For a proper evaluation of the reservoir potentialities of carbonate rocks the exact causes of porosity formation and destruction need to be known. Such a genetic approach to a classification has to be practical enough to be applicable at the well site, yet sophisticated enough to allow meaningful interpretations. All old attempts at classification of porosity have been either descriptive or insufficiently accurate. For example, the term "leaching" is meaningless, unless it is specified if it pertains to subaerial leaching, or leaching accompanying recrystallization, or leaching resulting from dolomitization. An attempt is made herein to propose a genetic classification which has been tested in its applicability, both at the well site and in the laboratory.

There are basically 2 types of porosity--primary and secondary. Primary porosity developments were formed at time of deposition prior to diagenetic alterations of the sediment. Secondary porosity formations are introduced after deposition by early or late or even post-diagenetic activity.

Primary porosity may be subdivided into intergrain and intragrain porosity.

Secondary porosity formation may represent the following types: (1) subaerial leaching of the grains (moldic porosity) or the carbonate mud matrix; (2) recrystallization porosity, based primarily on (a) leaching accompanying the recrystallization process, (b) rearrangement of the crystal fabric (interstitial porosity), and (c) preservation of primary porosity by fast diagenetic hardening; (3) dolomitization porosity, based primarily on (a) leaching resulting from the dolomitization process, (b) volume reduction caused by a slight density difference between calcite and dolomite, (c) preservation of the primary porosity by fast diagenetic hardening, and (d) interstitial porosity created by dolomitization and subsequent recrystallization; (4) fracture porosity, either by itself or furthe enlarged by subsequent leaching.

Partial or complete porosity destructions in carbonates result primarily from (a) fibrous calcite wall linings, (b) sparry calcite precipitation, (c) sparry dolomite precipitation, (d) anhydrite and gypsum infills, (e) infilling by other evaporites, (f) infill by clay, silt, or sand, (g) infill by carbonate mud, (h) infill by isolated dolomite rhombohedra, and (i) collapse of the former depositional fabric.

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