Identification of Patches of Bitumen in a Carbonate Reservoir: A Case Study

Abstract

Carbonate reservoir X has varying levels of maturity in terms of development. The South/West is highly matured; development activities have recently kicked-off in the Crestal part while the areas towards the Far North is not fully developed and posed the largest uncertainty in terms of reservoir quality, fluid contacts, oil saturation, well injectivity/ productivity, area potential and reserves due to poor well control. In reservoir X with segmented development areas, patches of bitumen have been found in the Far North. The extent of this Bitumen was unknown. In order to expand the CO2 development concept to achieve production target from the Far Northern flank, an understanding and mitigation of the area uncertainties is crucial. Reservoir bitumen is a highly viscous, asphaltene rich hydrocarbon that affects reservoir performance. Distinguishing between producible oil and reservoir bitumen is critical for recoverable hydrocarbon volume calculations and production planning, yet the lack of resistivity and density contrast between the reservoir bitumen and light oil makes it difficult, if not impossible, to make such differentiation using only conventional logs such as neutron, density, and resistivity. This paper highlights the utilization and integration of advanced logging tools such as nuclear magnetic resonance and dielectric, in conjunction with routine logs, pressure points, RCI samples, vertical interference test and core data to differentiate between reservoir bitumen and other hydrocarbon types in the pore space. The major findings from the studies shows bitumen doesn't form as a single layer but occurs in different subzones as patches which is a challenge for static modelling. When high molecular weight hydrocarbons are distributed in the pore space and coexist with light and producible hydrocarbons, reservoir bitumen is likely to block pore throats. The Bitumen present in this reservoir have a log response similar to conventional pore fluids. The outcome of this study has helped in refining the bitumen boundary, optimize well placement, resolved the uncertainties associated with deeper fluid contacts and provided realistic estimate of STOIIP.