The Application of Whole Rock Inorganic Geochemical Data to Reservoir Quality

Reservoir quality reflects the sandstones porosity and permeability; the measurements of this data is collected during routine core analysis (RCA). Additional analysis, such as petrography, SEM or QEMSCAN may then be carried out on these samples. However, this is costly and time consuming, requiring specialist equipment. This study demonstrates how the complementary technique of whole rock geochemistry may be applied to reservoir quality assessment. Changes within the whole rock geochemistry reflects changes within the mineralogy which can be used as a preliminary assessment of the mineral phases likely to be controlling reservoir quality. Geochemical analysis allows the pre-screening of samples to ensure effective sampling for additional techniques and provides a means to model the reservoir quality into equivalent reservoir sections that have been only sampled by ditch cuttings. The study utilises whole rock geochemical data from the Mizzen wells (Flemish Pass Basin, Grand Banks, Canada) to demonstrate the mineralogical controls on the reservoir quality within the core of Mizzen F-09 which is then used to determine the thin section placement. In addition, the geochemical data has then been used to predict reservoir quality within equivalent sections of Mizzen L-11 and O-16, which are only sampled by cuttings.