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Abstract

R. Sorkhabi and Y. Tsuji, 2005, Faults, fluid flow, and petroleum traps: AAPG Memoir 85, p. 197-217.

DOI:10.1306/1033724M853136

Copyright copy2005 by The American Association of Petroleum Geologists.

Petrophysical Properties and Sealing Capacity of Fault Rock, Aztec Sandstone, Nevada

Eric Flodin,1 Martha Gerdes,2 Atilla Aydin,3 William D. Wiggins4

1Rock Fracture Project, Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California, U.S.A.; Present address: Department of Geosciences, Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.A.
2ChevronTexaco Exploration and Production Technology Company, San Ramon, California, U.S.A.
3Rock Fracture Project, Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California, U.S.A.
4ChevronTexaco Exploration and Production Technology Company, San Ramon, California, U.S.A.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Mercury-injection and x-ray diffraction analyses were performed by ChevronTexaco Geotechnical Center, San Ramon, California. Permeability and porosity data were collected by Core Laboratories, U.S.A. This work benefited from discussions with Peter Eichhubl and Rod Myers. Bob Jones assisted with scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive spectrometry data collection. Special thanks to John Popek, Bruce McCollom, and John Urbach at the Geotechnical Center for facilitating the collection of this data set, to the staff of the Valley of Fire State Park, and to Kurt Sternlof for transporting the samples from the field area. Zoe Shipton and Rasoul Sorkhabi are thanked for providing thoughtful reviews. Atilla Aydin and Eric Flodin were supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division (award DE-FG03-94ER14462 to D. D. Pollard and A. Aydin).

ABSTRACT

To refine flow models for sand-dominated fault rock, we present petrophysical data of host and fault rock samples from the eolian Aztec Sandstone, Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, that has been deformed by strike-slip faults formed by progressive shearing along joint zones. The data include bulk mineralogy, porosity, permeability, grain-size distribution, and mercury-injection capillary pressure measurements of 40 host, fragmented, and fault rock samples. To investigate the impact of shear strain on fault zone properties, three sample localities with average shear strains of 28, 63, and 80 were investigated (25–160-m [82–525-ft] slip). No bulk mineralogical changes caused by fault zone cementation or mineral alteration were detected when comparing host and fault rock. Fault rock permeability is one to three orders of magnitude lower than median host rock permeability. Porosity reductions are less pronounced and show considerable overlap in values between the sample suites. Some fault rock samples appear to have dilated with respect to median host rock porosity. Median grain sizes for fault rock samples range from 3 to 51 mum, which is as much as two orders of magnitude reduction from host rock median grain sizes. There appears to be a lower limit of median grain size of 3 mum for fault rock samples irrespective of average fault shear strain. Fault rock capillary injection pressures range from one to almost two orders of magnitude higher than the host rock equivalent. For standard fluid properties, calculated maximum sealable hydrocarbon column heights range between 10 and 70 m (33 and 230 ft) of gas and 20–120 m (66–400 ft) of oil. These petrophysical data show that faults formed by shearing of joints in high-permeability, sand-prone systems will act as significant barriers to fluid flow during reservoir production and might be capable of sealing small to moderate hydrocarbon columns on an exploration timescale as well, assuming adequate continuity of the fault rock over large areas of the fault.

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