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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database

AAPG Special Volumes

Abstract

R. Sorkhabi and Y. Tsuji, 2005, Faults, fluid flow, and petroleum traps: AAPG Memoir 85, p. 181-195.

DOI:10.1306/1033723M853135

Copyright copy2005 by The American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

The Geometry and Thickness of Deformation-band Previous HitFaultNext Hit Core and its Influence on Sealing Characteristics of Deformation-band Previous HitFaultNext Hit Zones

Z. K. Shipton,1 J. P. Evans,2 L. B. Thompson3

1Department of Geology, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland; Present address: Division of Earth Sciences, Centre for Geoscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland.
2Department of Geology and UF3-Innovation Campus, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, U.S.A.
3UF3, Innovation Campus, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, U.S.A.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Comments from Jennifer Wilson, Rasoul Sorkhabi, and an anonymous reviewer substantially improved this chapter. Funding for this work was provided by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences–Department of Energy grants DE-FG03-00ER15042 and DE-FG03-95ER14526 and by Big Hole Drilling Project sponsors: ARCO and ARCO Alaska, Enterprise Oil, Exxon, Japan National Oil Corporation (presently Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation), Mobil, Schlumberger-Doll Research, Shell, and Statoil. Hoda Sondossi assisted in collecting the field data.

ABSTRACT

Deformation-band faults in high-porosity reservoir sandstones commonly contain a Previous HitfaultNext Hit core of intensely crushed rock surrounding the main slip surfaces. The Previous HitfaultNext Hit core has a substantially reduced porosity and permeability with respect to both the host rock and individual deformation bands. Although Previous HitfaultNext Hit core thickness is a large uncertainty in calculations of transmissibility multipliers used to represent faults in single-phase reservoir flow models, few data exist on Previous HitfaultNext Hit core thickness in deformation-band Previous HitfaultNext Hit zones. To provide accurate estimates of deformation-band Previous HitfaultNext Hit petrophysical properties, we measured Previous HitfaultNext Hit core thickness at six sites (each 4–15 m [13–49 ft] along strike) along the Big Hole Previous HitfaultNext Hit in the Navajo Sandstone, central Utah. These data show that the thickness is highly variable and does not correlate with either the amount of slip or the number of slip surfaces. The thickness of the Previous HitfaultNext Hit core is likely to be dependent on local growth processes, specifically the linkage of Previous HitfaultNext Hit segments. This suggests that correlations of Previous HitfaultNext Hit permeability with throw may not apply to deformation-band faults. Simple calculations of two-phase flow properties based on measured porosity and permeability values suggest that deformation-band faults containing Previous HitfaultNext Hit core are likely barriers to two-phase flow. More data on the variability of Previous HitfaultNext Hit core thickness and its petrophysical properties need to be collected to characterize population statistics for models of deformation-band Previous HitfaultTop fluid-flow properties.

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