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Fracture Characterization in Tight Carbonate Reservoirs of Kuwait through Advanced Borehole Imaging Approach
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, 74th EAGE Conference and Exhibition incorporating EUROPEC 2012, Jun 2012, cp-293-00169
- ISBN: 978-90-73834-27-9
Abstract
Fractured carbonate reservoirs within Marrat, Sargelu and Najmah formations are major hydrocarbon producers in Kuwait. Hence, fracture characterization of these reservoirs is vital. OBM, traditionally used to drill these reservoirs, inhibits acquisition of high resolution resistivity image hampering identification of complex features and determination of fracture properties. To overcome these limitations, formate mud was used in selected wells facilitating acquisition of high resolution image data. This paper presents advanced borehole imaging approach to fracture characterization utilizing high resolution image in formate mud and its advantages over conventional image in OBM. In the studied wells, fractures were classified into continuous open, discontinuous open, partially cemented and cemented. The open fractures have dominantly NE-SW strike, whereas, the cemented fractures show a dominant NW-SE strike. The fracture porosity is in the range of 0.1-0.2%. The advanced approach has shown marked improvement in terms of defining the geometry, appearance and continuity of the fractures. Good estimation of fracture aperture and porosity has also been achieved, which was hitherto not possible with borehole image in OBM. The information have been very useful in finalizing test intervals in drilled wells and are fundamental input to DFN models for predicting fracture clusters and identifying future well locations.