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AUTHORS
ABSTRACT
Characterizing the reservoir interval into flow units is an effective way to subdivide the net-pay zone into layers for reservoir simulation. Commonly used flow unit identification
techniques require a reliable estimate of permeability in the
net pay on a foot-by-foot basis. Most of the wells do not have
cores, and the literature is replete with different kinds of correlations, transforms, and prediction methods for profiling permeability in pay. However, for robust flow unit determination,
predicted permeability at noncored wells requires validation
and, if necessary, refinement.
This study outlines the use of a spreadsheet-based permeability validation technique to characterize flow units in wells from
the Norcan East field, Clark County, Kansas, that produce from
Atokan aged fine- to very fine-grained quartzarenite sandstones
interpreted to have been deposited in brackish-water, tidally dominated restricted tidal-flat, tidal-channel, tidal-bar, and estuary
bay environments within a small incised-valley-fill system. The
methodology outlined enables the identification of fieldwide
free-water level and validates and refines predicted permeability at 0.5-ft (0.15-m) intervals by iteratively reconciling differences in water saturation calculated from wire-line log and a
capillary-pressure formulation that models fine- to very finegrained sandstone with diagenetic clay and silt or shale laminae.
Copyright #2008. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.
Manuscript received July 18, 2007; provisional acceptance September 6, 2007; revised manuscript
received December 18, 2007; final acceptance January 14, 2008.
DOI:10.1306/01140807081
709
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank the Kansas Geological Survey for providing the support for this study,
and the Computer Modeling Group Ltd. (CMG)
for allowing the use of their reservoir simulator IMEX. The U.S. Department of Energy also
supported parts of this study through a grant.
We also thank the Murfin Drilling Company,
Wichita, for providing data from the Norcan
East field and financial support for part of
this study.
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Geohorizons
INTRODUCTION
Flow units, which do not always coincide with geologic lithofacies, subdivide reservoirs into zones (layers) based on hydraulic flow properties and are best suited to determine reservoir
layering for flow-simulation studies. Prevalent techniques for
flow unit zonation include application of Lorenz plots and use
of flow zone indicators (FZI). Both these techniques require
knowledge of porosity and permeability distribution on a footby-foot basis. Wire-line logs can provide good estimates of porosity and help define net pay; however, permeability profiles
ultimately can only be generated from core measurements.
Estimation of permeability from wire-line logs in uncored wells
commonly consists primarily of the use of (1) log porosity and
a single permeability-porosity transform, (2) log porosity and a
series of lithofacies- or log-facies-specific permeability-porosity
transforms possibly incorporating other log-measured properties (e.g., irreducible water saturation), (3) multivariate prediction of permeability from various log response curves, or
(4) nonlinear permeability prediction methods (e.g., neural
network analysis). The robustness of the permeability estimation is generally determined by blind-test correlation of estimated and measured permeability over specific cored interval(s). Petrophysical properties, like geologic parameters, vary
spatially, and thus, acceptable performance in blind test(s) is
not a guarantee that the estimated permeabilities are accurate
in wells located significant distances from the cored wells in
the field. Thus, flow unit zonation in most of the wells in a field
is commonly based on nonvalidated permeability values.
This case study in the Norcan East field (Clark County,
Kansas), which produces from an upper Atokan fine- to very
fine-grained sandstone, does not investigate the best permeability estimation method at uncored wells. Instead, it examines
and illustrates a methodology for validation and refinement of
the estimated permeability once a particular method has been
applied. The proposed validation process is an iterative technique that minimizes the difference between log-derived water
saturation (Swlog) and saturation determined from capillary
pressure (SwPc) at every 0.5-ft (0.15-m) interval in net pay at
GEOLOGIC SETTING
Regional Geology
During the late Mississippian through Early Permian, the Hugoton embayment structural extension
of the Anadarko Basin, located in southwestern
Kansas in the central mid-continent United States,
was a marine seaway (Rascoe and Adler, 1983;
Sonnenberg et al., 1990). The Norcan East field
(Figure 1, base map) lies along the eastern margin
of this embayment at a structurally high position
where early and middle Pennsylvanian strata onlapped onto the basal Pennsylvanian unconformity
during a long-term rise in global sea level (Ross and
Ross, 1987). The Norcan East field and other fields
along the eastern margin of the Hugoton embayment produce from a series of incised-valley-fill deposits developed on the basal Pennsylvanian unconformity. The Central Kansas uplift, lying to the east,
was uplifted and emergent during the early to
Bhattacharya et al.
711
Figure 1. Map showing the location of the Norcan East field (modified from Youle et al., 1994). The Norcan East field lies on the
eastern flank of the Hugoton embayment and produces from the Atoka reservoir.
Geohorizons
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Figure 2. Wire-line-log cross section showing flow unit distribution. Three depositional sequences (S1 S3) are delineated by flooding surfaces (wavy lines). The left track of logs
includes a gamma-ray curve that is color enhanced. The middle track is neutron and density porosity, and the right track (black curve filled with red) is flow unit speed (ratio of
cumulative permeability-feet percent and cumulative porosity-feet percent). Datum is top of sequence S1. S3 is predominantly shale and siltstone within the valley, S2 has extensive
sandstone accumulation, and S1 is primarily marine limestone that oversteps the incised valley. The flow units identified in S2 are demarked in green, blue, and purple. Relative depths
are in feet.
Figure 3. Type log from Murfin Drilling Company 1-3 Patton well located in Sec. 3, T30S, R25W, Clark County, Kansas, illustrated
with colored gamma ray (GR) in the left track, neutron (NPHI) and density porosity (DPHI) and photoelectric (PEF) curve in the
middle track, and flow unit speed (FUS, i.e., ratio of cumulative permeability-feet percent and cumulative porosity-feet percent) in the
right track. Core description of the S2 interval is shown. Selected photographs of core slabs illustrate major lithofacies in flow units
including (A) 5321.3 ft (1621.93 m), upper flow unit (bidirectional ripple cross-lamination, reactivation surfaces, rhythmic shale
laminations, and flaser bedding); (B) 5322.5 ft (1622.29 m), middle flow unit (flaser bedded and lenticular sandstone in shale); and
(C) 5327.5 ft (1623.82 m), lower flow unit (highly bioturbated sandstone). Core widths = 3.95 in. (10.0 cm).
This correlative division of the S2 interval suggests that these were deposited in response to a
higher frequency (fifth-order) relative sea level rise
and fall. These three divisions, with contrasting rock
petrophysical properties, partition the S2 pay interval into distinct flow units. The sandstones of
the S2 sequence form lobate subunits with geometries suggesting tidal bars with sediments that may
have been locally derived from smaller tributaries
located along the flanks of the main incised valley
(Watney et al., in press). Secondary sources of sediments from tributaries appear to be important in an
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Figure 4. Thin-section photomicrographs of lower and upper flow units of S2 in Murfin Drilling Company 1-3 Patton well. (A) Patton
5327.3 ft (1623.76 m) (lower flow unit): bivalve in quartz sandstone. (B) Fine-grained sandstone with millimeter-shaly laminations
(Patton 5320.1 ft [1621.56 m], upper flow unit). Blue epoxy impregnated under cross nicols. The scale bar (1 mm; 0.03 in.) is in the
lower left. (C) Patton 5321.8 ft (1622.08 m): quartose sandstone (lower upper flow unit). (D) Patton 5321.8 ft (1622.08 m) (lower
upper flow unit): caliche nodule (microcrystalline calcite) containing displaced sand grains suggesting in-situ formation. Blue epoxy
impregnation under cross nicols. Porosity developed on the right and bottom of the photomicrograph. Scale bar shown is 1.0 mm
(0.03 in.) long.
Geohorizons
Pay Identification
Wells in the Norcan East field were drilled between 1983 and 1985 and, thus, have similar vintage wire-line logs that were analyzed using Archie
parameters tabulated in Table 1. The field boundary is delineated by a series of dry and abandoned
(D and A) wells that are interpreted from log responses to be dry due the absence of the productive
S2 sandstone interval. Petrophysical cutoff parameters (porosity cutoff = 0.1, water saturation cutoff =
0.5, and gamma-ray index [GRI] cutoff = 0.3)
Archie parameters
m
n
a
R w, ohm m
Bhattacharya et al.
717
Figure 6. S2 net-pay isopach map of the Norcan East field. The thickness is expressed in feet, and the square grid is 1 mi (1.61 km)
on a side. The S2 sandstone is limited to confines of the incised valley, and two discrete sandstone accumulations (an eastern and a
western lobe) are visible.
Geohorizons
Permeability
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Geohorizons
Relative Permeability
Relative permeabilities (kro and krw) are critical
inputs for reservoir-simulation studies. A previous
study of Atokan sandstone cores provided oil-water
imbibition relative permeability curves for six cores.
Relative permeability curves were approximately
modeled using the following modified Corey (1954)
equations:
Bhattacharya et al.
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Geohorizons
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Denoo (1981) equations use irreducible water saturation, Swi, and the relationship between permeability and Swi but, because they use Swi, are limited
to the region of the reservoir above the transition
zone. The Yao and Holditch (1993) equation uses
porosity, GRI, and deep and shallow electric log
response, potentially improving on information provided only by deep resistivity, but implicitly requiring that the reservoir be near fixed saturation,
which frequently would be Swi. The methodology
employed here (Figure 11) uses the variable saturation information including Swi and Sw down to
the FWL by implicitly requiring a capillary-pressure
relationship.
For each 0.5-ft (0.15-m) interval within net
pay at each well, starting with an estimated permeability (equation 1), estimated capillary-pressure
curve (equations 2 and 3), and an FWL, the resulting
SwPc was compared with the corresponding Swlog.
Assuming that the difference between SwPc and
Swlog (DSwPc-log) is caused by an error in the predicted permeability, then DSwPc-log can be reduced
by simply adjusting the predicted permeability.
Unconstrained, this approach could theoretically
provide a perfect match between SwPc and Swlog
(DSwPc-log = 0) simply by selecting a potentially
unrealistic permeability that exhibited the necessary capillary-pressure curve. However, assuming
that the variance for equation 1, which is constrained to a standard error of a factor of 3.4, is representative of the population, then the allowable
permeability adjustment should reflect the statistical distribution associated with equation 1. Under
this constraint, for example, approximately 66%
of the samples could be adjusted between 0 and
1 standard deviation (i.e., k/3.4 to 3.4k), and no
more than approximately 33% of all samples should
be adjusted by greater than 1 and less than 2 standard deviations. Using this methodology, permeability is adjusted to obtain DSwPc-log < X (where
X = 0 or X = selected maximum acceptable difference, i.e., 2.5% in this study). Where DSwPc-log
< X cannot be achieved, permeability is set to the
minimum or maximum value statistically allowed,
which would provide the minimum achievable
value for DSwPc-log. This methodology provides
optimum reconciliation of SwPc and Swlog by
provided satisfactory SwPc Swlog reconciliation within DSwPc-log < 2.5%. This also allowed
the calculations to be performed in a spreadsheet
environment.
The above procedure provided an improvement
in permeability estimation at the 0.5-ft (0.15-m) scale
for a given FWL. Thereafter, the average, and standard deviations in saturation errors were calculated
for net pay in all the wells. Following Figure 11, this
process was repeated by varying the FWL in 1-ft
(0.30-m) increments within the previously predicted depth range (2754 to 2760 ft [839 to
841 m] subsea), and reconciling DSwPc-log < 2.5% by
permeability adjustment. A plot (Figure 12) of
the average and standard deviation of DSwPc-log
against the corresponding FWL shows that a fieldwide FWL of 2758 ft (841 m) (subsea) results in
the least saturation errors, i.e., 76% of the saturation errors were less than 4%. Figure 13A illustrates a histogram of DSwPc-log values calculated
at 0.5-ft (0.15-m) intervals for all wells, whereas
Figure 13B illustrates the correlation between SwPc
and Swlog values in the net pay at each well using
an FWL of 2758 ft (841 m) (subsea). The above
procedure validated and refined the permeability distribution in the net pay for flow unit modeling and also helped determine the fieldwide FWL
depth.
Flow units are considered to be continuous intervals with similar reservoir process speed or flow
rates (Gunter et al., 1997a) and are arranged according to stratigraphic sequence. Ideally, flow units
are confined to a sequence-stratigraphic unit and
within the structural framework (Pranter and Hurley,
2004). Judicious choice of flow units may reduce
or eliminate the necessity to upscale geological models for reservoir simulation. As summarized earlier,
many methods for flow unit determination exist. In
this study, the SML plot was used to delineate flow
units. In this procedure, cumulative percent flow
capacity is plotted against cumulative percent storage capacity over the net pay interval. On this plot,
flow units are differentiated by slope inflections.
Bhattacharya et al.
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Geohorizons
Figure 15. History match of fluid production from the western segment of the Norcan East field. The green circles and line represent
the historic oil rate and that calculated by the simulator, whereas the red diamonds and line represent the historic gas production and that
calculated by the simulator. The blue triangles and line represent the historic water production rates and that calculated by the simulator.
Bhattacharya et al.
727
storage, i.e., has a higher process speed, than segments below and above it that are characterized by
relatively flatter slopes. Segments with steeper
slopes can be considered as high-speed (fast) zones,
whereas those with less steep slopes are considered
baffles (low-speed zones). Segments with horizontal slopes have zero process speeds and act as barriers because their storage volumes contribute negligibly to flow. High-flow (fast) and baffle zones
were identified within the pay zone in the western
part of the Norcan East field.
Figure 14B is a plot of the FUS log in Murfin
Drilling Company 4-10 Tedford well. The thickness
of the high-speed zone on the SML plot (5307
5311 ft; 16181619 m) is shown by the doubleheaded arrow (FUS > 0.6). This zone is bounded
vertically by two low-speed zones with an FUS <
0.6. Similar SML plots and FUS logs were created
for all the wells in the study area to subdivide the
pay into flow units. Water injection and breakthrough histories, especially of injection-production
pairs, were considered while tracing the lateral
continuity of each flow unit. An east-west cross
section across the model area showing the various
flow units (shown in different colors, i.e., green,
blue, and purple) is nested within the S2 sand is
shown in Figure 2.
RESERVOIR SIMULATION
Isopach (Figure 6) and structure maps of Norcan
East reveal that the unitized western section is
physically separate from the eastern section. For
this reason, and because of the availability of primary and secondary production data, flow unit modeling and simulation were confined to the western
section. A three-dimensional flow unitbased geomodel was constructed using mean log-measured
porosities, arithmetically upscaled refined permeabilities as discussed above, and upscaled water
saturations. Relative permeability relations followed
equations 46. Table 1 lists other important inputs
to the simulator model. To test the interwell and
field-scale validity of the predicted permeabilities,
flow simulation was performed for the reservoir
geomodel to determine whether performance his728
Geohorizons
2.
3.
4.
CONCLUSIONS
5.
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