the inside story

A large proportion of the oil and gas in the Middle East is contained in carbonate reservoirs,
including several supergiant fields. The traditional techniques for developing and assessing
clastic reservoirs are less effective or even counter-productive in carbonate rocks.
Geoscientists need a clear understanding of their reservoirs because predictions about
future behaviour can only be based on current performance and an understanding of the
mechanisms controlling that performance.
In this article, Roy Nurmi and Eric Standen investigate the new nuclear magnetic
resonance (NMR) technology, and the fresh insights it offers into the complexities of
carbonate reservoirs and pore systems. The logging of borehole NMR in Kuwait has
provided a wealth of new data on the geological and production potential of
complex carbonate reservoirs.
With important contributions from: Ahmed A Latif and Dogan Sungur of Kuwait
Oil Company, along with Ian Stockden of British Petroleum and Chanh Cao
Minh of Schlumberger Middle East, whose SPE paper 37771 for the
recent Middle East Oil Show (MEOS) in Bahrain is featured
in this article.

28

Oil and gas reservoirs of the world

Middle East carbonate reservoirs

Fig. 2.1: BIG
NAMES:
The list of giant
carbonate
reservoirs in
the Middle
East (e.g.
Ghawar Field,
Other Middle
Zakum Field,
East reservoirs
Kirkuk Field,
Marun Field
and North
Field) includes
some of the
Former
worlds largest
Soviet
and best known
Union
oil and gas
accumulations.

Western E

urope

South America
and Caribbean

North
America
Asia

Eastern
Europe

Africa

Australasia

Types of microporosity
id outer laye
Oo
r

In pore-filling
calcite mud

Pelletal grain
with microporosity
ore-filling
en p
cry
we
t
st
Be

s
al

iddle East carbonate reservoirs

contain around 50% of the
worlds oil (figure 2.1). As
reserves in other regions are depleted,
this proportion will increase and the
Middle East giants will come to dominate
the global oil and gas supply in the 21st
century (see 2020 vision, Middle East
Well Evaluation Review, issue 14).
Clearly, the industry must evaluate these
reservoirs accurately. However, characterizing carbonate reservoir sequences
using borehole logs presents a special
challenge. Existing systems for log interpretation are based on clastic shaly sand
facies and are of limited use in carbonates,
where the pore structure is usually much
more complex than in clastic rocks (figure
2.2). These fundamental problems hamper
attempts to develop successful production
strategies in carbonate reservoirs.
Evaluating hydrocarbon saturation
from measured electrical conductivity in
carbonate rocks is one of the most fundamental problems. In carbonate reservoirs it is fairly common for dry oil to be
produced from zones where borehole
logs show high water saturations. Several
new techniques are being introduced to
overcome this type of problem. Of these,
the Combinable Magnetic Resonance
(CMR*) tool has provided the most dramatic improvements by distinguishing
effective from non-effective pore space
in carbonates.
Better porosity measurements have
long been a focus for research in the
industry. In the 1950s some reservoir
engineers proposed complex models of
sinuous, constant cross-section flow
tubes to estimate fundamental reservoir
properties such as permeability (figure
2.3). These early attempts to model pore
dimensions and permeability in reservoirs were not very successful, either as
representations of fluid movement or as
tools to predict production rates.
Concepts such as pore sizes, pore size
distributions, tortuosity and constriction
factors could be assumed and incorporated into equations, but not measured
independently (figure 2.4).
Modern carbonate studies attempt to
assess large-scale effective porosity - the
extensive network of fluid-conducting
pores. Once a network has been recognized and its connectivity evaluated, the
geoscientist can choose the most suitable
methods to drain the reservoir and
develop waterflooding procedures to
enhance production. Drill cuttings and
well logs provide the geologists first
glimpse of the reservoirs pore system.
However, they cannot represent the full
complexity of carbonate reservoirs,
which often leads to frustration rather
than understanding.

Skeletal fragment and

intraparticle mesopores

Microporous
ooid

Fig. 2.2: The range of

pore sizes and the
distribution of
porosity through
matrix and grains in
carbonate rocks
makes determination
of effective porosity
very difficult. In this
example, micropores
are distributed
throughout the rock;
although the water
they contain will not
flow, it will be
recorded in logs and
may lead to incorrect
formation evaluation
and completion
decisions.

Middle East Well Evaluation Review

Fig. 2.4: FROM

PORE TO PORE:
Porosity and
permeability are
the fundamental
controls on the
reservoir potential
and properties of
a rock. Grain size,
compaction,
sorting and crystal
growths all
determine pore
sizes and,
therefore, porosity
and permeability.

Initial particle
Mould

ro
Solution-enlarged
mould

g
re
s
s
iv

Vug

Fig. 2.5: INNER SPACE:

Pore shapes and sizes
in carbonate rocks
sometimes reflect the
original particles, but
most vugs are moulds
which have lost all
trace of original
particle shape.
Modified after A.J.
Lomando.

e
s
o
lu
ti
o
n

Number 18, 1997

Fig. 2.3: Early attempts

to model permeability
as sinuous tubes of
constant cross-section
were not successful,
either as representations
of fluid movement
within a reservoir rock
or to calculate oil and
gas production rates.
Pore size and
distribution are needed
to define permeability in
carbonate reservoirs.

Until recently, thorough evaluation of

carbonate reservoirs using standard well
logs was hampered by the complex and
often heterogeneous nature of limestones and other carbonate rocks.
Standard logs run in carbonate
sequences over the past 20 years have
provided estimates of porosity and saturation, but have not been adequate to
predict which fluids will flow from any
given zone and at what rates. Geologists
working with carbonate rocks quickly
realised that a simple porosity measurement is not enough to characterize the
reservoir. Secondary, diagenetic or tectonic porosity characteristics, including
moulds, vugs, channels, fractures, open
faults and microporosity, can all give
rise to unexpected behaviour.
In the Middle East, borehole electrical imagery has revealed that there are
more fractures and vugs (figure 2.5)
within the regions reservoirs than was
previously suspected. These studies
have also revealed the presence of
major heterogeneities including large
open faults. How can the information
from these electrical images be combined with other techniques and used to
improve overall reservoir performance?
One of the major challenges in carbonate formations is to analyse and
quantify non-effective porosity. If this can
be achieved, permeability evaluations
will be more accurate. Large pores and
heterogeneities can be defined by core
and/or borehole imagery. Geologicallyguided pressure-transient testing can
quantify the connectivity and production
potential of heterogeneous pore systems.
Reservoir engineers can integrate
geological information with cased-hole,
production and water monitoring data in
older fields to improve their understanding of poorly-defined areas and identify
bypassed oil zones.
Pore space within the rock is only
useful if it is part of a large-scale network. Isolated pores cannot contribute
fluids during production, even if they
have been filled with hydrocarbons earlier in their development.
Unfortunately, the non-effective pores
in carbonates can be smaller, equal in
size or even larger than the effective
intergranular or intercrystalline pore
spaces. These non-effective pores in carbonate rocks include micropores, intraparticle pores, moulds and vugs. Well
testing will probably always be needed
in addition to any logging or coring if the
large-scale connectivity of a carbonate
pore system is to be defined.

29

CARBONATES CLASSIFIED
Most carbonate rocks are formed from
accumulations of skeletal fragments the remains of carbonate-secreting animals and plants. Although the animals
are better known to geologists, it is the
plants, particularly blue-green and red
algae, which, as a major food source for
marine micro-organisms, control the
distribution of carbonate sediments.
Numerous methods for carbonate
rock classification have been proposed
over the past 40 years. The most
widely accepted method, devised by
R.J. Dunham in 1962, concentrates on
the features which control porosity and
permeability, i.e. grain-matrix relationships and mud content (figure 2.6).

Wackestone

Less than
10 % grains

More than
10 % grains

Packstone

Grainsupported

Grainstone

Boundstone

Crystalline

Lacks mud
and is grainsupported

Original
components
were bound
together

Depositional
texture not
recognizable

Mud-supported
Contains mud, clay and fine silt-size carbonate
Original components not bound together during deposition

Boundstone

Depositional texture recognizable

The components in any boundstone

were organically bound together during deposition. Blue-green algae and
corals play a major role in this type of
carbonate sedimentation, producing
laminated carbonates and coral reefs
respectively.

exhibit high porosity and permeability

at time of deposition and after diagenesis. They have the potential to become
excellent reservoir rocks. Many of the
Middle Easts biggest and best known
carbonate reservoirs (e.g. Ghawar Field
in Saudi Arabia and Zakum Field in Abu
Dhabi) are grainstones. The pore systems are predominantly interparticle,
but microporosity is present in the
grains and in the mud fraction of some
grainstones

Grainstone
Grainstones are grain-supported carbonates containing less than 10% lime
mud. With very little mud blocking
the pore space, grainstones often

2000

Fig. 2.6: The classification of limestones

devised by Dunham (1962) is based on
internal features such as mud content
which control the porosity and
permeability of the rock.

Rock type

pu

md

Good reservoir
grainstone

25 2000

5
N
4

Ap

pa
ren

tp

ro g

0.50

re s

siv

3 Ch
alk smal
l p o res

ed

on

ec

-res

e r v o i r r oc k

50.0
100

erv

o ir g

r a in sto

500

re a
se
in
po
re
siz
es

2
es

Hg pressure (psia)

0.05

Effective pore throat radii defined by Hg capilliary pressure

Mudstone

Reservoir
grainstone with
25
micropores or
isolated macropores

500

Chalk small pores

25

10

Heterogeneous
pore size
distribution

25

50

Non-effective pores 25

0.1

ne with micropores or isolated macropores

Good reservoir grainstone

50
% Hg saturation of pore volume

0
0

Fig. 2.7: The relationship between effective pore throat radii and pore volume for some typical
reservoir types (grainstones, wackestones and chalks) with a non-reservoir rock for comparison.
All of these sediments could be encountered in the same carbonate sequence.

30

Middle East Well Evaluation Review

Open littoral
Open reef-shoals
Fore-reef
transition zone

Open basin
(a) Ramp

Back-reef shoals

Reef wall

Reef talus
slope

Fore-reef
shoals

Fore-reef
transition
zone
Fore-reef basin

(b) Reef shelf

Littoral zone and sabkha clastics and evaporities

Reef talus grainstones

Back-reef and top-reef grainstones and wackestones

Upper shelf slope (fore-reef) packstones and wackestones

Reef boundstones

Lower shelf slope and basin wackestones and mudstones

Fig. 2.8: Carbonates can be deposited in a wide range of marine environments. They typically occur in sequences which can be characterized as
ramp (a) or reef shelf (b) settings. Low-energy environments, such as the back reef shoals, which are protected from wave and current action, are
characterized by higher concentrations of lime mud while clean rocks with high original permeabilities are found in high-energy zones at the
shoreline or around the main reef wall. If the basin area associated with either of these sections generates hydrocarbons the oil and gas should
migrate up the structure (green arrow) into the porous carbonate rocks.

Packstone

Mudstone

Packstones also have a grain-supported

texture, but the rock contains large
amounts of mud, so the original porosity
is lower than in grainstones. Packstones
are typically found in lower energy environments than grainstones.

The low-energy environments in a carbonate sequence are characterized by

lime-rich mudstones with less than 10%
carbonate grains.

Wackestone

The variations in reservoir performance

for carbonate rocks (figure 2.7) make it
critical that the producing zone is examined in detail and characterized accurately before major production decisions
are made. These rocks do not become
reservoirs unless fractured or affected
by dolomitization.
However, carbonates, like sandstones, occur in identifiable sequences
which reflect changing marine condi-

In wackestones the carbonate grains

float in an extensive mud matrix. This
rock type is distinguished from mudstones by the proportion of grains - more
than 10% of total volume. Wackestones
are typically found in low-energy environments behind a reef or in deeper parts of
a carbonate shelf. The mud and grain fractions may contain microporosity.
Number 18, 1997

Reservoir rocks - ramps and reefs

tions and environments (figure 2.8).

The best interpretations place each
carbonate unit in a sequence context.
This allows the geoscientist to predict
what type of changes in permeability
and porosity may be anticipated
above or below the zone of interest.

R.J. Dunham (1962) Classification of carbonate

rocks according to depositional texture. In:
Classification of Carbonate Rocks (ed. W.E.Ham),
pp 108-121. Mem. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol. (1) Tulsa.

31

Grainstone shoaling-upward cycles

Pore size distributions

Microporous dolomite
Ooids with micropores
within particles and also
intergranular pores

30 pu

Ooids with oomoulds and

some intergranular pores

50 ft.

Fig. 2.9: Pore

size and type
vary through
this Jurassic
grainstone
sequence.
Porosity in the
wackestones is
similar to that
in the
grainstones
above, but
permeability is
lower because
individual pores
are smaller.
The CMR tool
can identify
small pores and
so improve
formation
evaluation.

Depth

Shoaling-upward sediment sequences

with grainstone deposits at the top are
common within some Jurassic and
Cretaceous reservoirs of the Middle East.
Rocks in the sequence are generally
dominated by one type of grain - skeletal
fragments, ooids, pellets or a large foram
species. Whatever the grain type, the
shoaling-upwards sequence usually
begins with mudstones at the base which
grade into wackestones. In many
sequences the proportion of grains
increases through the succession until
mud-free grainstones develop. Migrating
tidal bars may have a thinner or less predictable vertical transition from mudstone to grainstone.
Microporosity within the grainstone
sequence can be predictable, but is usually distributed throughout a reservoir.
The micropores may have a relatively
simple diagenetic origin, resulting from
the leaching and incomplete reprecipitation of metastable calcite, or may be influenced by tectonic events such as uplift
exposing the sequence to fresh water
leaching and diagenesis.
Borehole CMR measurements of pore
size distributions in grainstone sequences
can be very helpful for the geological
analysis of depositional environments,
and can be used to identify major diagenetic modifications in a sediment.

The upwards increase of pore

size and pore volume may be
due to grain size decreasing
down the sequence
Position where a packstone
facies might be expected
Wackestone with micropores
and moulds
Wackestone with micropores
0.1
1.0
10.0
100
Pore size (microns)
Pore size distribution (similar to CMR T2)

micropore

grain

Dealing with microporosity

For more than 40 years microporosity
has been a recognized feature of carbonate reservoirs. However, it was not until
the development of the chalk reservoirs
in the North Sea that the importance of
this type of porosity became apparent.
Pore systems dominated by very small
pores can contain large oil and gas volumes, but their behaviour is very different to macro- and mesopore systems.
Experimental programmes to evaluate microporosity using reservoir rock
are time-consuming and typically consist simply of scanning electron microscope (SEM) inspection of small spot
samples with little emphasis on how
porosity distributions change through
the sequence (figure 2.9). The CMR tool
offers a cost-effective way to accelerate
the process of defining microporosity
(figure 2.10) and irreducible water saturation, while providing semiquantitative
pore size distributions.

32

micrite
crystal

x2560

x385
10m

Fig. 2.10: Microporosity in a typical

reservoir carbonate. If these pores
contained water, standard well logs might
indicate a water saturation too high for oil
production. Nuclear magnetic resonance
techniques can characterize these pores
quickly and efficiently.

x38.5
100m

1000m

W. Kenyon (Schlumberger Doll Research),

H. Takezaki (ADOC - Japan) et al. (1995)
A laboratory study of nuclear magnetic resonance
relaxation and its relation to depositional texture and
petrophysical properties - carbonate Thamama
Group, Mubarraz Field, Abu Dhabi. SPE 29886 MEOS.

Middle East Well Evaluation Review

Water

Possible free water

Water

Moved hydrocarbon

Volume of water from RT

Moved hydrocarbon

Oil

(PU)

Oil

0.0

25.0

0.0

Porosity
Calcite

Diff. Caliper

CMR bound fluid

Perfs
1:200ft

Bound fluid

0.25 -20

(IN)

Dolomite
20

Anhydrite

Irreducible water

Moved oil
X900

Residual oil

Residual oil

Fig. 2.11: Some zones which appear to contain too much water for cost-effective oil production actually produce dry oil because
all of the water in the zone is irreducible (i.e. bound in the rocks micropores). Modified from M. Petricola and H. Takezaki
(1996) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance: It Can Minimize Well Testing. SPE 36328 7th ADIPEC Conference.

In the Middle East, the potential problems associated with microporosity first
became apparent as a result of difficulties with wells in the Lower Cretaceous
Thamama Group. Predictions about oil
or water production, based on logderived saturation calculations, were
consistently incorrect because irreducible fluids in non-effective micropores were being included in porosity
calculations (figure 2.11).
Younger rocks have more micro
porosity (figure 2.12) than their older
counterparts. The Tertiary carbonate
reservoirs of Egypt and India are more
likely to be affected by microporosity
than the deep Permian Khuff carbonate
reservoirs of the Arabian peninsula. This
probably reflects the ease with which
micropores can be closed by overburden pressure following deep burial.

Number 18, 1997

Fig. 2.12: Plots for young reservoir

rocks which have been altered by gradual and uniform
cementation. The relationship between particle size and this pattern of diagenetic
effects is very complex. The graph indicates a general trend in permeability and porosity reduction.
Modified from R. Nurmi, GEO/96

33

DOLOMITE DEFINED AND DESCRIBED

Dolomite is a highly-ordered mineral
consisting of calcium and magnesium
ions in separate layers alternating with
carbonate ions. The chemical transformation of calcite (CaCO3) into dolomite
CaMg (CO3)2 can have a profound effect
on reservoir properties such as porosity and permeability. The conversion
process may occur at any time in the
diagenetic history of a rock sequence soon after sediments have been
deposited or long after deposition,
when cementation has already affected
the rock. Dolomite may replace the
whole rock or only grains or matrix. To
further complicate rock characterization, dolomite can be replaced by a latestage calcite influx. This process may
retain the morphology and porosity of
the dolomite rock, while changing its
chemistry back to calcite.

Early, late or not at all?

Supratidal and hypersaline dolomite is
produced through evaporation and it
precipitates at high Mg/Ca ratios. This
ratio is increased by the precipitation of
calcium-rich minerals which leaves a calcium deficit in the pore water.
Late stage dolomitization tends to cut
across depositional units rather than
being tied to particular limestone facies.
In most cases the late stage dolomite
destroys the existing limestone fabric.
Late stage dolomitization may be pervasive, where all of the limestone is converted to dolomite with only relics of the
original components, or selective, where,
depending on pore water, sediment chemistry etc., only the matrix or grains of a particular limestone are replaced.

Dolomite also occurs as randomly distributed rhombs in limestones (figure 2.13)

and may occur as a cement in cavities.
The most important consequence of
late stage dolomitization is an accompanying increase in porosity. Dolomite has
a more compact crystal structure than
calcite, so in theory the total dolomitization of a limestone should result in a
porosity increase of 13% so long as there
is no subsequent compaction or cementation. Dolomitization generally creates
greater effective porosity, but most diagenetic changes tend to reduce overall
porosity.
Studies have shown that the planar grain
surfaces of dolomites create polyhedral
pores. Consequently, as the rhombs develop
they produce sheet pores and throats rather
than the tubular pores and throats which
characterize limestones.

Fig. 2.13: Scanning electron micrograph showing rhombs of dolomite growing over crystals
of calcite which contain high concentrations of magnesium.

34

Middle East Well Evaluation Review

(a)

Supratidal
hypersaline
pond

Sealevel

Hypersaline
marine water

Beach
ridge

Evaporative
dolomite
crusts

Freshwater
lens

Meteoric-marine mixing zone

and location of dolomite precipitation
Limestone
Dolomite

Intense evaporation

(b)

Tidal flat

Sealevel

Lake

Seepage
Reflux

Porosity (%)
0

10

20

30

40

50

Depth (km)

> 75% limestone

2

3
> 75% dolomite
4

Area of
dolomitization

Fig. 2.14:
Dolomitization
involves the
movement of
magnesium-rich fluids
through carbonate
rocks. The details of
dolomite formation
are unclear, but two
possible mechanisms
are (a) precipitation
around hypersaline
ponds as a result of
marine and meteoric
water mixing and (b)
seepage reflux where
seawater seeping into
supratidal lakes is
subjected to intense
evaporation and
gypsum precipitation
which raises the
Mg/Ca ratio in
solution.

Several mechanisms have been proposed to account for dolomitization (figure 2.14). One critical aspect of the
process wherever it occurs is that
dolomite preferentially replaces mudsized particles rather than the sand-sized
grains in the original limestone.
Consequently, the best oil and gas reservoirs are seldom found in (mud-free)
rocks with high primary permeability.
In intertidal and subtidal environments permeable units such as skeletal
and oolitic limestones display secondary
(leached) porosity that has converted
moulds into irregular vugs and fractures
into solution channels. If dolomitization
occurs at this stage the calcium ions
Fig. 2.15: Compaction in dolomites is
typically less than in limestones, so
although dolomites start with lower
porosity at the surface they retain reservoir
levels of porosity to greater depths.

released from the limestone may form

anhydrite which plugs the permeability, creating a dense rock from a porous
one. Farther down the slope, very low
permeability micrites (usually aragonitic lime muds) are dolomitized, yielding intercrystalline or matrix porosity,
so the best reservoir units are those
with the poorest original permeability.
In the Arab-D zone in the Jurassic of
Saudi Arabia, principal production
comes from detrital, bioclastic or oolitic
limestones. Where oil is produced from
dolomites, however, the rocks which
have been dolomitized were predominately micrites.
In addition to their capacity to produce porosity in less promising settings,
dolomites retain their porosity better than
carbonates during burial (figure 2.15).
Microdolomites that fill limestone
micropores can help to preserve porosity
in deeply-buried carbonates (figure 2.16).
Reefs are particularly susceptible to
dolomitization, because the quiet shallow waters of the backreef environment
are an ideal site for evaporite deposition.
The distribution of dolomites in the
stratigraphic record is not equal. The
proportion of dolomites in older
sequences is higher than in their more
recent counterparts. In Mesozoic rocks
the limestone:dolomite ratio is around
10:1, in the Palaeozoic it is 3:1 and in the
Precambrian 1:3. It may be that typical
dolomite-forming environments were
more common in the Precambrian or
simply that the older sequences have
had more time to be exposed to solutions capable of causing dolomitization.

All change, again

Dolomite may be replaced by calcite to
produce a limestone again. This process is referred to a dedolomitization
and usually occurs when the rock is
exposed to fresh surface water during
periods of tectonic uplift.
Identifying dedolomites involves
noting characteristic dolomite crystal
shapes (usually rhombohedra) which
have been replaced by calcite or calcite crystals with small dolomite remnants. In some cases the original
limestone texture is partly regenerated
by dedolomitization; in other cases layers and concretions of fibrous calcite
completely replace the dolomite.

Fig. 2.16: Micropores in limestone

are often closed by diagenetic
effects or burial. The tiny grains of
dolomite which form in these pores
can preserve microporosity.

Number 18, 1997

35

As one pore closes...

(a) deposition
(b) compaction

When sediment is deposited the intergranular pores are almost always considerably smaller, on average, than the rock
particles. Burial makes the situation
worse as compaction and cementation
combine to reduce pore size (figure
2.17). If no major phase of cementation
occurs, intergranular carbonate pores
generally remain well-connected until
pressure solution effects at great depth
close them completely.
Intraparticle pores are usually independent of the effective pore system and
may be preserved to greater depths. They
are also very variable: their maximum
size is limited only by the dimensions of
the rock grains. Intraparticle porosity may
occur as several small pores within a rock
particle or as microporosity spread
throughout a grain (see figure 2.2).

(d) fracturing

Permeability (md)
1000

(e) leaching
of cement

100
(f) leaching
of grains

(c) cementation

10

Making more of micropores

According to the long-established carbonate classification system devised by

Choquette and Pray (1970), micropores
are those with diameters below 1/16 mm
while a pore with a diameter above 4 mm
is a megapore (figure 2.18). Pore diameters
can be difficult to visualize, so for a comparison of relative size it is useful to enlarge
the pores. If a 4 mm megapore was
enlarged to the size of a basketball hoop, a
typical micropore - at the same scale would be the size of the eye of a needle.
Micropores are frequently overlooked in core and cuttings, which can
have detrimental effects on production
plans and field development.
Microporosity can also cause barriers
and/or baffles to fluid flow. In the Hanifa
reservoir in the Berri Field, for example,
microporosity led to significant volumes
of oil being bypassed.
In conventional logging techniques
microporosity is not distinguished from
other porosity types. Micropores are usually water-filled, so well logs may indicate
that a reservoir zone is not suitable for

15

30

45

Porosity (%)

production because it contains too much

water. However, the water in micropores
is often irreducible water that will not be
produced - the micropores are non-effective - so the zone would be suitable for
completion and produce dry oil after all.
To reduce the risk of missing productive zones the CMR tool should be used
in conjunction with a Fullbore Formation
MicroImager (FMI*) tool to characterize
sedimentary sequences. Preliminary use
of the CMR tool has shown that best
results are achieved if rocks are examined as part of a sequence, allowing the
geoscientist to predict probable pore
size distribution and check results
against it, rather than dealing with
each sample independently of its
depositional framework.

Fig. 2.17: After deposition (a), sediments

are compacted (b) which reduces interparticle pore space. Cementation effects
(c) also reduce interparticle porosity as
material from solution is deposited
around the grains. Fracturing (d) and
leaching of cement (e) or grains (f)
(usually by fresh water when sediments
are returned to surface or shallow depths
by tectonic movements) will increase
porosity. From R. Nurmi, 1984, AAPG
Bulletin.

Pore size terminology and examination

Macropores
(visible)

Classes
Megapore

Mesopore

Units
mm

microns

large

>4

>4000

small

4000

large

1/2

500

small

1/16

62.5

Micropore
(individually invisible to naked eye)

36

Examination
Outcrop
core

Core,
hand-lens
thin section
SEM,Hg
capillary

Borehole
imagery

CMR log

Fig. 2.18: If a typical 4mm megapore

was enlarged to the size of a basketball
hoop, a typical micropore, after the
same enlargement, would be the same
size as the eye of a needle.

CMR log

Middle East Well Evaluation Review


00
=1
ter
me

rtic

le

dia

iam

Pa

Moldic grainstone
Pa
Lim cks
e to n
m es
ud ,

300
r=
ete

eter
=

rtic
le d
Pa

diam
Par
ticle

Leac
hed

10

500

l roc
k
meta
els in
chan
n

100

G
dia rain
m sto
et ne
er
de , po
cli re
nin
g

Moulds are solution voids which retain

the shape of the dissolved fossil or rock
particles. Vugs are enlarged solution
voids that no longer resemble the original particle or fossil. Both can be very
important for oil production.
However, in some cases, the presence of vugs and moulds has no effect
on production. The most important questions to ask about them are:
do they form a continuous network?
is the rock around them porous?
If the network is continuous the vugs
will contribute to production directly.
However, if the moulds and vugs do not
form a network, but the surrounding
rock is permeable, then these large secondary pores simply provide additional
storage in the rock.
If the vugs are not part of a network
and the rock around them is impermeable they will not produce oil.
Megapores, large vugs and moulds are
best identified using electrical imagery
and their attributes can be defined using
a computer workstation. Unfortunately,
electrical imagery does not help to assess
connectivity away from the wellbore. A
computer technique has been developed
to assess vertical connectivity, but alongbedding connectivity (perpendicular,
rather than parallel to the wellbore) is
more common.

1000

Permeability (md)

Moulds and vugs

r<

ete

Vuggy dolomite
Wackestone

m
dia

lk p

ha
th c

li

cco

Co

0.1

ore

Fig: 2.19: The

relationship
between porosity
and permeability
for various
carbonate rocks.
From: R.Nurmi
(1986) Middle East
Well Evaluation
Review, issue 1.
Land of the giants.

Wackestones
Mudstones

0.01
0

10

20

30

Porosity (%)
Compaction
and cementing

Fractures

Leaching

Wellbore cross-sectional view

8 1/4" diameter borehole
Core

Porosity around the wellbore

The porosity and permeability ranges of
typical carbonate rock types, and the
geological processes (e.g. fracturing,
compaction, cementation and leaching)
which lead from one to another, can be
represented graphically (figure 2.19).
There are often discrepancies
between porosity distributions derived
from core samples and those from logs.
The most important source of this variation is that core and well logs typically
examine and average different volumes
and, because the two techniques are
measuring slightly different pore populations, they produce different results.
One of the most effective solutions to
this problem is to use the advanced
borehole magnetic resonance technology of the CMR tool which samples a
very small formation volume (figure
2.20), and to cross-reference its results
with electrical imagery.
This solution is of enormous benefit
in wells where rock types vary over
short distances, e.g. from one side of the
borehole to the other, or where two distinct rock types are intimately mixed but
behave as separate units.
Borehole magnetic resonance is the
latest borehole technology to be introduced in the Middle East. The technique
has been under development for more
than 15 years and even then some oil
Number 18, 1997

Wellbore

CMR
measurement
volume
1" x 1" x 6"

CMR measurement volume

1" x 1" x 6"
Fig. 2.20: The CMR tool offers precise examination
of the borehole wall. Its small measurement volume
is in contrast to other tools which can only provide
averaged porosity values for a much larger volume.

companies knew it would be essential to

characterize complex reservoirs.
From years of exploration and production, geologists have amassed a huge
compendium of information (thin sections, SEM photos, cores, NMR results,
pore casts and detailed sample descriptions) about the pore systems of carbonate reservoirs in the Middle East. Using
this library to guide CMR surveys will
help to ensure a unique and accurate
assessment of effective and non-effective
pores, and so improve saturation and permeability calculations. The CMR tool also
offers the possibility of routine evaluation
of microporosity and irreducible water
saturation values. To get the most from

the CMR tool, core petrophysicists, log

analysts and geologists must cooperate.
Combining the CMR tool with a FMI
survey, the geoscientist can detect and
quantify pore sizes ranging from micropores to megapores, which in the most
general sense includes open faults which
may extend up into a gas zone or down
into an aquifer.
Oriented CMR tool measurements
reveal whether vugs and fractures that
are not connected to each other will contribute to production through the rock
surrounding them.
P. Choquette and L. Pray (1970) Geologic
nomenclature and classification of porosity in sedimentary carbonates. AAPG Bull., (54) pp 207-250.

37

CARBONATE LOGGING - THE WAY AHEAD

Tests in West Kuwait

In a recent study, three Jurassic carbonate reservoirs from Minagish and
Umm-Gudair fields in West Kuwait
were selected to test the new logging
technique (figure 2.22).
The Upper Jurassic Najmah and
Middle Jurassic Sargelu formations are
overlain by Kimmeridgian Gotnia
Formation and rest on the Bathonian
Dharuma Formation. The Najmah is
composed of limestones, usually
argillaceous, carbonaceous and
interbedded with thin black shales. The
Sargelu reservoir consists of an upper
unit of clean, densely cemented
peloidal packstones and packstonewackestones deposited in higher
energy, shallow water, plus a lower
unit of more argillaceous wackestones
from a deep water environment.
Primary permeability is generally
too low for economic flow rates.
However, some intervals in the Najmah
and Sargelu formations are extensively
fractured, with these large open fractures supporting high fluid flow rates.
Below the Dharuma Formation lies
the Marrat Formation, a limestone
reservoir divided into three members
and composed of carbonate grainstones and packstones interbedded
with wackestones and mudstones from
a shallow shelf setting.

38

West Kuwait

Kuwait City

The Gulf

Minagish
Umm-Gudair

Jurassic

Upper

Middle

Lower

Fig. 2.21: KUWAIT AND SEE: Some of the

carbonate oil reservoirs of West Kuwait
contain very complex pore systems.
Borehole imagery and nuclear magnetic
resonance have helped to answer the
questions posed by anomalous production
rates and contradictory results from
standard well logs.

Tithonian

Hith

Kimmeridgian

Gotnia

Oxfordian
Callovian
Callovian
Bajocian
Bathonian
Bajocian

Dharuma

Toarcian

Marrat

Najmah
Sargelu

Upper middle

Rhaetian
Carnian
Ladinian
Anisian

Lower Triassic
Upper Permian

Scythian
Tatarian

Sudair

Permian

Kazanian

Khuff

Upper
Triassic

The complex pore systems found in

some carbonate oil reservoirs in West
Kuwait (figure 2.21) have proved difficult to evaluate. Borehole imagery has
helped to define fractures and faults in
wells and, thus, to remove a major
uncertainty from formation evaluation.
Standard open hole well logs provide
porosity and saturation information
which is often insufficient for the evaluation of these complex, high-resistivity
carbonate sequences.
In some cases, apparent porosity
and saturation can be misleading, giving a false indication of which fluids
will flow and of flow rates from a particular zone.
Low porosity layers can have the
highest permeability in a reservoir, and
the highest porosity interval may be
composed entirely of micropores and,
therefore, be impermeable. In some
wells, zones which are assessed as having high water saturation may flow dry
oil, and tar mats may be incorrectly
interpreted as oil zones.

Minjur
Jilh

Fig. 2.22: The Jurassic reservoirs of West Kuwait, in the Najmah, Sargelu and Marrat formations,
are complex carbonate sequences. Production-related decisions about these units are never
simple, so they provide a perfect test for any new logging technique.

Log interpretation of sequences such

as this has always been difficult. In the
organic-rich Najmah Formation, conventional resistivity-nuclear logs often indicate apparent high porosity and
resistivity zones, but these are often
found to be non-reservoir zones.
At the other extreme, the shaliness,
dolomitization and organic content of the
Najmah and Sargelu formations can
reduce porosity estimates dramatically
in zones that will flow oil from welldeveloped fractures.
Porosity is generally better in the
Marrat Formation than in the Sargelu
Formation, but there are fewer fractures.
However, the widespread development of
micropores makes permeability estimates
from porosity values very unreliable.
Decisions on where to perforate these
units are, clearly, not simple, and there
are often marked variations in production rates from intervals where the rocks
have the same porosity range.
In an effort to resolve these problems
nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) survey techniques were introduced into
Kuwait early in 1996.

Porosity and production

The problem described below is frequently encountered in the Najmah
reservoirs. Traditional logs indicate an
apparent porosity of 20% and deep resistivity values of 100 ohm-m or more,
resulting in a water saturation (Sw) value
below 10%. Despite these clear indications of a suitable reservoir zone, production tests yielded no hydrocarbon.
A CMR log was run and showed that
there was no effective porosity and permeability in the Najmah Formation.
Close core examination showed that
organic content reached 50% in some
instances. The high organic content is
the source of the readings which normally indicate an oil-saturated and
porous reservoir zone.
The low matrix porosity values
recorded by the CMR were too low to
explain the flow rates seen in this reservoir. Using an Ultrasonic Borehole
Imager (UBI*) tool, Kuwait Oil Company
assessed the importance of fracture
porosity and permeability.

Middle East Well Evaluation Review

The CMR tool can be used to check

other permeability measurements For
example (figure 2.23), where a packstone-wackestone series grades into
mudstone (as indicated by the decreasing pore size trend in the CMR), the
Dipole Shear Sonic Imager (DSI*) toolderived permeability values are
affected by mudstone laminations and
give an incorrect value below the fault
at X450. The CMR-derived porosity
value is correct.

x430

Predicting permeability

x450

x470

x490

Fig. 2.23: This example is taken from the Najmah Formation. Beneath the fault at X450, there is
a packstone-wackestone series that grades into mudstone (as indicated by the decreasing poresize trend in the CMR). DSI permeability values are affected by the mudstone laminations and
are incorrect. The CMR-derived porosity value is correct.
Fig. 2.24: This
example from the
Marrat Formation.
shows that in the
lower part of the
sequence porosity
decreases upwards,
but this change is
accompanied by a
permeability
increase. The CMR
tool (track 2)
identifies pore size
distributions, helping
to explain this
apparent anomaly.

The porosity of the Marrat Formation is

in the range 0-15 % and permeability is
variable. The estimation of permeability is of vital importance in this major
reservoir. This is a clean carbonate
with a complex pore structure as indicated by the T2 distribution log of the
CMR.
The Marrat carbonate sequence has
a complex pore size distribution (figure
2.24). The CMR tool indicates where
there is a high proportion of microporosity (and a reduction in effective
porosity and permeability). The lower
section shows porosity decreasing
upwards, but permeability increases in
this direction, contrary to the usual relationship between these parameters.
However, when CMR permeability is
used to calibrate results from the DSI
tool the results agree with drawdownderived permeability.

A new approach in West Kuwait

Integration of borehole NMR responses
and other open hole logs can be used
to better quantify the reservoir properties and lead to optimal completion of
wells in the West Kuwait carbonate
reservoirs. Borehole NMR has allowed
an improved interpretation of:
Effective porosity in complex lithologies: it is essential to determine effective
porosity in the organic-rich Najmah
Formation and the Sargelu Formation to
quantify the matrix support to the fracture systems in these reservoirs.
Permeability: NMR-derived permeability allows the correct interpretation
of permeability in complex pore geometries. Further, the integration of NMR
and DSI tool-derived permeabilities
with ultrasonic borehole images has
highlighted the importance of fractures
in well productivity.
Pore size distribution: an indication
of the pore geometry allows a better
understanding of permeability variation
in these complex carbonates.
Ahmed A Latif, D. Sungur, I. Stockden and C. Cao
Minh (1997) Borehole nuclear magnetic resonance:
experience and reservoir applications in West Kuwait
Carbonate Reservoirs. SPE 37771

Number 18, 1997

39

60
40
20
0
20
40
60

Key:

Reef

Shelf carbonate

Deep carbonate

Carbonate oil province

In the right environment

Pores and diagenesis

Modern carbonate sediments are found

in all major world oceans, but modern
reef deposits are restricted to tropical
and subtropical latitudes (figure 2.25).
Changing climatic zones tied to tectonic
movements mean that reefs have developed in every continent at some stage in
geological history (e.g. Canadas
Devonian reef reservoirs). Chalks and
limestones are lithified carbonate formed
by the dissolution, reprecipitation,
recrystallization and compaction of biogenic carbonate particles. Initial porosities of 70% have been recorded in
unconsolidated sediments, although
these are rapidly reduced during burial,
typically falling to around 10% in limestones. Chalks, which form under relatively shallow burial (a few hundred
metres), can be considered an intermediate step to limestones. The additional cementation that produces
limestones from chalks typically occurs
at depths in excess of 1000 m.

The most important stage of diagenesis

for a possible carbonate reservoir is
cementation. Early cementation can help
to preserve pore space in a sediment
during burial. In carbonate rocks, pores
may be of any shape from irregular to
perfectly spherical. Carbonates, in contrast to sandstones, do not usually have
the complete range of grain sizes from
large particles down to clays: sandstones
contain sand, silt and clay particles, but
silt size particles are usually missing
from carbonate deposits. Carbonates
can, therefore, be considered better
sorted at time of deposition. However,
this benefit must be weighed against the
fact that carbonate particles undergo
more post-depositional changes than
quartz grains.
Two common carbonate reservoir
sequences, chalks and shoaling grainstone sequences, are end members of
carbonate deposition and have very different pore systems.

Fig. 2.25: ALL OVER

THE WORLD.
Modern carbonate
deposits are found in
all of the worlds
major oceans and
seas but modern reef
carbonates are
restricted to tropical
and subtropical
latitudes.

One of the most unusual properties of

porous chalks is their tendency to retain
microporosity well after burial. Chalk
reservoirs often have high porosity, relatively uniform pore size and very wellconnected pore space. They are
composed of micron-sized particles and
fragments of disarticulated planktonic
nanofossils. Pore size typically ranges
from 10 microns to a fraction of a micron
and the pore throats are usually an order
of magnitude smaller.
Superficially, chalk units may appear
very similar but two chalks with identical
porosity values may behave in very different ways. For example, a chalk composed primarily of foraminiferal bioclasts
will generally display a higher permeability than one composed of coccolith
microfossils (figure 2.26).
As depth of burial increases, cementation, compaction and recrystallization of
the low magnesium calcite decrease pore
size and volume. Ultimately, this process
will damage the pore system to the point
where the loss of permeability means that
Fig. 2.26: Chalk pore size data
and porosity/permeability
crossplot of various samples in
a sequence. Grain composition
is very important in
determining the porosity
retention of various chalks.
Coccolith chalks, for example,
will generally have lower
permeability values than
equivalent chalks composed of
more coarse-grained
foraminiferal bioclasts.
Modified from R. Nurmi,
GEO/96.

40

Middle East Well Evaluation Review

80

Pore apertures
(Hg-injection data)

50 p.u.

Average porosity 30%

Cumulative % pore space

100

60
40
Whole pores
(image data)
20
0
100.0

Fig. 2.27: Comparison of Hg injection and

image-derived whole-pore data (from SEM)
shows that pore throats are about one tenth
the size of whole pores. The CMR tool
measures similar features but presents
results for all pore space in the rock.

the rock is no longer of reservoir quality.

Early entry of hydrocarbons can halt or
slow down this process. The CMR tool
identifies the total pore space in a reservoir rock and its results can be crossreferenced with mercury-injection analysis and whole-pore data derived from
scanning electron microscope (SEM)
studies (figure 2.27). If the original pore
system of the carbonate has not been
modified by diagenesis, then the CMR
pore size distributions can be used to
infer particle size at time of deposition.
However, where diagenesis has modified
the pore system significantly, the CMR
should not be used to infer depositional
characteristics. In all cases, even with
complex diagenesis, the CMR-derived
free fluid volume is the key to assessing
the effective porosity volume.
The industry now accepts that carbonate reservoirs are much more complicated than early models suggested. Rock
type is not a firm indicator of reservoir
quality and the essential factors - porosity,
permeability and pore size distribution can change dramatically through the postdepositional history of the unit. Even high
porosity chalks may be poor reservoir
rocks at time of deposition if their pores
are small (figure 2.28). Any fall in permeability may have disastrous consequences for production potential. The
current focus of research in chalk reservoirs is on wettability. This research is
being pursued through laboratory and
borehole NMR methods.
Unexpectedly high permeability in
chalks is usually caused by either another
rock/pore type mixed in the sequence or
the presence of fractures or faults. Open
fractures and faults are identified by borehole imagery, especially in horizontal
wells where many more discontinuities
are intersected by the borehole.

Number 18, 1997

Shale with no effective pores

Micropores

-?-

Average porosity 30%

1.0
10.0
Diameter (microns)

Depth

0.1

Mesopores

(a)

Fig. 2.28: This

chalk sequence
contains a shale
unit with no
effective pores.
The carbonate
rocks above and
below have
average porosities
of 30% but most of
this is concentrated
in small pores (less
than 10 microns).
Larger pores are
concentrated at (a)
and it is from this
layer that fluids are
likely to flow.

0.1

1.0
10.0
100.0
Pore size (microns)
Pore size distribution (similar to CMR T2)

In some reservoirs thin, coarsegrained beds with relatively large pores

can be interbedded with the chalks.
These beds may produce surprising and
unwelcome effects, including early
water production from edge water
encroachment.
Rather than relying on samples taken
in isolation, geoscientists are now turning to methods that suggest the lateral
extent of depositional facies and diagenetic overprints for each reservoir unit.
The CMR tool allows the interpreter to
account for the microporosity which can
disguise effective pore systems. When
related to well-designed well tests, this
approach will ensure that production
and field development strategies reflect
the full extent of reservoir complexity.

41