Fracture Characterization in Deep Gas Reservoirs to Identify Fracture Enhanced Flow Units, Offshore Abu Dhabi
Authors: Hu Jialiang , Menon Pradeep , Al Yaqoubi Amna , Al Shehhi Mohamed , Basioni Mahmoud , Roncarolo Fabio , Belova Natela 
Published: December 2021

High gas flow rates in deep-buried dolomitized reservoir from an offshore field Abu Dhabi cannot be explained by the low matrix permeability. Previous permeability multiplier based on distance to major faults is not a solid geological solution due to over-simplifying reservoir geomechanics, overlooking folding-related fractures, and lack of detailed fault interpretation from poor seismic. Alternatively, to characterize the heterogeneous flow related with natural fractures in this undeveloped reservoir, fracture network is modelled based on core, bore hole imager (BHI), conventional logs, seismic data and test information.

Limited by investigation scale, vertical wells record apparent BHI, and raw fracture interpretation cannot represent true 3D percolation reflected on PLT. To overcome this shortfall, correction based on geomechanics and mechanical layer (ML) analysis is performed. Young's modulus (E), Poisson ratio (ν), and brittleness index are calculated from logs, describing reservoir tendency of fracturing. Other than defining MLs, bedding plane intensity from BHI is also used as an indicator of fracture occurrence, since stress tends to release at strata discontinuity and forms bed-bounded fractures observed from cores.

Subsequently, a new fracture intensity is generated from combined geomechanics properties and statistics average of BHI-derived fracture occurrence within the ML frame, which improves match with PLT and distinguishes fracture enhance flow intervals consistently in all wells. Seismic discontinuity attributes are used as static fracture footprints to distribute fractures from wells to 3D. The final hybrid DFN comprises large-scale deterministic zone-crossing fractures and small-scale stochastic bed-bounded fractures.

Sub-vertical open fractures are dominated by NE-SW wrenching fractures related with Zagros compression and reactive salt upward movement. There is no angle rotation of fractures in different fault blocks. Open fractures in other strikes are supported by partial cements and mismatching fracture walls on computerized tomography (CT) images.

ML correlation shows vertical consistence across stratigraphic framework and its intensity indicates fracture potential of vertical zones reflected by tests. Fracture-enhanced flow units are further constrained by a threshold in both combined geomechanics properties and statistics average of raw BHI fracture intensity in ML frame. As a result, final fracture network maps reservoir brittleness and flow potential both vertically and laterally, identifying fracture regions along folding axis not just major faults, evidenced by wells and seismic.

According to the upscaling results, the case study reveals a type-III fractured reservoir, where fractures contribute to flow not to volume. Fracture network enhances bed-wise horizontal communication but also opens vertical feeding channels. Fracture permeability is mainly influenced by aperture and intensity,

while aspect ratio, fracture length, and proportion of strikes and dips mainly influence permeability distribution rather than absolute values.

This study provides a production-oriented characterization workflow of natural fracture heterogeneity based on correction of raw BHI in undeveloped fields.