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High-resolution sequence stratigraphy of

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 Marine and Petroleum Geology 62 (2015) 161e175

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Marine and Petroleum Geology

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Review article

High-resolution sequence stratigraphy of clastic shelves III:

Applications to reservoir geology
Massimo Zecchin a, *, Octavian Catuneanu b
a
OGS (Istituto Nazionale di Oceanograa e di Geosica Sperimentale), 34010 Sgonico (TS), Italy
b
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, 1-26 Earth Sciences Building, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E3, Canada

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: High-frequency clastic shelf sequences contain porous deposits, consisting of coastal to shallow-water
Received 4 May 2014 sandstones and conglomerates, which may represent very good reservoirs, and therefore critical tar-
Received in revised form gets for exploration and production, as well as for uid (hydrocarbon, water or CO2) storage. The study of
20 July 2014
these reservoirs, following a sequence stratigraphic approach, is essential to predict their features and
Accepted 18 August 2014
Available online 8 October 2014
distribution within systems tracts forming high-frequency sequences, which in turn compose higher-
rank systems tracts and sequences. A critical aspect to improve the exploitability of the reservoirs is
their heterogeneity, which directly affects the volume of the reservoirs and determine internal
Keywords:
High-resolution sequence stratigraphy
compartmentalization. The heterogeneity can be primary, related to depositional processes inuencing
Clastic shelves grain size and facies distribution, and secondary, related to diagenesis. In particular, the primary het-
Reservoir erogeneity is referred to the facies variability from distal to proximal settings, to the accumulation of
Heterogeneity condensed shell beds, and to facies characteristics of bedsets, whereas the secondary heterogeneity
Compartmentalization derives from diagenetic processes at sequence stratigraphic surfaces and facies contacts, and within
sandbodies. Both the distribution of reservoirs and their heterogeneity can be predicted following a high-
resolution sequence stratigraphic approach. Ultimately, the integration of subsurface data with the
analysis of outcrop analogs is essential to better understand the features of clastic shelf reservoirs and to
develop 3D models of uid migration.
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction 1999; Cantalamessa and Di Celma, 2004; Zecchin, 2005, 2007;

The application of sequence stratigraphic concepts to the hy-
drocarbon industry is well known since the 1970s (Payton, 1977).
This methodology was further highlighted during the 1980s
(Wilgus et al., 1988), as a fundamental tool to predict the distri-
bution of porous, coarse-grained sedimentary bodies and of seal-
ing/source rock units within the framework of relative sea-level
changes. These early studies mostly characterized potential reser-
voirs at the seismic scale, usually referred to as of third order
(Payton, 1977). Subsequent studies of higher frequency (lower
rank) sequences resulted in an increase in the stratigraphic reso-
lution of reservoir characterization (e.g., Einsele et al., 1991; Swift
et al., 1991). High-resolution sequence stratigraphy is currently
one of the most active areas of stratigraphic research, with a wide
range of applications, from reservoir geology to studies of tecto-
nism and climate change (e.g., Catuneanu et al., 1999; Saul et al.,
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: zecchin@alice.it, mzecchin@ogs.trieste.it (M. Zecchin).
Cantalamessa et al., 2006; Di Celma and Cantalamessa, 2007;
Massari et al., 2007; Zecchin et al., 2009a,b; 2010a,b, 2011; Csato
and Catuneanu, 2012; Csato et al., 2014).
The relevance of high-resolution sequence stratigraphy to
reservoir characterization is evident, as heterogeneities at the scale
of outcrops and cores strongly control uid migration pathways,
which are fundamental for hydrocarbon production development
(e.g., Hampson et al., 2008b). Moreover, a key role in dening uid
migration patterns within reservoirs relates to diagenesis, which
was not considered in early models but can be predicted to some
extent following sequence stratigraphic principles (Ketzer et al.,
2003a,b; Morad et al., 2013).
This contribution represents the third part of a review devoted
to the high-resolution sequence stratigraphy of clastic shelves
(Catuneanu and Zecchin, 2013; Zecchin and Catuneanu, 2013). The
rst part illustrated units and bounding surfaces, while the second
part discussed the controls on sequence development and updated
the concept of sequence to include all sedimentary cycles related to
shoreline shifts and controlled by both allocyclic and autocyclic
processes. The present third part highlights the depositional and

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2014.08.025
0264-8172/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
162 M. Zecchin, O. Catuneanu / Marine and Petroleum Geology 62 (2015) 161e175

diagenetic features that are expected to inuence the volume of
potential clastic shelf reservoirs, their internal compartmentaliza-
tion and uid migration patterns within a high-resolution sequence
stratigraphic framework. All these aspects need to be considered
for high-resolution reservoir characterization, as the understanding
of their role is fundamental to the accurate formulation of models
of uid migration that could lead to an effective hydrocarbon
production and/or uid (hydrocarbon, water or CO2) storage in the
subsurface.
2. A brief overview of high-frequency sequences
High-resolution sequence stratigraphy deals with small-scale
sedimentary cycles that correspond to the 4th to 6th order of
cyclicity of Vail et al. (1991), commonly referred to as para-
sequences (e.g., Van Wagoner et al., 1988; Posamentier and Allen,
1999). Following Zecchin and Catuneanu (2013) and Catuneanu
and Zecchin (2013), we stress that sedimentary cycles associated
with shoreline shifts are high-frequency sequences, irrespective on
their allocyclic or autocyclic origin, whereas sedimentary cycles
unrelated to shoreline shifts correspond to bedsets. Furthermore,
the parasequence concept has become redundant, and can be
abandoned. An explanation for these conclusions is beyond the
scope of this paper, and has been discussed by Catuneanu (2006),
Zecchin (2010), Zecchin and Catuneanu (2013), and Catuneanu
and Zecchin (2013).
High-frequency sequences are bounded by sequence strati-
graphic surfaces and consist of systems tracts, following the general
sequence denition of Catuneanu et al. (2009). In addition, outcrop
and core studies showed that high-frequency sequences exhibit a
high degree of complexity due to the presence of facies contacts
and condensed shell beds that are recognizable only at this scale.
The reader is referred to Zecchin and Catuneanu (2013) and refer-
ences therein for a complete review of the physical and temporal
characteristics of all these features, which are summarized briey
below.
The same types of systems tracts that subdivide higher rank
sequences are also recognized in high-frequency sequences, and
are bounded by sequence stratigraphic surfaces (Fig. 1). They
consist of the lowstand systems tract (LST), the transgressive sys-
tems tract (TST), the highstand systems tract (HST) and the falling-
stage systems tract (FSST). It should be noted that the development

Figure 1. Sequence stratigraphic surfaces, facies contacts, systems tracts and condensed shell beds of a high-frequency sequence in a clastic shelf setting (modied from Zecchin
and Catuneanu, 2013). Reservoirs are usually represented by nearshore sandstones and conglomerates accumulated in the landward part of the marine TST, HST, FSST and LST.
 M. Zecchin, O. Catuneanu / Marine and Petroleum Geology 62 (2015) 161e175
Figure 2. The architectural variability of shelf sedimentary bodies along the depositional dip, in the case of (A) high sediment supply during transgression and (B) low sediment
supply and/or intense wave action during transgression (modied from Zecchin, 2007). Condensed shell beds, which potentially produce cemented layers, develop near the lower
and upper boundaries of transgressive and highstand deposits.
of systems tracts can vary extremely depending on the amplitude
and rate of eustatic change (e.g., Icehouse vs. Greenhouse cycles)
and on tectonics (Zecchin, 2007; Csato and Catuneanu, 2012;
Catuneanu and Zecchin, 2013; Zecchin and Catuneanu, 2013;
Csato et al., 2014).
Among the features found in high-frequency sequences, onlap
shell beds (OSB, Kidwell, 1991) are shell concentrations that mantle
ravinement surfaces (RS), which develop within the shoreface
during transgression and may rework former subaerial un-
conformities (SU) and maximum regressive surfaces (MRS) (Figs. 1
and 2). RSs are commonly paved also by transgressive lags.
Condensed sections typically accumulate on the shelf during times
of maximum shoreline transgression and clastic sediment starva-
tion, although their development may encompass a more signi-
cant part of a cycle of relative sea-level change in distal settings
(Zecchin and Catuneanu, 2013). Condensed sections can be ne
grained, rich in authigenic minerals or organic matter, marked by
hardgrounds or mostly composed of skeletal accumulations, called
backlap shell beds (BSB) (Kidwell, 1991) (Figs. 1 and 2). BSBs may be
bounded at the base by the local ooding surface (LFS), related to
sediment starvation, and at the top by the downlap surface (DLS),
which is a facies contact marking the base of the foreset portion of
the highstand normal regressive clastic wedge (Abbott and Carter,
1994; Zecchin and Catuneanu, 2013) (Figs. 1 and 2). The DLS dif-
fers from other downlap surfaces that form during lowstand
normal regression and forced regression at the base of LST and FSST
foresets, as the term is restricted to the surface that forms during
highstand normal regression at the top of the condensed section
(Zecchin and Catuneanu, 2013). The maximum ooding surface
(MFS) usually sits within the condensed section (Carter et al., 1998)
(Fig. 1). The aggrading to prograding highstand clastic wedge may
163
include a downlap shell bed (DSB) at the base and toplap shell beds
(TSB) toward the top (Kidwell, 1991; Kondo et al., 1998) (Figs. 1 and
2). The basal surface of forced regression (BSFR), locally truncated
by the regressive surface of marine erosion (RSME), marks the base
of ofapping, downstepping forced regressive deposits forming the
FSST (Fig. 1). In addition to the LFS and the DLS, facies contacts
within high-frequency shelf sequences also include the within-
trend forced regressive surface (WTFRS), between the foreset and
the bottomset of a forced regressive delta; the within-trend normal
regressive surface (WTNRS), between the topset and the foreset of
normal regressive deposits (Fig. 1); the surf diastem (SD) at the base
of upper shoreface prograding deposits (Fig. 1); the turbidite shelf
entrenchment surface (tSES) carved by turbidite currents during
transgression; and bedset boundaries (see Zecchin and Catuneanu,
2013 and references therein).
3. Distribution of reservoirs and seal deposits in shallow-
marine high-frequency sequences
Porous, coarse-grained sedimentary bodies in high-frequency
clastic shelf sequences are mostly represented by coastal to
shallow-water sandstones and conglomerates that may accumulate
throughout a relative sea-level cycle; therefore, they are found
within all systems tracts (Catuneanu, 2006).
3.1. Highstand systems tract
The highstand systems tract (HST) is characterized by normal
regression, typied in shelf settings by progradation plus aggra-
dation of coastal, shoreface, deltaic and ne-grained shelf and
prodelta deposits (Catuneanu, 2006; Zecchin and Catuneanu,
164 M. Zecchin, O. Catuneanu / Marine and Petroleum Geology 62 (2015) 161e175
Figure 3. Sediment budget and petroleum play signicance of systems tracts in coastal and shallow-water settings (from Catuneanu, 2006). Ranking qualiers range from poor to
fair and good.
2013) (Fig. 1). The HST is bounded at the base by the MFS and at
the top by the landward portion of the SU and by the BSFR or the
RSME (Fig. 1).
High rates of both accommodation creation and sediment sup-
ply during the early highstand phase favor the accumulation of
large volumes of sand, which form potential reservoirs along
shorelines, or more localized in deltaic settings (Fig. 3). These
shallow-marine prograding sandstones, usually meters to tens of
meters thick, pass seaward into shelf nes, which represent seal
units and/or potential source rocks (Figs. 1 and 3). Landward, the
coastal to shallow-water reservoirs may pass into oodplain de-
posits (Fig. 1), which may form seals, or may be connected with
uvial channel deposits. The presence of the SU at the top of the
highstand topset may decrease the sealing potential of the HST
reservoirs, as the development of incised valleys lled by uvial
sands, during the subsequent falling-stage and lowstand phases,
may create an interconnection of reservoirs (Catuneanu, 2006). The
HST shallow-marine reservoirs can therefore be sealed only if
overlain by lowstand oodplain nes and/or by transgressive
oodplain, estuarine or shelf nes.
3.2. Falling-stage systems tract
The falling-stage systems tract (FSST) is characterized by forced
regression, typied in shelf settings by progradation and ofap of
downstepping coastal, shoreface, deltaic and ne-grained shelf and
prodelta deposits (Catuneanu, 2006; Zecchin and Catuneanu, 2013)
(Fig. 1). The FSST is bounded at the base by the BSFR or the RSME,
and at the top by the SU and its marine correlative conformity (CC)
(Figs. 1 and 4).
The FSST shallow-marine sandy to gravelly reservoirs are usu-
ally sharp-based (Fig. 4), as overlying the RSME, are generally only a
few meters thick, and may be attached or detached depending on
the rates of sediment supply and relative sea-level fall (Plint and
Nummedal, 2000; Posamentier and Morris, 2000). Detached
forced regressive nearshore wedges have the potential to form
good quality, strike-oriented, isolated reservoirs encased in shelf
muds (e.g., Martini et al., 2013), although their volume is typically
less than that of normal regressive shorefaces (Fig. 3). The devel-
opment of the SU during relative sea-level fall may further
compromise the lateral continuity of the FSST reservoirs and
decrease their sealing potential (Catuneanu, 2006). FSST shallow-
marine sandstones may form effective reservoirs if sealed by low-
stand oodplain nes (Fig. 4) and/or by transgressive oodplain,
estuarine, or shelf nes.
3.3. Lowstand systems tract
As described for the HST, the lowstand systems tract (LST) too is
characterized by normal regression, typied by progradation plus
aggradation of coastal, shoreface, deltaic and ne-grained shelf and
prodelta deposits (Catuneanu, 2006; Zecchin and Catuneanu, 2013)
(Fig. 1). The LST is bounded at the base by the SU and its CC, and at
the top by the MRS or the RS (Figs. 1 and 4).
The features of LST shallow-marine reservoirs are similar to
those typifying the HST reservoirs, as they consist of strike-oriented
sedimentary bodies along open shorelines, or more localized units
in deltaic settings (Fig. 3). In contrast to the HST, the LST reservoirs
record an increase in the rates of aggradation during deposition in
parallel to an increase in the rates of creation of accommodation
(Catuneanu, 2006), and a more basinward position of the coastline,
closer to the shelf edge (Fig. 1). Moreover, shallow-marine LST
reservoirs can be connected landward with a topset of amalgam-
ated uvial channels, and be sealed above by transgressive ood-
plain, estuarine and shelf nes (Posamentier and Allen, 1999;
Catuneanu, 2006) (Fig. 4). As in the case of HST reservoirs, LST
shallow-marine sandstones pass seaward into ner-grained de-
posits that may form seal units (Figs. 1 and 3).
 M. Zecchin, O. Catuneanu / Marine and Petroleum Geology 62 (2015) 161e175 165

Figure 4. Sequence stratigraphic interpretation of the swaley cross-stratied sandstone of the Kakwa Member (Cardium Formation), and adjacent units (modied from Catuneanu
et al., 2011). Note the gradationally-based shoreface in the HST and LST, versus the sharp-based shoreface of the FSST. These criteria afford the separation of normal from forced
regressive deposits in the absence of seismic data. Abbreviations: BSFR e basal surface of forced regression; CC e correlative conformity; FSST e falling-stage systems tract; HST e
highstand systems tract; LST e lowstand systems tract; RS e ravinement surface; RSME e regressive surface of marine erosion; SU e subaerial unconformity; TST e transgressive
systems tract.

3.4. Transgressive systems tract
The transgressive systems tract (TST) is bounded at the base by
the MRS or the RS, and at the top by the MFS (Fig. 1). Transgressive
reservoirs are best represented where the transgressive sandstones
and conglomerates have a signicant thickness with respect to that
of the sequence (Fig. 2A), a case that corresponds to the TeR and T
cycles of Zecchin (2007). In these sequences, transgressive reser-
voirs are separated from regressive reservoirs by OSBs or trans-
gressive lags marking RSs, and by the condensed section (BSBs or
mud-rich distal shelf deposits) associated to the LFS and the MFS,
which may represent signicant barriers or bafes to vertical uid
migration, depending on diagenetic processes (see below) or mud
content (Figs. 1 and 2A). However, in proximal settings trans-
gressive and highstand normal regressive reservoirs can be con-
nected due to the landward tapering of the condensed section
(Figs. 1 and 2A). Condensed sections containing relatively high
concentrations of organic matter may form potential source rocks if
buried under conditions favorable for hydrocarbon generation (e.g.,
Katz and Pratt, 1993) (Fig. 3).
Relatively thick transgressive deposits may be represented by
barrier island complexes (Hamilton, 1995), healing-phase wedges
accumulated beyond the LST prograding wedge (Posamentier and
Allen, 1999), and by reworked or partially reworked shelf shoals
or sand ridges developed at the expense of previous sand bodies,
which can form isolated reservoirs encased by lagoonal and shelf
muds (Snedden and Dalrymple, 1999; Posamentier, 2002; Suter,
2006) (Figs. 3 and 5). In contrast, very thin transgressive deposits
may represent barriers to ow (i.e., seals) if cemented or rich in
mud (Fig. 2B).
Transgressive shallow-marine deposits may pass landward into
estuarine reservoirs (tidal inlets, tidal deltas, bayhead deltas) or
into lagoonal/estuarine nes, representing seal units/source rocks
(Posamentier and Allen, 1999; Catuneanu, 2006) (Figs. 3 and 5).
Transgressive reservoirs may be sealed above by HST oodplain
nes in proximal settings and by HST shelf nes in distal settings
(Fig. 5).
4. Heterogeneity of clastic shelf reservoirs
4.1. Heterogeneity related to depositional processes
The sedimentary heterogeneity of clastic shallow-marine res-
ervoirs depends on three main aspects: facies variability from distal
to proximal settings, accumulation of condensed shell beds, and
facies characteristics of bedsets.
The facies variability due to changes in water depth and wave/
current energy affects the quality of both regressive and trans-
gressive reservoirs. Distal shoreface sandstones may contain a
variable amount of mud matrix, lowering signicantly the perme-
ability of the reservoir (e.g., Zecchin and Caffau, 2012) (Figs. 6 and
7). In contrast, middle to upper shoreface sandstones and beach-
faces, rich in swaley- and trough-cross stratication and low angle-
lamination, respectively, are usually clean due to the action of
waves and currents, representing good reservoirs (Figs. 6 and 7).
Within individual cross beds, the occurrence of platy grains, such as
mica minerals, dening laminae, implies a small-scale heteroge-
neity (Hampson et al., 2008a) (Fig. 6). Therefore, the best reservoirs
lie toward the upper part of normal or forced regressive sandbodies
(Fig. 6), whereas the opposite is expected for transgressive deposits.
Due to sediment reworking on the shelf by waves and currents
during transgression, the transgressive sands may be texturally and
mineralogically more mature than the regressive sands (Cattaneo
and Steel, 2003), and may form very good reservoirs especially in
166 M. Zecchin, O. Catuneanu / Marine and Petroleum Geology 62 (2015) 161e175

Figure 5. Facies distribution (A) and sequence stratigraphic interpretation (B) of a depositional sequence characterized by the development of locally thick transgressive deposits,
later buried by highstand shelf mudstones (modied from Suter, 2006). Transgressive shelf sand ridges are the result of current reworking of a precursor deposit, in this case
consisting of barrier islands enclosing lagoons, and may represent good quality reservoirs. Abbreviations: DLS e downlap surface; HST e highstand systems tract; LST e lowstand
systems tract; MFS e maximum ooding surface; MRS e maximum regressive surface; SU e subaerial unconformity; TRS e tidal ravinement surface; TST e transgressive systems
tract; WRS e wave ravinement surface.

the case of shelf sand ridges and barrier island sands (Hamilton,
1995; Snedden and Dalrymple, 1999) (Fig. 5).
Condensed shell beds (OSB, BSB, DSB, TSB; Kidwell, 1991; Kondo
et al., 1998), in addition to marking the boundary between trans-
gressive and regressive reservoirs (Fig. 2), may also make a signif-
icant difference to reservoir heterogeneity as they affect porosity
and permeability patterns due to changes in clast size and shape
relative to the underlying and overlying siliciclastic sediment.
Bedsets consist of meter-scale units bounded by non-
depositional or erosional discontinuities (Fig. 8), resulting from
variations in sediment supply and/or wave height, unrelated to
shoreline shifts (Zecchin and Catuneanu, 2013). Since bedset
boundaries typically mark changes in grain size, and dene indi-
vidual clinoforms in shelf settings (Hampson et al., 2008a) (Fig. 8), a
small-scale heterogeneity that inuences porosity and perme-
ability is to be expected within high-frequency sequences. In
particular, this heterogeneity favors the migration of uids along
the depositional dip, i.e. along clinoforms, but also along strike
(Hampson et al., 2008a; Jackson et al., 2009) (Fig. 8). Such a het-
erogeneity tends to vanish landwards, in the upper shoreface,
where bedset boundaries become cryptic (Hampson, 2000) (Fig. 8).
Intense bioturbation along sequence stratigraphic surfaces, as
well as along bedset and bed boundaries, may form a relatively
impenetrable network of obstacles or bafes to uid ow dening
another kind of heterogeneity that may favor reservoir compart-
mentalization (e.g., Pattison, 1995) (Fig. 6).
4.2. Heterogeneity related to diagenetic processes
4.2.1. Sequence stratigraphic surfaces and facies contacts
Diagenetic features related to sequence stratigraphic surfaces
and facies contacts may introduce signicant heterogeneity within
 M. Zecchin, O. Catuneanu / Marine and Petroleum Geology 62 (2015) 161e175 167

Figure 6. Typical normal regressive shallow-marine succession (modied from Hampson and Storms, 2003). The best reservoirs consist of clean, cross-stratied, upper shoreface
and beachface sandstones and conglomerates (see the photo above, modied from Zecchin et al., 2011), whereas burrowed lower shoreface sandstones (see the photo below,
modied from Zecchin et al., 2004) are usually rich in mud matrix and represent low-quality reservoirs. The detail of planar cross-stratied sandstone highlights a small-scale
heterogeneity due to the alternation of quartz and mica minerals dening foreset laminae. Abbreviations: MFS e maximum ooding surface.
168 M. Zecchin, O. Catuneanu / Marine and Petroleum Geology 62 (2015) 161e175

Figure 7. Correlation of four sections documenting a lower Pliocene half-graben ll in southern Italy (modied from Zecchin, 2005; Zecchin and Caffau, 2012). The succession
consists of stacked high-frequency sequences composed of shallow-marine sandstones. The alternation of cemented shell-rich sandstones, burrowed matrix-rich sandstones, and
porous, cross-stratied and at-laminated sandstones creates a vertical compartmentalization in the succession. Abbreviations: MRS e maximum regressive surface; RS e rav-
inement surface; RSME e regressive surface of marine erosion; SU e subaerial unconformity.
 M. Zecchin, O. Catuneanu / Marine and Petroleum Geology 62 (2015) 161e175 169

Figure 8. Heterogeneity of a shoreface sandstone reservoir in the middle to the upper part of a high-frequency sequence bounded by cemented MRSs or RSs (modied from
Hampson et al., 2008a). Bedset boundaries are locally cemented, tend to become cryptic in both proximal and distal settings, and dene clinoforms. The photo shows two stacked
bedsets in the Gelasian Strongoli Sandstone (Crotone Basin, southern Italy). Abbreviations: DLS e downlap surface; MFS e maximum ooding surface; MRS e maximum regressive
surface; RS e ravinement surface.

high-frequency sequences (Morad et al., 2000; Taylor et al., 2000;
Ketzer et al., 2002), producing barriers and bafes to uid ow and
therefore inuencing uid-migration patterns. Surface-related
cementation may be due to the presence of carbonate-rich shell
concentrations (Bjrkum and Walderhaug, 1990) and/or to sedi-
ment starvation during transgression (Taylor et al., 1995). Since
carbonate shells may be the principal source of calcite cement in
shallow-marine deposits, the development of carbonate concre-
tions at the expense of shell beds is expected (Bjrkum and
Walderhaug, 1990). Reduced sediment supply to the shelf during
transgression, and the associated delay in the burial of the sedi-
ment immediately underlying MRSs, RSs, MFSs, LFSs and DLSs,
favor ionic diffusion in the sediment and therefore carbonate
cementation (Taylor et al., 1995; Loomis and Crossey, 1996; Morad
et al., 2000; Ketzer et al., 2003a) (Figs. 8 and 9B). Moreover, the
intense bioturbation below these surfaces may lead to an enrich-
ment in the concentration of organic matter within the sediment,
favoring precipitation of carbonates and the formation of concre-
tions (Taylor et al., 2000). Carbonate cements in the sandstones
underlying surfaces associated with transgression (MRS and/or RS)
170 M. Zecchin, O. Catuneanu / Marine and Petroleum Geology 62 (2015) 161e175

Figure 9. Diagenetic mechanisms related to relative sea-level changes and burial (modied from Taylor et al., 2000). (A) During relative sea-level fall, the downward percolation of
groundwater enriched in organic acids from overlying coal beds remobilizes detrital carbonates. The mixing between groundwater and the pre-existing marine pore uids leads to
the formation of large isolated carbonate concretions. Another source of carbonate is represented by shell material. (B) In cases of relative sea-level rise accompanied by trans-
gression, reduced sediment supply to the shelf, and the associated delay in the burial of the sediment immediately underlying MRSs and/or RSs, favor ionic diffusion in the sediment
and carbonate cementation. (C) Carbonate cements sourced from underlying and overlying mudstones may continue to precipitate during burial, enlarging the concretions. Ab-
breviations: MRS e maximum regressive surface; RS e ravinement surface.
 M. Zecchin, O. Catuneanu / Marine and Petroleum Geology 62 (2015) 161e175 171

may form laterally persistent cemented zones, which further
accrete during burial due to continued precipitation of carbonate
cements as the result of organic matter oxidation in the overlying
mudstones (Morad et al., 2000; Taylor et al., 1995, 2000) (Figs. 8 and
9C).
OSBs associated to RSs, and BSBs plus DSBs associated to LFSs
and DLSs, tend to form well cemented bodies (Figs. 1, 2 and 10),
which can be impermeable if fracturing is not well developed. An
example illustrating the role of cemented shell beds in determining
potential barriers to vertical uid migration is provided by Zecchin
and Caffau (2012) in the Crotone Basin (southern Italy) (Fig. 7), who
showed that the porosity of well cemented shell-rich deposits can
decrease below 5%.
Transgressive lags associated to RSs may also contain mud
pseudomatrix where they separate shoreface or delta front de-
posits (above) from partially reworked backshore or delta plain
deposits (Ketzer and Morad, 2006) (Fig. 11). Such lags act as bafes
or barriers to vertical uid ow, similar to the well-cemented shell-
rich lags and other cemented shell concentrations, resulting in
reservoir compartmentalization (Fig. 11).
Condensed sections may be characterized by abundant
autochthonous glaucony, which therefore is often associated with
MFSs (Amorosi, 1995; Ketzer et al., 2003b). Where MRSs/MFSs are
placed at the top of coal beds in proximal settings, they may be
associated with concretionary pyrite in the sandstones just below
and above, and to kaolinite in the underlying sandstones (Ketzer
et al., 2003a) (Fig. 12). Moreover, calcite precipitation triggered by
coal diagenesis may occur in shallow-marine sandstones immedi-
ately above MRSs/MFSs that overlie coal beds (Ketzer et al., 2003a)
(Fig. 12). Shallow-marine sandstones underlying SUs are usually
characterized by pedogenesis and associated formation of kaolinite,
smectite and palygorskite, depending on climate (Ketzer et al.,
2003b), which may create signicant barriers or bafes to vertical
uid ow.

Figure 10. Cemented onlap shell bed (OSB) overlying a ravinement surface (RS) that separates two high-frequency sequences in the lower Pliocene succession of the Crotone Basin
(southern Italy). Note both large and aligned carbonate concretions in the sandstones of the underlying sequence.
172 M. Zecchin, O. Catuneanu / Marine and Petroleum Geology 62 (2015) 161e175

Figure 11. High-frequency sequences separated by RSs mantled by lags rich in pseudomatrix in their landward part (modied from Ketzer and Morad, 2006). These lags act as
bafes and barriers to vertical uid ow, resulting in reservoir compartmentalization. Abbreviations: MRS e maximum regressive surface; RS e ravinement surface.

Figure 12. Distribution of pyrite, carbonate concretions, and kaolinite in a proximal setting with coal layers underlying MRSs/MFSs (modied from Ketzer et al., 2003a). Abbre-
viations: DLS e downlap surface; MFS e maximum ooding surface; MRS e maximum regressive surface; RS e ravinement surface.

Figure 13. The heterogeneity of high-frequency sequences can be attributed to (1) a primary heterogeneity related to depositional processes (in turn determining the facies
variability from distal to proximal settings, the accumulation of condensed shell beds, and the facies characteristics of bedsets), and (2) a secondary heterogeneity related to
diagenetic processes. Both primary and secondary heterogeneities lead to the compartmentalization of reservoirs at various scales, from laminae to high-frequency sequences.
 M. Zecchin, O. Catuneanu / Marine and Petroleum Geology 62 (2015) 161e175
Cementation may also occur preferentially at bedset boundaries,
producing barriers and bafes to uid migration along clinoform
surfaces (Hampson et al., 2008a; Jackson et al., 2009) (Fig. 8).
4.2.2. Sandstone bodies
Diagenetic processes lead to marked heterogeneity within
shallow-marine sandstones and modify the porosity and the
effective volume of reservoirs (Morad et al., 2013). Large, isolated
carbonate concretions within sandstones may form as the result of
downward percolation, during times of relative sea-level fall, of
groundwater enriched in organic acids from overlying coal beds
that remobilized detrital carbonates, as observed in the upper
Cretaceous Book Cliffs (Taylor et al., 2000) (Fig. 9A). In that case,
ferroan dolomite concretions derived from mixing groundwater
with existing marine pore uids (Taylor et al., 2000). This process
may be prevalent within stacked high-frequency sequences, and,
as water can migrate laterally, carbonate concretions may be
found in all systems tracts (Fig. 9A). Another possible source of
carbonate is represented by shell material (Fig. 9A). Carbonate
cements sourced from underlying and overlying mudstones may
continue to precipitate during burial, enlarging the concretions
(Fig. 9C).
Aligned carbonate concretions within sandbodies may develop
at the expense of shell beds (Bjrkum and Walderhaug, 1990),
forming bafes to vertical uid ow, in a similar way to the surface-
related and cemented shell concentrations (Fig. 10). These shell
beds may represent episodic event beds within the sediment suc-
cession, and tend to concentrate toward the top of HST sandbodies
forming TSBs (Fig. 2). Irrespective on their origin, the abundant
occurrence of both large and aligned concretions within sand-
bodies (Fig. 10) signicantly decreases the quality of the reservoir.
HST and LST shallow-marine sandstones may also be charac-
terized by the formation of berthierine, particularly adjacent to
river mouths (Ketzer et al., 2003b). Autochthonous glaucony is
usually abundant in TSTs, with a concentration that increases to-
ward the condensed section; it is less common in the lower part of
the HST, owing to an increase in sediment supply, and is mostly
reworked in the shallow-marine sands of the upper part of the HST,
as well as in the FSST and LST (Amorosi, 1995; Ketzer et al., 2003b).
5. Discussion
The study of features that can be recognized at the scale of high-
frequency sequences, including the distribution of coarse-grained
and muddy deposits as well as framework of sequence strati-
graphic surfaces and facies contacts, is essential to reconstruct the
architecture of clastic shelf reservoirs. In addition, diagenetic pro-
cesses at this scale of observation may profoundly alter the primary
porosity, uid-migration pathways and the volume of the reser-
voirs, with important implications to the evaluation of prospects.
Therefore, a primary heterogeneity can be dened in relation to
depositional processes inuencing grain size and facies distribu-
tion, which in turn can be linked to relative sea-level and sediment
supply changes, and a secondary heterogeneity related to diagen-
esis (Fig. 13).
An important aspect derived from both primary and secondary
heterogeneities is the occurrence of compartmentalization at
various scales. Within high-frequency sequences, the compart-
mentalization can be related to heterogeneity at the scale of indi-
vidual laminae, beds, bedsets and systems tracts (Figs. 1, 2, 6, 8 and
13). In turn, high-frequency shelf sequences are usually stacked to
form vertically compartmentalized reservoirs (Figs. 7, 9, 11 and 12),
bounded by cemented or mud-rich intervals associated to trans-
gressive surfaces (MRS, RS or MFS) (Al-Ramadan et al., 2005; Ketzer
173
and Morad, 2006; Zecchin and Caffau, 2012), which dene lower
frequency (higher rank) systems tracts and sequences.
Due to the complexity of high-frequency sequences and diage-
netic patterns, the availability of good outcrop analogs is critical to
characterize clastic shelf reservoirs, as subsurface analyses are
commonly limited by the resolution of seismic proles or by core/
well log spacing. Studies at outcrop scale have key relevance to the
estimation of the effective volume of analog reservoirs and to
dene models of uid migration in the subsurface.
Several studies have demonstrated the suitability of outcrop
analogs to characterize both facies and stratal architecture of
shallow-marine reservoirs, and their heterogeneity (e.g., Leckie and
Walker, 1982; Hampson, 2000; Al-Ramadan et al., 2005; Jackson
et al., 2009; Sech et al., 2009; Zecchin and Caffau, 2012). The critical
aspect represented by the vertical compartmentalization can also be
evaluated by using outcrop analogs (Al-Ramadan et al., 2005; Ketzer
and Morad, 2006; Zecchin and Caffau, 2012) (Figs. 7 and 11). In
addition to traditional facies and stratigraphic analyses, other
techniques have also been employed at outcrop scale, such as those
based on laser scanning (light detection and ranging, LIDAR; Enge
and Howell, 2010) or on photogrammetric methods (Dueholm and
Olsen, 1993), which may improve the accuracy in the description
of geometries of sedimentary bodies. The integration of outcrop
analogs with subsurface data is therefore essential to the con-
struction of 3D models of reservoir compartmentalization and uid
migration pathways, and ultimately to production development.
6. Conclusions
This review highlights the features of potential clastic shelf
reservoirs, which are commonly characterized by several types of
heterogeneity from the scale of individual laminae to the scale of
systems tracts. Primary heterogeneity is related to depositional
processes inuencing grain size and facies distribution, which can
in turn be linked to relative sea-level and sediment supply changes,
whereas secondary heterogeneity is related to diagenetic pro-
cesses. In particular, depositional processes related to relative sea-
level and sediment supply changes inuence facies variability from
proximal to distal settings, accumulation of condensed shell beds,
and formation of bedsets. Diagenetic features refer to cementation
at sequences stratigraphic surfaces and facies contacts, bedset
boundaries, surface-related shell beds, and within sandbodies in
the form of concretions of variable size.
All these features may affect profoundly the porosity and
permeability of reservoirs within high-frequency sequences,
determining compartmentalization at various scales, and therefore
controlling uid-migration pathways. The better understanding of
the characterization of clastic shelf reservoirs requires also an
integration of insights from the study of outcrop analogs, which is
critical to the development of 3D models of uid migration. Ulti-
mately, the integration of outcrop with subsurface data results in an
optimization of the efciency of production and/or storage of uids
(hydrocarbon, water or CO2) in the clastic shelf reservoirs.
Acknowledgments
OC acknowledges research support from the University of
Alberta and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council
of Canada. We thank Claudio Nicola Di Celma and Istvan Csato for
helpful and constructive comments during the review process.
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