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Overlapping faults and their effect on fluid flow in different reservoir types; a lidar-based outcrop modeling and flow simulation study

Atle Rotevatn, Simon J. Buckley, John A. Howell and Haakon Fossen
Overlapping faults and their effect on fluid flow in different reservoir types; a lidar-based outcrop modeling and flow simulation study
AAPG Bulletin (March 2009) 93 (3): 407-427

Abstract

In this article we focus on the potential of fault-overlap zones as conduits for fluid flow in a variety of reservoir types. Light detection and ranging (LIDAR) technology were applied to collect a three-dimensional, spatially constrained data set from a well-exposed fault-overlap zone that crops out in the Devil's Lane area of the Canyonlands National Park in Utah. A virtual outcrop was generated and used to extract structural and stratigraphic data that were taken into a reservoir modeling software and reconstructed. The outcrop-based model was flow simulated and used to test fluid flow through a real-world fault-overlap zone. A structural framework was built based on collected outcrop data and combined with a series of nine different facies models. The different facies models included an eolian model based on the outcrop and a range of synthetic fluvial and shallow marine systems. Results show that, for certain depositional models, cross-fault reservoir communication may be poor despite the geometric connectivity of the relay beds. This was the case for low net/gross fluvial models and shoreface models. Conversely, high net/gross fluvial systems and eolian systems show good communication through the same relay zone. Overall, the results show that, in the presence of a fault-overlap zone, pressure communication across a relay ramp may still be poor depending on the scale of the faults and relay ramp as well as the geometry and volume of the sands.


ISSN: 0149-1423
EISSN: 1558-9153
Coden: AABUD2
Serial Title: AAPG Bulletin
Serial Volume: 93
Serial Issue: 3
Title: Overlapping faults and their effect on fluid flow in different reservoir types; a lidar-based outcrop modeling and flow simulation study
Affiliation: University of Bergen, Center for Integrated Petroleum Research, Bergen, Norway
Pages: 407-427
Published: 200903
Text Language: English
Publisher: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Tulsa, OK, United States
References: 42
Accession Number: 2009-031307
Categories: Structural geologyEconomic geology, geology of energy sources
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Annotation: Includes appendix
Illustration Description: illus. incl. block diags., 3 tables, sketch maps
N38°00'00" - N38°13'00", W110°04'60" - W109°49'60"
Country of Publication: United States
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2017, American Geosciences Institute. Reference includes data from GeoScienceWorld, Alexandria, VA, United States. Reference includes data supplied by American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Tulsa, OK, United States
Update Code: 200917
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