Search

Carbonates in the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian to early Aptian) Kharaib Formation are reservoir rocks at giant oil fields in the UAE and Qatar. The Barremian Kharaib‐2 member (K60), the focus of this study, is in general composed of a regionally continuous succession of high‐energy, shallow‐water limestones bounded above and below by "dense" low‐energy mud‐rich strata. Despite several decades of research, conventional carbonate facies classification schemes and resulting facies groupings for the Kharaib‐2 member have failed to show a statistically acceptable correlation with core‐ and log‐derived petrophysical data. Moreover, sedimentary bodies potentially responsible for dynamic reservoir heterogeneities have not clearly been identified. This paper proposes a standardized facies classification scheme for the Kharaib‐2 carbonates based on vertical facies proportion curves (VPCs) and variogram analyses of core data to construct stratigraphic correlations at both field and regional scales. Data came from 295 cored wells penetrating the Kharaib‐2 member at ten fields in the on‐ and offshore UAE. Thin, dense intervals separating reservoir units were adopted as fourth‐order transgressive units and were used for stratigraphic correlation. Field‐scale probability maps were used to identify sedimentary bodies such as shallow‐water rudistid shoals. Regional stratigraphic correlations of the Kharaib‐2 member carbonates based on the VPCs identified variations in depositional environments, especially for the lower part of the reservoir unit; depositional facies at fields in the SE of the UAE were interpreted to be more distal compared to those at offshore fields to the NW. At a field scale, the VPCs failed to identify significant lateral variations in the carbonates. However, variogram analyses of cored wells showed spatial concentrations of specific facies in the inner ramp domain which could be correlated with high‐energy depositional bodies such as shoals dominated by rudist debris. The bodies were sinusoidal in plan view with lengths of up to 8 km and widths of ca. 1 km. Although similar‐shaped bodies with these dimensions have been reported from other carbonate depositional systems, they have not previously been reported in the Kharaib Formation. At a regional (inter‐field) scale, the stratigraphic correlation of standardized sedimentary facies remains problematic; however, mapping of facies associations and their relative proportions relative to their environments of deposition demonstrated new patterns for the stratigraphic architecture of the Kharaib‐2 member in the UAE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale, steep and straight bedding is present in exposures of the Triassic Dachstein carbonate platform slope at the Gosaukamm, Austria. Field observations revealed high and planar clinoforms with declivities of ca. 30° and bedding thicknesses varying between 1 and 100 m. The sediment is mainly composed of poorly sorted mixtures of carbonate sand and gravel, almost devoid of mud. Measurements of geopetal fabrics and the flat stratigraphic boundary of clinoforms and underlying cherty basin limestones (Gosauseekalk) both indicate that the clinoforms are dipping more or less at their original depositional angle of 30°. Tracing of clinoforms yields a minimum estimate of the platform-basin relief of 300 m, while depositional relief exceeding 500 m is most likely. Even the most conservative estimate of water depth puts the basin floor below the neritic realm, supporting the deep-basin model of the Hallstatt zones. However, moderate uplift of the basins relative to the platforms during deposition is probable. The clinoforms at the Gosaukamm confirm the recently documented pattern that granular carbonate sediments, low in mud, are able to build straight, planar clinoforms with depositional angles over 25°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]