Completed Study | ||
LIDAR
Survey of Middle Jurassic Outcrops of the Tuwaiq Mountain Limestone
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The Arab-D (Upper Jurassic) unit of the Riyadh Group makes up one of the largest petroleum reservoirs in the world. Bureau and Saudi Aramco researchers conducted a high-resolution LIDAR survey of Middle Jurassic outcrops of the Tuwaiq Mountain limestone along the Tuwaiq Mountain Escarpment near the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This study was a first step towards building a quantitative 3-D geologic model for use as an analog to the lower Arab-D reservoir. Outcrop analogs like this one are critical to understanding reservoir performance on the flow-unit scale (1 to 30 meters). Although seismic data allow geologists to gain information about large-scale reservoir compartmentalization (>30 meters), flow-unit scale reservoir parameters are far below seismic imaging capability and inter-well spacing. High-precision laser scans were used as a template upon which stratigraphic interpretation were made allowing researchers to characterize sub-seismic, flow-unit scale reservoir properties of Jurassic bioherms in an effort to better understand optimum production techniques of this enormous reservoir. |
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For more information, please contact Charles Kerans, principal investigator. Telephone 512-471-1368; e-mail charles.kerans@beg.utexas.edu. |