GEOLOGY

REPORT
ENF29 WELL MDZ - 661

BELAGGOUN Omar


Structure and stratigraphy

The Saharan desert within the so-called Triassic Basin (Oued Mya Basin) is part of the North
African stable craton. The basin has had a long history from Cambrian times onwards, and
has a sedimentary column of about 5,000 m (Fig. 1). The Cambrian sediments are a thick
series of fluvial and shallow marine sandstones, deposited on a peneplained surface
composed, in the Hassi Messaoud area, of Early Cambrian granites. The Algerian Sahara was
invaded by a relatively deep anoxic sea during the Ordovician, but this was followed by a
regional regression and a period of coarse clastic, continental and glacial sedimentation.
During the Late Silurian, deep marine conditions once again occurred over a wide area in
North Africa, but the Caledonian orogeny led to the creation of a number of gentle, regional
uplifts. Devonian sandstones and shales were deposited extensively in fluvial and shallow
marine environments over much of North Africa, including Algeria, and lie unconformably on
tilted and eroded Lower Palaeozoic sediments. They were followed by deltaic and marine
sandstones and shales of Carboniferous age. It is not known for certain whether these Upper
Palaeozoic sediments were deposited over the Hassi Messaoud high because they have not
been preserved there. They may have been deposited with a reduced thickness, but in any case
would have been subsequently removed as a result of the tectonic upheavals related to the
Hercynian orogeny of Late Carboniferous to Permian times. The grain of the Hercynian
orogeny in the Hassi Messaoud area is oriented mostly NE-SW, as is typically seen in the
trend of the Messaoud - El Agreb (Sonatrach, WEC, 1995).
The productive formation of Hassi Messaoud is a series of Cambrian sandstones, with an
average thickness of 300 m and 4 productive zones denominated R3, R2, Ra, Ri (from bottom
to top). The Ra represents the best reservoir qualities. The Paleozoic of Hassi Messaoud has
been eroded by the Hercynian unconformity which reaches the R2 in places. This erosion is
increasingly important from the periphery to the center where the Ra is locally absent.
Structurally, only the top of R2 allows us to correctly define the geometry of the Cambrian of
Hassi Messaoud. The Hassi Messaoud structure appears as a large SSW-NNE oriented
anticline, affected by the major faults SSW-NNE.

The major problems of the field

The heterogeneity of Hassi Messaoud field (HMD) is tied to two important factors:
A. faulting and the erosion cause the local complications.
B. Diagenesis is tied to tectonics and caused the deterioration of the reservoir qualities.

The drains
In different sectors of the Hassi Messaoud field (HMD), different drains participate in the
production. In the central zone it is D2, ID, D1. In the west periphery of the field it is D4 and
D5 (fig. 1).

The production zones
The pressure evolution of wells according to the production has been interpreted with the help
of numerical simulators. This brought out 25 producer zones parted by the unproductive
zones. This subdivision of the field (this zoning) is not based on geological criteria. Some
producer zones are limited by the major faults which can play a major role as permeability
barriers. However, the limits for other zones are inexplicable.



Gas injector
Within the producer zones, gas injections reveal an apparent anisotropy of fluid movement.
The gas injected can reach neighboring wells in differing lengths of time reaching up to 10
years.

Dry wells
The plantation of 106 dry wells in the field is considered to be one of the negative points
inexplicable by the present geological and reservoir models.

Intracambrian intrusion
Intrusive phenomena characterize the Cambrian of the southwest part of the field. The type,
the mode of placement, and the vertical and horizontal extension have been little known until
now. Intracambrian intrusions occur in the southwest of the field. The intrusions are
unfavorable to production , because in some cases the lacooliths can reach thicknesses of 67
m; in this case, the reservoir thickness is reduced. Intrusions can cause problems for the
horizontal wells when their lateral extension and thickness are unknown. Allocation of the
intrusions is accompanied by silicification, which also deteriorates reservoir quality.
The following intrusions occur in the Hassi Messaoud (HMD) field:
Dykes, which are associated with faults, and occur especially in zones which are characterized
by the major faults. Laccoliths occur in the southwestern zone of HMD and are associated
with a domed structure. Sills occur practically in the same stratigraphical level.




Figure 1: Left handside: Summarized stratigraphy for the Hassi Messaoud field (Balducchiand pommier, 1971).
Right handside: Detailed column f the four productive zones R3, R2, Ra, Ri of the cambrian of Hassi Messaoud field .


WELL DZ-661 SUMMARY


WELL SUMMARY
HORI ZONTAL OI L PRODUCER
STRATI GRAPHI E Tops m. Descri pti on HAZARDS Casi ng Phases Mud Prog Loggi ng
SYS SERI ES
T
E
R
T
I
A
R
Y

Sand, l i mest one, cl ay
Parti al or Tot al losses
26in- 18 5/8i n
16 in-13 3/8in


1
,
0
5
S
G

W
M

N
0
1
. 0
9
0
1
9

Sandand l i mest one
C
R
E
T
A
C
E
O
U
S

S
E
K
C
N
E
N

Li mest one, dol omi t e,
anhydr i t e
Anhydr i t e, mar ne, dol omi t e
St uck and overpul l i n
Snoni en Sal i f r e and
Tur oni en

G
R
-
S
C
N
C

C
E
N
S
I
T
Y

C
A
L
P
1
3
1

Salt
Chal ky Li mestone with
Shal e t hi n l ayers
Anhydr i t e, mar ne, dol omi e
Sandst one w/ Cl ayst one
Al t er nat i ng
Dol omi t e
Sand & Sandst one
Dol omi t e
J
U
R
A
S
S
I
C

I

C

Cl ay, Sandst one w/ Traces of
Anhydr i t e
Shal e, Anhydr i t e, Dol omi t e
w/ f i ne passages of
Sandst one
LD2 i nf l ux
T o t a l o r p a r t i a l
l osses i f CSG poi nt
mi sses

2
, 0
2
s
g
C
O
W
b
e
f
e
r
L
D
2


Dol omi t e & Anhydr i t e

Sal t & Anhydri t e

L
J
A
Dol omi t e
KOP@3
12,25in-9 5/8in

Salt

Dol omi t e
T
R
I
A
S

Anhydr i t e & Dol omi t e
Sal t & Anhydri t e
Sal t wi th thi n l ayers of shal e
Shale
@ 3281m

3286 TMD

1
, 4
0
s
g
C
O
M

8 3/8in-7in li ner @
3346 TVD
3372 TMD

Shal e w/ Sandst one &
Dol omi t e
C
A
M
B
R
I
A
N


Quart zi t i c
Bl ack Cl ayst one
DH / ARGI LE D' EL GASSI
ZONE DES ALTERNANCE
Sandst one f ol l wel by
tightly interbeded shale and
sanst one Rser voi r Ri ( D5) Sandst one/ Quar t z

C
O
M
a
s
p
e
r
C
P

G
R

C
E
N
S
I
T
Y
-


P
1
3
1
1
1
1
C
e
l-
S
C
N
C

P
B
S
-

R
E
S
S
I
N
I
T
Y

Rservoi r Ra ( D4) Sandst one/ Quar t z

Rservoi r Ra ( D3)


Rservoi r Ra ( D2) Sandst one/ Quar t z
Rservoi r Ra ( I D) Sandst one/ Quar t z

Rservoi r Ra ( D1) Sandst one/ Quar t z

ZPSG Sandst one/ Quar t z



Rservoi r R2
Wel l TD


OWC( SW65%)