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Abstract: The Cambro-Ordovician reservoirs of the Hassi Messaoud area comprise quartzi-
tic sandstones, which rest unconformably on granitic basement and are capped by the Her-
cynian unconformity. Two sequence stratigraphic cycles are identified: a lower cycle of
lowstand, transgressive and highstand deposits, and an upper cycle in which only lowstand
deposits are preserved below the Hercynian unconformity. Sandstone of the greatest thick-
ness and highest porosity and permeability occur within the lowstand deposits of the two
sequences. Petrographic and scanning electron microscope studies were conducted in two
wells in the southern Hassi Messaoud area on five sandstone units, to which the following
chronostratigraphic terms are applied, from base to top: Ra + Ri lithozones (which contain
the bulk of the reserves), Alternance Zone, E1 Atchane Sandstones and Hamra Quartzite.
Reservoir quality is found to bear a strong relationship to clay content and mineralogy.
All reservoirs are characterized by an extensive quartz cementation, which reduces porosities
to generally below 10%. Permeability is related to clay content and type, with effective per-
meabilities generally limited to the quartz- and kaolinite-rich Ra lithozone. Permeability is
lowest in reservoirs rich in fibrous illite and/or chlorite, such as the Hamra Quartzite. As por-
osity shows a less direct relationship to matrix mineralogy, there is a poor statistical relation-
ship observed between porosity and permeability. Comparative diagenetic studies carried out
within both the oil-bearing and the water-bearing parts of the reservoirs have determined that
all the secondary processes occurred under freely operating diagenesis, pre-dating oil empla-
cement in the structure.
DJARNIA,M. R. & FEKERINE,B. 1998. Sedimentological and diagenetic controls on Cambro-Ordovician reservoir
quality in the southern Hassi Messaoud area. In: MACGREGOR,D. S., MOODY,R. T. J. • CLARK-LOWES,D. D. (eds)
1998. Petroleum Geology of North Africa. Geological Society, London, Special Publication No. 132, 167-174.
168 M.R. DJARNIA & B. FEKIRINE
Fig. 2. Structural geological cross-section through the Cambro-Ordovician reservoirs of wells SG-1, HGA-1 and a
productive Hassi Messaoud well. Producibility of these wells is strongly connected to the presence of the Ra unit
above the field OWC.
RESERVOIR QUALITY IN HASSI MESSAOUD AREA 169
Fig. 3. Stratigraphic correlation between HGA-1 and SG-1, illustrating the sequence stratigraphy applied in this
paper.
The latter date would be more consistent with the from amorphous silica (biogenic, volcanic,
interpreted Permian date of the later illite opal, etc.). The breakdown of K-feldspar to
cement. illite and quartz is evidenced through scanning
The most likely origins for the silica cement are electron microscope studies on Triassic and
illitization of K-feldspars and mica or kaoliniza- Cambro-Ordovician sediments in the Hassi
tion of feldspars. Quartz may be produced also R'Mel field (Djarnia, 1991). Some samples here
by the pressure-solution of quartz grains or show adjoining altered K-feldspar and fibrous
mineral reactions involving the release of silica illite.
170 M . R . DJARNIA & B. FEKIRINE
Fig. 4. Graphical distribution of porosity, permeability, quartz cement and clay content in well SG-1
Fig. 5. Graphical distribution of porosity, permeability, quartz cement and clay content in well HGA-1
RESERVOIR QUALITY IN HASSI MESSAOUD AREA 171
Fig. 6. Simplification of Figs 4 and 5, showing average porosities, permeabilities, quartz and clay content for the
various reservoirs of the two wells. (Note the clear relationships between permeability and clay type.)
172 M.R. DJARNIA & B. FEKIRINE
again from the Cambro-Ordovician of the Hassi mineralogy and diagenetic features. Porosity
R'Mel field (well HR22), where K - A r dating has within these units varies between 3 and 12%
established an age of 324 Ma (Carboniferous) for (Figs 6-8), with little variation seen between the
the fibrous illite (Djarnia ,1991). Durfee (1995) two zones. Porosity reduction has occurred
has also attempted to date the illite at the well through quartz overgrowth, and through plug-
EHT-1, where an average age of 273 Ma (Per- ging of pores by illite and kaolinite cement. As
mian) was recorded. These dates would suggest observed in scanning electron micrographs, sig-
a tie to Hercynian tectonic events, which may nificant secondary intercrystalline microporosity
have caused major changes in patterns of fluid is developed where authigenic hexagonal kaoli-
flow in these reservoirs, particularly as a result nite and/or fibrous illite are abundant. As illu-
of subaerial exposure on the Hercynian uncon- strated in Figs 7 and 8, the relationship
formity. between porosity and permeability is poor for
these wells. This is the result of variations in
cement type and its implications for the relative
Chlorite amounts of intergranular macroporosity and
In the Hamra Quartzite, much of the illite
appears to be partly transformed to chlorite.
Chlorite is, however, rare in the Ra and Ri. 100
HGA-1 Ra
Reservoir quality and relationship to cements
and clays
0.1 2
I--
4 6 8 10 12
Cambrian reservoirs
Porosity(%)
The emphasis in this study is on the main Cam- Fig. 8. Porosity v. permeability for the Ra unit of well
brian reservoirs of the lowstand sequence tract HGA-1. (Note the differences in trend compared with
of Sequence 1 (Ra + Ri lithozones), and on rela- Fig. 7, attributable to a lower clay and particularly illite
tionships observed between permeability, clay content in this unit.)
RESERVOIR QUALITY IN HASSI MESSAOUD AREA 173
porosit& ldres J.S.T de l'Institut AlgOrien du Pdt- FEKIRINE, B. & ABDALLAH, H. 1998. Palaeozoic litho-
role, Boumerdds. facies correlatives and sequence stratigraphy of
- - & FEKIRINE, B. 1995. New microscopic vision of the Saharan Platform, Algeria. This volume.
the diagenetic effect within the Cambro-Ordovi- Kt~LmCKI, J. et al. 1961. Les oligo-61ements de la
cian reservoirs of the SW Hassi-Messaoud Area. s6rie argilo-gr6seuse de l'Ordovician et du M6so-
In: lOdmes Sdminaire National des Sciences de la zoique inf6rieure de la r6gion de Hassi Messaoud.
Terre, Algiers. Mdmoire de la Socidtd Gdologique de France,
DURFEE, B. A. 1995. Diagenetic evolution of Cambrian 39(88).
sandstones, Hassi Bir Rekaiz Area, Algeria. Arco
Internal Report.