Introduction to the Petroleum Geology of Deepwater Setting
This publication is intended to provide the working geologist, geophysicist, and petroleum engineer with a broad overview of the petroleum systems of deepwater settings. Deepwater depositional systems are the one type of reservoir system that cannot be easily reached, observed, and studied in the modern environment, in contrast to other siliciclastic and carbonate reservoir systems. The study of deepwater systems requires many different remote observation techniques, each of which can only provide information on one part of the entire depositional system. As a consequence, the study and understanding of deepwater depositional systems as reservoirs has lagged behind that of the other reservoir systems, whose modern processes are more easily observed and documented. For this reason, geoscientists use an integrated approach, working in interdisciplinary teams with multiple data types. The types of data used in the study of deepwater deposits include: outcrop studies, 2D and 3D seismic-reflection data (both for shallow and deep resolution), cores, conventional and specialized log suites, biostratigraphy, and well test and production information. These data sets are routinely incorporated into computer reservoir modeling programs for production performance simulation and forecasting. Technologies for deepwater exploration and development are improving rapidly. The intent of this publication is to provide information that will be usable even as the technologies advance beyond what we present here.
