ABSTRACT: Fluvial Architecture and Reservoir Heterogeneity of Middle Frio Sandstones, Seeligson Field, Jim Wells and Kleberg Counties, South Texas

L. A. Jirik, D. R. Kerr, S. G. Zinke, R. J. Finley

Evaluation of fluvial Frio reservoirs in south Texas reveals a complex architectural style potentially suited to the addition of incremental gas reserves through recognition of untapped compartments or bypassed gas zones. Seeligson field is being studied as part of a GRI/DOE/Texas-sponsored program, in cooperation with Oryx Energy Company and Mobil Exploration and Production U.S., Inc., and is designed to develop technologies and methodologies for increasing gas reserves from conventional reservoirs in mature fields.

Seeligson field, discovered in 1937, has produced 2.2 tcf of gas from more than 50 middle Frio reservoirs. Cross sections as well as net sand and log facies maps illustrate depositional style, sandstone geometry, and reservoir heterogeneities. Far-offset vertical seismic profiles show laterally discontinuous reflections corresponding to the reservoirs. Lenticular lateral-bar sandstones dominate channel-fill deposits that together are commonly less than 50 ft thick, forming belts of sandstone approximately 2500 ft wide. Crevasse-splay deposits commonly extend a few thousand feet beyond the channel system. Sand-rich channel-fill deposits are flanked by levee and overbank mudstones, isolating the reservoirs in narrow, dip-elongate trends.

Deposition on an aggrading coastal plain resulted in a pattern of laterally stacked sandstone bodies that are widespread across the study area. Alternating periods of more rapid aggradation resulted in deposition of vertically stacked sandstones with limited areal distribution. Facies architecture of both depositional styles has implications for reservoir compartmentalization. Reservoir compartments within a laterally stacked system may be leaky, resulting from sandstone contact from producing wells along depositional axes. This effect is a major factor controlling incremental recovery. Reservoirs in vertically stacked systems should be better isolated. Preliminary reservoir engineering studies support these characterizations.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91003©1990 AAPG Annual Convention, San Francisco, California, June 3-6, 1990