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Characteristics of Paleozoic tight gas sandstone reservoir: integration of lithofacies, paleoenvironments, and spectral gamma-ray analyses, Rub’ al Khali Basin, Saudi Arabia

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Abstract

The glaciogenic Sarah Formation (Hirnantian) is a potential tight gas sandstone reservoir in the Rub’ al Khali Basin and other basins in Saudi Arabia. This study investigated the facies heterogeneity and paleoenvironments of the Sarah Formation using cores, petrographic thin sections, and spectral gamma-ray (SGR) analyses. The study revealed four facies associations (FAs), including massive to ripple-laminated sandstone (FA1), gray massive sandstone (FA2), diamictites (FA3), and partially deformed, massive-graded sandstone (FA4), interpreted to have been deposited in fluvial, glaciofluvial, glaciolacustrine delta, and subglacial outwash environments, respectively. The sandstone varies from fine-, to medium-, and coarse-grained and is a moderately to poorly sorted quartz arenite, subarkose, and to sublithic arenite. The integration of facies analysis with SGR analysis allowed us to classify the facies further into low matrix and argillaceous sandstones in the fluvial and glaciofluvial facies, mixed sandstones in the glaciolacustrine delta facies, and clast-supported and matrix-supported diamictites with shales in the subglacial facies. The results of this study might provide guidelines for facies identification and the prediction of reservoir-quality targets in the tight sandstone in the subsurface. This classification could facilitate the identification of and distinction between the glaciogenic lithofacies of tight gas reservoirs in the subsurface and provides a tool for correlating the lithofacies. This work might also provide guidelines for the exploration and development of Paleozoic tight gas sandstone reservoirs in the subsurface that are deeply buried and show a wide range of facies, paleoenvironments, and paleogeographic settings.

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Acknowledgments

The technical advice provided by Dr. Abdulaziz A. Al-Laboun, Geology Department at King Saud University, is duly appreciated. The immense contribution and effort made by the former PI of the above-named project, Dr. Ali Sahin (deceased), are also acknowledged.

Funding

We sincerely acknowledge the support provided by King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). This work was supported by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology as part of the National Science, Technology, and Innovation Plan (NSTIP Project # 14-OIL468-04) through the Science and Technology Unit at KFUPM. The core samples utilized for this study were provided by the Ministry of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources, Saudi Arabia. Support of these organizations at every stage of the work is fully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Integrative Petroleum Research, College of Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

    Abdullah Alqubalee & Lameed Babalola

  2. Geosciences Department, College of Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

    Osman Abdullatif & Mohammad Makkawi

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  1. Abdullah Alqubalee
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  2. Osman Abdullatif
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  3. Lameed Babalola
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  4. Mohammad Makkawi
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Correspondence to Abdullah Alqubalee or Lameed Babalola.

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Editorial handling: Beatriz Badenas.

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Alqubalee, A., Abdullatif, O., Babalola, L. et al. Characteristics of Paleozoic tight gas sandstone reservoir: integration of lithofacies, paleoenvironments, and spectral gamma-ray analyses, Rub’ al Khali Basin, Saudi Arabia. Arab J Geosci 12, 344 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-019-4467-0

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