You are on page 1of 5

Reservoir Geometry and Heterogeneity Based on Comparative Structural Analysis along with

Well Log Interpretation and Petrography on the Baram Delta, Brunei and Surma Basin,
Bangladesh

Abstract

Characterizing reservoir heterogeneity is important for the understanding and optimization of the
potential hydrocarbon accumulations. Reservoirs can contain impermeable lithologic units and
heterogeneous porosity/permeability distributions that are further affected by structural
complexities that significantly can affect the fluid paths in the pore spaces and in distribution.
Reservoir heterogeneity occurs at meter-scale, where heterogeneities are controlled by beddings,
fluid paths and diagenetic effects. Well log data and seismic datas are used to interpret the
reservoir features but most of the cases, remains inaccurate in relation to the real field scenario.
The study involves unique surface geological studies along with sampled petrographical data
which will help greatly for the first time for a comparison between the Baram Delta of Brunei
and the Surma Basin of Bangladesh as the two basins falls in structural troughs which have
similar geological age. Detailed study on the two basins using SEM data analysis with seismic
correlations will identify of the complexities of the production of hydrocarbon from the two
regions for the first time and will try to resolve the problem by accurate facies architecture of the
studied regions.

Introduction
Reservoir heterogeneities vary at the different scales from pore spaces to large scale. Controlling
factors range from rock textures to formation boundaries. Depositional environments control the
architectures of lithofacies and individual reservoir characters such as shale/clay content,
porosity, permeability and effective thickness.
Reservoir characterization is needed in effective petroleum production since reservoir
heterogeneities are closely related to the pressure of trapped fluids. Analyzing well-logs and core
samples could clarify the distribution of potential reservoirs, physical properties, types of
lithofacies, and diagenetic features of reservoir rocks under specific depositional systems.
Therefore this particular study should provide a better understanding of the relationship between
rock physical properties and reservoir characterizations.
The Baram Delta continues north-eastwards from the West Baram Line and extends outwards
from the coast as far as the prominent linear deep known as the NW Borneo Trough. Across the
Morris Fault, the offshore area is subdivided into the Inboard Belt, the Outboard Belt, and the
"Thrust Sheet" province. Centred on Negara Brunei Darussalam, it extends north-eastwards off
shore Sabah. It extends outwards from the coast as far as the NW Borneo Trough. Onland
outcrops in Sabah are well exposed on Labuan Island and the Klias Peninsula. As par the
sedimentological and stratigraphical reconstruction, East Baram Delta, has been a suitable region
for producing hydrocarbons which needs to be further studied for the precise analysis of the
nature of the hydrocarbon trapping on the region.

On the other hand, although, far from Brunei Darussalam, Bangladesh has also discovered a vast
amount of hydrocarbon in the NE part of the Sylhet trough which resembles geologically similar
to that of the Borneo trough which in greater sense, holds the Baram Delta. By detailed
petrographic and well log interpretation of the wells drilled in Surma Basin of the Sylhet trough
in Bangladesh, the geological history of the hydrocarbon accumulation can be effectively
modeled for the Baram Delta of Brunei, which is the ultimate goal of the proposed research
work.

For the purprose of the structural analysis along with well log interpretation and petrography,
firsthand extensive fieldwork on the Surma Basin region will be carried out for the deeper
understanding of the formation of the stratigraphic successions and the suitable hydrocarbon
accumulation in the region. As a basinward deep to shallow water progradational sequence, the
Surma Basin holds somewhat greater clue when it comes to the exploration in the Baram Delta
region and the research work will focus on the similarity of the two basins in order to locate the
precise hydrocarbon traps specifically in Baram Delta.

Objectives

The objectives of this study are as follows.

- To correlate the distribution of potential reservoir intervals using well-logs.

- To differentiate the stratigraphic and sedimentological nature using structural and kinematic
analysis.

- To determine the hydrocarbon potential of specified horizons at wellbore scale.

- To identify rock facies architecture that influences reservoir potential.

- To interpret the processes of diagenesis using petrographic analysis.

- To delineate reservoir heterogeneities based on the results of petrophysical interpretation and


petrographic analysis.

- The interpretation of well logs and biostratigraphic data provide key information to locate
sequence boundaries and condensed sections in this study.
Methodology

With the objective to identify, characterize, map and reconstruct the stratigraphic and
sedimentological history, the existing model of the Surma Basin and Baram Delta will be
redefined based on unique interpretation of the well logs and petrography of the sampled data
using SEM, high resolution seismic profiles and building DEMs. If available , core samples will
also be utilized. Data from two representative exploration wells in the Surma Basin and 2D
seismic Dataset should be interpreted based on availability of the datasets from BAPEX
(Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company Ltd.). A comprehensive study of seismic
sequences, structural analysis and facies analysis combined with published studies on land have
been chosen for the basis of the interpretation of the geological evolution of the area carried out
in this study. Seismic interpretation needs to be carried out to define structural styles. Age
determinations and interpretation of depositional environments were based on information from
the two wells and the seismic study.

Research Questions

- What could be the driving factor for the formation of the basins?

- Structural settings of the regions?

- Sedimentological resemblance between Surma Basin and Baram Delta?

- Possible reinterpretation of the lithofacies?

- Redefined diagenetic history of the area?

- Hydrocarbon accumulation in relation with the age vs thickness of the pay sands?

Literature review

Alam, M., 1989. Geology and depositional history of Cenozoic sediments of the Bengal Basin of
Bangladesh. Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol. 69, 125–139.

Alam, M.M., 1995. Tide-dominated sedimentation in the Upper Tertiary succession of the
Sitapahar anticline, Bangladesh. In: Flemming, B.W., Bortholoma, A. (Eds.), Tidal Signatures in
Modern and Ancient Sediments. Int. Assoc. Sedimentol., Spec. Publ. 24, 329–341.

Alam, M., 1997. Bangladesh. In: Moores, E.M., Fairbridge, R.W. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of
European and Asian Regional Geology. Chapman and Hall, London, pp. 64–72.

Alam, M.M., Ferdous, M.H.S., 1995. Lithofacies analysis and depositional environment of the
Lichubagan Sandstone Formation (Upper Tertiary) in the Sitapahar anticline, south-eastern
Folded Belt of Bangladesh. J. Indian Assoc. Sedimentol. 14, 9–18.
Alam, M.M., Karim, S.M.R., 1997. Facies and environmental analysis of the Neogene (Surma
Group) clastic succession in the Mirinja anticline, Folded Belt of the Bengal Basin, Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Geosci. J. 3, 19–32.

Alam, M.K., Hasan, A.K.M.S., Khan, M.R., Whitney, J.W., 1990. Geological map of
Bangladesh. Geological Survey of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Scale 1 : 1,000,000.

Abdul Manaf, M. & Wong, R.H.F. (1995) Seismic sequence stratigraphy of the tertiary
sediments, offshore Sarawak deep water area, Malaysia. Geol Soc. Malay. Bull, 37, 345-361.

Adams, C.G. (1959) Eocene and Miocene Foraminifera from limestone and shale in the middle
Baram Valley, Sarawak. British Borneo Geological Survey Annual Report, no. 1959, pp. 64-77.
Adams, C.G. (1965) The Foraminifera and stratigraphy of the Melinau Limestone, Sarawak, and
its importance in Tertiary correlation. Quart. J. Geol. Soc. London, 121, 283-338.

Adams, C.G. & Haak, R., (1962) The stratigraphical succession in the Batu Gading area, middle
Baram, north Sarawak. In: Haile, N.S. (1962). The geology and mineral resources of the Suai-
Baram area, north Sarawak. Geological Survey Department British Territories in Borneo,
Memoir 13,pp.l41-150.

Bakhtine, M.I., 1966. Major tectonic features of Pakistan, Part 2. The Eastern Province. Sci. Ind.
4, 89–100.

Cazzola, C., Mutti, E., Vigna, B., 1985. Cengio turbidite system, Italy. In: Bouma, A.H.,
Normark, W.R., Barnes, N.E. (Eds.), Submarine Fans and Related Turbidite Systems. Springer-
Verlag, New York, pp. 179–183.

Chowdhury, S.Q., 1982. Palynostratigraphy of the Neogene sediments of the Sitapahar anticline
(western flank), Chittagong Hill Tracts. Bangladesh J. Geol. 1, 35–49.

Chua Beng Yap (1980) Sedimentology and Structure of the Crocker Formation, Kampung
Balabak Area, Sabah, East Malaysia. B.Sc. (hons.) thesis, Dept. of Geology, University of
Malaya.

Clennell, M.B. (1991) The origin and tectonic significance of melanges in eastern Sabah,
Malaysia. /. Southeast Asian Earth ScL, 6, 407-429.

Clennell, M.B. (1992) The Melanges of Sabah, Malaysia. Ph.D. thesis. University of London.

Clennell, M.B. (1996) Far-field and gravity tectonics in Miocene basins of Sabah, Malaysia.
Hall, R. and Blundell, D. (eds.). Tectonic evolution of Southeast Asia, Geological Society of
LondonSpecial Publication 106, pp. 307-320.

Curray, J.R., 1990. Geological history of the Bengal Geosyncline. Proc. 16th Annu. Conv.
Semin. Exploration Geophysics, Seismotectonics of Indian Subcontinent, Dehra Dun, 16 pp.
Curray, J.R., Emmel, F.J., Moore, D.G., Raitt, R.W., 1982. Structure, tectonics and geological
history of the northeastern Indian Ocean. In: Nairn, A.E.M., Stehli, F.G. (Eds.), The Ocean
Basins and Margins, Vol. 6. The Indian Ocean. Plenum Press, New York, pp. 399–450.

Dasgupta, P.K., Chakrabarti, P.K., Dutta, D., 1991. Basinward migrating submarine fan
environments from the Barail Group in the North Cachar Hills, Assam–Arakan Orogen, India.
In: Bouma, A.H., Carter, R.M. (Eds.), Facies Models. VSP, pp.
195–217.

Dasgupta, S., Nandy, D.R., 1995. Geological framework of the Indo–Burmese convergent
margin with special reference to ophiolitic emplacement. Indian J. Geol. 67 (2), 110–125.
Dickinson, W.R., Seely, D.R., 1979. Structure and stratigraphy of forearc regions. Am. Assoc.
Pet. Geol. Bull. 63, 2–31.

Dickinson, W.R., Suczek, C.A., 1979. Plate tectonics and sandstone compositions. Am. Assoc.
Pet. Geol. Bull. 63, 2164– 2182.

Duke, W.L., 1990. Geostrophic circulation or shallow marine turbidity currents? The dilemma of
paleoflow patterns in storminfluenced prograding shoreline systems. J. Sediment. Petrol.
60, 870–883.

Evans, P., 1932. Tertiary succession in Assam. Trans. Min. Geol.Inst. India 27, 155–260.

Ganguly, S., 1983. Geology and hydrocarbon prospects of Tripura–Cachar–Mizoram region. In:
Bhandari, L.L. et al. (Eds.), Petroliferous Basins of India, Part 1. Petrol. Asia J.
Publ., Dhera Dun, pp. 105–110.

Guha, D.K., 1978. Tectonic framework and oil and gas prospects of Bangladesh. Proc. 4th Annu.
Conf., Bangladesh Geol. Soc., Dhaka, pp. 65–76.

Hamblin, A.H., Walker, R.G., 1979. Storm-dominated shallow marine deposits: the Fernie–
Kootenay (Jurassic) transition, Southern Rocky Mountains. Can. J. Earth Sci. 16, 1673–1690.

Heller, P.L., Dickinson, W.R., 1985. Submarine ramp facies model for delta-fed, sand-rich
turbidite systems. Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol. Bull. 69, 960–976.

Hutchison, C.S., 1989. Geological Evolution of South-East Asia. Clarendon Press, London, 368
pp.

Johnson, H.D., 1977. Shallow marine sand bar sequences: an example from the late Precambrian
of North Norway. Sedimentology 24, 245–270.

Johnson, Y.J., Alam, A.M.N., 1991. Sedimentation and tectonics of the Sylhet Trough,
Bangladesh. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 103, 1513–1527.

You might also like