Marine and

Petroleum Geology

ELSEVIER

Marine and Petroleum Geology 15 (1998) 57-72

The relationship between petroleum emplacement and carbonate

reservoir quality: examples from Abu Dhabi and the Amu
Darya Basin
Joyce E. Neilson a'*'l, Norman H. Oxtoby a'2, Michael D. Simmons b'3, Ivor R. Simpson b'4,
Natalia K. Fortunatova c
"BP Research, Chertsev Road Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex. TW16 7LN, UK
bBP Exploration and Production, Uxbridge One, 1 Harefield Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 IPD. UK
VN1GNI, 36 Shosse Entusiastov, Moscow 105819, Russia

Received 12 February 1996; revised 28 May 1997; accepted 31 May 1997

Abstract
The relative importance of petroleum emplacement in inhibiting diagenetic processes and preserving porosity and permeability
in Lower Cretaceous, Thamama Group (Kharaib Formation) carbonate reservoirs of Abu Dhabi, UAE, and in Callovian Kimmeridgian carbonate reservoirs of the Amu Darya Basin in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, has been evaluated by combining geologic,
petrophysical and geochemical data. When petroleum emplacement is synchronous with and prior to significant burial cementation
in carbonates, primary petroleum inclusions are trapped in the cements. The process appears to be characterised by steep intra-field
porosity~:lepth trends within a more gradual regional decline in porosity with depth. This has profound implications for the
prediction of porosity in carbonate reservoirs.
Reservoir quality is better in grainstones and packstones compared to adjacent wackestones and lime mudstones in the Kharaib
Formation because of preserved macroporosity (intergranular, vuggy, mouldic); the pore system in the finer units is dominated by
micropores. These features indicate a primary textural control on porosity and permeability. Within the grainstones and packstones,
macroporosity is variably filled by late equant sparry calcite cements. Porosity and permeability variations in grainstones and
packstones at a reservoir scale are therefore controlled by the variation in amount of equant sparry calcite cement. This in turn
depends on the timing of the precipitation of this cement relative to petroleum emplacement, as shown by fluid inclusion data. Where
petroleum emplacement has occurred relatively early, at migration foci, prior to significant burial cementation by equant sparry
calcite, reservoir quality is preserved. Where it has occurred after significant burial cementation, reservoir quality has been destroyed.
In the Amu Darya sequences, primary macroporosity is commonly preserved down to depths of I 1,000 ft (3.5 km) with differences
in the porosity and permeability characteristics of grainstones being controlled by variations in the amount of early, probably
freshwater, cement and the extent of associated dissolution. Small volumes of burial cements do occur, but they do not contain
petroleum inclusions. Consequently, there is no firm evidence that petroleum emplacement has inhibited diagenesis in this area. This
part of the study has shown that it is not always possible to obtain conclusive evidence from the diagenesis to pin down the processes
responsible for the preservation of reservoir quality and that petroleum filling may not always be the primary cause.
The relationships documented here show that the +race for space' between diagenetic waters and petroleum is a major control on
reservoir quality in the Thamama Group carbonate reservoirs, but is not so important for the Jurassic carbonates in the Amu Darya
basin. ~ 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Kevwords: Carbonates Reservoir quality; Diagenesis; Petroleum; Abu Dhabi; Amu Darya; Thamama Group

*Corresponding author. Tel: + 44 1224868416; fax + 44 1224868416

~Present address: Carbonate Reservoirs Ltd., l l Cairn Crescent,
Cults, Aberdeen, ABI5 9TW, UK.
2Present address: Department of Geology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK
Present address: Department of Geology and Petroleum Geology,
University of Aberdeen, Meston Building, King's College, Aberdeen,
AB9 2UE, UK
4present address: BP Australia Ltd.+ 1 Albert Road, Melbourne,
Victoria, 3004, Australia
S0264-8172/98/$19.00 ,~ 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
P11:S0264 8172(97)00033 0

I. Introduction
The controls o n the spatial v a r i a t i o n s in porosity a n d
permeability observed in c a r b o n a t e rocks have been
u n d e r s t o o d for m a n y years. Special Publication N u m b e r
36 o f the Society o f Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists ( S c h n e i d e r m a n n & Harris, 1985) d o c u m e n t s
most o f the processes that can potentially act u p o n car-

58

J.E. Neilson et al./Marine and Petroleum Geolo,q3' 15 (1998) 5 ~ 7 2

bonate rocks during diagenesis, but defining the relative

importance of these controls in any specific area has
proved far more elusive. As Scholle and Halley (1985)
point out, "there is a critical need to independently
cassess how rates of porosity loss with depth are affected
by time, temperature, depositional setting, early diagenetic history, maturation history of organic matter, and
... overpressuring, early oil migration, dolomitisation
and hydrothermal alteration". These ideas have more
than academic interest, since they have profound implications for the methods used to predict the distribution
of porosity and pore types in petroleum accumulations.
In this paper, we link geochemical with geologic and
petrophysical data to address this problem as it is manifested
in the Thamama Group (Kharaib Formation) of Abu
Dhabi and the Jurassic reservoirs of the Ainu Darya region
of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. We have obtained fluid
inclusion and isotopic (C, O, Sr) data from sparry calcite
and petrographically late dolomite cements. The isotopic
data will help to evaluate the extent of solute import, while
the fluid inclusion data will help to constrain the temperature and salinity of the precipitating waters, as well as
the temperatures of petroleum emplacement. The fundamental aim of this work is to address the question: to
what extent has petroleum inhibited or stopped diagenesis
in Abu Dhabi and the Ainu Darya Basin? To begin to
answer this question we must ask the supplementary question: Does petroleum inhibit or slop diayenesis?
in both carbonate and sandstone petroleum reservoirs,
porosity and permeability may show systematic declines
from crest to flank and occasionally step-changes at the
petroleum water contact (e.g. Feazel and Schatzinger, 1985;
Gluyas et al., 1993). It has often been suggested that petroleum emplacement has caused this, by inhibiting diagenetic processes, leading to porosity preservation in petroleum columns, and generating a contrast in porosity and
permeability between the petroleum columns and their
associated aquifers. In the discussion (Section 7), we compare our results with some case studies by other workers.
In the following, we discuss the mechanisms by which
petroleum emplacement might influence cementation.
Feazel and Schatzinger (1985) state that "the displacement of pore water by oil or gas prevents or significantly retards the precipitation of cement as most
minerals are insoluble in hydrocarbon fluids". In fact,
the systematic variation of cement volumes with depth
may be controlled by petroleum emplacement in three
basic ways:
I. Physical or chemical coverage of mineral surfaces by
petroleum or related organic compounds may shield
parts of the surface from access by diagenetic fluids.
Suess (1970) showed that this process was significant
for calcite and dolomite in the presence of organic
acids at surface conditions, and is readily extrapolated
to subsurface conditions.

2. The mass transfer processes of diffusion and water

flow may be slowed. Scholle and Halley (1985) indicate
that this could be important. Murphy et al. (1989)
show that diffusion is the rate-limiting process for
calcite dissolution and precipitation at the temperatures of petroleum emplacement. Therefore
petroleum should also inhibit carbonate diagenesis
(e.g. pressure dissolution and cementation).
3. Petroleum emplacement may inhibit the release ot"
mineralising solutions from the cement sources. Field
evidence collected by numerous workers, from Dunnington (1967) to Oswald et al. (1995), has suggested
that stylolitisation can be inhibited by petroleum
emplacement, while Wong and Oldershaw ( 1981 ) have
shown that stylolites can be a significant cement
source. Thus if stylolitisation is inhibited by petroleum
emplacement so might cementation. Such cements
should contain geochemical signatures of a local
source, e.g. carbon and strontium isotopes.
The work discussed above shows that there are reasonable grounds for supposing that petroleum does have an
inhibiting effect on diagenetic processes in carbonates. In
order [k3r this to occur, it is necessary for the process
leading to cementation to overlap petroleum emplacement. Conclusive evidence for this synchroneity may be
provided by the occurrence of primary petroleum
inclusions in the cements (e.g. Sellwood et al., 1993). The
identification of systematic spatial increases in cement
volumes and systematic decreases in porosity and permeability across a petroleum-filled structure, although
suggestive, are not conclusive. Lower permeability rocks
(e.g. lime-mudstones) generally have lower petroleum
saturations (or higher Sw, see e.g. chapter 5 in Archer &
Wall, 1995). Therefore, a pre-existing contrast in poroperm can produce effects which look as though they
are caused by petroleum emplacement. Consequently, to
isolate a petroleum emplacement effect, it is necessary
to select rock units which have similar pre-cementation
textures and early diagenetic histories over a range of
depths.
Coarse grained units containing sparry calcite and
locally, dolomite cements in the Thamama Group
(Kharaib Formation) reservoirs of Abu Dhabi (Fig. 1)
and in the Ainu Darya area of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan (Fig. 2) provide material which can be used to
evaluate the effect of petroleum emplacement on cementation and poroperm wtriation.

2. Geologic setting
2.1. Kharaib b~rmation reser~:oirs (Lower Cretaceous),
Abu Dhabi

The Kharaib Formation of the Thamama Group (Fig.

3) was deposited during the construction of the broad,

59

J.E. Neilson et al./Marine and Petroleum Geology 15 (1998) 5~72

Generalised Location Map Showing the Position of Abu Dhabi Fields

,,,
Legend I "",
....

Boundary
Field

",
I

&

Abu.
Dhabl

~
~'Asab
__

.........

..........
I SaudiArabia

.~rShah
~ - --" _

-:llb. . . . . .

Oman

,,
(,,'
.
Qusahwira
;
)
,~.~.
jMender

0
I

50km
I

Fig. 1. Generalised location map showing the position o f A b u Dhabi fields, UAE.

regionally extensive carbonate shelf which covered much

of the eastern Arabian Plate during the early Cretaceous
(Murris, 1980). It is some 100-200 ft in thickness and like
much of the early Cretaceous section, it is composed of
cyclical shelf carbonate sediments. The basic cycle pattern
is of a gradational coarsening-up cycle sharply overlain
by the succeeding cycle. This pattern can be recognised
at various length-scales, and its multiple superposition
results in variable distances between facies changes
through a vertical section. At the scale of the formation
as a whole, basal Orbitolina lime-mudstones pass
upwards into oncoidal and algal packstones and grainstones, while the upper half is dominated by rudist-rich
packstones and grainstones and miliolid grainstones
(Hughes-Clark, 1988). In Qatar and parts ofAbu Dhabi,
the top of the Kharaib Formation is marked by the shaley
Hawar Member which represents a major maximum
flooding surface (Simmons, 1994). Outcrop equivalents
in Oman show two smaller scales of cyclicity (Simmons,
1994). Large-scale cycles are composed of doublets of
massive bioclastic wackestone-packstone units overlain
by argillaceous mudstone-wackestones. Smaller scale
cycles in the massive units are composed of coarseningupward mudstone-grainstone packets, often sharply
overlain by further mudstone. The major units can be

correlated on a regional scale, but individual grainstones

cannot.

2.2. Jurassic reservoirs in the Amu Darya Basin (Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan)

During Callovian times, a southward-facing carbonate

ramp developed on the northern margin of Tethys,
coincident with the present northern margin of the Amu
Darya Basin (Ilyn and Fortunatova, 1988). The ramp
evolved to a rimmed shelf with marginal reefs following
a major relative sea-level rise in the Oxfordian. Shelfal
facies included back-reef shoals, lagoonal and tidal
deposits, while pinnacle reefs and carbonate turbidite
fans developed basinward of the reef margin (Fig. 4).
Carbonate deposition ceased during the Late Kimmeridgian when the Amu Darya Basin became restricted
and a succession of evaporites was deposited. VNIGNI
(the All Russia Geological Research Oil Prospecting
Institute) geologists have studied material from the Jurassic (Callovian-Kimmeridgian) carbonate reservoirs of
the Ainu Darya Basin (Fig. 2) for many years and have
amassed a wealth of information regarding the sedimentology and reservoir quality of the region. A sum-

3.E. Neilson et al./'Marine and Petroleum Geology 15 (1998) 57-72

60

0
I

~l

E <

t-0

m
u}

co

o
0

-. ,,~,-

.o

,~_~

.~
i.-

a~

~)i::5!}JJ22

ILl

r" ,..,,,_

i=

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o 7'
....

,/

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u.

r~

\
i

\_

\
o

,,0

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<

i%
~L__
(0 o

z
o~

J.E. Nei&on et al./Marine and Petroleum Geology 15 (1998) 57-72

W
<

CENTRAL OMAN
MOUNTAINS STUDY AREA

ABU DHABI

Z
,<

0..

IAI

<

61

~.

,.,,

SHUAIBA FM.
L.

SHUAIBA FM.

..

HAWAR MEMBER

KHARAIB FM.
KHARAIB FM.

~" ~1
*NASR FM.'

<

LEKHWAIR FM.

HABSHAN F

>'<

HABSHAN FM.

SALIL FM.

[]

n"

LU
,-n

RAYDA FM.

- ReservoirZone

Fig. 3. Lower Cretaceous lithostratigraphy, Northeast Arabia (from Simmons, 1994). Reservoir zones (X) are marked by the letters A I and numerals
V VI of local nomenclature.

mary of this information can be found in Ilyn and

F o r t u n a t o v a (1988).

3. Methods

The data we report here were obtained during regional

subsurface and field studies of carbonate reservoir rocks

from Abu Dhabi and the A m u D a r y a Basin (Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan).

The sample set from Abu Dhabi comprises approximately 200 core samples of the Kharaib Formation
( T h a m a m a II or T h a m a m a B reservoirs of local
nomenclature) from over 20 wells penetrating the T h a m ama G r o u p (Lower Cretaceous) in a number of oilfields
and selected wells in Abu Dhabi (Fig. 1). Thin sections

62

J.E. Neilson et al./Marine and Petroleum Geology 15 (1998) 5 ~ 7 2

uoz.uoH
tlId~,

seJ|a,I/~l

0
0
(9

e,

_.1
LL.
'-J

co

"103

t-',
~

...I
I.J_

.~

~--

2
m
LLI

_z

ej

D@D
o

.g
[...

2~
X ~
v

0_

u~

~
o~

O
0..
0

LL m
ILl ~

O0

"1"

Z
ILl

<

-5

"J
LU

b
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8
~3

"3
.,...

E
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>

.~

--

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8~
8

q l d e G seJ l.a,~l
u0z!JoH
eBelsqns

elPp!~

NVlOOII:I=~nNIH L

N V I O

U O . : I X O

N V I A O l l V O

.z:Z .'~

~=

eGelS

[...k .x:,

J.E. Neilson et al./Marine and Petroleum Geology 15 (1998) 57-72

and polished wafers were analysed using petrographic,

fluid inclusion, SEM and isotopic (C, O and Sr) techniques to evaluate the major sedimentological and diagenetic controls on reservoir quality in what is one of
the major reservoirs in Abu Dhabi. Porosity and permeability data were obtained from oil company records
and had been collected by standard petroleum engineering techniques during core plug analysis.
The sample set from the Amu Darya Basin was much
smaller (17 samples from eight wells). Unlike the Abu
Dhabi study, well constrained datasets from individual
fields were not available but the observations are of interest when considering the role that petroleum plays in the
burial diagenesis of reservoirs. Thin sections and polished
wafers were examined using petrographic, fluid inclusion,
SEM and isotopic (C, O) techniques to determine the
major controls on reservoir quality.
Petroleum inclusions were recognised by their fluorescence under incident UV illumination. Burruss (1991)
gives additional criteria which permit petroleum
inclusions to be distinguished from other fluorescent
components in sedimentary rocks. Two properties of petroleum inclusions are of major interest: their composition
and their distribution. We have collected distribution
data by the method of Oxtoby et al. (1995), and compositional data from fluorescence analysis (including
spectrometry using a Zeiss UMSP50), and microthermometry. Fluorescence colours are interpreted in
terms of API gravities by the method of Hagemann and
Hollerbach (1986).
A microscope-mounted Linkam THM600 heatingcooling stage was used for microthermometry of aqueous
and petroleum inclusions. The stage gives a measurement
precision of _0.1C, and an accuracy of better than
1C throughout the temperature range of the inclusions
studied. Bulk standards and synthetic inclusions were
used for stage calibration. All temperatures measured on
fluid inclusions were obtained by temperature cycling to
obtain maximum precision (Roedder, 1984). Homogenization, and final ice melting were routinely measured,
but a few gas hydrate dissociation temperatures and first
melting temperatures were also obtained. Final ice melting temperatures were obtained from aqueous inclusions
in the presence of a vapour bubble, so that a salinity
could be calculated from the equation of Oakes et al.
(1990), which is derived from vapour-saturated experimental data. Homogenization temperatures were measured in strictly increasing order and before any freezing
experiments to minimise the potential for laboratory
damage to the inclusions.
Stable (C, O) isotope data were obtained from laser
ablation-mass spectrometry of 20 micron diameter areas
of doubly polished wafers from which all intergranular
organic material (including the mounting resin) had been
removed. Details of the technique are given by Smalley
et al. (1992).

63

Radiogenic (Sr) isotopes were measured using a VG

354 mass spectrometer. Small powder samples from areas
of micritic matrix and sparry cements were obtained from
uncovered, slightly thicker, thin-sections using a Wentworth Laboratories ultrasonic microdrill.
4. Diagenesis and pore systems
4.1. Kharaib Formation

Transmitted light and backscattered electron

microscopy show that the depositional lithology has
exerted a significant control on the types of pore system
which are developed and preserved. Primary intergranular macroporosity which formed during deposition
of the grainstone-packstone facies has been filled by calcite cements to varying degrees (Fig. 5). Other types of
macropore which are preserved in the reservoirs are secondary vugs and moulds (Fig. 5b,c). These also contain
variable amounts of equant sparry calcite cements. Permeability data indicate that this macropore system has
variable connectivity, though it is often sufficient to create
significant reservoir potential. Microporosity within the
sediment grains (Fig. 5) is also common throughout. Textures show that intergranular compaction has not been
significant in reducing reservoir quality in grainstone and
packstone units except where cementation has been very
limited. In contrast, the pore system in wackestones and
lime mudstones, mainly comprises poorly connected
microporosity (see Budd (1989) and Moshier (1989) for a
full discussion on the origins). In addition, laminar textures in these fine grained units indicate that significant
compaction has occurred. Locally, these facies have
been partially dolomitised (e.g. Alsharhan, 1990), leading
to the development of some intercrystalline porosity. Nevertheless, dolomitisation does not appear to have increased
permeability significantly in the wackestone-mudstone
units; both dolomitised and undolomitised examples typically have permeabilities below 10 mD. These units rarely
act as significant reservoirs. Lithofacies variations are
therefore critical in controlling the types of porosity encountered with the best reservoir quality being found in
the grainstone-packstone units.
4.2. Amu Darya Jurassic

The main reservoir facies encountered are the coarse

shelf grainstones and reefs (framestones and associated
grainstones), which generally conforms to the classic
models of such environments (Walker and James, 1992).
In the reefal material, significant vuggy porosity is common in core samples and in thin-section and is lined by
drusy calcite cement (Fig. 5e). The petrographic characteristics suggest that an early diagenetic model is broadly
applicable, with the development of freshwater lenses on

64

J.E. Neilson el al./Marine and Petroleum Geology 15 (1998) 57 72

and around the subaerially exposed parts of the reefs and

grainstones. Only small volumes of equant sparry calcite
precipitated during .burial (Fig, 5f) despite present day
burial depths ranging up to 11 000 ft (ca 3.5 kin). Consequently diagenesis has followed a different pathway to the
Kharaib Formation. Porosity is dominated by primary
intergranular and secondary vuggy and mouldic macropores (Fig. 5e,f). Microporosity within sediment grains
is also present.
5. Fluid inclusions

Data sets were obtained from petrographically similar

equant sparry calcites and dolomites in both the Kharaib
Formation and petrographically late calcites in one well
from the Amu Darya area.
5.1. Aqueous inclusions

In each sample some aqueous inclusions demonstrably

contained dissolved gas, according to the criteria of Collins (1979). Thus it is considered unnecessary to apply a
pressure correction to aqueous inclusion homogenization
temperature data.
5.1.1. Kharaib Formation.
The widespread occurrence of monophase aqueous
inclusions (Goldstein, 1986) and microthermometry of 2phase aqueous inclusions show that relatively low temperature burial cements are common in the Kharaib Formation, and their occurrence is not correlated with depth
(Fig. 6). Evidently, burial cementation began at an early
stage in this unit in many fields. The exceptions to this
may be in the deepest traps where data are restricted to
high temperatures, suggesting that the onset of cementation may have been later. However, not too much

weight should be placed on this observation because of

the possibility that a low temperature population may
have re-equilibrated (Goldstein, 1986). Primary petroleum inclusions are only found in the petrographically
later parts of equant sparry calcite crystals, and temperatures of coexisting aqueous inclusions are always in
the upper part of the range recorded from a sample.
Some relatively shallow fields show anomalously high
temperatures - up to 4 0 C above present day formation
temperatures. Some of the sparry calcites here may have
been precipitated under thermally anomalous (?hydrothermal) conditions.
The ranges of aqueous inclusion homogenization temperatures in dolomite are narrow, and cluster around
present day formation temperatures (Fig. 6). This, and
the common trapping of abundant petroleum inclusions,
implies that the dolomites are burial cements precipitating later than the sparry calcites in the same
sample, and provide further constraints on the likely temperature range of calcite precipitation in some samples.
In the Kharaib Formation there is no systematic variation of salinity with depth, and the inclusions contain a
very wide range of water types (Fig. 7). There may however be (palaeo)geographic variation. In the north and
northeast of the area studied, the lowest salinities generally approach seawater composition; in the central part
of the area, they have the composition of fresh water;
and to the south even the lowest salinities are greater
than seawater. The highest salinities recorded are often
very high indeed (4 7 times more saline than seawater).
The salinity data are consistent with the homogenization data. Cementation started at low temperatures
in the Kharaib from low salinity fluids. At higher temperatures in the Kharaib, burial fluids which have
acquired high chloride contents through interaction with
evaporites become dominant.

Fig. 5. (a) T h a m a m a reservoir (oil leg, Field A) in which burial cementation preceded petroleum emplacement, Abu Dhabi. Note extensive
cementation ofintergranular porosity. No petroleum inclusions occur in the sparry calcite cements. Residual microporosity occurs within the sediment
grains (blue). PPL. Scale b a r - 500 Itm. (b) T h a m a m a reservoir (oil leg, Field B) in which burial cementation and petroleum emplacement occurred
at the same time, A b u Dhabi. Burial cementation by calcite has been very limited. Significant intergranular porosity remains unfilled (blue). Sparry
calcite cements (white) contain petroleum inclusions. PPL. Scale b a r = 500 t~m. (c) T h a m a m a reservoir (oil leg, Field B) in which burial cementation
and petroleum emplacement occurred at the same time, Abu Dhabi. Burial cementation by calcite has been very limited. Significant intergranular
porosity remains unfilled (blue). Sparry calcite cements (white) contain petroleum inclusions. PPL. Scale b a r - 5 0 0 / n n . (d) T h a m a m a reservoir (water
leg, Field B) in which burial cementation and petroleum emplacement occurred at the same time, Abu Dhabi. Significant cementation ofintergranular
porosity by calcite has occurred. Microporosity occurs within sediment grains (blue-green hue). PPL. Scale b a r = 125 tim. (e) Oxfordian reservoir
(Field C), A m u Darya Basin. Peloidal-bioclastic grainstone from the reel" talus facies. Significant intergranular porosity occurs, much of which is
solution enhanced (centre top). Minor cementation by equant calcite microspar partially surrounds sediment grains and fills porosity. A thin bitumen
layer (black) lines some porosity as a final phase. PPL. Scale bar = 500 #m. (f) Oxfordian reservoir (Field D), Ainu Darya Basin. Peloidal-bioclastic
grainstone fi'om the closed shelf facies. Significant intergranular porosity remains but occasional burial calcite spar is observed. The lack of early
calcite cements is evidenced by compaction of the sediment grains. Note the absence of bitumen. PPL. Scale b a r = 125 ~tm. (g) Intergranular sparry
calcite, T h a m a m a Group, Abu Dhabi. Large, probably primary, 2-phase petroleum inclusion, containing orange-brown liquid and vapour bubble.
These homogenize to liquid at temperatures much higher than m a x i m u m burial temperatures, indicating heterogeneous trapping, consistent with an
early, phase-separated charge to a relatively low pressure-temperature reservoir. Scale bar=40/Lm. (h) Intergranular sparry calcite. Jurassic, Ainu
Darya Basin. Arrays of 2-phase, probably primary, aqueous inclusions around a r h o m b form growth surl:ace. Consistent vapour-liquid ratios (and
homogenization temperatures) in inclusions of variable size suggest resetting has not occurred. Dark parallel lines are twin boundaries. One linear
array of densely packed secondary inclusions crosses the primaries and twins at an angle. Scale bar = 30/an.

J.E. Neilson et al./Marine and Petroleum Geology 15 (1998) 5~72

Fig. 5. Caption see facing page.

65

66

J.E. Neilson et al./Marine and Petroleum Geology 15 (1998) 5~72

-1~0
Kh~aib

AinuDarya

Fm.

times more saline than seawater) throughout this range

(Fig. 7).

-1500.

5.2. Petroleum inclusions

-2000
m
-25~

3000

-3500

IO

-4000

-4500"

-500020

presentdaytemp.]

0
"40'

[]

' ' , i = , ' , .

60 80 100120140160180

primary oil inclusions

vertical bar = seoondades

, ' , , , , , ,
40 60 80 100120140180180

Homogenization temperature (C)

Fig, 6. Plots of homogenizationtemperature ranges of primary aqueous inclusions against depth for carbonate cements in Kharaib Formation reservoirs in Abu Dhabi and Jurassic reservoir from Ainu
Darya. Data from sparry calcite cements represented by thinner black
lines; dolomites by thicker grey lines. The occurrence of common
monophase inclusions is noted by an 'm'.

-1000

Kharaib

Fm.

Amu

Da~a

-1500
"

"

"

-2000

-2500

-3000

CI
-3500'
I

4000"

-4500'

-500C
5

10

15

20

25

30

10

15

20

25

30

Salinity (wt. % NaCl equiv.)

Fig. 7. Plots of salinity ranges of primary aqueous inclusions against
depth for carbonate cements in Kharaib Formation reservoirs in Abu
Dhabi and Jurassic reservoirfromAmu Darya. Data from sparrycalcite
cements represented by thinner black lines; dolomites by thicker grey
lines. First melting temperatures lie between -40cC and -60C indicating solutes dominated by NaCI and CaCI2, Note the wide range in
salinities throughout the depth range, suggestingthat fluid mixing is an
important cause of cementation.

5.1.2. A m u Darya Jurassic

Because of a general scarcity of coarsely crystalline

burial calcites suitable for microthermometric analysis,
only one data set was obtained from the Ainu Darya
sequence. Homogenization temperatures ranged from
45':C to over 100C (Fig. 6), though individual crystals
showed a narrower range. Salinities were largely concentrated between 20 and 25 wt% NaC1 equivalent (6-7

We now focus on petroleum inclusion distributions and

compositions. At a sample scale, the simplest measurable
characteristic of petroleum inclusions is whether they are
present or absent. I f petroleum inclusions are present,
then we can be sure that the rock has been in contact
with petroleum at some point in its history.
The population of petroleum inclusions is composed
of three sub-populations: primary, which are distributed
along growth zones and growth sector boundaries in
cementing minerals; secondary, which occupy healed
microfractures that formed after the component they are
found in; and pseudosecondary, which occupy healed
microfractures that formed during cementation. Variations in this population are discussed below.
5.2.1. Kharaib Formation

Primary petroleum inclusions were found locally in the

equant sparry calcite cements, and in dolomite cements.
In this paper we will not present a detailed description of
the compositions of primary petroleum inclusions found
in the Kharaib Formation, but we note that, in general,
the petroleum in the inclusions bears a strong resemblance to the reservoir oils, with most inclusions fluorescing in the yellow to yellow-green range under 365 nm
UV illumination with a 390 nm barrier filter. There are,
however, indications that the sparry calcite cements have
trapped charges of varying maturity. In the shallower
fields, there is a minor population of primary petroleum
inclusions which are dark brown in transmitted light and
fluoresce in the orange range; in contrast, the majority of
petroleum inclusions are straw-yellow or clear in transmitted light. This indicates a heavier oil in the brown
inclusions, consistent with the properties expected of a
less mature charge. In deeper fields, the proportion of
green and blue fluorescent primary inclusions is greater.
This indicates that lighter and presumably more mature
charges were being trapped as inclusions. Within individual fields, petroleum inclusions also increase in
maturity with depth and suggest gradual filling of the
structures from the top downwards. No primary petroleum inclusions were found in the deepest fields. Homogenization data sets from petroleum inclusions were
unhelpful in terms of the aims of this study. They had
extremely wide ranges, and decrepitation before homogenization was common. This is attributed to phase separation and heterogeneous trapping (Roedder, 1984).
5.2.2. Ainu Darya Jurassic'

In the Amu Darya sequences although petroleum

inclusions occur, they were not found in several of the
petroleum columns examined. Primary petroleum

J.E. Neilson et al./Marine and Petroleum Geology 15 (1998) 57-72

inclusions were not recorded at all. The absence of primary petroleum inclusions is readily explained if cementation occurred wholly before petroleum emplacement - but the absence of secondary petroleum inclusions is
more difficult to account for, particularly since bitumen,
i.e. residual petroleum, is present in some reservoirs, and
secondary aqueous inclusions have been trapped. It may
be significant that the Amu Darya accumulations are
dominated by gaseous petroleum, and, by analogy with
phase-separated aqueous fluids in metamorphic and
igneous systems (e.g. Roedder, 1984), it may be more
difficult for petroleum vapour phases to be trapped as
fluid inclusions. However, further research is required on
this problem.
6. Isotopes

67

cements have 87/865r values (Fig. 9) which range from

slightly above early Cretaceous seawater to considerably
above any post-Kharaib seawater composition (Smalley
et al., 1994), indicating variable influx of an exotic radiogenic fluid, consistent with the fluid inclusion and stable
isotope data. The 613C values generally lie between 0 to
+ 4%0, and this indicates the involvement of carbon from
marine skeletal carbonates. Matrix carbonates (e.g. micritic peloids and lime mud) have similar isotopic characteristics, though there are two outliers on the 613C v s .
6~80 plot, at ( + l, 0%0) and ( - 1 4 , -9%0) respectively.
The first is an unaltered fossil fragment and the second is
probably a portion containing shallow cements formed
as a result of microbial activity (Coleman, 1985).
Depletion in both carbon and oxygen is often observed
in such cements (Sass et al., 1991).
6.2. Amu Darya Jurassic

6.1. Kharaib Formation

The sparry calcite cements of the Kharaib Formation

have ~ 8 0 values which generally lie between - 5 and
-15%0 (Fig. 8) suggesting that precipitation occurred
from a variety of waters and/or up to relatively high
temperature. For the most isotopically depleted cement,
even assuming an isotopically depleted water composition of -5%0, precipitation temperatures above
about 70C are calculated from the fractionation equation given by Friedman and O'Neil (1977), with precipitation above about 120C for a 0%0 or heavier water.
The latter value is consistent with the fluid inclusion data.
Using the fluid inclusion temperatures to calculate 6~80
ranges for the precipitating water gives water compositions typically above 0%0 to over + 15%0, suggesting
a high degree of water-rock interaction at low waterrock ratios prior to calcite precipitation. The same

Equant sparry calcite cements have ~180 values

between -0%0 and -8%0 (Fig. 10) suggesting precipitation in either a relatively shallow burial environment from waters with isotopic compositions close to, or
slightly depleted compared with, seawater, or at higher
temperature from isotopically enriched waters. Unfortunately, the wide range in fluid inclusion homogenization data provide no constraints on this range of
possibilities, and 87/865r data were not available. The 613C
values generally lie between 0 to +4%0, consistent with
the derivation of carbon from marine skeletal carbonates.
7. Discussion
7.1. Burial cementation

Three lines of evidence suggest that the coarse equant

sparry calcite cements in both the Kharaib Formation

lO

0.714 (fluorite)
0.713 (dolomite)
0.712 (calcite)
0.7095-0.7090-i
0.7085---

C) -lO

calcit

0.7080"~

I mat,,:

0.7075-_-

C,AJ..CrTECEMENT

-20

-30
-20

07o70-:E

MATRIX

0.7065:
0

PRECIPITATED
IN EQUILIBRIUM

Y'd'g'l C~qETAGEOUS
SEAWATER

-1 0

10

a13C
Fig. 8. Stable isotopic composition of micritic carbonate grains and
burial calcite cements in the Kharaib Formation, T h a m a m a Group,
A b u Dhabi.

tliFitll,

100

200
300
Age (Ma)

Sma~etal.(1994)

400

Fig. 9. Sr-isotope curve of Smalley et al. (1994) for seawater throughout geological time. The values obtained from sediment grains and
cements from Kharaib Formation samples are shown by the arrow.
Note how they are more radiogenic than the original Lower Cretaceous
sediments would have been and in some cases are significantly more
radiogenic.

1000
0
100 E
_E_
E
t
n
z
6

00
o

0
IO-

00

00
0

l-

@&

8.

00
.l-

0
8

.Ol -cqQQD
,001

.o

l
O

(3
I

I
10

I
20

I
.

Porosity (%)
-20

-1 5

-10

-5

10

a13c
Fig. 10. Stable
reservoirs.

isotopic

composition

of calcite cements,

Amu

Darya

MICROPOROSITY

MICROPOROSITY

AND VISUALPOROSITY

Fig. I I Porosity-permeability
data for Thamama
reservoirs showmg
how pore type controls permeability.
Where samples contain microporosity only, permeability
does not exceed IOmD.

and the Amu Darya are largely burial cements. First,

they are petrographically
late, post-dating
compaction,
dissolution,
and phases of finer-crystalline
calcite precipitation.
Secondly, fluid inclusion
data indicate that
they formed at relatively high temperature
from evolved
basinal
brines.
The majority
of primary
aqueous
inclusions trapped in the sparry calcite contain Na-CaCl bearing water with salinities up to 7 times that of
seawater (Fig. 7), and they sometimes contain primary
petroleum inclusions (Fig. 5g). Thirdly, where available.
isotopic data again suggest the cements formed at relatively high temperature
(bO data) from evolved basinal
brines ( Sr data).
7.2. Relationship
diqqenesis

betM,een petroleum

emplacement

und

7.2.1. Kharaib Formation

Grainstones
and packstones
show considerable
variation in their poroperm characteristics
(Fig. 11). The data
show that grainstones which contain microporosity
only
(i.e. where cementation
by equant sparry calcite has been
extensive) have low permeabilities
(< 10 mD) despite having relatively high porosities (up to 20%). Samples in
which cementation
has been less extensive and which
have unfilled or partially filled macroporosity,
have significantly higher permeabilities
(Fig. 11).
There appears to be a very close relationship
between
reservoir quality and the occurrence
of primary petroleum inclusions.
Where reservoir quality is almost or
completely
destroyed by extensive intergranular
calcite
cements (Fig. 5a), no primary petroleum inclusions are
observed in those cements at the crests of fields although
the reservoir
rocks are stained
with petroleum.
In
contrast,
where unfilled macroporosity
(intergranular,
vuggy and mouldic porosity) is present because of less

burial cementation
(Fig. 5b,c). the calcite cements do
contain
primary petroleum
inclusions
(Fig. 5g), indicating that cementation
has overlapped with petroleum
emplacement.
In the water leg of such reservoirs (no
petroleum
inclusions),
cementation
has been extensive
(Fig. 5d) and porosities are lower than in the oil leg. These
data suggest that an early petroleum charge, relative to
burial cementation,
is required for the preservation
of
economically
producible reservoirs in the Kharaib Formation.
Despite an overall regional decline in porosity with
ddepth which also corresponds
with the distribution
of
primary petroleum inclusions,
average oil leg porosities
are higher at any given depth than dry hole and water leg
data (Fig. 12a). Primary petroleum inclusions are only
found in the shallower reservoirs along the major structural highs. Typically, porosity varies by about 10% in
individual fields, and the largest part of the variation is
correlated with depth, from crest to flank. Integration
of the porosity, permeability
and petrographic
data has
allowed two end member porosityydepth
curves to be
established,
a water-leg and late oil charge curve and
an early oil charge (crestal) curve with individual
field
porosity-depth
curves running between these as shown
in Fig. 12b. Such a rapid decline in porosity across a field
within a larger overall trend has also been observed in
sandstones (Gluyas et al.. 1993: Emery et al., 1993) and
appears to be typical of reservoirs in which cementation
has overlapped with petroleum emplacement.
A decrease
in porosity with depth within the oil leg reflects gradual
filling of the reservoir from the crest downwards.
This
may be accompanied
by an increase in stylolitisation
with

J.E. Neilson et al./Marine and Petroleum Geology 15 (1998) 5~72

sparry calcite cements and the presence of bitumen pore

linings suggests that petroleum emplacement was subsequent to the main diagenetic phases.
Regional porosity~lepth data (petroleum and water
legs) for reef talus grainstones (Fig. 13) show that an
overall decrease in porosity with depth does not occur.
Indeed many shallow grainstones have lower porosity
than those buried at depth, although it should be noted
that very high porosities (>25%) are only observed in
the oil and/or gas legs. This apparent increase in porosity
with depth may be associated with changes in the thick-

-4000
-5000

0o

I:IBlac~

-6000

-7000
r-

-8000
-9000
-10000
-11000
-12000
-13000
-14000

d0

1'0

69

40

Average porosity (%)

- 1000

El OILWELLS
a

Ii DRYWELLS

EXTENSIVE
DIAGENESIS

-4000
-5000
09
09
ILL
cQ.
"O

Xo

-7000
-8000

WATERLEGAND
LATEOILCHARGEL

coRvE

J " > " - ~'C-------

I-

~-

-9000

"E -10000

Q.
"O

- 1500

-6000

///)//

-11000

x
x

7/

-12000

x
EXTENSIVE
DIAGENESIS

-13000

-14000

Xx

10
20
30
Average porosity (%)

- 2000

xX X

40
x

-r
Io.

xx

xx

Xx

(~

xx

eo

i/J

- 2500

o o

=1-='Jo.
00

Fig. 12. (a) Average Kharaib Formation porosity per well versus depth,
Abu Dhabi from oil fields and dry wells. (b) Crestal, water leg and
schematic field trends for the Kharaib Formation, Abu Dhabi

O~

oXxoQeooX

"_ o e |
n

OO

3000

:!.-.

depth (Dunnington, 1967). The possible links between oil

filling and stylolitisation are discussed later.
7.2.2. Amu Darya Jurassic
In the Amu Darya Basin, petroleum generation began
during the Late Cretaceous (VNIGNI, unpublished data)
when the Jurassic reservoirs were buried to depths of
around 6000-8000ft (2-2.5km). Secondary petroleum
inclusions were observed in the matrix of some samples
but neither primary nor secondary inclusions were
observed in burial calcite cements from the gas/
condensate legs (Fig. 5h). Bitumen pore linings are
observed in several of the peloidal/bioclastic grainstones
(Fig. 5e). The absence of petroleum inclusions in the

XOx:,: x

.
0

0 000

(~)

20

30

40%

POROSITY

Samples from oil and/or gas intervals

O Samples from water intervals
x Samples from intervals where data about oil, gas or water are absent
13 Porosity determined from logs only
Overlying evapodtes 30-100m thick on average
Overlying evaporites 100-400to thick on average
(~)Overlying evaporites 400-650m thick on average

Fig. 13. P o r o s i t y ~ l e p t h p l o t f o r r e e f t a l u s g r a i n s t o n e s in the A m u

D a r y a Basin.

70

J.E. Neilson et al./Marine and Petroleum Geology 15 (1998) 57-72

ness and character of the overlying KimmeridgianTithonian deposits. Where the overlying KimmeridgianTithonian evaporites are thicker, the underlying reservoirs may be overpressured. Regional overpressure can
reduce the effects of burial diagenesis through retardation
of pressure solution (e.g. Feazel and Schatzinger, 1985).
Very high porosities ( > 25%) in the oil and/or gas legs
suggest that petroleum emplacement may have played a
part in retarding burial diagenesis and allowing primary
macroporosity to be preserved up to 3.5 km burial (Fig.
13), but as no primary petroleum inclusions were
observed in the calcite cement, conclusive evidence for
this could not be obtained from our sample set.
7.3. Comparison with similar studies
A close relationship between the timing of petroleum
emplacement and cementation has been recorded elsewhere in the world, including other parts of the Middle
East, where fluid inclusion data have been available,
though few studies have presented these findings in
relation to quantitative porosity-depth data.
Burruss et al. (1985) used petroleum inclusions in calcite cements as a tool for understanding the timing of
petroleum migration in the Oman-Dubai area. They
showed that petroleum charging of Thamama Group
reservoirs in the area had occurred over a wide range of
time from Late Cretaceous through to the Early Tertiary
(Oligocene). Their work suggests that petroleum charging
in some reservoirs began prior to stylolitisation and burial
cementation. Alsharhan (1989) and Oswald et al. (1995)
have likewise suggested that petroleum generation and
charging began during the Late Cretaceous. This would
agree with the petrographic relationships we have
described which suggest that petroleum charging was
early relative to burial cementation in many of the highest
porosity Kharaib Formation reservoirs in Abu Dhabi,
preserving reservoir quality (Fig. 5b,c), The extensive
burial cementation observed in other reservoirs in Abu
Dhabi, which occurred prior to petroleum emplacement
(Fig. 5a) could be accounted for by relatively late charging (e.g. during the Early Tertiary).
McLimans and Videtich (1989) clearly note that the
more porous Middle Jurassic Great Oolite reservoirs (e.g.
Storrington) in the western part of the Weald Basin,
England, contain petroleum inclusions in calcite cements
while less porous, extensively cemented dry wells (e.g.
Godley Bridge) do not. They note that the pore system
in the Great Oolite is dominated by primary porosity
with secondary porosity being of little importance. This
is similar to the better quality reservoirs in Abu Dhabi.
Primary porosity, and hence reservoir quality in the Great
Oolite, have been preserved where limited burial cementation occurred prior to the main phase of petroleum
generation. Sellwood et al. (1989, 1993) provide
additional data in support of this interpretation.

Perhaps the effect of oil emplacement can be most

clearly seen in chalks (Scholle, 1977; Feaze1 and Schatzinger, 1985) where initial variations in depositional texture and diagenesis are less than in shelf limestones. In
a major review of chalks from a variety of locations
worldwide, Scholle (1977) notes that chalk cementation
is a function of pressure solution and cementation. He
suggests that although small initial sedimentological variations could lead to bed-to-bed variation, overall patterns
of chalk diagenesis are related to two main factors: firstly,
maximum burial depth and secondly, pore-water chemistry. Porosity (and permeability) decrease as a direct
function of depth except where oil entered the rock relatively early, overpressuring occurred or tectonic stresses
increased solution and cementation. Two factors are
therefore critical in preserving reservoir quality in the
chalk, petroleum emplacement and overpressuring.
7.4. Stylolitisation
Increases in stylolite density away from structural crests is an apparently obvious example of direct structural
control but Dunnington (1967) and Oswald et al. (1995)
have also shown that petroleum emplacement probably
inhibits stylolitisation. Stylolites can provide a significant
source of material for burial cementation through pressure dissolution (Scholle and Halley, 1985) and data from
Abu Dhabi suggest that this may be the case in some
fields (Oswald et al., 1995). Our 87/S6Sr data (Fig. 9) and
minor amounts of 'exotic' cements such as fluorite, however indicate that stylolites are not the sole source of
burial cements in the fields we have studied. Very high
ST/S6Sr ratios have also been observed in burial calcite
cements from the Smackover Formation (Stuber and
Pushkar, 1983) and the Great Oolite (Sellwood et al.,
1989). In both cases, it was suggested that potential
sources of radiogenic Sr were nearby basinal shales
(Norphlet Formation and the Lias shales respectively).
8. Conclusions

Petroleum emplacement is a major control on reservoir

quality in many carbonates (e.g. Scholle, 1977; Scholle
and Halley, 1985; Feazel and Schatzinger, 1985) and the
data presented here from Abu Dhabi highlight this. Petroleum emplacement appears to be particularly important where it occurs relatively early in the burial history
of a porous and permeable limestone, prior to burial
cementation (e.g. many Kharaib Formation reservoirs).
Where it occurs relatively late, its effect will depend on
how far burial diagenesis has progressed (a function of
factors such as depth of burial, extent of pressure solution, overpressuring, etc.).
Demonstrating that petroleum emplacement has had
an effect requires several critical pieces of evidence: (a)

J.E. Neilson et al./Marine and Petroleum Geology 15 (1998) 57-72

the occurrence of porosity-depth trends which are firstly,

steeper than those due to compaction, secondly, correlated with structural elevation and thirdly, correlated
with the degree of filling of macropores by cements; (b) the
occurrence of petroleum inclusions in more porous parts
of the reservoir and their absence in less porous parts.
In the limestones of the Kharaib Formation, we have
found the petroleum inclusion evidence and have demonstrated that porosity~lepth trends in fields in which
there is a synchronous relationship between petroleum
emplacement and cementation, are steeper than regional
dry hole or water leg trends. No global compaction trends
exists for 'limestones' as for sandstones but the dry hole
and water leg trends may be a more useful way of representing simple burial processes. Any deviation from
this implies that other factors have been involved.
In the limestones of the Amu Darya Jurassic, burial
diagenesis has been limited. The absence of primary petroleum inclusions in the calcite may suggest that petroleum emplacement occurred after burial cementation
ceased although very high porosities only occur in the oil
and/or gas legs. The bulk of the burial diagenesis therefore appears to have been arrested before petroleum ever
entered the system. The reasons for this are unclear but
may be due to overpressuring as higher porosities occur
where the overlying Kimmeridgian-Tithonian salt is
thickest (up to 650 m).
The relative timing of petroleum emplacement and burial cementation can therefore be a crucial element in the
successful prediction of reservoir quality in limestones.
Economically, there are two ideal situations:
1. Petroleum emplacement occurs prior to significant
burial cementation. Macroporosity will be preserved
and the spatial distribution of it will be a function of
lithofacies and structural configuration (e.g. Kharaib
Formation reservoirs in Abu Dhabi where reservoir
quality is good and the Great Oolite).
2. Petroleum emplacement is geologically late but burial
cementation does not occur for other reasons (e.g.
overpressuring). Petroleum emplacement may still be
of secondary importance, helping to maintain reservoir quality as is the case for the North Sea chalk.
This may also be the case in the Jurassic reservoirs of
the Amu Darya.
Where petroleum emplacement post-dates cementation,
there may be no simple relationship between lithofacies
and structure on the one hand, and porosity distribution
on the other. Thamama reservoirs in Abu Dhabi where
reservoir quality is poor, fall into this category.

Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to A D N O C , V N I G N I and
BP for allowing them to publish this material. The assist-

71

ance of Mr Galal Loutfi and Mr. Sherief Bishlawi,

A D N O C during Kharaib study and colleagues at BP has
been invaluable. The authors would also like to thank
D.G. Roberts, E. Purdy and two anonymous reviewers
for their helpful comments.

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