Variation in fluid contacts in the Azeri field, Azerbaijan: sealing faults or hydrodynamic aquifer?

Autor: Tozer, R. S. J., Borthwick, A. M.
Zdroj: Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 2010, Vol. 347 Issue: 1 p103-112, 10p
Abstrakt: The Azeri field in the South Caspian Sea, offshore Azerbaijan, is a periclinal anticline 20 km in length containing multiple stacked reservoirs of Pliocene age. Appraisal wells that were drilled at the eastern end of the structure identified multiple oil–water contacts and fluid pressure gradients in both of the principal reservoirs, the Pereriv B and D. At the time, these data were interpreted to indicate the presence of compartments at the eastern end of the field as a result of sealing faults within the aquifer. This local compartmentalization seemed to be in marked difference to the majority of the field where pressure connectivity had been observed. A new analysis of the pressure data for the Pereriv B shows that aquifer pressures at sea-level datum define a simple water potential gradient. As a result of this, the oil–water contact in this reservoir is gently inclined towards the NNE. The precise inclination and orientation of the oil–water contact has been determined geometrically using the depths and coordinates of free-water levels and oil–water contacts from around the field. The best-fit inclined oil–water contact for the Pereriv B also provides a good fit to the contact observed from seismic amplitudes. The new analysis provides a more optimistic view of reservoir connectivity, and the conceptual geological model for the eastern end of the field is now consistent with observations made in the rest of the Azeri field.
Databáze: Supplemental Index