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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