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Controls of depositional facies and diagenetic processes on reservoir quality of the Santonian carbonate sequences (Ilam Formation) in the Abadan Plain, Iran

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Abstract

Ilam Formation (Santonian) is a member of the Bangestan Group, as an important oil reservoir of SW Iran. Various geological and reservoir quality aspects of this formation were discussed in the Zagros area. However, depositional–diagenetic controls on pore types of this formation are not defined, especially in the Abadan Plain. In this study, an integrated sedimentological and petrophysical evaluation has been carried out in six subsurface sections of this formation throughout the Abadan Plain. Facies analysis indicates deposition in shallow- to deep marine settings of a ramp-like carbonate platform. It includes lagoon, shoal, middle ramp, outer ramp and basinal settings. Various diagenetic alterations have been recorded including carbonate cementation, dissolution, mechanical to chemical compaction and fracturing. They indicate marine to meteoric and shallow- to deep burial diagenetic realms for the Ilam Fm. Controls of depositional and diagenetic processes on reservoir quality and pore types have been evaluated by integrating well logs and porosity–permeability data with petrographic evidence in sequence stratigraphic framework. Accordingly, a higher-order and three lower-order sequences have been defined and correlated across the study area. Various pore types of the reservoir are differentiated and classified into five classes: interparticle, intra-particle/skeletal, vuggy/moldic, fractures and micropores. Accordingly, two reservoir intervals are defined in the Ilam formation that include the following: (1) microporous mud-dominated reservoir in TST of higher-order sequence, in the lower Ilam, and (2) macroporous grain-supported facies in RST of higher-order sequence, in upper part of the Ilam formation.

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Fig. 1

modified from Sepehr and Cosgrove 2004). b Stratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous sequences in the study area. The Ilam Formation (Santonian) is highlighted (modified from Motiei 1993). c Relative position of studied wells in the Abadan Plain

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) for providing data and authorizing this publication. The editors and anonymous reviewers are acknowledged for their guidance and commentaries, resulting in a greatly improved manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran

    Navvab Khodaei & Payman Rezaee

  2. Department of Petroleum Geology, Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI), Tehran, Iran

    Javad Honarmand

  3. Department of Geology, Exploration Directorate, NIOC, Tehran, Iran

    Iraj Abdollahi-Fard

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  1. Navvab Khodaei
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Khodaei, N., Rezaee, P., Honarmand, J. et al. Controls of depositional facies and diagenetic processes on reservoir quality of the Santonian carbonate sequences (Ilam Formation) in the Abadan Plain, Iran. Carbonates Evaporites 36, 19 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13146-021-00676-y

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