Deep-Water Turbidite Depositional Systems and Reservoirs

Deep water School.png

Course Length

3 days (light version) to 5 days (full version)

Target students

Designed for geologist, geophysicists, and engineers actively working in the exploration and production of deepwater reservoirs.

learning outcomes

  1. Understand different deep marine facies models and their sedimentary settings.

  2. Interpret cores and electrofacies from well logs to produce s deep marine facies logs and a facies model.

  3. Characterize seismic facies and develop Gross Depositional Environment (GDE) maps and sequence stratigraphic framework.

  4. Predict the presence and quality of reservoir, source rock and seal in deep water environments.

COURSE OVERVIEW AND CONTENT

This course covers the basic concepts of  the sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of deepwater reservoirs with emphasis on their practical applications for oil and gas exploration, appraisal and production. All concepts are illustrated with examples of outcrop well-log, core and seismic data.

  • Introduction to deepwater depositional systems and their context: basin margin types, shelf morphology, mobile (salt/mud) substrate basins, the concept of confined versus unconfined basins, gravity driven fold and thrust belts, delta front collapse and associated deep water systems

  • Process sedimentology of deepwater systems: fluid gravity vs sediment gravity flows, hypopycnites, hyperpycnites, debrites, contourites (bottom-current deposits), low desnsity (Bouma) and high density (Lowe) turbidites, hybrid beds, linked debrites, slurry flows, traction vs suspension bedforms, liquefaction and fluidization, mass transport complexes, slides vs slumps and the effects of processes on reservoir quality

  • Deepwater Channel storeys, elements, complexes and complex sets (hierarchy), fill, architecture, evolution, channel-axis vs channel-margin (levee) facies, recognition in outcrop, core, well-logs and seismic, confined vs poorly confined channels

  • Deepwater lobe beds, lobe elements, lobes, lobe complexes and fans (hierarchy), axis vs fringe facies, architecture, evolution, recognition in outcrop, core, well-logs and seismic. Mud-rich, Sand-rich and Mixed-systems and their characteristics

  • Sequence stratigraphy of deepwater petroleum systems: effects of relative sea-level fall on sediment gravity flows, canyon incision, longshore drift capture. Key surfaces: Maximum Flooding Surface and Sequence Boundary and their identification in seismic, well-log and core data. Kinetic Sequence Stratigraphy and growth strata in deep water systems

  • Carbonate deep water systems:  calcareous turbidites, breccias and debris flow deposits

  • Injectites: mechanisms, facies types, seismic characteristics, associated stratigraphic traps

  • Selected deepwater reservoir fields: GOM, Niger Delta, Angola, Mexico, Brazil, North Sea

  • Selected deepwater reservoir analogs: Ainsa basin (Spain), Annot sandstone (France), California borderland, Karoo basin (South Africa), Brushy Canyon (Texas)