3D geological modelling of a carbonate shoal complex: reservoir analogue study using outcrop data

The value of outcrop analogues is widely acknowledged for modelling the geometry of siliciclastic reservoirs (e.g., Flint and Bryant, 1993, Miall and Tyler, 1991). By contrast, quantitative data of carbonate bodies on reservoir scale are rather scarce. Also, there is only a relatively small number of investigations attempting a three-dimensional modelling of carbonate bodies (e.g., Kerans and Tinker, 1997, Grötsch and Mercadier, 1999). Qi et al. (2007) present a detailed investigation on stochastic modelling of oolite shoals similar to the present study. Outcrop analogue studies are currently widely carried out, notably for Middle East reservoirs (e.g., Immenhauser et al., 2004).