An Insight into Fracture Pattern and Characterization in Salt Dome Area

Salt halokinesis and salt dome widely developed in the southwest of the Arabian Gulf and three major tectonic events imprint multiple sets of fracture on the drape fold above salt dome and showcase complex and diverse fracture system in the Upper Jurassic. The objective of this study is to investigate the fracture development under multi-phase deformation and characterize the complex fracture system of the Upper Jurassic in the salt dome dominated area.

In this study, a cause-oriented workflow is proposed to investigate multi-phase fracturing and faulting and characterize the fracture system in salt dome area. Firstly, the conceptual fracture model is established based on the analysis of the regional structural evolution and guides to identify structural evolution locally and characterize multi-scale fracture using multiple seismic attributes. Secondly imaging log is employed to recognize small-scale fracture. Lastly, the recognized fractures are verified by dynamic data and then geologically analysed guided by the conceptual fracture model.

This study shed a light on the fracture evolution and the overprinted fracture system in the salt dome area and provide an insight into the characterization of the distinct fracture in tight carbonate reservoir.