The Khuff (Dalan/Kangan) Formation: from regional models to reservoir simulations

Insalaco, Enzo (Total - [email protected]), Catherine  Baglini re  (Total), Roger  Brousse  (Total), Christian  Fraisse  (Total), Jean-Paul  Gomez (Total), Pierre  Masse (Total) and FredÂŽric  Walgenwitz  (Total)

The Khuff Formation (Dalan/Kangan) is one of the most important reservoir formations in the Middle East Gulf Region and one of the worldÕs biggest gas reserves. In order to guide investment decisions and to optimize production of existing reservoirs, the Khuff Formation needs to be understood at all scales from regional understanding of the platform paleography and stratigraphy, to the fine-scale reservoir heterogeneity at a micro-facies level. In order to address these issues a large multi-disciplinary and multi-scale study has been launched on a large Gulf-scale database. The database includes data from: (1) Zagros outcrops; (2) onshore and offshore Iranian wells; (3) offshore Qatari wells; (4) offshore Abu Dhabi wells; and (5) seismic data. Conceptual geological models have been constructed for the large-scale stratigraphic architecture, sedimentological organization and the paleoecological systems. At the reservoir-scale, models for the diagenetic overprinting (including models for poroperm development/occlusion, and dolomitization), and its links to the sedimentological, stratigraphic and fracture framework, have been constructed. These have been supported by geochemical studies on the carbonates and anhydrites, and micro-structural studies on the fractures. These regional to reservoir-scale conceptual models have been used to constrain the reservoir models and to improve the integration of the geological uncertainties. A suite of modeling tools have been used to integrate the conceptual information and assess uncertainties at all scales. At the regional scale Forward Stratigraphic Simulators have been used in a multiple scenario approach to assess large-scale platform organization. Inhouse reservoir-scale modeling tools have been used to model the fine-scale reservoir heterogeneity, and create multiple realizations of the static reservoir properties. Finally these are modeled dynamically to assess the impact of the geological parameters on the production profiles.

Insalaco, Enzo, Balinire, Catherine, Brousse, Roger, Fraisse, Christian, Gomez, Jean-Paul, Masse, Pierre, and Walgenwitz, Fred A. Zric, 2004, The Khuff (Dalan/Kangan) Formation: from regional models to reservoir simulations: Geo 2004, Bahrain, Gulf Petrolink.