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7th Middle East Geosciences Conference and Exhibition
Manama, Bahrain
March 27-29, 2006
1 Exploration, Kuwait Oil Company,
P.O. Box: 9758, Code No. 61008, Ahmadi, KUWAIT, 61008, Kuwait, phone: 00965-6841314, [email protected]
2 Exploration, Kuwait Oil Company, P.O. Box 9758, Code No. 61008, Ahmadi, KUWAIT, 61008, Kuwait
3 Chevron Petroleum Technology Company, D1240, Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon, CA 94583
Raudhatain field, discovered during the mid-fifties, is an established structural closure with the major production from Mauddud, Burgan and Zubair reservoirs of the upper part of the Cretaceous section. Despite active exploration and production inputs for the past five decades in this field, very few wells have penetrated the entire Cretaceous section and consequently the understanding of Lower Cretaceous is limited.
Unconventional reservoirs associated with the presence of fractures in Lower Cretaceous in Raudhatain area are identified
as potentially good candidates for pursuing additional exploration play. The few wells that have penetrations in the Lower
Cretaceous section have given encouraging leads. Fracture development is presumed to be accentuated due to rapid
structural growth of Raudhatain during post-Mishrif (Turonian) period. Detailed fault mapping using multiple attribute
volumes and volume visualization techniques using 3 -D seismic
data was carried out in this area. Application of these
techniques helped in understanding major fault trends and mapping subtle and minor lineaments, which could have bearing
on fracture development. Integration of this
seismic
analysis with the unconstrained Geo -mechanical
modeling
lead to the
identification of areas with relatively higher fracture potential. Results from some of the recently drilled wells targeted for
deeper reservoirs, and falling in these potentially good fracture zones, have shown promising results. Dedicated exploratory
test locations based on these studies have been identified and awaiting drilling.
Increased exploration and drilling of dedicated Lower Cretaceous wells in the future promise an exciting opportunity to open up new play in this otherwise mature oil province.