RESERVOIR ROCKS
A reservoir rock is a place that oil migrates to and is held underground. Sandstone and
limestone are examples of reservoir rocks.
A permeable subsurface rock that contains petroleum. Must be both porous and permeable.
Reservoir rocks are dominantly sedimentary (sandstones and carbonates); however, highly
fractured igneous and metamorphic rocks have been known to produce hydrocarbons, albeit
on a much smaller scale.
Understanding reservoir rock properties and their associated characteristics is crucial in
developing a prospect.
Both porosity and permeability are geometric properties of a rock and both are the result of
its lithologic (composition) character. The physical composition of a rock and the textural
properties (geometric properties such as the sizes and shapes of the constituent grains, the
manner of their packing) are what is important when discussing reservoir rocks and not so
much the age of the rock.
FEATURES FOR A RESERVOIR TO BE EFFECTIVE
A fundamental property of a reservoir rock is its porosity. However, for it to be an effective
reservoir rock, the fundamental property is permeability.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CARBONATES AND CARBONATE RESERVOIRS:
Description:
Grains (clasts) are largely the skeletal or shell remains of shallow marine dwelling
organisms, varying in size and shape, that either lived on the ocean bottom (benthic)
or floated in water column (neritic)
Many of these clasts can be identified by skilled paleontologists and
micropaleontologists and can be used for correlative purposes or age range dating;
also beneficial in establishing index fossils for marker beds used in regional
stratigraphic correlations
Dolomites are a product of solution recrystallization of limestones
Usually light or dark gray, abundant fossil molds and casts, vuggy (vugular) porosity
Classification:
Divided into limestones (calcium carbonate -- CaCO3 ) and dolomites (calcium
magnesium carbonate – CaMg(CO3)2 )
Limestones can be divided further into Mudstones, Wackestones, Packstones,
Grainstones, and
Boundstones according to the limestones depositional texture; see Dunham
classification scheme
Properties:
Porosity is largely a result of dissolution and fracturing (secondary porosity)
Carbonates such as coquina are nearly 100% fossil fragments (largely primary
porosity)
Are characteristically hard rocks, especially dolomite
Susceptible to dissolution weathering
CHARACTERISTICS OF SANDSTONES AND SANDSTONE RESERVOIRS:
Description:
Composed of sand-sized particles
Recall that sandstones may contain textural features indicative of the environment in
which they were deposited: ripple marks (alluvial/fluvial), cross-bedding
(alluvial/fluvial or eolian), graded- bedding (turbidity current)
Typically light beige to tan in colour; can also be dark brown to rusty red
Classification:
Sandstones can be further classified according to the abundance of grains of a
particular chemical composition (i.e., common source rock); for example, an arkosic
sanstone (usually abbreviated: ark. s.s.) is a sandstone largely composed of feldspar
(feldspathic) grains….Can you recall which continental rock contains feldspar as one
of its mineral constituents???
Sandstones composed of nearly all quartz grains are labelled quartz sandstones
(usually abbreviated: qtz. s.s.)
Properties:
Sandstone porosity is on the range of 10-30%
Intergranular porosity is largely determined by sorting (primary porosity)
Poorly indurated sandstones are referred to as fissile (easily disaggregated when
scratched), whereas highly indurated sandstones can be very resistant to weathering
and erosion