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Abstract

AAPG Bulletin, V. 89, No. 10 (October 2005), P. 1293-1318.

Copyright copy2005. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.

Digital characterization of thrombolite-stromatolite reef distribution in a carbonate ramp system (terminal Proterozoic, Nama Group, Namibia)

Erwin W. Adams,1 John P. Grotzinger,2 Wesley A. Watters,3 Stefan Schroumlder,4 David S. McCormick,5 Hisham A. Al-Siyabi6

1Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139; present address: Shell International Exploration and Production B.V., Kessler Park 1,2288 GS Rijswijk, Netherlands; [email protected]
2Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139; [email protected]
3Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139; [email protected]
4Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139; present address: Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park 2006, P.O. Box 524, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa; [email protected]
5Schlumberger-Doll Research, 320 Bent Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141; [email protected]
6Shell Exploration and Production Company, One Shell Square, P.O. Box 61933, New Orleans, Louisiana 70161; [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The stratigraphic architecture of a terminal Proterozoic carbonate ramp system (ca. 550 Ma, Nama Group, Namibia) was mapped quantitatively with digital surveying technologies. The carbonate ramp consists of a shoaling-upward ramp sequence in which thrombolite-stromatolite reefs developed at several stratigraphic levels. The reefs are associated with grainstone and heterolithic facies and exhibit diverse geometries and dimensions related to the position in the sequence-stratigraphic framework. Laterally extensive reefs with a tabular geometry developed when accommodation was relatively low, whereas discontinuous oblate dome-shaped reefs developed during times when accommodation space was relatively high. Collecting sedimentological and stratigraphic data digitally in an extensive canyon system allowed a comprehensive documentation of the three-dimensional (Previous Hit3-DNext Hit) architecture and dimensions of the reefal buildups. Both deterministic and stochastic methods were used to extend outcrop observations to construct Previous Hit3-DNext Hit models that honor the observed stratigraphy. In particular, the accuracy with which dimensions of reefal buildups can be measured is critically important in the statistical modeling of the dome-shaped buildups. Calculations and Previous HitcorrectionsNext Hit can be applied directly to the digital data set and serve as input during model building. The final Previous Hit3-DNext Hit model faithfully reproduces the outcrop distribution of facies and geological objects and has a high spatial resolution, compared with petroleum industry reservoir models. The organization of the reefal buildups in the stratigraphic framework has direct implications for reservoir continuity and connectivity in analogous settings. The digital characterization and Previous Hit3-DTop outcrop models presented in this article can be subsequently used to condition dynamic reservoir-simulation modeling of geologically similar areas.

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