Abstract:

Three questions encapsulate the critical unknowns that need to be faced in finding and exploiting petroleum resources. Is there a viable petroleum system in the basin? What is the size of the potential resource? And, can commercial production rates be obtained? Geochemists, using the tools of basin analysis, typically address the first question. Geologists using facies analysis to reconstruct depositional systems provide critical information for answering the second and third questions. An understanding of depositional systems directly impacts our ability to find and economically produce petroleum resources.

What kinds of geologic data need to be collected? What types of analyses need to be performed? Sources of data include the existing literature, both public domain and proprietary, cuttings, core, well logs, and seismic. These data are used to define facies and identify their key attributes.  Calibrating well logs with cuttings or core is a critical step. Correlating well logs and…