Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-cjp7w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-25T03:49:31.288Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Reservoir characterisation using process-response simulations: the Lower Cretaceous Rijn Field, West Netherlands Basin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2016

L.J.H. Alberts ,
C.R. Geel  and
J.J. Klasen
L.J.H. Alberts*
Affiliation:
Delft University of Technology, Department of Applied Earth Sciences, Mijnbouwstraat 120, 2628 RX Delft, The Netherlands
C.R. Geel
Affiliation:
Delft University of Technology, Department of Applied Earth Sciences, Mijnbouwstraat 120, 2628 RX Delft, The Netherlands
J.J. Klasen
Affiliation:
BP Nederland Energie B.V., Bezuidenhoutseweg 74, 2594 AW Den Haag, The Netherlands
*
3corresponding author; e-mail: l.j.h.alberts@citg.tudelft.nl
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Petroleum geologists always need to deal with large gaps in data resolution and coverage during reservoir characterisation. Seismic data show only large geological structures, whereas small-scale structures and reservoir properties can be observed only at well locations. In the area between wells, these properties are often estimated by means of geostatistics. Numerical simulation of sedimentary processes offers an alternative method to predict these properties and can improve the understanding of the controls on reservoir heterogeneity. Although this kind of modelling is widely used on basin scale in exploration geology, its application on field scale in production geology is virtually non-existent. We have assessed whether the recent developments in numerical modelling can also aid petroleum geologists in the interpretation of the reservoir geology.

Seismic data, well data and a process-response model for coastal environments were used to characterise the Lower Cretaceous oil-bearing Rijn Field. Interpretation of seismic and well data led to a definition of the structural setting and the depositional model of the Rijn Member in the area. From the sedimentological interpretation the sea-level history could be estimated, which is the one of the most important input parameters for the process-response model.

Application of the process-response simulator to the Rijn Field resulted in approval of the depositional model. The output was presented in a 2-dimensional north-south profile, which corresponds very well to the well logs along this section. The results demonstrate that numerical simulations of geological processes can be very useful as a tool to explore many likely geological scenarios. While it cannot be used to supply a unique solution in many cases, it forms a helpful guide during reservoir characterisation to find an optimal scenario of the controls on deposition of the Rijn Member, which contributes to the understanding of the inter-well reservoir heterogeneity.

Keywords

reservoir characterisationprocess-response modellingRijn Fieldshallow marine/shoreface environmentsequence stratigraphyWest Netherlands Basin
Type
Research Article
Information
Netherlands Journal of Geosciences , Volume 82 , Issue 4 , December 2003 , pp. 313 - 324
Copyright
Copyright © Stichting Netherlands Journal of Geosciences 2003

References

Bodenhausen, J.W.A. & Ott, W.F., 1981. Habitat of the Rijswijk Oil Province, onshore, The Netherlands. In: Illing, L.V. & Hobson, G.D. (Eds): Petroleum Geology of the Continental Shelf of North-West Europe. Heyden (London): 301–309.Google Scholar
Davis, R.A. Jr., 1978. Barrier island systems - a geologic overview. In: Davis, R.A. Jr. (Ed.): Coastal sedimentary environments. Springer Verlag (New York): 1–46.Google Scholar
De Jager, J., Doyle, M.A., Grantham, P.J. & Mabillard, J.E., 1996. Hydrocarbon habitat of the West Netherlands Basin. In: Rondeel, H.E., Batjes, D.A.J. & Nieuwenhuijs, W.H. (Eds): Geology of gas and oil under the Netherlands. Royal Geological and Mining Society of the Netherlands (KNGMG) / Kluwer Academic Publishers (Dordrecht): 191–209.Google Scholar
Den Hartog Jager, D., 1996. Fluviomarine sequences in the Lower Cretaceous of the West Netherlands Basin: Correlation and seismic expression. In: Rondeel, H.E., Batjes, D.A.J. & Nieuwenhuijs, W.H. (Eds): Geology of gas and oil under the Netherlands. Royal Geological and Mining Society of the Netherlands (KNGMG) / Kluwer Academic Publishers (Dordrecht): 229–241.Google Scholar
Dromgoole, P. & Speers, R., 1997. Geoscore: a method for quantifying uncertainty in field reserve estimates. Petroleum Geoscience 3: 1–12.Google Scholar
Dronkers, A.J. & Mrozek, F.J., 1991. Inverted basins of the Netherlands. First Break 9: 409–425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dubrule, O. & Damsleth, E., 2001. Achievements and challenges in petroleum geostatistics. Petroleum Geoscience 7: 1–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goh, L.S., 1996. The Logger oil Field (Netherlands offshore): reservoir architecture and heterogeneity. In: Rondeel, H.E., Batjes, D.A.J. & Nieuwenhuijs, W.H. (Eds): Geology of gas and oil under the Netherlands. Royal Geological and Mining Society of the Netherlands (KNGMG) / Kluwer Academic Publishers (Dordrecht): 255–263.Google Scholar
Granjeon, D. & Joseph, P., 1999. Concepts and applications of a 3D multiple lithology, diffusive model in stratigraphic modeling. In: Harbaugh, J.W., Watney, W.L., Rankey, E.C., Slingerland, R., Goldstein, R.H. & Franseen, E.K. (Eds): Numerical experiments in stratigraphy; recent advances in stratigraphic and sedimentologic computer simulations. SEPM Spec. Publ. 62, (Tulsa, OK, USA): 3–21.Google Scholar
Gras, R. & Geluk, M.C., 1999. Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary sedimentation and tectonic inversion in the southern Netherlands. Geologie en Mijnbouw 78: 1–19.Google Scholar
Haq, B.U., Hardenbol, J. & Vail, P.R., 1988. Mesozoic and Cenozoic chronostratigraphy and cycles of sea-level change. In: Wilgus, C.K., Posamentier, H., Roos, C.A., & Kendall, C. (Eds): Sea-level changes - an integrated approach. SEPM Special Publication 42: 71–108.Google Scholar
Lessenger, M. & Lerche, I., 1999. Inverse modeling. In: Harbaugh, J.W., Watney, W.L., Rankey, E.C., Slingerland, R., Goldstein, R.H. & Franseen, E.K. (Eds): Numerical experiments in statigraphy; recent advances in stratigraphic and sedimentologie computer simulations. SEPM Spec. Publ. 62, (Tulsa, OK, USA): 29–31.Google Scholar
Maartense, F.P.A., 1999. Detailed analysis of the Lower Cretaceous sedimentary environment of the Rijn Field. Unpublished MSc. Thesis, Delft University of Technology (Delft): 79 ppGoogle Scholar
Pemberton, S.G., Van Wagoner, J.C. & Wach, G.D., (1992). Ichnofacies of a wave-dominated shoreline. In: Applications of Ichnology to Petroleum Exploration, SEPM Core Workshop No. 17, SEPM, (Tulsa, Ok, USA): 382 pp.Google Scholar
Racero-Baena, A. & Drake, S.J., 1996. Structural style and reservoir development in the West Netherlands oil province. In: Rondeel, H.E., Batjes, D.A.J. & Nieuwenhuijs, W.H. (Eds): Geology of gas and oil under the Netherlands. Royal Geological and Mining Society of the Netherlands (KNGMG) / Kluwer Academic Publishers (Dordrecht): 191–209.Google Scholar
Reinson, G.E., 1984. ‘Barrier-island and associated strand-plain systems’. In: Walker, R.G. (Ed.): Facies models, second edition. Geological Association of Canada Publications (Toronto, Ontario): 119–140.Google Scholar
Storms, J.E.A., 2002. Controls on shallow-marine stratigraphy: a process-response approach. Ph.D. thesis Delft University of Technology (Delft): 151 ppGoogle Scholar
Storms, J.E.A., Weltje, G.J., Van Dijke, J.J., Geel, C.R. & Kroonenberg, S.B., 2002. Process-response modelling of wave-dominated coastal systems: simulating evolution and stratigraphy on geological timescales. Journal of Sedimentary Research 72: 226–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Syvitski, J.P.M., & Hutton, E.W.H., 2001. 2-D SEDFLUX 1.0C: an advanced process-response numerical model for the fill of marine sedimentary basins. Computers & Geosciences 27: 731–753.Google Scholar
Tetzlaff, D. & Pride, G., 2001. Sedimentary process modeling: from academia to industry. In: Merriam, D.F. & Davis, J.C. (Eds): Geological modeling and simulation: sedimentary systems. Computer applications in the earth sciences. Kluwer Academic Publishers (MA, USA): 45–70.Google Scholar
Van Adrichem Boogaert, H.A. & Kouwe, W.F.R, 1993. Stratigraphic nomenclature of The Netherlands; revision and update by RGD and NOPEGA. Mededelingen Rijks Geologische Dienst 50 (Haarlem).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Wijhe, D.H., 1987. Structural evolution of inverted basins in the Dutch offshore. In: Ziegler, P.A. (Ed.): Compressional Intra-Plate Deformations in the Alpine Foreland. Tectonophysics 137: 171–219.Google Scholar
Watney, W.L., Rankey, E.C. & Harbaugh, J., 1999. Perspectives on stratigraphic simulation models: current approaches and future opportunities. In: Harbaugh, J.W., Watney, W.L., Rankey, E.C., Slingerland, R., Goldstein, R.H. & Franseen, E.K. (Eds): Numerical experiments in statigraphy; recent advances in stratigraphic and sedimentologic computer simulations. SEPM Spec. Publ. 62, (Tulsa, OK, USA): 3–21.Google Scholar
Wehr, F.L. & Brasher, L.D., 1996. Impact of sequence-based correlation style on reservoir model behaviour, lower Brent Group, North Cormorant Field, UK North Sea. In: Howell, J.A. & Aitken, J.F. (Eds): High resolution sequence stratigraphy: Innovations and applications. Geological Society Special Publication No 104: 115–128.Google Scholar
Ziegler, P.A., 1982. Geological atlas of Western and Central Europe. Elsevier (Amsterdam): 130 pp.Google Scholar