well data and adjusted accordingly. The advantage of the resulting Diana geologic model is that it incorporates geologic interpretation, honors all available information, and models the reservoir as discrete objects with specific dimensions, facies juxtaposition, and connectivity. This study provides the framework for optimal placement of wells to maximize the architectural and facies controls on reservoir performance.

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