Sedimentology and reservoir
characteristics of the Paleozoic Dibsiyah and Sanamah
members (Wajid Sandstone),
Ibrahim Taiwo Abdulkadir, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Earth Sciences
Department, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, [email protected]
The main objective of the study is
to establish from outcrops, an analog reservoir; and geological and
petrophysical model for Dibsiyah and Sanamah members
for better understanding of reservoir heterogeneity and quality in their
subsurface equivalent in Rub' Al-Khali Basin. Outcrops
in Wadi Tathlith of Central
Saudi Arabia expose sedimentary successions of the Wajid Sandstone which comprises
of Dibsiyah and Sanamah members that are stratigraphic equivalents of the Saq-Qasim
formation undivided and Zarqa-Sarah formation
respectively. The Wajid Sandstone outcrop is in the southwestern part of
The methods and techniques of
studying the reservoir outcrop analog consist of several phases including sedimentological facies analysis, sample collection and
measurements, laboratory determination of sandstone petrography, porosity and
permeability and then, geostatistical analysis, and
model construction.
Studies of outcrop analogues are a valid
method for resolving sedimentary and architectural uncertainties in strongly
heterogeneous reservoirs. The outcrop analog can provide information about rock
body dimension, size, and orientation which are not available from the
subsurface. To meet the challenge of today’s petroleum industry which is to
maximize hydrocarbon recovery from reservoirs, the characterization of the
outcrop analogs in terms of the heterogeneity of facies, petrophysical
properties and sandstone body geometry, continuity and architecture is
essential and important. This has a direct application to hydrocarbon resources
exploration, development and management.