3D Petroleum Systems Modeling of Block 18, Sab'atayn Basin, Onshore Western Yemen: A Quantitative Integrated Assessment of Petroleum Generation, Migration, Losses, and Saturations of the Unconventional Shale/Tight Reservoirs of Madbi Formation.
Authors: Al-Maqtari Ameen N. , Saleh Ahmed A. , Al-Haygana Adel , Al-Adashi Jaber , Alogily Abdulkhalek , Warren Cassandra , Mavridou Evangelia , Schoellkopf Noelle , Sheyh Husein Sami , Ahmad Ammar , Baig Zeeshan , Teumahji Nimuno Achu , Thiakalingam Surenthar , Khan Waqar , Masurek Nicole , Andres Sanchez Torres Carlos 
Published: September 2019

A 3D petroleum systems model (PSM) of Block 18 in the Sab'atayn basin, onshore western Yemen, was constructed to evaluate the untapped oil and gas potential of the Upper Jurassic Madbi formation. 3D PSM techniques were used to analyze petroleum generation for conventional reservoirs and the petroleum saturations retained in the source rock for the unconventional system. Block 18 has several proven petroleum systems and producing oil and gas fields. The principal source rocks are within the Madbi Formation, which comprises two units, the Lam and the Meem members. Both contain transgressive organically rich "hot" shales with total organic carbon (TOC) of 8 to 10%; these are located stratigraphically at the base of each member. Additional organic-rich intervals within the Lam and Meem are less-effective source rocks, with lower TOC values.

The PSM consisted of 17 depositional events and 2 hiatuses. To accurately replicate geochemical and stratigraphic variations, the Lam and Meem members were further divided into sublayers. The model was calibrated to present-day porosity, permeability, and pressure data, and it incorporated vertical and lateral lithofacies and organic facies variations. Further calibrations used observed maturities (vitrinite reflectance and pyrolysis Tmax) and present-day temperatures and considered laterally variable heat flow from the Early Jurassic to the Late Miocene. Finally, petrophysical analyses from wells provided calculated hydrocarbon saturations, which were used to calibrate the saturation output from the model. The model satisfactorily reproduces the distribution of the main gas and oil fields and discoveries in the study area and is aligned with well test data.

Maturity results indicate that the upper Lam intervals currently sit within the main to early oil window but are immature at the edges of Block 18 (based on the Sweeney and Burnham Easy R0% kinetics). The lowest Lam unit enters the wet gas window in the center of the block. The underlying Meem member ranges from wet gas to early oil window maturity. Like the Lam, the Meem remains immature along the edges of Block 18. However, in the south of the block, the richest source rocks within the Meem are mainly in the oil window. The degree of transformation of the Meem and Lam varies throughout the members. The model predicts that, at present, the lowest part of the Meem, containing the greatest TOC, has 90% of its kerogen transformed into hydrocarbons.

The model confirms that the Madbi formation is a promising unconventional shale reservoir with a high quantity of hydrocarbons retained within it. Despite the higher quantity of hydrocarbons retained in the upper Meem, in terms of liquid and vapor hydrocarbons predicted in this model, the lower Lam is the most-prospective conventional tight sand reservoir, and the Meem has very small potential as tight sand reservoirs. This study provided a novel application of 3D PSM technology to assess new unconventional as well as conventional plays in this frontier area.