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Sedimentology and petrophysical analysis of pre-salt lacustrine carbonate reservoir from the Santos Basin, southeast Brazil

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Abstract

Lacustrine carbonate deposits mark the rift-sag sedimentation stage of the so-called pre-salt section of the Campos and Santos Basins, in the Southeast Brazilian continental shelf. These salt-sealed carbonate reservoirs form deep-water, giant and prolific oil fields that are currently responsible for approximately 70% of the Brazilian oil and gas production. In the Santos Basin, the sag stage carbonates are represented by the Aptian Barra Velha Formation, characterized by exotic textural and compositional features whose origin, development, and correlation with petrophysical properties have been broadly discussed in the last decade. A geological and petrophysical study has been performed based on core samples, plugs, and thin-sections of a well in the Barra Velha Formation from the eastern Santos Basin. The analyzed core interval was grouped into six depositional facies constituted by the association of five key textural components: (1) crystal shrubs; (2) calcite spherulites; (3) hybrid forms; (4) mud-grade carbonates and dolomite; and (5) intraclasts. The relationship between the depositional framework and the poroperm system, as evidenced by petrographic image analysis and CT-scan data, is highly complex. The depositional control over porosity is erratic, mainly due to the extensive diagenetic and possible hydrothermal overprint. Dolomite cementation, dolomitization, pervasive silicification, and dissolution processes are the main primary porosity modifiers. Petrophysical analysis indicates that intraclastic and spherulitic grainstones–rudstones, affected by matrix dissolution, may present the best reservoir properties, in certain intervals, even surpassing the shrubby framestones, which are widely regarded as the best reservoir facies. This study seeks to contribute to an emerging body of research about the Brazilian pre-salt lacustrine carbonates, broadening the geological knowledge about these deposit, while providing new data to improve hydrocarbon forecast and recovery.

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(modified from Moreira et al. 2007)

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Equinor for the productive partnership and financial support during this project, and for granting permission to publish this study. ANP is also acknowledged for granting permission for publication. This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001. We gratefully acknowledge reviewers Christian Betzler and Markus Mohr, and guest editor Ulrich Riller for their efforts on helping to improve the original manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology and Natural Resources, Geosciences Institute, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil

    Mateus Basso & Alexandre Campane Vidal

  2. Center for Petroleum Studies (CEPETRO), University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campus Universitario Zeferino Vaz-Barão Geraldo, Campinas, SP, CEP: 13083-970, Brazil

    Mateus Basso, Aline Maria Poças Belila, Guilherme Furlan Chinelatto, João Paulo da Ponte Souza & Alexandre Campane Vidal

  3. Department of Energy, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil

    João Paulo da Ponte Souza

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  1. Mateus Basso
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  2. Aline Maria Poças Belila
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Correspondence to Mateus Basso.

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Basso, M., Belila, A.M.P., Chinelatto, G.F. et al. Sedimentology and petrophysical analysis of pre-salt lacustrine carbonate reservoir from the Santos Basin, southeast Brazil. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 110, 2573–2595 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-020-01932-7

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