Insights in Fault Flow Behaviour from Onshore Nigeria Petroleum System Modelling
1
IFP Energies nouvelles,
1-4, avenue de Bois-Préau,
92852
Rueil-Malmaison Cedex - France
2
Total Exploration Production Research and Development,
avenue Larribeau,
64000
Pau - France
* Corresponding author e-mail: marie-noelle.woillez@ifpen.fr
Received:
20
February
2017
Accepted:
22
August
2017
Faults are complex geological features acting either as permeability barrier, baffle or drain to fluid flow in sedimentary basins. Their role can be crucial for over-pressure building and hydrocarbon migration, therefore they have to be properly integrated in basin modelling. The ArcTem basin simulator included in the TemisFlow software has been specifically designed to improve the modelling of faulted geological settings and to get a numerical representation of fault zones closer to the geological description. Here we present new developments in the simulator to compute fault properties through time as a function of available geological parameters, for single-phase 2D simulations. We have used this new prototype to model pressure evolution on a siliciclastic 2D section located onshore in the Niger Delta. The section is crossed by several normal growth faults which subdivide the basin into several sedimentary units and appear to be lateral limits of strong over-pressured zones. Faults are also thought to play a crucial role in hydrocarbons migration from the deep source rocks to shallow reservoirs. We automatically compute the Shale Gouge Ratio (SGR) along the fault planes through time, as well as the fault displacement velocity. The fault core permeability is then computed as a function of the SGR, including threshold values to account for shale smear formation. Longitudinal fault fluid flow is enhanced during periods of high fault slip velocity. The method allows us to simulate both along-fault drainages during the basin history as well as overpressure building at present-day. The simulated pressures are at first order within the range of observed pressures we had at our disposal.
© M.-N. Woillez et al., published by IFP Energies nouvelles, 2017
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
