Depositional facies, diagenetic overprints, and fracturing all have an impact on the quality and architecture of carbonate reservoirs. These geological processes frequently result in complex, multi-pore systems that are intricately connected and difficult to predict. These coupled processes and systems all impact (to varying degrees) subsurface storage capacity and fluid flow characteristics. Yet, the low resolution of seismic data, combined with the wide spacing typically found between hydrocarbon wells, makes quantification of reservoir properties in interwell volumes challenging. Reservoir equivalent exposed outcrops are invaluable field laboratories as they enable 3D mapping of facies architecture, diagenetic overprints, and structural elements at the interwell scale. This dissertation aims to illuminate the interwell region blindspot by conducting an advanced three-dimensional outcrop analog investigation and paleohydrodynamic modeling to better understand the processes which control depositional systems and diagenetic overprints in Saudi Arabia's late Jurassic reservoir sequences. The findings reveal hydrodynamics has a significant impact on the spatial and temporal distribution of carbonate facies, as well as the architecture and connectivity of stromatoporoid-coral buildups. Drone-based hyperspectral data of the outcrop combined with petrographic, geochemical, burial history, and fracture analysis indicates three stages of dolomitization with a unique vertical and lateral architecture and textural distribution. Cyclic dolomitization started with slightly evaporated seawater during the shallowing up phases, then recrystallized upon burial, and was finally overprinted by hot fluids channelled by the NW-SE regional fracture trend. An improved understanding of depositional and diagenetic processes, as well as their impact on the vertical and lateral distribution of reservoir properties (in particular the porosity and permeability), is crucial for the development of geologically realistic reservoir models, fluid flow heterogeneity scenarios, and optimal subsurface management strategies.
Gaurav Siddharth Gairola
Ph.D. Student - Vahrenkamp Group