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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database
AAPG Bulletin
Abstract
AAPG Bulletin, V.
2004. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.
Fossilized worm burrows influence the resource quality of porous media
Murray K. Gingras,1 Carl A. Mendoza,2 S. George Pemberton3
1Department of 
Earth
and Atmospheric Sciences, 1-26 Earth Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2E3; email: [email protected]
2Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, 1-26 Earth Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2E3
3Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, 1-26 Earth Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2E3
AUTHORS
Murray Gingras received his diploma in mechanical engineering technology from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in 1987, his B.Sc. degree from the University of Alberta in 1995, and his Ph.D. from the University of Alberta in 1999. Gingras has worked professionally in the hydrocarbon industry, at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and as an assistant professor at the University of New Brunswick. His research focuses on applying sedimentology and ichnology to sedimentary rock successions, as a paleoecological tool, a reservoir development tool, and in process-driven sedimentology.
Carl Mendoza received a B.A.Sc. degree in geological engineering from the University of British Columbia in 1984. He worked for Shell Canada Resources for more than two years, before obtaining his M.Sc. degree and his Ph.D. in hydrogeology from the University of Waterloo. He has been at the University of Alberta since 1992 and is currently an associate professor. His research focuses on reactive gas and vapor transport in the unsaturated zone, ground-water/surface-water interactions at both natural and oil-sands impacted sites, and flow and transport in heterogeneous porous media.
S. George Pemberton is a professor in the Department of Earth
Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and holds a Canada Research Chair in Petroleum Geology (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council). George's field of research and expertise are in the field of ichnology, the investigation of animal-sediment interactions in both recent and ancient environments. Current research activities include the application of trace-fossil studies in sequence stratigraphy and the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons. Recent research activities involve emphasis on the Cardium and Viking formations, the Athabasca and the Cold Lake oil sands of Alberta, as well as the offshore Hibernia, Ben Nevis, Terra Nova, and Venture fields.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many of the members of the Ichnology Research Group at the University of Alberta were instrumental in generating ideas for dispersivity testing equipment. Special thanks to Floyd (Bo) Henk, Tom Saunders, John-Paul Zonneveld, Demian Robbins, Arjun Keswani, and Brian Jones for their insight and comments. Vivienne Robertson provided editorial assistance. Funding for this research was made available by the Natural Sciences Engineering and Research Council (NSERC) Research grants to Murray Gingras, Carl Mendoza, and George Pemberton, and an NSERC equipment grant to Murray Gingras.
ABSTRACT
Burrow-associated, selective dolomitization in the Yeoman Formation limestone (Ordovician, Williston basin) is characterized by distinct textural heterogeneity. Physical parameters such as permeability, porosity, tortuosity, and dispersivity are therefore difficult to assess. This study compares the relative dispersivities of three geologic media: homogeneous sandstone, fractured limestone, and burrowed dolomitic limestone. Results show that the flow paths present in burrow-associated dolomite are tortuous, and that the interaction between the flow paths and the matrix is extensive. Such rocks act as dual-permeability systems in the subsurface. Hydrocarbon production from such deposits will be strongly influenced by burrow-related heterogeneity, and its influence should be carefully considered before secondary recovery schemes are implemented.
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