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Chapter from:
AAPG Memoir 71 : Reservoir Characterization-Recent Advances
Edited by Richard A. Schatzinger and John F. Jordan
Copyright 
1999 by The American Association of
Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.
Memoir 71, Chapter 16: Statistical Analysis of Surface Lineaments and Fractures for
Characterizing Naturally Fractured Reservoirs, by Genliang Guo, Stephen A. George, and
Rhonda P. Lindsey, Pages 221 - 250
Chapter 16
Statistical Analysis of Surface Lineaments and
Fractures for Characterizing Naturally Fractured Reservoirs
Genliang Guo
Stephen A. George
BDM Petroleum Technologies
Bartlesville, Oklahoma, U.S.A.
Rhonda P. Lindsey
DOE National Petroleum Technology Office
Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.A.
ABSTRACT
Thirty-six sets of surface lineaments and fractures mapped from satellite images and
aerial photos from parts of the Mid-continent and Colorado Plateau regions were collected,
digitized, and statistically analyzed to obtain the probability distribution functions of
natural fractures for characterizing naturally fractured reservoirs. The orientations and
lengths of the surface linear features were calculated using the digitized coordinates of
the two end points of each individual linear feature. The spacing data of the surface
linear features within an individual set were obtained using a new analytical sampling
technique that involves overlapping a set of uniform imaginary scanlines orthogonally on
top of an individual fracture set and calculating the distance between two adjacent
intersection points along each scanline. Statistical analyses were then performed to find
the best-fit probability distribution functions for the orientation, length, and spacing
of each data set. Twenty-five hypothesized probability distribution functions were used to
fit each data set. A chi-square goodness-of-fit value was considered the best-fit
distribution.
