LYNX ArcGIS Spatial Analysis of Petroleum Systems in the Sirt Petroleum Province

In f o r m at i o n Sy st em s
Gareth Williams1,David R D Boote2 & Ben A Sayers1
& DBConsulting Ltd 1 Lynx Information Systems Ltd., 2 DBConsulting Ltd., Elsynge Road, London SW18 2HN

Outline
The use of Geographical Information Systems in Exploration New Ventures work is now firmly established within most oil companies.

The ability to generate dynamic maps through a combination of spatial and tabular controlled queries provides an efficient and highly effective way of analysing the multiple geologic variables that
contribute to observed petroleum systems.

By bringing together results from different branches of work, some of it originating from more specialist G&G applications, a rich body of information can be assembled under a single working
environment, providing a basis for holistic assessment of new play ideas and exploration opportunities.

In a study of the Sirt Rift Province, Libya, recently completed by DBConsulting and Lynx, results from traditional basin modelling techniques and source rock geochemical analyses were imported into
ArcGIS and pooled with a library of both in-house and public domain-sourced maps, well & seismic data. A simple relational database was designed and populated with stratigraphic occurrence and
geochemical data for oil and gas discoveries, such that these records could be easily queried and plotted alongside reservoir/source distribution and paleo-maturation maps to identify generative
areas, optimum migration directions and resultant hydrocarbon accumulations. The construction of a GIS in this way enables play fairway maps to be readily created for each discrete petroleum sys-
tem, new trends to be postulated and considered alongside click-on-demand field analogue data, and risk mapping to be carried out to assess undiscovered potential.

Sirt Rift Province Petroleum Systems

The Sirt Rift Province is a prolific hydrocarbon province with approximately 30 Bbbls prov-
en reserves. Oil and gas accumulations are reservoired in granitic basement, sandstones
and carbonates ranging in age from Pre-Cambrian to Oligocene, charged by syn and early
post-rift, Triassic and intra-Cretaceous organic rich lacustrine and restricted marine shales.

Of the more significant reservoir horizons, 13 can be identified, whilst souce-rock candi-
dates include the dominant and laterally widespread Upper Cretaceous Sirt-Rachmat
shales, the Etel Formation of mostly Turonian age, and earlier Nubian/intra-Nubian and Tri-
assic interbedded shales of key importance in the east and southeast of the Province.
Seal candidates are numerous and locally variable, whilst late Tertiary tectonic events in
the western Zella Trough play a major role in vertical migration and re-migration of fluids.

The study was able to draw upon an extensive inventory of interpreted maps, well & seis-
mic data and a number of previous studies undertaken by Lynx & DBConsulting, augment-
ed by an exhaustive review of published work. Underpinning much of the work was access
to a wells database containing formation tops records for over 3,000 wells.

These data were used as the basis for regional interpretation of key structure and isopach
maps, and for updating a series of regional E/W and N/S well correlation sections from
which a set of paleo-lithofacies maps were derived.
(00)

F
I1-6
AJDABIYA T ROUGH
A1-119 D1-6
Kb 65 Kb 104 Kb 74
AMAL HIGH F A R E G H HI G H MESSLA FIELD SARIR TROUGH
8-

s
h
e
9-
l f
e
d AA1-6 G
g Kb 226
e
A1-95 INTISAR B INTISAR A INTISAR D FARIGH FIELD GIALO FIELD HAMID FIELD MASRAS FIELD MAGID FIELD SARIR C FIELD
Kb 250 H
9- B1-103 K1-12 A1-103
Kb 346 C1-12 AA1-12 E1-59 5R1-59
12-
8-

D1-103 Kb 363 Kb 341 Kb 326 L1-65 C1-65

10-
Kb 367
HH1-65 Kb 342 Kb 414
basinal 8-

A1-97 P6-59 A1-105 R1-80

Kb 296
5- Kb 235 Kb 295 I1-65
7- Kb 532
6-

10- MESDAR Mbr

8- 8-
13- 9-
5- 5-
11-
8- ?
o 9- 5-
u
te
deep r GIR HON EVAPORITE Mbr 5- 5-
HON EVAPORITE Mbr 5-

s MESDAR Mbr inn 6- 5-

h F O R MAT I O N er 5-
e 8- sh
lf 7-
elf
11-
5-
9- 9-
14- 10-
6- 6-
12- 9-
deep 6-
FACHA DOLOMITE Mbr
10-
restored

? KHEIR SHALE 6- 6- KHEIR Fm 6-

? ?
6-

HARASH Eq? HARASH D-E 6-

Equivalents 8-
coralgal

12- 6-
10-
11- 7- 7-
15-
13- HARASH A-B-C 8-

TD 12230 11- Equivalents 7-

TD 15105
? 7- 7-
algal unit

7-
Sheterat or 8-
7-
Khalifa 7-

LOWER ZELTEN 9- HAGFA SHALE

TD 13600 7-

12-
11- 11- SHETERTAT SHALE
8- 8-
9-
Ra Shale Marker KALASH
12- 8-
? ? NE SIRT SHALE
STO
A22-103

8-
SH LIME
8- 8-
D18-103

8-
LOWER SABIL KALA
9-
8-
? TAGRIFET LIMESTONE
? ? 10- ? RACHMET
TD 10618 Kalash 8-
TD 12527 12-
13- 9-
9-
10- ETEL
E MIDDLE SARIR SANDSTONE (NUBIAN)
? 9-
SHAL
RED
TD 9923 E
9-
9- 9-
STON LOWER SARIR SANDSTONE 9-
10- R SAND igneous and metamorpic
9- SARI
igneous & metamorphic TD 8557
MIDD
LE TD 9132
? KALASH FORMATION 11-
TD 9677

14-
11-

10- TD 9646
ETEL
volcanic
11- LIDAM 10-
TD 9935
TD 14456 Fm TD 10287
12- EL 10-

ET granite MARAGH
SIRT S HALE FORMATION
12-
metamorphic

(Nubian Fm) TD 10567

12-
GARGAF
TD 12715

RACHMAT F ORMATION 13-

TD 13466

Stratigraphic Correlation Section (N-S)

ETEL F ORMATION Sirt Province, Libya

Additional biostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic control from; Ambrose 2000,

Abdulghader 1996, Heseldon 1996, Ibrahim 1991, Kosec & Gherrya 1996

ArcGIS data model

and workflows
described
(02) The entire GIS was (01)
organised into a number
of modules to describe
and present each sub-
discipline of work.
(00) Overview: geo-
rectified surface geology, (06)
gravity, total magnetic
intensity, relief (SRTM)
and concession maps, well and field locations, bathymetry and other relevant cultural
data. Oil and gas fields linked to field data bases, field structure maps and associated
stratigraphic and structural cross-sections.
(01) Regional lithofacies: gross lithofacies maps for all significant pre-rift (Palaeozoic),
early syn-rift (Triassic/Jurassic), syn-rift (Early Cretaceous) and post-rift
(?Albian/Cenomanian to Oligocene) reservoir, source and seal facies.
(03) (05)
(02) Regional Structure: generalized regional structure maps describing the structural
architecture of the post-rift fill sequence.
(03) Burial History (Regional Isopachs): sequential regional isopach maps describing
the burial history of key source rock horizons.
(04) Regional Maturity: regional maturity maps of key source rock/source rock equiva-
lent horizons based upon sequential isopach maps calibrated by 1D burial history mod-
els at selected (well) locations throughout the province.
(05) Source Rock Distribution: facies and distribution maps of recognized source rock
horizons.
(06) Oil Family Distribution: stratigraphic and geographic distribution of geochemically
distinct groups of oils (oil families) correlated to parent source rocks.
(07) Regional Oil Generation & Migration: source generative areas, maturation history
(04) and optimum migration directions (defined by integrating source, maturity and oil family (07)
distribution maps) described at discrete periods during the Cenozoic.
Play map examples
By selectively combining information from the GIS and associated tables,
petroleum systems and play fairway maps can be constructed for
each significant reservoir horizon in the Province.
Key plays/petroleum systems include:

CRETACEOUS/PRE-CRETACEOUS
Waha-Samah-Bahi (Maastrichtian) System
Tagrifet-Bahi (Santonian-Campanian) System
Etel-Agrub-Bahi (Turonian) System
Lidam-Bahi (Cenomanian) System
Sarir /Lower Cretaceous System)
Palaeozoic & Basement System

CENOZOIC
Diba-Arida (Oligocene) System
Gialo (Middle-Upper Eocene) System
Facha (Ypresian) System
Zelten (Upper Thanetian) System
Dahra (Lower Thanetian) System
Beda (Montian) System
Upper Satal (Danian) System

Play maps for each system can be produced by:

1) posting the relevant producing, non-producing fields and wells with shows
at any selected horizon
2) selecting the appropriate lithofacies map and highlighting the more signifi-
cant reservoir intervals.
3) The oil group/family of oils reservoired at the selected horizon may then
be used to identify the more likely source or sources and select the appropri-
ate generative area or areas, maturation history and optimum migration
directions.
4) The stratigraphy of the highlighted reservoir(s) can be illustrated by both
regional and field correlations selected from posted section location maps
and used to supplement the gross lithofacies maps, while..
Zelten (Upper Thanetian) Petroleum System: The Intisar play fairway is centered on a number of topographically pronounced
5) field reports (structural maps and sections, reservoir, fluid and OOIP data) bioherms located in a deep embayment of the north facing Zelten-Upper Satal carbonate platform. Oils from the underlying Sirt-
provide a robust perspective of the systems hydrocarbon environment Rachmat source within the Ajdabiya Trough migrated vertically upwards via faults through the porous Lower Satal Carbonate into
the Intisar reefs above, sealed by Late Paleocene-basal Eocene (Kheir and Harash Formations) shales and marls.

Testing play ideas with analogue data

ArcGIS provides a relatively easy means for linking spatial features on the map to related

GIS was designed so that users could easily hyperlink to text and figures from each play
PDF format, enabling quick look-up
and retrieval of adapted published material.

This encyclopedia was drawn from a broad selection of often dated published literature on
Libya: a new understanding of the key tectonic events and stratigraphic architecture now
gained from earlier parts of the study allowed for this literature selection to be re-
evaluated and placed in a sequence-stratigraphic context.

Being able to access information in this way can prove a useful aid when corroborating
popular ideas or when trying to explain apparent ambiguities

CRS Mapping
Reasonably experienced ArcGIS users (those familiar with the Esri Spatial Analyst extension) can opt to use the GIS for combined risk segment mapping (CRS), a popular method for
assessing play risk and chance potential for acreage under evaluation. This process can be streamlined through the building of an
make available as an ArcGIS extension.