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Integrated petrophysical and petrographical studies for characterization of reservoirs: a case study of Muglad Basin, North Sudan

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Abstract

Petrography, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and both conventional and special core analyses are applied to precisely reservoir characterize the Lower Cretaceous Bentiu and Abu Gabra Formations of the Muglad Basin, which is among the largest hydrocarbon reservoirs in South Kordofan, SW North Sudan. Based on this integrated study, the Abu Gabra–Bentiu sequence comprises four petrographical microfacies, which consist of two reservoir rock types (RRTs). RRT1 is composed of quartz arenites and RRT2 is composed of quartz wackes. The greatest storage, flow capacities, and reservoir quality are assigned for RRT1 due to its good-to-excellent porosity (average ∅ = 26.7%), permeability (average k = 1365 md), reservoir quality index (RQI, average = 1.43 μm), flow zone indicator (FZI, average = 3.66 μm) and discrete rock type (DRT, average = 13). The relatively low-to-fair reservoir quality of the Abu Gabra Formation (average ∅ = 13.2%, average k = 14.7 md, average RQI = 0.17 μm, average FZI = 1.05 μm, and average DRT = 10) is due to authigenic kaolinite and siderite content, compaction and cementation by silica and clay patches.

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Abbreviations

RRT:

Reservoir rock type

HFU:

Hydraulic flow unit

∅He :

Helium porosity

∅SF :

Summation fluid porosity

k H :

Horizontal gas permeability

k V :

Vertical gas permeability

DRT:

Discrete rock type

ρ b :

Bulk density

ρ g :

Grain density

RQI:

Reservoir quality index

NPI:

Normalized porosity index

FZI:

Flow zone indicator

RPI:

Reservoir potentiality index

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

XRD:

X-ray diffraction

m :

Porosity exponent

a :

Lithology factor

m′:

Porosity exponent at overburden pressure

a′:

Lithology factor at overburden pressure

λ k :

Permeability anisotropy

V :

Heterogeneity index of Dykstra-Parsons

Ro:

Apparent electric resistivity

Rt:

True electric resistivity

Rw:

Water resistivity

RI:

Resistivity index

FRF:

Formation resistivity factor

Swirr :

Irreducible water saturation

PR:

Pore volume reduction

PTHR:

Pore throat reduction

k ro :

Relative permeability to oil

k rw :

Relative permeability to water

QFL:

Quartz–feldspars–lithic fragments triangle

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Co. LTD. (GNPOC), North Sudan. Also, they would like to thank those who offered help during sample preparation, measurements and data interpretation. The authors extend their sincere appreciation to Prof. Dr. Aref Lashin at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia for his technical support and help in revising the first draft paper. The authors express their appreciation and acknowledgement to the editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr James W. LaMoreaux, and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments that greatly reformulated the present paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Exploration, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute, Cairo, Egypt

    Abeer A. Abuhagaza & Marwa Z. El Sawy

  2. Department of Geophysical Sciences, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt

    Bassem S. Nabawy

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  1. Abeer A. Abuhagaza
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  2. Marwa Z. El Sawy
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  3. Bassem S. Nabawy
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Correspondence to Bassem S. Nabawy.

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The authors hereby declare that they have no conflict of interest, where they didn’t receive fund or grant to cover the present study. The authors confirm that they didn’t receive a speaker honorarium from any companies and don’t own stock in companies. In addition, all the authors are not committee members in any organizations that may causes conflict of interest.

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Abuhagaza, A.A., El Sawy, M.Z. & Nabawy, B.S. Integrated petrophysical and petrographical studies for characterization of reservoirs: a case study of Muglad Basin, North Sudan. Environ Earth Sci 80, 171 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-09489-7

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