Anatomy of growth fault zones in poorly lithified sandstones and shales:

implications for reservoir studies and seismic interpretation: part 1,

outcrop study
1

M. Burhannudinnur1,2 and C. K. Morley1

Department of Petroleum Geosciences, University of Brunei Darussalam Bandar Seri Begawan, 2028,
Negara Brunei Darussalam
2
Present address: Jurusan Teknki Geologi, Fakultas Teknologi Mineral, Universitas Trisakti, Jl. Kyai Tapa No 1, Grogol,
Jakarta Barat, Indonesia
ABSTRACT: Some normal faults developed in poorly lithified sediments in
MiocenePliocene deposits of NW Borneo in the vicinity of Brunei display regular
zonations of deformation bands. For fault displacements of a few metres the zones
of deformation bands extend up to about 10 m into both the hanging wall and
footwall. They range from closely spaced anastomosing seams within or adjacent to
the main slip planes, to more widely spaced sub-parallel and parallel seams passing
away from the fault zone. They reduce porosity and permeability, and if the faults are
closely spaced, are likely to impact reservoir production characteristics and reserve
estimates. In cross-section and map view fault zones are commonly composed of
several important gouge and cataclasis zones, which branch and join, display listric
detachments and various types of hard and soft linkage. Some of these geometries
have been described as common characteristics of faults, others are comparitively
rare. They have significant implications for the interpretation of seismic data.
KEYWORDS: sealing faults, deformation bands, cataclasis, porosity, permeability
INTRODUCTION
Recently it has been recognized that shale smears or sheared
zones and cataclasis zones play an important role in making
fault zones act as seals to hydrocarbon migration and entrapment (Weber et al. 1978; Bouvier et al. 1989; Gibson 1994; Berg
& Avery 1995). Despite the generally poor exposure of growth
faults and poor recovery of fault zones from cores (Berg &
Avery, 1995) details about the complexity of fault zones have
begun to emerge. In particular the study of faults from the
Arches National Park by Antonellini & Aydin (1994) demonstrated the reduction of both porosity and permeability due to
deformation bands in broad areas around fault zones.
This study describes the details of growth fault geometries in
outcrop from the Baram delta province of NW Borneo,
centered around Brunei Darussalem (Fig. 1). The significance
of the growth fault geometry described from outcrop is
discussed with respect to reservoir modelling and seismic
interpretation in Part 2 (Morley & Burhannudinnur 1997).
Seismic studies provide much better information on the
entire fault system than outcrop studies but cannot resolve the
detailed geometry of a fault zone. Both types of studies can be
used together to build a more complete picture of growth fault
geometry and evolution.
GEOLOGICAL SETTING
Faults were examined in a number of outcrops of the Miri
Formation, which is found near the coast of Brunei Darussalem
from the Jerudong area in Brunei Darussalam to the Lambir
Hill area south of Miri in neighbouring Sarawak (Fig. 1). In
Petroleum Geoscience, Vol. 3 1997, pp. 211224

particular the Jerudong area contains numerous exposures of

normal faults. The formation is a sequence of sandstones and
shales which, based on benthonic foraminifera assemblages
(Liechti 1960; Wilford 1960), were deposited in a marine
environment during the late MiocenePliocene.
The Miri Formation was deposited in the Baram province or
BaramBelait depocenter. This depocenter, of middle Miocene
to Present day age, formed after southsoutheastward oblique
subduction of the China Sea Plate under Borneo ceased (James
1984). Magnetic and gravity surveys indicate up to 15 km
subsidence has occurred in the depocenter (James 1984). It was
gravitational instability of the young, thick deltaic sediments,
overlying a thick, mobile, overpressured marine shale substratum that caused the development of the growth faults
examined in this study. The following descriptions are of
growth fault zones developed in a deltaic setting.
Fault geometries in outcrop
A number of studies have described deformation band zonation in faulted sandstones (e.g. Aydin 1978; Aydin & Johnson
1978, 1983; Jamison & Stearns 1982). The term deformation
band (Aydin 1978) is used to describe small planar features,
about 1 mm thick that accommodate small offsets with displacements ranging up to a few centimetres. Recently, detailed
studies have shown that deformation band development consists of initial dilatancy followed by compaction and crushing of
grains (Antonellini et al. 1994). Variations in porosity and
confining pressure affect whether the seams are dilatant with no
cataclasis or undergo compaction with cataclasis (Antonellini
et al. 1994; Antonellini & Pollard 1995).
1354-0793/97/$10.00 ?1997 EAGE/Geological Society, London

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M. Burhannudinnur and C. K. Morley

Fig. 1. Location map of Brunei within

Borneo showing the extent of the Baram
delta province, and the main areas where
the Miri Formation is present in outcrop
(based on James 1984).

The exact conditions of lithification of the Miri Formation at

the time of deformation are unknown, but cores from wells and
many outcrops are poorly lithified at present, hence the same is
likely to be true for the Miri Formation in the past. The high
pore fluid pressures and low degree of lithification were
probably conducive for granular flow as well as cataclastic flow
during extension. Most of the outcrops that contain growth
faults display some degree of diffuse zones of deformation
bands extending up to several metres beyond the main fault
zone. In some areas remarkably regular arrays of seams of
different intensity could be distinguished, that lay sub-parallel to
the fault zone. Such zones can be many metres wide for faults
with only a few metres displacement. Commonly the zones are
characterized by complex linkage of multiple intense cataclasis
bands, fault gouge zones and shale smears set in a zone of
less intense deformation bands. Where the faults displayed
regular zonation of deformation bands three main types could
be identified and mapped in both the hanging wall and
the footwall (Fig. 2a, b, c). Their characteristics are as follows
(Fig. 3):
(1) Parallel seams. These occur in the most external portion
of the fault zone.
They are characterized by light coloured, parallel deformation bands 240 cm long, 0.10.5 cm wide and spaced
560 cm apart. They represent very low strain deformation and throw on individual seams is generally less
than 1 mm. The belt of parallel deformation bands is up to
10 m wide in map view, for faults with throws of several
metres (Fig. 2).
Seams in some areas exhibit dilatant behaviour since, in
comparison to the surrounding rock, they are preferentially stained and filled by late forming iron oxide cements.
Such examples are relatively rare. In most cases the
opposite is found, the seams stand out as light coloured
bands, and the surrounding rock is stained by iron oxides.
This indicates that the seams are compactional and acted

as barriers to fluid migration. These visual observations

are confirmed by examination of porosity changes in
thin section. The two types of behaviour occur in adjacent
fault zones, in similar sandstones. Hence subtle variations
in strain rather than variations in porosity or confining pressure (e.g. Antonellini et al. 1994) are probably
responsible for the differences.
(2) Sub-parallel seams occur between, and are transitional to,
the anastomosing zones and parallel zones. They are
characterized by light coloured sub-parallel deformation
bands 260 cm long, 0.10.5 cm wide and spaced
220 cm apart. The sub-parallel seams are generally
parallel with some oblique low-angle and wavy connections. Displacement on individual seams is about 1 mm.
In map view, for fault displacements of several metres,
the belt of sub-parallel deformation bands is up to 4 m
wide.
(3) Anastomosing seams occur in the area nearest to or within
the narrow zones of largest displacement. They are characterized by either black or white anastomosing seams. In
both cases the seams are closely spaced, 0.10.8 cm wide
and individually range in length from about 2 cm to 1 m,
however they link to form systems almost as long as the
fault length. For fault displacements of several metres the
belt of anastomosing deformation bands are up to 75 cm
wide. In detail anastomosing seams can be divided into
two types. Type 1 represents the highest intensity deformation. They are usually dark grey to black in colour and
form in the principal displacement zones of the fault zone.
Consequently they are commonly associated with shale
smears. The black colour is primarily due to fine grained
cataclastic material and smeared shale, not iron oxide
staining. They form zones 1 cm to 15 cm wide in map
view. Type 2 are characterized by light coloured seams
that in places are coloured dark red or black due to
precipitation of iron oxides. They are spaced 0.5 mm to

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Fig. 2a.

Growth fault zones, outcrop study

Fig. 2b.

Fig. 2. Location cross-section and map view examples of fault zones in small normal faults (45 m throw) illustrating the zonation of different types of deformation band or
cataclasis seam around the fault zone.

214
M. Burhannudinnur and C. K. Morley

Growth fault zones, outcrop study

Fig. 3. Schematic sketches of the main types of deformation band

geometry in map view based upon map view exposures of fault
zones (see Fig. 2 above).

5 cm apart and displacement on individual seams is

generally around 15 mm. They represent relatively high
strain zones, but lower strain than the type 1 zones.
Different types of lateral variation of fault geometry were
described based on the pattern of principal shear planes in map
view (Fig. 2). The lateral variations of fault geometry illustrate
how faults develop; link and die out. Six types were recognized
in the study area (Fig. 4).
(1) Relay structures, this type of transfer zone can be located
anywhere within a fault zone, as one set of type 1
anastomosing seams is offset from another set, and
displacement is transferred between the two sets.
(2) Horses are usually defined by narrow type 1 anastomosing
cataclastic bands or fault gouge.
(3) Splays are most frequently found at the termination of a
fault or at a transfer zone within the fault zone. The main
fault branches into a number of smaller faults.
(4) Linking cross-faults form another type of transfer zone
involving oblique slip on a system of minor faults that lie
between two major displacement strands of the fault zone,
but do not extend beyond the two strands. The major
strands transfer displacement to one another via these
small faults.
(5) Conjugate fault zones are regions where numerous minor
conjugate minor faults, fractures and deformation bands
are present. The two sets of faults not only display
different dip directions, but also intersect in strike view at
an acute angle. The spacing of minor cross-cutting faults is
around 230 cm. Secondary minerals, in particular iron
oxides, commonly preferentially stain the cross-cutting
fault zones (but not adjacent zones), suggesting they are
regions of high porosity and permeability. The conjugate
fault zones tend to form between splays in type 1
anastomosing seams or fault gouge zones near the fault
tip, in particular they are usually associated with loss of
displacement on a fault in sandstone. Despite normal

215

Fig. 4. Summary cartoons of the main map view variations in

fault geometry observed from faults in the Miri Formation. These
linking or cross-cutting features can be seen in Fig. 2. Mostly they
enable transfer of displacement from one fault gouge zone or
anastamosing cataclasis zone to another, or they occur at the tips
of these zones where the fault zone dies out.

dip-slip indicators in nearby areas, the conjugate fault

zones display horizontal or low-angled oblique slickenslides. This suggest material is being moved laterally away
from the fault zone at the unconstrained margin of the
fault.
(6) Fault gouge and type 1 anastomosing zones are commonly
offset by minor oblique faults. Such faults extend beyond
the boundaries of the faults they offset and may be due to
independent antithetic faults or second order tear faults
within the fault zone.
CROSS-SECTION CHARACTERISTIC OF GROWTH
FAULTS IN OUTCROP
Faults in cross-sectional view are commonly developed as
zones, not discrete planes. One control on the width of the
fault zone appears to be lithology. A fault zone is composed of
bundles of high-strain cataclasis zones, none of which extends
throughout the width of the fault. The high strain zones
pass into others laterally and vertically via a variety of transfer
zone types which are usually characterized by a high intensity of
cataclastic deformation; cross-cutting minor faults and
small-scale pull-apart structures.
The fault Hn-A is a small growth fault that has up to 4 m
displacement in syn-tectonic sediments. The sandstone was not
drag folded, but shales as interbeds or lenses in the sandstone
were strongly drag folded and incorporated within the main
cataclasis zones as shale smears (Fig. 5). The parallel and
sub-parallel cataclasis zones that are clearly visible in map view
are harder to observe in cross-section, particularly in sections
through interbedded sandstones and shales. Anastomosing
seams are the easiest to distinguish, they merge with, and lay

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M. Burhannudinnur and C. K. Morley

Fig. 5. Cross-section of fault Hn-A from outcrop. This fault zone displays many typical features of growth faults in
Baram Delta province. There is expansion of the hanging wall section into the fault, suggesting it was a growth fault.
kinked, in places it forms a single fault zone, but in other places it is composed of a number of faults, towards the
towards the bottom are small displacement high-angle listric faults. Along the fault zone there are numerous examples
sandstone lenses intensely deformed by cataclasis seams.

sub-parallel to the main fault gouge zone. Where clearly visible

the parallel and sub-parallel deformation band zones described
from map view vary depending upon whether they are located
in the foot- or hanging-walls (Fig. 6). In the hanging wall the
parallel seams tend to have high-angle (70)45)) dips, antithetic
to the main fault zone, though some seams may have synthetic
dips. The sub-parallel seams tend to be a mixture of high angled
synthetic and antithetic dips, with synthetic dips becoming

outcrop from the

The fault plane is
top it splays, and
of shale drag and

more dominant approaching the fault zone. In the footwall a

similar pattern is produced except that the dominant parallel
cataclasis dip direction is synthetic to the major fault zone. This
pattern of cataclasis orientation should produce a predictable
pattern in cores, and indicate the location of important fault
zones, even if they are zones of poor recovery (Fig. 6).
The parallel seams in particular seem to be forming not
directly in response to the shear within the fault zone, but as a

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Growth fault zones, outcrop study

(a)

(b)

Fig. 6. (a) Schematic block diagram illustrating the type of deformation band and fault gouge geometries found around fault zones in the
Miri Formation. PC, parallel cataclasis; SPC, subparallel cataclasis. (b) Schematic section illustrating the likely arrangement of structures in a
core through a typical fault zone.

Fig. 7. Location of deformation bands

in relation to footwall and hanging wall
deformation associated with normal
faults. Note that the footwall area is
involved in the deformation of the fault
zone. The cataclasis is unlikely to be due
to hanging wall deformation of a separate
fault which lies in the footwall of the
illustrated fault because the seams dip in
the opposite direction to those in the
hanging wall.

response to strain in the hanging wall and footwall that is a

consequence of faulting. In modelling fault geometries using
the Chevron or modified Chevron methods (Williams & Vann
1987) antithetic simple shear of the hanging wall commonly
works well, particularly for growth faults (Xiao & Suppe 1992).
The orientation of the parallel deformation bands suggests they
developed as a manifestation of antithetic simple shear in the
hanging wall (Fig. 7).
The variations in cross-sectional fault zone geometry in the
study area can be simplified to 11 idealized characteristics (Fig.

8). A fault zone may consist of a single type or more commonly

a combination. Kinks or ramps in the fault plane may reflect
lithology changes that influenced the initial fault trajectories, the
linkage of two initially separate faults, or may be due to to
folding of the fault by activity on an antithetic fault in the
footwall. Downwards-broadening zones and splays are associated with the development of synthetic faults (Fig. 9). They are
most frequently found at lithological boundaries where passing
from a shale into a sandstone the fault splays downwards. Pull-apart transfer zones (Fig. 9b) are common in

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M. Burhannudinnur and C. K. Morley

the fault where sandstone and shale beds have been dragged
into the fault zone (Weber et al. 1978; Bouvier et al. 1989; Berg
& Avery 1995). The sandstones are broken up by numerous
minor faults and bedding may be rotated parallel to the fault
plane. They are similar to shale smears except the behaviour of
the rock was more brittle and bedding can still be observed.
Well developed listric detachments are associated with footwall
sheared zones. The width of observed sheared zones varies
from 10 to 150 cm. The listric faults commonly detach within a
fine grain unit or at a bedding plane. Listric detachment faults
can also form in the hanging wall (Fig. 10). These enable one
fault strand to die out and be replaced by a different strand at
depth.

Fig. 8. Schematic characteristics of fault zone geometries in

cross-section based upon outcrop examples. The evidence for such
geometries on seismic reflection profiles is discussed in Morley &
Burhannudinnur (1997).

cross-sectional view, but have only been recognized in sandstones. The zone between the fault strands consists of cataclasis
bands and fault breccias.
Faults will die out over a certain length, they do not persist
along-strike indefinitely. The termination of a fault is indicated
by zero displacement. Displacement usually dies out gradually
from a centrally located maximum (Barnett et al. 1987). Two
types of fault termination are recognized in the study area. First
is a gradual decrease in displacement upwards and laterally, and
in some cases downwards, into deformation bands or a number
of small faults (Figs 9 & 10). This geometry has only been
clearly observed in sandstones. In such cases faults with narrow
zones of intense deformation change gradually to broader
zones of less intense deformation. They branch into a number
of smaller faults with decreasing displacement until the density
of small faults decreases and the fault zone dies out. In many
cases the small faults disappear abruptly at a lithological
boundary, particularly between sandstones and shales. In Fig.
10 a low-angle fault exists below the minor faults and they are
confined to the hanging wall of the fault. In another type of
termination a fault in the footwall of a fault of opposite dip may
end abruptly at the fault plane, with no offset continuation of
the fault visible in the hanging wall.
Four of the 11 types (Fig. 8) occur relatively infrequently,
these are the three listric detachment styles and horses (Fig. 10).
All are best developed in interbedded sandstones and shales.
The term sheared zone is used to describe localized areas along

Heightdisplacement relationships
The outcrops are not continuous enough to expose the
complete strike-length of major faults. However smaller faults
in cross-section can be seen to die out both upwards and
downwards. Hence it is possible to examine the height (H)
displacement (D) relationships. Values of displacement plotted
against height for minor faults are shown in Fig. 11. The
relationship is based on measurements of 182 faults and
cataclastic seams around five main faults. The minimum
measurement is 3 cm in height and 0.05 cm of displacement.
The maximum measurement is 1800 cm in height with 30 cm
displacement. Generally, the fault displacement increases as the
fault height increases. Distribution of the data is excellent for
determining the best fit line. The best line of the data can be
done by linear or power examination line. The linear examination resulted in D=0.0173 H with a regression ratio (R2) of
0.813. The power examination resulted in D=0.0133 H 1.007
with a best fit ratio (R2) of 0.83. By comparing the ratios it can
be shown that the power examination is statistically more
reasonable than the linear one. Nevertheless, both values are
generally reasonable. The smallest sheared zones measured
were individual, isolated cataclastic seams. Hence the deformation bands appear to exhibit similar displacementheight
characteristics to the minor faults.
DEFORMATION CHARACTERISTICS OF BROAD
FAULT ZONES
To examine the strain associated with cataclasis and its effects
on reservoir properties a single sandstone unit was sampled at
intervals in both the hanging- and footwalls of a fault (Fig. 12).
The changes in average grain size, porosity and percentage of
fine grained material were examined within the deformation
bands and in the surrounding sandstone.
The sandstone is a poorly lithified, medium to fine grained,
clean sand. The sub angular to sub rounded grains range in size
between 0.02 and 0.5 mm, the average grain size is around
0.25 mm. It is composed of 6575% quartz grains, up to 0.5%
opaque minerals, 00.5% sedimentary rock clasts, up to 2%
unidentified minerals, and the average porosity in undeformed
samples is about 27%. Clay minerals are rare and iron oxides fill
13% of the pores spaces.
Cataclasis zones
In thin section deformation bands formed by cataclasis in
sandstones are generally characterized by bands of reduced
grain size and porosity, which visually can be determined by a
lighter colour than the surrounding rock (Fig. 13). Reductions

Growth fault zones, outcrop study

219

Fig. 9. Section illustrating faults which splay or broaden downwards. (a) Fault Hn-I, note the significant offset of the paired sandstone
layers by splaying faults that are almost subvertical. At a larger scale such geometries might be difficult to identify on seismic data. (b) Fault
Hn-B. For seismic example see Morley & Burhannudinnur (1997), Figs 2 and 6.

of grain size in anastomosing seams are shown in Fig. 13.

Secondary minerals, i.e. iron oxides or clay, commonly fill the
porosity outside the cataclasis zone (Fig. 13) but tend not to fill
the cataclasis zone, demonstrating its reduced porosity and
permeability. Undulose extinction of stressed quartz grains was
found in regions of cataclasis bands, but rarely in undeformed
sandstones. It is probably a precursor to the creation of
sub-grains. Under high magnification, grain to grain contacts in
anastomosing cataclasis seams show planar and stressed grain
contacts.
Point counting of porosity, average grain size and the
percentage of fine grained material in each cataclasis zone and
in the surrounding rock was used to document the manifestation of strain associated with each type of cataclasis zone.
Grain sizes between different cataclastic zones cannot be
compared directly because of grain size variations in the parent
sandstone, hence percentage changes in average grain size by
comparison with grains immediated adjacent to the cataclasis
seams was used. In comparison with the surrounding rocks the
deformation associated with cataclasis seams has follow effects:
porosity is reduced from 1627% to 05%, reduction of
average grain size ranges from about 1123% and the percentage of fine grained material is increased from less than 3% up
to 37%, i.e. approximately 10 times. Anastomosing cataclasis
displays the highest degree of grain size reduction, porosity
reduction and percentage of fine grained material (Table 1).
Hence, in keeping with the mapped structural zonation anastomosing cataclasis represents relatively high strain and parallel
deformation bands are relatively low strain.

Fault gouge
Petrographically fault gouge zones are yellowish with quartz
grains highly reduced in size. They are zones of cataclasis
where in outcrop there are no visible microlithons that separate
the individual seams (unlike type 1 anastomosing seams). The
percentage of fine grain material is up to 74%, with micro
faults well developed parallel or at a high angle to the main
fault orientation (Fig. 13b). Grain shape is sub angular to
angular with sharp, linear edges. Single quartz grains under
high magnification are fractured and surrounded by subgrains.
Shale smears
In thin section shale smears are dark gray to greenish in colour
and dominated by fine grained material which comprises up to
91% of the zone. Fragmented quartz grains represent 510%,
their diameter ranges between 0.02 and 0.05 mm and they are
angular to sub angular. Their presence is probably due to
mixing of shale smear and cataclastic products. Under high
magnification the grains and fine grained material show micro
fractures. The porosity of shale smears is 0%.
Lateral changes in porosity approaching a fault zone
Porosity values for the sandstone show a tendency to diminish
approaching the fault zone, commencing about 10 m from the
fault zone (Fig. 13). This reflects the presence of relatively low

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M. Burhannudinnur and C. K. Morley

Fig. 10. Outcrop examples of listric

faults associated with normal faults.
(a) Vertical termination of a fault into
small faults and deformation bands.
(b) Hanging wall listric splay of fault
Hn-Km. See Morley & Burhannudinnur
(1997), Fig. 5 for a seismic example.
(c) Footwall listric fault in fault Hn-I. See
Morley & Burhannudinnur (1997), Fig. 2
for a seismic example.

strains associated with parallel and sub-parallel seams. The

porosity reduction is most significant between the zones of
anastomosing cataclasis and the main displacement planes,
reflecting the closer spacing and higher displacement of the
cataclasis seams (Fig. 12). In Fig. 12 local decreases in porosity
are shown at "4 m (in the footwall), 2.5 and 7 m (in the
hanging wall), they are caused by higher strains associated with
minor faults near the sample location. Generally, porosity
values around 27% are constant beyond 10 m distance from the
fault zone in the undeformed sandstone. The main fault has
only 4 m displacement, yet it is associated with porosity
reduction up to 10 m away from the fault into both the footand hangingwalls; hence the total width of the damaged zone is
about 20 m.

In the surrounding outcrops at least 30 faults are present (16

faults are under 2 m displacement, 11 faults have around 4 m
displacement, three faults are over 4 m or have unknown
displacement). They occur in nine fault zones, which can be
assumed to have the same displacement amount as fault Hn-A.
Based on Fig. 12, it can be estimated that the zone of porosity
damage caused by the nine fault zones, in an area of 350 m
could affect 58% (cross-sectional area) of the reservoir rocks.
However the length of the entire outcrop is around 600 m, so
the amount of reservoir rock likely to be affected by some
degree of porosity reduction due to faulting could be about
37%. Hence, even if faults do not act as seals they can affect
reservoir properties in other ways. In particular, porosity
reduction will affect reserve estimates, and the cataclasis seams

221

Growth fault zones, outcrop study

may affect fluid flow, and cause a strong permeability

anisotropy.
DISCUSSION

Fig. 11. Plots of displacement vs height for minor faults in

ouctrop in the Miri Formation.

One critical aspect of fault studies is assessing the ability of a

fault to act as a barrier to hydrocarbon migration (over
geological and oil field production time scales). Examination of
sealing faults has to involve fault properties, these properties
include texture, composition, structure, permeability and porosity, which ultimately relates to displacement pressure associated
with capillary pressure (Berg & Avery 1995).
Sealing faults have been widely recognized and studied. The
common sealing fault is juxtaposition of shale and sand across
a fault (Allan 1989). In this type of seal the nature of the fault
plane itself is regarded as immaterial. It has also been recognized that faults planes themselves can form seals (sometimes
called membrane seals). Clay smear has been recognized as a
possible seal in faults zone (Weber et al. 1978, Berg & Avery
1995). Deformation bands or cataclastic shear zones are also a
possible sealing mechanism since they are zones of reduced
porosity and permeability (Antonellini & Aydin 1994). Fault
zones have high displacement pressures when a fine-grained
sheared zone is present (Berg & Avery 1995).

Fig. 12. Changing porosity values in a single sandstone unit approaching a fault zone. The changes in porosity approaching the fault zone
are attributed to different intensities of cataclastic deformation, and are an indicator of increasing strain approaching the fault zone. The data
suggest that even small fault zones, if closely spaced, can affect the storage capacity of reservoir rocks by reducing porosity in both the
hanging walls and footwalls of the fault zone.

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M. Burhannudinnur and C. K. Morley

Fig. 13. Different cataclastic deformation styles in thin section from a single sandstone unit (Fig. 12). The darkest areas represent iron
oxides filling pores, they are located next to cataclasis bands. (a) Fault zone has a high intensity of micro faults, micro fractured grains (e.g.
gr. n) are surrounded by sub-grains. Iron oxide fills the pore spaces. (b) detail of anastomosing cataclasis band where average grain size is
reduced by 23% compared with the surrounding rock. (c) Parallel deformation bands, (d) anastomosing cataclasis.

Table 1. Summary of point counting grain size and percentage of fine grained material within and outside deformation bands associated with normal faults
in the Miri Formation
Average grain size (mm)
Range
Average

Fault breccia (5 samples)

Clay smears (5 samples)
Parallel deformation bands (5 samples)
Sub-parallel deformation bands (5 samples)
Anastomozing deformation bands (15 samples)

Inside zone
Outside zone
Inside zone
Outside zone
Inside zone
Outside zone

The deformation styles associated with faults in the study

area can modify the reservoir characteristics of a rock (i.e.
porosity and permeability) to varying degrees.
In the study area, fault zones have reduced porosity (Figs 12
and 13). Porosity in the undeformed rocks is higher than in the
deformed rocks, and decreases toward the fault zone. Curves of
reducing porosity in the hanging wall and the footwall show the
same trend.
Shale smears were identified in the study area. They are
known to be important to the sealing capability of faults
(Gibson 1994; Berg & Avery 1995); and are important in Baram

(1.822.30)
(2.863.41)

2.04
1.64
2.23
2.79
2.08
2.62
2.05
3.06

Percentage
of grain size
reduction

11.1
11.3
23.1

Percentage of
fine grained
material
73
91
5
8
15
1
2
26

Delta related oil fields (e.g. James 1984; Bait & Banda 1994). In
the study area they displayed 0% porosity. Berg & Avery (1995),
in tackling the problem as to why fault zones appear to act as
seals under some circumstances and fluid conduits under
others, suggested that in places (e.g. the centre of a fault) the
fault surface tends to be dilational, while towards the fault tip
compressional stresses tend to promote the development of
sheared zones. The field observations presented here show no
evidence for such distributions. Sheared zones occur in most
places along a fault where a shale is present, their occurrence
seems to be purely due to the presence of the right lithology.

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Growth fault zones, outcrop study

Even where there is insufficient displacement on the fault to
connect up all the shale smears the anastomosing seams and
fault gouge zones are continuous enough to provide a good
seal. Evidence for this is seen by the presence of iron staining
fronts in the regions of type 2 anastomosing cleavage.
There appear to be certain zones along a fault that are weak
spots regarding sealing ability; in particular the regions of
conjugate fault sets. The presence of secondary minerals filling
the porosity in surrounding sandstones and in the conjugate
faults themselves demonstrate that such regions of the fault
zone had good fracture porosity and permeability. In the field
the conjugate fault sets are associated with fault tips or transfer
zones. One can infer that before cementation some transfer
zones and conjugate tips faults were areas of high permeability.
This suggests that certain parts of a fault zone can act as a focus
for fluid migration. Hence the timing of secondary mineral
formation is critical since mineralization (prior to hydrocarbon
migration) may plug the leaks in the fault system.
As a minor conclusion in their excellent paper Antonellini &
Aydin (1994) concluded that localized porosity loss associated
with deformation band and fault zone porosity loss does not
generally affect the storage property of a porous sandstone at a
reservoir scale. That may well be the case for their area of study,
however the situation appears to be different for the growth
faults examined in this study. The fault zone they studied was
about 2030 m wide and had an offset of about 40 m. It is
difficult to acertain the state of lithification of the sandstone at
the time of deformation, but probably it was better lithified
than the Miri Formation. In NW Borneo growth faults with
only a few metres displacement can significantly reduce porosity (by a few percent) in the hanging wall and footwall up to
10 m away from even a small fault zone. This means that small,
sub-seismically visible faults have the capability to affect the
porosity, and direction of maximum permeability of a large
percentage of reservoir rock, depending upon their spacing. If
the field example studied is more widely applicable then it is
possible for 40% of the reservoir volume to be affected to some
degree by porosity reduction related to growth faulting. In
better lithified rocks the damage zone is likely to be narrower
than those in poorly lithified rocks, and the fault population
characteristics (including fault spacing) may be different, and
hence explain the differences in conclusions between this study
and that of Antonellini & Aydin (1994).
CONCLUSIONS
Mapping has shown that fault zones in the Miri Formation
contain up to four zones of deformation bands and cataclasis in
order of increasing strain, they are: parallel seams, sub-parallel
seams, anastomosing seams and fault gouge/shale smear zones
(Figs 3 & 4).
Single cataclasis seams can reduce porosity to 0%. This is
achieved by grain size reduction and incorporation of fine
grained material. So, a single cataclasis seam, especially anastomosing cataclasis, can function as an excellent porosity and
permeability barrier. Secondary minerals, particularly iron oxides
tend to fill up pore spaces surrounding the cataclasis seams. In
most cases secondary minerals do not pass through the cataclasis
zone, indicating that the cataclasis zones are permeability barriers. The cataclasis and clay smears combine to permit the fault
zone to seal over a broad area in different lithologies, which is in
agreement with the conclusions of Gibson (1994).
The assumption that faults act as seals across one homogeneous plane seems to be borne out by examples from oil
fields in Brunei and Sarawak (Miri) where there are numerous
examples of sealing fault planes (James 1984; Bait & Bander

1994). However, field data shows that there are particular areas
where fault zones have been the sites of fluid flow, rather than
seals. These sites, which tend to occur at fault splays, are
potential weak points in the fault seal. They were probably areas
of non plane strain, where material was moved out sideways
towards the unconstrained margin of the fault.
The structural damage to reservoirs by faulting may affect
permeability and flow characteristics beyond the narrow principal displacement planes of a fault zone. It appears that faults
with just a few metres throw can affect a relatively large rock
volume. The effect of deformation extends beyond the fault
zone and can significantly reduce porosity in the hanging wall
and footwall several metres away from even a small fault zone.
Although the parallel cataclasis zone has discontinuous seams
and cannot act as a long-term permeability barrier it will affect
the production characteristics of a reservoir. Since these zones
can extend several metres from small fault zones it means that
even small faults can affect the porosity, and direction of
maximum permeability of a large percentage of reservoir rock.
Hence at least some fault systems should be regarded as
strongly three dimensional features, not just two dimensional
planes that act as a sheet-like seal.
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Received 12 November 1996; revised typescript accepted 26 March 1997.