Journal of Geophysics and Engineering

J. Geophys. Eng. 15 (2018) 830–840 (11pp) https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-2140/aaa267

Analysis and application of classification

methods of complex carbonate reservoirs
Xiongyan Li1, Ruibao Qin, Haitao Ping, Dan Wei and Xiaomei Liu
CNOOC Research Institute, Beijing 100028, People’s Republic of China

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E-mail: lixy7@cnooc.com.cn

Received 15 June 2017, revised 8 September 2017

Accepted for publication 18 December 2017
Published 5 March 2018

Abstract
There are abundant carbonate reservoirs from the Cenozoic to Mesozoic era in the Middle East. Due
to variation in sedimentary environment and diagenetic process of carbonate reservoirs, several
porosity types coexist in carbonate reservoirs. As a result, because of the complex lithologies and
pore types as well as the impact of microfractures, the pore structure is very complicated. Therefore,
it is difficult to accurately calculate the reservoir parameters. In order to accurately evaluate carbonate
reservoirs, based on the pore structure evaluation of carbonate reservoirs, the classification methods
of carbonate reservoirs are analyzed based on capillary pressure curves and flow units. Based on the
capillary pressure curves, although the carbonate reservoirs can be classified, the relationship
between porosity and permeability after classification is not ideal. On the basis of the flow units, the
high-precision functional relationship between porosity and permeability after classification can be
established. Therefore, the carbonate reservoirs can be quantitatively evaluated based on the
classification of flow units. In the dolomite reservoirs, the average absolute error of calculated
permeability decreases from 15.13 to 7.44 mD. Similarly, the average absolute error of calculated
permeability of limestone reservoirs is reduced from 20.33 to 7.37 mD. Only by accurately
characterizing pore structures and classifying reservoir types, reservoir parameters could be
calculated accurately. Therefore, characterizing pore structures and classifying reservoir types are
very important to accurate evaluation of complex carbonate reservoirs in the Middle East.
Keywords: Middle East, carbonate, pore structure, capillary pressure curve, flow unit, reservoir
parameter
(Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)

Nomenclature CAL caliper, in

T2 transverse relaxation time, ms DEN densilog, g cm−3
R50 median radius, μm NPHI compensated neutron porosity, fraction
Pc50 median pressure, MPa DT acoustic compressional-wave slowness, μs ft−1
C·V variation coefficient, dimensionless Rt laterolog resistivity, deep, Ω m
Sp separation coefficient, dimensionless Rs laterolog resistivity, shallow, Ω m
Rm mean radius, μm Rxo microlaterolog resistivity, Ω m
Pc displacement pressure, MPa FZI flow zone index, μm
GR natural gamma ray, API RQI reservoir quality index, μm
SP spontaneous potential, mV j porosity, fraction
jz ratio between pore volume and particle
1
Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed. volume, fraction

1742-2132/18/030830+11$33.00 830 © 2018 Sinopec Geophysical Research Institute Printed in the UK

J. Geophys. Eng. 15 (2018) 830
j_Core core-derived porosity, fraction
j_Log log-derived porosity, fraction
K permeability, mD
K_Core core-derived permeability, mD
K_Log log-derived permeability, mD
K_FZI calculated permeability based on FZI, mD
Dolomite dolomite, v/v
Limestone limestone, v/v
Anhydrite anhydrite, v/v
Illite mudstone, v/v
1. Introduction
Carbonate reservoirs are mainly located in the Mesozoic and
the Paleozoic formations in China, but carbonate reservoirs in
the Middle East are mainly located in the Cenozoic and the
Mesozoic formations. So the types of reservoir space of
carbonate reservoirs in the two basins are quite different. In
the Cenozoic and the Paleozoic formations, the diagenesis of
carbonate reservoirs is relatively weak. As a result, the
reservoir space types of carbonate reservoirs are mainly pores
and secondarily microfractures. In contrast, in the Mesozoic
and the Paleozoic formations, the diagenesis of carbonate
reservoirs is relatively strong. Therefore, the reservoir space
types of carbonate reservoirs are mainly fracture and vug
(Wilson 1980, Alsharhan and Nairn 1997, Fan 2005,
Lucia 2007, Zhang et al 2014).
After many years of technical research on carbonate
reservoirs, containing fracture and vug, a series of evaluation
methods and techniques are proposed. In terms of the car-
bonate reservoirs in the relatively new formation, on the one
hand, the lithologies of carbonate reservoirs are very com-
plex, including dolomite, wackestone, packstone, grainstone
and a small amount of sandstone; on the other hand, there are
various types of pores in the porosity carbonate reservoirs,
such as dissolution pores, biological pores, intercrystal pores,
moldic pores, microfractures and so on. As a result, the pore
structure (Lucia 1983 and 2007, Ma et al 1999, Ghafoori
et al 2008, Weger et al 2009, Verwer et al 2010, Guo
et al 2011, Klaas et al 2011, Amabeoku et al 2013,
Karimpouli et al 2013, Wu et al 2013, Xiao et al 2013,
Al-Owihan et al 2014, Deng et al 2014, Holden et al 2014,
Rahimpour-Bonab and Aliakbardoust 2014, Zhou et al 2014,
Jiang et al 2015, Karimpouli and Malehmir 2015, Wang
et al 2016, Liu and Wang 2017), the calculation of reservoir
parameters including permeability (Anand et al 2011,
Bernardo et al 2014, Christine et al 2014, Deddy et al 2014,
Lu and Zoya 2014, Mansoori et al 2014, Natarajan et al 2014,
Zhang et al 2016) and saturation (Archie 1942, Focke and
Munn 1987, Deborah 2002, Fleury et al 2006, Akbar
et al 2008, Ali et al 2011, Anand et al 2011, Li et al 2013)
have been studied for many years. The complex lithologies
and pore types as well as the impact of microfractures
make the pore structure very complicated. Consequently, it is
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Figure 1. Crossplot between porosity and permeability of dolomite
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reservoirs of well A in M oilfield.
difficult to accurately calculate the reservoir parameters and
evaluate oil and gas reserves (Wilson 1980, Alsharhan and
Nairn 1997, Fan 2005, Lucia 2007, Zhang et al 2014).
This paper takes the carbonate reservoirs in M oilfield of
Iraq as an example. Based on the capillary pressure curves
and flow units, taking into consideration the impact of sedi-
mentary environment and the diagenesis, the classification
methods of carbonate reservoirs are analyzed. The carbonate
reservoirs only can be qualitatively evaluated based on the
classification of capillary pressure curves. Then, the carbonate
reservoirs can be quantitatively evaluated based on the clas-
sification of flow units, especially the calculation of perme-
ability. As a result, the average absolute errors of calculated
permeability of carbonate reservoirs are greatly improved.
The comparative study of two classification methods lays a
theoretical and practical foundation for the accurate evalua-
tion of complex carbonate reservoirs in the Middle East.
2. Oilfield overview
The M oilfield mainly consists of Tertiary and Cretaceous car-
bonate reservoirs. The depth of reservoirs is from 2800 to 4400 m.
There are two anticlines with NW-SE orientation developed in the
M oilfield, namely eastern anticlinal belts and western anticlinal
belts. The formation develops inherited from Tertiary formation to
Cretaceous formation. The sedimentary facies of Tertiary forma-
tion mainly consist of four types: delta facies, mixed platform,
restricted platform and semi-restricted platform. And they can be
subdivided into seven types of subfacies, such as delta plain, delta
front, shoreward, seaward, tidal flat, intraplatform shoal and
lagoon. The main sedimentary facies of Cretaceous formation is
carbonate ramp platform. Furthermore, it can be divided into two
types of sedimentary facies open platform and restricted platform,
and the corresponding sedimentary subfacies includes shoal,
shallow open marine, reef and lagoon. In addition, there are about
140 wells and 20 core wells in the M oilfield.
2.1. Dolomite reservoirs
In the M oilfield, the core porosity of dolomite reservoirs in
Tertiary formation ranges from 5% to 15%, and the average
porosity is about 8%. Due to the strong heterogeneity of
J. Geophys. Eng. 15 (2018) 830
Figure 2. Cast thin section of dolomite reservoirs of well A in M oilfield.
dolomite reservoirs, the distribution range of core perme-
ability is relatively large, from 0.1 to 100 mD. The average
permeability is about 5 mD. The pore types of dolomite
reservoirs include dissolution pores, biological pores, inter-
crystal pores, and moldic pores. The width of microfractures
ranges from 10 to 50 μm.
In the M oilfield, the crossplot of core porosity and
permeability of dolomite reservoirs of well A is shown in
figure 1. Core sample ①, ②, ③, and ④ respectively correspond
to figures 2(a)–(d). When the matrix porosity is small and
there are microfractures, the permeability does not greatly
increase, as shown in figure 2(a). The rock of figure 2(a) has
poor pores and connectivity, as well as the microfracture
width is about 0.01 mm. When the porosity increases, despite
the existence of microfractures, the permeability does not
necessarily increase greatly, as shown in figures 2(b) and (c).
The rocks of figures 2(b) and (c) have good pores and poor
connectivity, as well as the microfracture width is about
0.02 mm. But in some dolomite reservoirs, the permeability
does greatly increase due to the existence of microfractures,
as shown in figure 2(d). The rock of figure 2(d) has good
pores and connectivity, as well as the microfracture width is
about 0.02 mm.
When the pore, throat and microfracture are well com-
bined, the permeability would greatly increase. Therefore, for
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the dolomite reservoirs, the permeability is not only con-
trolled by pore, throat or microfracture, but by the optimal
combination of all factors mentioned above.
In the figure 3(a), the core porosity is 16.5% and the core
permeability is 1.5 mD of dolomite reservoirs of well B. The
T2 relaxation time shows that its pore size is relatively small
while the image logging explains that its connectivity is
relatively poor. Therefore, its oiliness is relatively poor.
The NMR experiment, image logging and core photo of
another core sample of dolomite reservoirs of well B are
shown in figure 3(b), with the porosity of 14.7% and the
permeability of 7.5 mD. The T2 relaxation time shows that its
pore size is relatively large while the image logging explains
that its connectivity is relatively good. In addition, the core
photo shows that its oiliness is relatively good.
2.2. Limestone reservoirs
The limestone reservoir is located in Cretaceous. The lithologies
are composed of wackestone, packstone, and grainstone. The
physical properties of limestone reservoirs are better than that of
the dolomite reservoirs. The core porosity ranges from 5% to
25%, with an average porosity of 13%. The core permeability
ranges from 1 to 1000 mD, with an average permeability of
J. Geophys. Eng. 15 (2018) 830
Figure 3. NMR experiments, image logging and core photos of dolomite reservoirs of well B in M oilfield.
15 mD. The pore types of limestone reservoirs mainly include
dissolution pores, intercrystal pores, and moldic pores.
The T2 relaxation time and cast thin section of the first
core sample of limestone reservoirs of well C are shown in
figure 4(a). The T2 relaxation time shows the pore size is large.
The cast thin section indicates the visual pores are developed
and the pore connectivity is good. The core porosity is about
19.6% and the core permeability is about 2451 mD.
Similarly, the T2 relaxation time and cast thin section of
the second core sample of limestone reservoirs of well C are
shown in figure 4(b), with the porosity of 17.3% and the
permeability of 15 mD. Based on the T2 relaxation time and
the cast thin section, its pore size is medium, its visual pores
are not developed and its pore connectivity is average.
Equally, the T2 relaxation time and cast thin section of the
third core sample of limestone reservoirs of well C are shown
in figure 4(c), with the porosity of 18.6% and the permeability
of 3.7 mD. The T2 relaxation time shows the pore size is small.
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Its visual pores are not developed and its pore connectivity is
average on the basis of the cast thin section.
The pore structures are different from each other, because
the pore types vary while the configuration and combination
of different kinds of pores and throats also differ. From a
macroscopic point of view, the sedimentary environment and
diagenesis are key factors in controlling physical properties.
However, from a microscopic point of view, the development
degree, connectivity and size of pores are the key factors in
restricting physical properties.
3. Analysis of classification methods
3.1. Classification method based on capillary pressure curves
The shape of capillary pressure curve is mainly determined by
the size and separation of pores and throats. The capillary
J. Geophys. Eng. 15 (2018) 830
Figure 4. NMR experiments and cast thin sections of limestone reservoirs of well C in M oilfield.
pressure curve can reflect the distribution of pores and throats.
Therefore, the capillary pressure curve can be applied to eval-
uating the pore structure of rocks. Different shapes of capillary
pressure curves represent different types of pore structures. As a
result, the carbonate reservoirs with different types of pore
structures can be classified based on different shapes of capillary
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pressure curves. In the meantime, the carbonate reservoirs can
be classified and evaluated (Pickell et al 1966, Evans and
Guerrero 1979, Melrose 1986, Ao and Xie 1991, Shen
et al 1995, Ling et al 2014, Behrenbruch et al 2016).
The capillary pressure curves of dolomite reservoirs are
shown in figure 5. According to the shape of capillary
J. Geophys. Eng. 15 (2018) 830 X Li et al

Table 1. Pore structure parameters of three types of dolomite reservoirs in M oilfield.

Type R50 Pc50 C·V Sp Rm Pc

I >0.8 <1 >0.26 >2.7 <10.5 <0.2
II 0.2–0.8 1–3 0.12–0.26 1.5–2.7 10.5–11.8 0.2–0.75
III <0.2 >3 <0.12 <1.5 >11.8 >0.75

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Figure 6. Crossplot between porosity and permeability of three types
of dolomite reservoirs in M oilfield.
Figure 5. Capillary pressure curves of dolomite reservoirs in M
oilfield.

pressure curves, the dolomite reservoirs can be subdivided

into three types. The shape of capillary pressure curves of the
first dolomite reservoirs is positive skewness, and the shape of
capillary pressure curves of the third dolomite reservoirs is
negative skewness. The shape of capillary pressure curves of
the second dolomite reservoirs is between the capillary
pressure curves of the first dolomite reservoirs and the
capillary pressure curves of the third dolomite reservoirs. The
distribution ranges of pore structure parameters of three types
of dolomite reservoirs are shown in table 1.
Based on the shape of capillary pressure curves, the
dolomite reservoirs can be subdivided into three types and the
relationship between the porosity and the permeability within Figure 7. Capillary pressure curves of limestone reservoirs in M
oilfield.
each type is shown in figure 6. Although the dolomite
reservoirs are classified into three types, the correlation
coefficient between porosity and permeability of each type of carbonate reservoirs can be classified on the basis of the shape
of capillary pressure curves. But it is impossible to accurately
dolomite reservoir is quite low.
calculate the permeability based on the high-precision func-
The capillary pressure curves of limestone reservoirs are
tional relationship between porosity and permeability of each
shown in figure 7, and different colors represent different core
type of complex carbonate reservoirs.
samples. The shapes of most of capillary pressure curves are
very similar and primarily negative skewness. Therefore, it is
3.2. Classification method based on flow units
very difficult to subdivide the types of limestone reservoirs on
the basis of the shape of capillary pressure curves. The same flow unit has similar characteristics of pores and
When the limestone reservoirs cannot be subdivided throats. Consequently, the complex carbonate reservoirs can be
based on capillary pressure curves, the relationship between subdivided based on flow units. The parameter FZI reflecting
porosity and permeability of limestone reservoirs is shown in the flow unit is defined as follows (Amaefule et al 1993,
figure 8. Abbaszadeh et al 1996, Bagci and Akbas 2007, Izadi and
Due to the strong heterogeneity of complex carbonate Ghalambor 2012, Deddy et al 2014, Mirzaei-Paiaman
reservoirs, the relationship between porosity and permeability et al 2015):
of complex carbonate reservoirs is weak, no matter whether
RQI
the complex carbonate reservoirs are subdivided or not FZI = . (1 )
based on the shape of capillary pressure curves. The complex jz

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J. Geophys. Eng. 15 (2018) 830
Figure 8. Crossplot between porosity and permeability of limestone
reservoirs in M oilfield.
Figure 9. Crossplot between porosity and permeability of dolomite
reservoirs based on flow unit classification in M oilfield.
Additionally, the reservoir quality index is calculated as
follows:
K reservoirs of M oilfield are shown in figures 11 and 12.
RQI = (2 )
j As figures 11 and 12 shows, the error between j_Log
jz is calculated as follows:
j column. The average absolute errors between K_Log and
jz = . (3 )
1-j
After the carbonate reservoirs have been subdivided based
on flow units, the crossplots between porosity and permeability
of dolomite and limestone reservoirs are shown respectively in
figures 9 and 10. The figures 9 and 10 show that both dolomite
and limestone reservoirs can be subdivided into five types on
the basis of flow units. Moreover, the relationship between
porosity and permeability of dolomite and limestone reservoirs
is much stronger. As a result, based on the functional rela-
tionship between porosity and permeability of dolomite and
limestone reservoirs, the permeability of complex carbonate
reservoirs can be accurately calculated.
4. Application of classification methods
Based on different types of log data, the classification algo-
rithm can be applied to establishing the classification models
of complex carbonate reservoirs. In the process of
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X Li et al
Figure 10. Crossplot between porosity and permeability of limestone
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reservoirs based on flow unit classification in M oilfield.
establishing classification models, the types of complex car-
bonate reservoirs and the combination of different types of
log data have been repeatedly modified. The accuracy of
classification models should be maximized while the accuracy
of calculating the permeability should be improved based on
the relationship between porosity and permeability of each
type of complex carbonate reservoirs.
In M oilfield, the function and accuracy between porosity
and permeability of dolomite and limestone reservoirs are
shown in table 2. According to the table 2, the accuracy R2
between porosity and permeability of other types of dolomite
and limestone reservoirs are greater than 0.80, except the first
dolomite reservoir, whose accuracy R2 between porosity and
permeability is less than 0.80.
Based on table 2, the functional relationship between
porosity and permeability of each type of complex carbonate
reservoirs can be applied to calculating the permeability. The
permeability evaluation results of dolomite and limestone
and j_Core is very small in the fifth column. However, the
error between K_Log and K_Core is very large in the sixth
K_Core of dolomite and limestone reservoirs are respectively
15.13 and 20.33 mD.
In the seventh column, K_FZI is the calculated perme-
ability based on the classification of flow units. Therefore, the
error between K_FZI and K_Core is very small. The average
absolute errors between K_FZI and K_Core of dolomite and
limestone reservoirs are respectively 7.44 and 7.37 mD.
Therefore, the accuracy of calculating the permeability can be
greatly improved after the complex carbonate reservoirs are
subdivided based on the flow units.
5. Conclusions
(1) Based on the classification of capillary pressure curves,
the high-precision functional relationship between
porosity and permeability of complex carbonate
reservoirs cannot be established. By contrast, based
on the classification of flow units, the high-precision
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Figure 11. Permeability evaluation results of dolomite reservoirs of well D in M oilfield.

Table 2. Relationship between porosity and permeability of carbonate reservoirs based on flow unit classification in M oilfield.

Type Distribution range of FZI Relationship between porosity and permeability Accuracy of classification model
Dolomite I FZI„2 K=0.0226e22.488j, R2=0.65 86.67%
II 2<FZI „3 K=0.0249e32.832j, R2=0.95
III 3<FZI„5 K=0.0589e33.236j, R2=0.87
IV 5<FZI„8 K=0.0895e37.450j, R2=0.93
V FZI>8 K=0.2296e39.871j, R2=0.88

Limestone I FZI„2 K=0.0270e24.554j, R2=0.86 80.73%

II 2<FZI„3 K=0.1269e20.280j, R2=0.84
III 3<FZI„5 K=0.2511e20.046j, R2=0.93
IV 5< FZI„8 K=0.2890e23.095j, R2=0.87
V FZI >8 K=0.6218e36.495j, R2=0.82

functional relationship between porosity and perme-
ability of complex carbonate reservoirs can be built up.
(2) Based on the classification of flow units, the perme-
ability of complex carbonate reservoirs can be accu-
rately calculated, only if both the classification models
and the functional relationship between porosity and
permeability of each type of complex carbonate
reservoir are highly accurate.
(3) The pore structure of complex carbonate reservoirs is
evaluated in a bid to guide the classification, which
would contribute to the accurate calculation of the
permeability of complex carbonate reservoirs. The

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J. Geophys. Eng. 15 (2018) 830
Figure 12. Permeability evaluation results of limestone reservoirs of well E in M oilfield.
classification is only a means, not the purpose. As a
result, the complex carbonate reservoirs cannot be
blindly subdivided. Additionally, the extraction of
sensitive parameters cannot be ignored in the process
of classifying complex carbonate reservoirs.
Acknowledgments
This work is partially supported by the National Science and
Technology Major Project (2017ZX05032). The authors
would like to thank Penny Peng for her kind assistance and
support.
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