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This study investigates petrophysical and acoustic properties of experimentally compacted reconstituted samples of seal sequences from the southwestern Barents Sea. The aggregates were collected from drill cuttings of mudstone and shale formations of two exploration wells, 7220/10-1 (Salina discovery) and 7122/7-3 (Goliat field). The washed and freeze-dried samples were characterized for grain size distributions, geochemical analyses, and mineralogical compositions. A total of 25 compaction tests (12 dry and 13 brine-saturated) were performed with a maximum effective vertical stress of 50 MPa. The laboratory measurements demonstrated that petrophysical and acoustic properties of argillaceous sediments can change within a sedimentary basin and even within a given formation. The results show that the collected aggregates from Goliat field are compacted more compared to Salina discovery. The maximum and minimum compaction are measured in samples collected from Snadd and Fuglen formations, respectively. The final porosity of brine-saturated specimens varies between 5% and 22%. The ultrasonic velocity measurements depict that samples with the same porosity values can have a broad range of velocity values. The resulting compaction trends in this study were compared to published compaction curves for synthetic mixtures of quartz and clay. All compaction trends show higher porosity reduction than the silt fraction with 100% quartz. Comparison of experimental compaction result of each mudstone and shale aggregate with its corresponding acquired well log data helps to delineate the burial history and exhumation in the study area. A net exhumation of 950 m and 800 m is estimated at Salina and Goliat wells, respectively. The outcomes of this study can provide insights for hydrocarbon prospect discovery in a pre-mature sedimentary basin in terms of exploration and production, and also for geological CO2 storage sites. The experimental results may provide information for well log and seismic interpretation, basin modeling and seal integrity of investigated horizons.

The Norwegian government and also the universities were unprepared for an offshore oil province. Very little information about the offshore geology was then available due to the thick cover of Quaternary and Tertiary sediments in the North Sea basins. The potential for oil and gas in the North Sea could not have been predicted before the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) was opened for petroleum exploration and drilling in 1965. Statements from the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU) in 1958 that there was no potential for oil offshore Norway referred specifically to the coastal areas, where no oil has been found. The midline principle was introduced in 1964, through an agreement with the UK. A continental shelf committee led by Jens Evensen from 1963 to1965 prepared the legal aspects and the regulations applicable for oil companies applying for licences to explore and produce oil and gas offshore Norway. A proposal for a Norwegian petroleum-related research project in 1964 was not funded and it took several years before petroleum-related teaching and research were established. After several dry wells the Ekofisk Field was discovered late 1969–early 1970, making it clear that Norway would become a significant oil-producing country. However, at that time nearly all the expertise was inside the major international oil companies and petroleum-related research at Norwegian universities and research institutes had a slow start. In 1972, Statoil and the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) were established and also government funding for petroleumrelated teaching and research. This was met with considerable scepticism and resistance from some students and faculty and some claimed that a general education in geology would be sufficient. The University of Bergen developed a strong research group in marine geophysics and later one in petroleum geology. The need for petroleum-related teaching and research created a great challenge for the Norwegian universities. The standard was variable and the output of graduates with a professional qualification was generally too low. What we know about sedimentary basins and many fundamental geological processes is the result of petroleum prospecting and data from drilling and seismic data, contributing to Norwegian geology and general geological principles.

Pore-throat size is a very crucial factor controlling the reservoir quality and oiliness of tight sandstones, which primarily affects rock-properties such as permeability and drainage capillary pressure. However, the wide range of size makes it difficult to understand their distribution characteristics as well as the specific controls on reservoir quality and oiliness. In order to better understand about pore-throat size distribution, petrographic, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), pressure-controlled mercury injection (PMI), rate-controlled mercury injection (RMI), quantitative grain fluorescence (QGF) and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) investigations under laboratory pressure conditions were performed on a suite of tight reservoir from the fourth member of the Lower Cretaceous Quantou Formation (K 1 q 4 ) in the southern Songliao Basin, China. The sandstones in this study showed different types of pore structures: intergranular pores, dissolution pores, pores within clay aggregates and even some pores related to micro fractures. The pore-throat sizes vary from nano- to micro-scale. The PMI technique views the pore-throat size ranging from 0.001 μm to 63 μm and revealed that the pore-throats with radius larger than 1.0 μm are rare and the pore-throat size distribution curves show evident fluctuations. RMI measurements indicated that the pore size distribution characteristics of the samples with different porosity and permeability values look similar. The throat size and pore throat radius ratio distribution curves had however significant differences. The overall pore-throat size distribution of the K 1 q 4 tight sandstones was obtained with the combination of the PMI and RMI methods. The permeability is mainly contributed by a small part of larger pore-throats (less than 30%) and the ratio of the smaller pore-throats in the samples increases with decreasing permeability. Although smaller pore-throats have negligible contribution on reservoir flow potential, they are very significant for the reservoir storage capacity. The pore-throats with average radius larger than 1.0 μm mainly exist in reservoirs with permeability higher than 0.1mD. When the permeability is lower than 0.1mD, the sandstones are mainly dominated by pore-throats with average radius from 0.1 μm to 1.0 μm. The ratio of different sized pore-throats controls the permeability of the tight sandstone reservoirs in different ways. We suggest that splitting or organizing key parameters defining permeability systematically into different classes or functions can enhance the ability of formulating predictive models about permeability in tight sandstone reservoirs. The PMI combined with QGF analyses indicate that oil emplacement mainly occurred in the pore-throats with radius larger than about 0.25–0.3 μm. This result is supported by the remnant oil micro-occurrence evidence observed by SEM and ESEM.

The Lower Cretaceous Quantou Formation in the southern Songliao Basin is the typical tight oil sandstone in China. For effective exploration, appraisal and production from such a tight oil sandstone, the diagenesis and reservoir quality must be thoroughly studied first. The tight oil sandstone has been examined by a variety of methods, including core and thin section observation, XRD, SEM, CL, fluorescence, electron probing analysis, fluid inclusion and isotope testing and quantitative determination of reservoir properties. The sandstones are mostly lithic arkoses and feldspathic litharenites with fine to medium grain size and moderate to good sorting. The sandstones are dominated by feldspar, quartz, and volcanic rock fragments showing various stages of disintegration. The reservoir properties are quite poor, with low porosity (average 8.54%) and permeability (average 0.493 mD), small pore-throat radius (average 0.206 μm) and high displacement pressure (mostly higher than 1 MPa). The tight sandstone reservoirs have undergone significant diagenetic alterations such as compaction, feldspar dissolution, quartz cementation, carbonate cementation (mainly ferrocalcite and ankerite) and clay mineral alteration. As to the onset time, the oil emplacement was prior to the carbonate cementation but posterior to the quartz cementation and feldspar dissolution. The smectite to illite reaction and pressure solution at stylolites provide a most important silica sources for quartz cementation. Carbonate cements increase towards interbedded mudstones. Mechanical compaction has played a more important role than cementation in destroying the reservoir quality of the K 1 q 4 sandstone reservoirs. Mixed-layer illite/smectite and illite reduced the porosity and permeability significantly, while chlorite preserved the porosity and permeability since it tends to be oil wet so that later carbonate cementation can be inhibited to some extent. It is likely that the oil emplacement occurred later than the tight rock formation (with the porosity close to 10%). However, thicker sandstone bodies (more than 2 m) constitute potential hydrocarbon reservoirs.

The tight sandstones of the Cretaceous Quantou formation are the main exploration target for hydrocarbons in the southern Songliao basin. Authigenic quartz is a significant cementing material in these sandstones, significantly reducing porosity and permeability. For efficient predicting and extrapolating the petrophysical properties within these tight sandstones, the quartz cement and its origin need to be better understood. The tight sandstones have been examined by a variety of methods. The sandstones are mostly lithic arkoses and feldspathic litharenites, compositionally immature with an average framework composition of Q43F26L31, which are characterized by abundant volcanic rock fragments. Mixed-layer illite/smectite (I/S) ordered interstratified with R = 1 and R = 3 is the dominating clay mineral in the studied sandstone reservoirs. Two different types of quartz cementation modes, namely quartz grain overgrowth and pore-filling authigenic quartz, have been identified through petrographic observations, CL and SEM analysis. Homogenization temperatures of the aqueous fluid inclusions indicate that both quartz overgrowths and pore-filling authigenic quartz formed with a continuous process from about 70 °C to 130 °C. Sources for quartz cement produced are the conversion of volcanic fragments, smectite to illite reaction and pressure solution at micro stylolites. Potassium for the illitization of smectite has been sourced from K-feldspar dissolution and albitization. Silica sourced from K-feldspars dissolution and kaolinite to illite conversion is probably only minor amount and volumetrically insignificant. The internal supplied silica precipitate within a closed system where the transport mechanism is diffusion. The quartz cementation can destroy both porosity and permeability, but strengthen the rock framework and increase the rock brittleness effectively at the same time.

Sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy and facies analysis have for many years been disciplines rather separate from diagenesis which is concerned with processes occurring after deposition. Prediction of rock properties as a function of burial depth in sedimentary basins requires that these disciplines become more integrated. Compaction of sedimentary rocks is driven towards increased density (lower porosity) and higher rock velocity as functions of burial depth (effective stress) and temperature. Both the mechanical and chemical compaction of sedimentary rocks are functions of the primary textural and mineralogical composition of the sediments at the time of deposition and after shallow burial diagenesis. This is controlled by the provenance, transport and depositional environment. Many published sedimentological studies, however, contain little information about the mineralogical and textural composition of the sedimentary sequences. Near the surface, sediments are in an open geochemical system due to groundwater flow, diffusion and evaporation. Here their composition may be changed by mineral dissolution and transport of the dissolved components. At greater depth, below the reach of significant meteoric water flow, the porewater has an exceedingly low mobility and capacity to transport solids in solution. The porewater will gradually approach equilibrium with the minerals present, reducing the concentration gradients in the porewater and the potential for both advective and diffusive transport of solids in solution. Significant increased porosity (secondary porosity) is dependent on the dissolution and removal of solids in solution which may occur during freshwater flushing at shallow depth dissolving feldspar and precipitating kaolinite. Below the reach of freshwater the porewater flow is limited and represents a geochemically nearly closed system. The porewater will in most marine sediments be in equilibrium with calcite, even if it occurs in small amounts. Prediction of rock properties such as porosity and seismic velocity at a certain depth in a sedimentary basin must be based on the burial history (effective stress and temperature), but the primary mineralogical and textural composition of the sediments is equally important. Studies of depositional environments and provenance should therefore be integrated with diagenesis and be a part of basin analysis which is used for basin modelling.

Descriptions of mineralogy and textural relationships in sandstones and limestones have been used to establish a sequence of diagenetic events (epigenesis), involving mineral dissolution and precipitation, which have been interpreted to have occurred during the burial history. Published epigenetic sequences commonly imply a geochemically open system with very significant changes in the bulk chemical composition of the sediments during burial. Near-surface diagenetic reactions may be open, involving significant changes in the sediment composition and formation of secondary porosity caused by high pore-water flow rates of meteoric water or reactions with sea water near the sea floor. Calculations show that the bulk chemical composition of the sediments below the reach of high pore-water flow rates of meteoric water or hydrothermal convection should remain nearly constant during progressive burial because of limited pore-water flow. Mass transport between shales and sandstones is also limited because the pore water is, in most cases, buffered by the same minerals so that the concentration gradients are low. Recent studies show that silica released from clay-mineral reactions in mudstones has been precipitated locally as small quartz crystals and not exported to adjacent sandstones. If the geochemical constraints for mass transfer during burial diagenetic reactions are accepted, the chemical reactions involved in diagenesis can be written as balanced equations. This offers the possibility to make predictions about reservoir quality based on assumptions about primary sediment composition related to facies and provenance. Large-scale changes in the bulk composition of sandstones and mudstones during burial diagenesis have been suggested, but because such changes cannot be explained chemically and physically, no predictions can be made. Burial diagenetic processes are, in most cases, not episodic but occur as slow adjustments to increased stress and temperature, driving the sediments toward increased mechanical and thermodynamic stability. As a result, the porosity of a single lithology must decrease during progressive burial, but each lithology has a different porosity curve. This article discusses quantitative calculations and estimates that show clearly that burial diagenesis must represent geochemically nearly closed systems where mineral dissolution and precipitation must be balanced. This provides a theoretical basis for the modeling and prediction of reservoir quality.

The deeply buried synrift play of the South Viking Graben is characterized by highly variable reservoir quality. An integrated approach incorporating petrophysics, petrography, and one-dimensional basin modeling methods was applied to investigate these variations. Analysis shows that average porosities below 4000 m (13,123 ft) (vertical depth below sea floor) range from approximately 5% to as much as about 25% in comparable quartz arenitic sandstones. From porosity-depth trends, three porosity categories can be recognized (normal-, low-, and high-porosity sandstones). Normal-porosity sandstones fall along the regional average porosity-depth trend. Low-porosity sandstones have been subject to extensive quartz cementation as a consequence of a higher degree of thermal maturity and plot below the regional porosity-depth trend. High-porosity sandstones plot above the regional porosity-depth trend. Here, quartz cementation has been inhibited by grain-coating microquartz, and thus porosity has been preserved. Hydrocarbon emplacement has previously been thought to have inhibited quartz cementation in the study area, but this study concludes that the reservoirs are mainly water-wet, allowing for continued quartz cementation despite the presence of hydrocarbon pore fluids. Predicting the distribution of microquartz-coated sandstones and the degree of thermal maturity is therefore fundamental for successful exploration in the deeply buried parts of the synrift play. This study presents a regional and stratigraphic framework for such predictions that may be incorporated into play models in the area.

Layered low permeability rock units, like shales, represent seals or ‘cap-rocks’ in a variety of geological settings. A continuous increase in the fluid pressure gradients across a virtually impermeable rock layer will ultimately lead to hydro-fracturing. Depending on the boundary conditions, such fracturing may lead to the formation of a set of sub-parallel cracks oriented more or less perpendicular to the cap-rock layer. In this article, we propose a new numerical model that describes interactions between multiple cross-cutting fractures in an elastic low permeability rock layer. The width of each fracture and the spacing between them are modeled as a force balance between the fluid pressure and the elastic forces in the cap-rock and between each fracture. The model indicates that the system of fractures evolves toward a spatially periodic steady-state distribution with a fixed fracture spacing and aperture. The results are similar for incompressible and compressible fluids. The steady-state conditions depend on only two dimensionless parameters, and the fracture spacing is only weakly dependent on the cap-rock thickness. This is in contrast to fracturing produced by simple extension of an elastic rock layer beyond the fracture strength, in which case fracture spacing is proportional to layer thickness.

This study presents the results of experimental compaction while measuring ultrasonic velocities of sands with different grain size, shape, sorting and mineralogy. Uniaxial mechanical compaction tests up to a maximum of 50 MPa effective stress were performed on 29 dry sand aggregates derived from eight different sands to measure the rock properties. A good agreement was found between the Gassmann saturated bulk moduli of dry and brine saturated tests of selected sands. Sand samples with poor sorting showed low initial porosity while sands with high grain angularity had high initial porosity. The sand compaction tests showed that at a given stress well-sorted, coarse-grained sands were more compressible and had higher velocities (Vp and Vs) than fine-grained sands when the mineralogy was similar. This can be attributed to grain crushing, where coarser grains lead to high compressibility and large grain-to-grain contact areas result in high velocities. At medium to high stresses the angular coarse to medium grained sands (both sorted sands and un-sorted whole sands) showed high compaction and velocities (Vp and Vs). The small grain-to-grain contact areas promote higher deformation at grain contacts, more crushing and increased porosity loss resulting in high velocities. Compaction and velocities (Vp and Vs) increased with decreasing sorting in sands. However, at the same porosity, the velocities in whole sands were slightly lower than in the well-sorted sands indicating the presence of loose smaller grains in-between the framework grains. Quartz-poor sands (containing less than 55% quartz) showed higher velocities (Vp and Vs) compared to that of quartz-rich sands. This could be the result of sintering and enlargement of grain contacts of ductile mineral grains in the quartz-poor sands increasing the effective bulk and shear stiffness. Tests both from wet measurements and Gassmann brine substitution showed a decreasing Vp/Vs ratio with increasing effective stress. The quartz-rich sands separated out towards the higher side of the Vp/Vs range. The Gassmann brine substituted Vp and Vs plotted against effective stress provide a measure of the expected velocity range to be found in these and similar sands during mechanical compaction. Deviations of actual well log data from experimental data may indicate uplift, the presence of hydrocarbon, overpressure and/or cementation. Data from this study may help to model velocity-depth trends and to improve the characterization of reservoir sands from well log data in a low temperature (

Rock physical properties, like velocity and bulk density, change as a response to compaction processes in sedimentary basins. In this study it is shown that the velocity and density in a well defined lithology, the shallow marine Etive Formation from the northern North Sea increase with depth as a function of mechanical compaction and quartz cementation. Physical properties from well logs combined with experimental compaction and petrographic analysis of core samples shows that mechanical compaction is the dominant process at shallow depth while quartz cementation dominates as temperatures are increased during burial. At shallow depths (

Oedometric mechanical compaction tests were performed on brine-saturated synthetic samples consisting of silt-clay mixtures to study changes in microfabric and rock properties as a function of effective stress. The silt consisted of crushed quartz (∼100%) with grain size range between 4 and 40 μm, whereas the clay consisted of 81% kaolinite, 14% mica/illite and 5% microcline of grain size between 0.4 and 30 μm. Five sample pairs ranging in composition from pure silt to pure clay were compacted to 5 and 50 MPa effective stress respectively. SEM studies were carried out to investigate microfabric changes in the mechanically compacted silt-clay mixtures. The degree of alignment of the different minerals present (quartz, mica/illite and kaolinite) were computed by using an image analysis software. Experimental compaction have measured the changes in the rock properties such as porosity and velocity as a function of effective stress for different mixtures of clay and silt. Clay-rich samples showed a higher degree of mineral orientation and lower porosity compared to silt-dominated samples as a function of effective stress. Pure clay sample had 11% porosity at 50 MPa effective stress whereas the pure silt sample retained about 29% porosity at the same effective stress. The experiments showed that low porosity down to 11% is possible by mechanical compaction only. A systematic increase in strain was observed in the silt-clay mixtures with increasing clay content but the porosity values found for the 50:50 silt-clay mixture were lower than that of 25:75 silt-clay mixture. No preferential mineral orientation is expected before compaction owing to the high initial porosity suggesting that the final fabric is a direct result of the effective stress. Both P- and S-wave velocities increased in all silt-clay mixtures with increasing effective stress. The maximum P- and S-wave velocities were observed in the 25:75 silt-clay mixture whereas the minimum Vp and Vs were recorded in the pure silt mixture. At 50 MPa effective stress P- wave velocities as high as 3 km/s resulted from experimental mechanical compaction alone. The results show that fine-grained sediment porosity and velocity are dependent on microfabric, which in turn is a function of grain size distribution, particle shape, sediment composition and stress. At 5 MPa effective stress, quartz orientation increased as a function of the amount of clay indicating that clay facilitate rotation of angular quartz grains. Adding clay from 25% to 75% in the silt-clay mixtures at 50 MPa effective stress decreased the quartz alignment. The clay mineral orientation increased by increasing both the amount of clay and the effective stress, the mica/illite fabric alignment being systematically higher than that of kaolinite. Even small amount of silt (25%) added to pure clay reduced the degree of clay alignment significantly. This study demonstrates that experimental compaction of well characterized synthetic mudstones can be a useful tool to understand microfabric and rock properties of shallow natural mudstones where mechanical compaction is the dominant process.

Late Cretaceous mudstones from two wells located in the northern North Sea and the Norwegian Sea have been examined with respect to quartz cement. Two different types of quartz cement (Type 1 and Type 2) have been identified using SEM/EDS/CL-analysis of drill-bit cuttings at depths 2370–2670 m (80–85 °C). Type 1 appears as relatively large aggregates (30–100 μm) of depth/temperature related crypto- or microcrystalline to macrocrystalline irregular quartz cement formed by local re-crystallization of biogenic silica. The CL-responses of Type 1 quartz cement give a clear indication of an authigenic origin. Type 2 quartz cement represents relatively high amounts of extremely fine-grained micro-sized (1–3 μm) crystals embedded as discrete, short chains or small clusters/nests within the illitized clay matrix. The CL-responses of micro-quartz crystals indicate an authigenic origin. The micro-quartz is most probably sourced from silica released during the smectite to illite dissolution–precipitation reaction. The petrographic evidence indicates that most of the silica released by the smectite to illite reaction has not been exported out of the mudstones. The silica released produce a subtle inter-connected micro-quartz network interlocked with aggregates of micro-quartz and authigenic clay crystals. This micro-quartz cementation process causes a significant and sharp change in the mudstone stiffness at the onset of the chemical compaction regime. This is indicated by an abrupt increase in well log velocity (Vp) and change in seismic facies close to 2500 m (80/85 °C).

Overpressure generation is a function of the rates of sedimentation, compaction, fluid generation from kerogen and dehydration of minerals, and most importantly the lateral distribution of permeability within a basin as this controls lateral drainage. Sedimentary basins, however, are typically highly heterogeneous with respect to primary sedimentary facies, diagenesis and tectonic development. While fluid flow models based on idealised homogeneous basins may further our understanding of the processes that influence overpressure development, the results are very sensitive to the distribution of rock properties, particularly permeability. The absolute permeability of sedimentary rocks varies from more than 1 Darcy to less than 0.01 nanodarcy (nD) (10 −11 Darcy). Simple calculations, assuming vertical flow and no lateral drainage within the basin, show that overpressures approaching fracture pressure in the overburden will be reached if the effective permeability of the shale forming the seal is less than 0.1–0.01 nD (1.10 −22 –1.10 −23 m 2 ). The permeability of shales varies greatly as a function of primary textural and minnerlogical composition and it is not possible to accurately predict the effective permeability of a sequence of shales forming pressure barriers. Overpressure in uplifted basins, where there is no compaction taking place, can only be maintained over geological time if the permeabilities are much lower. Overpressure is often controlled by lateral drainage but the effective permeabilities for fluid flow across faults and the offset of permeable layers are also difficult to predict. In most cases, uncalibrated basin modelling is unable to accurately predict the magnitude and distribution of overpressures because the vertical and horizontal permeabilities in sedimentary basins cannot be determined in sufficient detail. In basins that have been extensively explored and developed, incorporation of prior geological knowledge into basin models may allow overpressures to be predicted ahead of the drill bit. However, with such a large body of information already gathered about the basin it is debatable what extra value basin modelling is providing to pressure predictions.

Basin modelling studies are carried out in order to understand the basin evolution and palaeotemperature history of sedimentary basins. The results of basin modelling are sensitive to changes in the physical properties of the rocks in the sedimentary sequences. The rate of basin subsidence depends, to a large extent, on the density of the sedimentary column, which is largely dependent on the porosity and therefore on the rate of compaction. This study has tested the sensitivity of varying porosity/depth curves and related thermal conductivities for the Cenozoic succession along a cross-section in the northern North Sea basin, offshore Norway. End-member porosity/depth curves, assuming clay with smectite and kaolinite properties, are compared with a standard compaction curve for shale normally applied to the North Sea. Using these alternate relationships, basin geometries of the Cenozoic succession may vary up to 15% from those predicted using the standard compaction curve. Isostatic subsidence along the cross- section varies 2.3-4.6% between the two end-member cases. This leads to a 3-8% difference in tectonic subsidence, with maximum values in the basin centre. Owing to this, the estimated stretching factors vary up to 7.8%, which further gives rise to a maximum difference in heat flow of more than 8.5% in the basin centre. The modelled temperatures for an Upper Jurassic source rock show a deviation of more than 20°C at present dependent on the thermal conductivity properties in the post-rift succession. This will influence the modelled hydrocarbon generation history of the basin, which is an essential output from basin modelling analysis. Results from the northern North Sea have shown that varying compaction trends in sediments with varying thermal properties are important parameters to constrain when analysing sedimentary basins.

The anisotropy of physical properties is a well-known characteristic of many clay-bearing rocks. This anisotropy has important implications for elastic properties of rocks and must be considered in seismic modeling. Preferred orientation of clay minerals is an important factor causing anisotropy in clay-bearing rocks such as shales and mudstones that are the main cap rocks of oil reservoirs. The preferred orientation of clays depends mostly on the amount of clays and the degree of compaction. To study the effect of these parameters, we prepared several samples compressing (at two effective vertical stresses) a mixture of clays (illite and kaolinite) and quartz (silt) with different clay/quartz ratios. The preferred orientation of the phases was quantified with Rietveld analysis on synchrotron hard X-ray images. Pole figures for kaolinite and illite display a preferred orientationof clay platelets perpendicular to the compaction direction, increasing in strength with clay content and compaction pressure. Quartz particles have a random orientation distribution. Aggregate elastic properties can be estimated by averaging the single-crystal properties over the orientation distribution obtained from the diffraction data analysis. Calculated P-wave velocity anisotropy ranges from 0% (pure quartz sample) to 44% (pure clay sample, highly compacted), but calculated velocities are much higher than measured velocities. This is attributed to uncertainties about single-crystal elastic properties and oriented micropores and limited grain contacts that are not accounted for in the model. In this work, we present an effective method to obtain quantitative data, helping to evaluate the role of clay percentage and compaction pressure on the anisotropy of elastic properties of clay-bearing rocks.

Vertical and lateral changes in physical properties in Cenozoic mudstones from the northern North Sea Basin reflect differences in the primary mineralogical composition and burial history, which provides information about sedimentary facies and provenance. Integration of well-log data with mineralogical information shows the effect of varying clay mineralogy on compaction curves in mudstones. The main controlling factor for the compaction of Eocene to early Miocene mudstones within the North Sea is the smectite content, which is derived from volcanic sources located northwest of the North Sea. Mudstones with high smectite content are characterized by low P-wave velocities and bulk densities compared to mudstones with other clay mineral assemblages at the same burial depths. Smectitic clays are important during mechanical compaction because they are less compressible than other types of clay minerals. A comparison between well-log data and experimental work also shows that smectite may be a controlling factor for overpressure generation in the smectite-rich Eocene and Oligocene sediments. At greater burial depths and temperatures (70–80C), the dissolution of smectite and precipitation of illite and quartz significantly increases velocities and densities. Miocene and younger mudstones from the northern North Sea have generally low smectite contents and as a result have higher velocities and densities than Eocene and Oligocene mudstones. Lateral differences in the compaction trends between the north and south for these sediments also exist, which may be related to two different source areas in the Pliocene. The log-derived petrophysical data from the northern North Sea Basin show that mudstone lithologies have very different compaction trends depending on the primary composition. Simplified compaction curves may therefore affect the outcomes from basin modeling. The amplitude-versus-offset response of hydrocarbon sands and the seismic signature on seismic sections are also dependent on the petrophysical properties of mudstones and will vary depending on the mineralogical composition.

This study determines the relationship between permeability and other petrophysical properties in synthetic mudstones as a function of vertical effective stress. Six brine-saturated clay slurries consisting of smectite and kaolinite were compacted in the laboratory under both controlled pore pressure and proper drained conditions. Porosity, permeability, bulk density, velocity (both V p and V s ) and rock mechanical properties were measured constantly under increasing vertical effective stress up to 50 MPa. The results show that smectite-rich clays compact significantly less and have lower bulk density, velocity, permeability, bulk and shear modulus but higher Poisson9s ratio compared to kaolinite-rich clays at the same effective stress. Kaolinite aggregates compacted to about 26% porosity at 10 MPa effective stress corresponding to about 1 km burial depth in a normally compacted basin, whereas a pure smectite aggregate has a porosity of about 46% at the same stress. The permeability of kaolinite aggregates varies between 0.1 mD and 0.001 mD, while that of smectite aggregates varies from 0.004 mD to 0.00006 mD (60 nD) at stresses between 1 MPa and 50 MPa. Permeabilities in clays show a logarithmic decrease with increasing effective stress, bulk density, velocity or decreasing porosity. At the same porosity or bulk density, permeabilities differ up to five orders of magnitude within the smectite–kaolinite mixtures. Applications of the Kozeny–Carman equation for calculating permeability based on porosity in mudstones will therefore produce highly erroneous results. The relationships between V p , V s , bulk and shear modulus to permeability also vary by up to four orders of magnitude depending on the clay compositions. Velocities or rock mechanical properties will therefore not be suitable to estimate permeability in mudstones unless the mineralogy and textural relationships are known. These experimental results demonstrate that smectite content may be critical for building up pore pressure in mudstones compared to kaolinite. The results help to constrain compaction and fluid flow in mudstones in shallower parts of the basins (

Clay minerals are the most abundant materials in sedimentary basins. The most common—like kaolinite, illite, chlorite, and smectite—are found in various amounts in mudstones and are also often found in clastic and nonclastic reservoir rocks. Their presence alters the elastic behavior of reservoir rocks significantly as a function of mineral type, volume and distribution. Thus, two sandstones with the same clay amount might have different elastic properties due to differences within the clay population. The elastic properties of clay minerals are therefore important in rock physics modeling to understand the seismic and sonic log responses of shaley sequences and clay-bearing reservoir rocks.

The Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary sediments of the Voring and More basins are predominantly composed of fine-grained mudstones. Variations in the mineralogy and chemistry of these mudstones provide information regarding facies, provenance and burial history, and may also be used to predict rock properties. Over 300 cuttings’ samples from five wells were analysed by XRD. The results show significant changes in mineralogy as a function of burial depth, as well as important lateral variations throughout the basins. Eocene mudstones with up to 55% smectite probably represent a northern equivalent of the Balder Formation (North Sea). The underlying Late Cretaceous sequence probably had less primary smectite derived from volcanic ash, as indicated by the lower iron content. The distribution of smectite is also limited by its thermal stability, thus providing important constraints on the temperature history. These mudstone sequences may appear to be relatively homogeneous based on gamma-ray and shale volume calculations from wireline logs, but mineralogical and geochemical analyses from cuttings show that they vary significantly in composition. The smectite content is greatest in the south ( c . 55%) and decreases significantly northward ( c . 20%), indicating a marked regional control on velocity/porosity–depth curves. Mudstones containing high smectite content are characterized by lower velocities, lower densities and higher porosities when compared with published burial curves. Stratigraphic and regional variations in velocity and density are important for seismic interpretation and are significant for basin modelling.

Seismic records are based on measurements of the time sound waves (seismic waves) take to travel through rock. The sound or signal is produced by explosives or compressed air (air guns). Rock is an elastic medium and the velocity of sound conveys a lot of information about the properties of the rock. Normal sound waves (P-waves) travel through both the solid phase, which for the most part consists of minerals or rock fragments, and the liquid or gas in the pores. Shear waves (S-waves) on the other hand can only go through the solid phase.

The temperature increases downwards in the crust and there is therefore a transport of heat upwards, referred to as the heat flow. Most of the flow is by conduction (thermal diffusion). Flow of porewater will also transport heat in the subsurface but the flow rates in sedimentary basins are normally so small that we can ignore the contribution from fluid flow (advection). Around igneous intrusions there is usually thermal convection with high flow rates and heat transport. In shallow areas with high flow rates of meteoric water, advective heat transport is also significant.

The pore spaces in sedimentary basins are mostly filled with water. Oil and gas are the exceptions and most of the information we have about fluid flow in sedimentary basins is derived from the composition of water and the pressure gradients in the water phase. It is therefore important to characterise and understand the variations in the composition of these waters. All the porewater may be referred to as subsurface water but the water that is analysed from exploration wells or is produced during oil production is usually called formation water or oil field brines.

Mudrocks and shales are the most abundant lithologies in most sedimentary basins. They are important because shales includes source rocks for oil and gas, but recently large reserves of gas have been found in shales. Shales may therefore be reservoir rocks because they may have significant porosity and some (although small) permeability to flow gas. The rising production of oil and gas from shales (shale gas and shale oil) in recent years has led to a new interest in the primary composition and the properties of mudstones and shales as functions of the burial depth and temperature. The seismic image for sandstones also depends on the properties of adjacent shales.

For many decades conventional oil which could be produced at low cost was present in abundance. A low oil price gave no incentive to look for other types of resources. It is now clear, however, that we are gradually running out of new sedimentary basins to explore and that the reserves of conventional oil which can be produced cheaply are limited.

Petroleum geology comprises those geological disciplines which are of greatest significance for the finding and recovery of oil and gas. Since most of the obvious and “easy to find” petroleum already has been discovered it is necessary to use sophisticated methods in the exploration of sedimentary basins. These include advanced geophysical techniques and basin modelling. There is also much more emphasis now on enhanced recovery from the producing fields. Petroleum technology has made great progress and many new tools and modelling programs have been developed, both in exploration and production.

The physical properties of sedimentary rocks change continuously during burial as a response to increasing stress and temperature; they also change to a certain extent during uplift and cooling. There is an overall drive towards lower porosity with depth, which increases the sediment density and sonic/seismic velocity.

In the preceding chapters we have included only a few regional examples and case studies because of space limitations. The present chapter will, however, provide some examples. The North Sea and other parts of the Norwegian continental shelf contain several different petroleum provinces which can illustrate some of the general principles of petroleum geology and geophysics. The geological evolution of these sedimentary basins provides a necessary background to understand the distribution of source rocks and the timing of petroleum migration. The structural history of rifted basins, passive margins and also uplifted basins such as the Barents Sea is critical to the trapping of oil and gas. These basins are very well documented by seismic and well data.

Sonic velocity, density, and resistivity log data from 60 wells on the Norwegian Shelf have been used to investigate velocity-depth trends in sedimentary rocks as a function of sediment composition, porosity, pore-pressure, burial-history, and compaction processes. A first-order linear velocity-depth trend line has been estimated from published velocity data. The data analyzed in this study, however, show significant variations from this trend line, indicating that no general velocity-depth function can be used when performing more accurate analyses like depth conversion of seismic data, pore-pressure prediction, or basin modeling. Lower Tertiary smectitic sediments from the northern North Sea and Haltenbanken are characterized by relatively low velocities compared to the overlying Pliocene and Pleistocene sediments, causing a distinct velocity inversion. A significant velocity increase at a burial depth corresponding to 70–100C was found and may reflect the alteration of smectite to illite and the initial precipitation of quartz cement in both sandstones and shales. Overpressured Jurassic sediments from Haltenbanken have lower velocities than equivalent hydrostatically pressured sequences but no significant porosity difference. The reduced velocities may be a direct response to lower effective stresses and, thus, reduced elastic compaction. Low velocities in source rocks are mainly attributed to the relatively soft kerogen and resulting velocity anisotropy. The high velocity/depth ratio of Barents Sea sediments (after correcting for Tertiary exhumation) is explained by the burial history of the area, the subsequent thermal exposure of the sediments over time, and thus, the amount of quartz cementation.

Faults may be barriers or conduits for fluid flow in sedimentary basins. The properties of faults, however, depend on stress conditions and rock properties at the time of deformation and subsequent diagenesis of the fault zone. Several recent publications have suggested that petroleum reservoirs in the North Sea and at Haltenbanken, offshore mid-Norway, have experienced leakage along faults caused by imposed stresses, related to glacial loading during the Quaternary. The Jurassic reservoirs in these areas are, however, bounded by faults produced during the Upper Jurassic rifting, when the sediments were still soft and, for the most part, uncemented. These faults do not represent zones of weakness. Because of strain hardening and later diagenesis in sandstones and cementation in mudstones, the fault zones are commonly stronger than the adjacent rocks. They are therefore not likely to be reactivated tectonically. Furthermore, there is little evidence of glacial deformation in the Quaternary sediments overlying these oil fields. It has been proposed that very large horizontal stresses, inferred to be related to periods of glacial loading, caused shear failure at pore pressures below fracture pressure and subsequent leakage along these shear zones. We argue that this is not a likely mechanism during progressive burial in sedimentary basins. Very high horizontal effective stresses, up to 60 MPa, at about 3 km (1.8 mi) depth, at Haltenbanken would have caused more mechanical compaction and grain crushing than that observed in situ. External stress, i.e., plate-tectonic stress from spreading ridges (ridge push), will be transmitted primarily through the basement and not through the much more compressible overlying sedimentary rocks. During progressive basin subsidence, chemical compaction, i.e., caused by quartz cementation, causes rock shrinkage, which will relax differential stresses. This makes brittle deformation (shear failure), resulting in open fractures less likely to occur at stresses below the fracture pressure. In subsiding sedimentary basins with progressive compaction, horizontal stress will normally not exceed the vertical stress except when there is significant shortening of the underlying basement.

Many authors have proposed that significant volumes of porosity are created by deep-burial dissolution in carbonate reservoirs. We argue, however, that this model is unsupported by empirical data and violates important chemical constraints on mass transport. Because of the ubiquitous presence and rapid kinetics of dissolution of carbonate minerals, the mesogenetic pore waters in sedimentary basins can be expected to be always saturated and buffered by carbonates, providing little opportunity for the preservation of significantly undersaturated water chemistry during upward flow, even if the initial generation of such undersaturated pore water could occur. A review of the literature where this model has been advanced reveals a consistent lack of quantitative treatment. In consequence, the presumption of mesogenetic dissolution producing a net increase in secondary porosity should not be used in the prediction of carbonate reservoir quality.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of grain contacts and quartz cementation with regard to acoustic wave propagation in sandstones. Grain contacts have been considered essential when relating acoustic velocities to physical rock properties, and a parameter numerically representing the contact area between individual grains (contact length) has been measured. The method used involves digital petrographic microscopy pictures analysed by image analysis software. Other parameters, such as grain size, number of grain-to-grain contacts, cracks, clay content and porosity, have also been closely examined. The results showed that the contact area between sand grains may be useful for explaining velocity variations during the initial stages of quartz cementation and grain framework stiffening. Continued increase in grain-contact area by chemical compaction will have less influence on the sonic velocity compared to variations in porosity. The Garn Fm. from the Norne Field (2.6–2.7 km burial depth), which is in the early phase of initial grain framework stiffening by quartz cementation, and the Garn Fm. from the Kristin Field (4.6–4.7 km burial depth), which is thoroughly quartz cemented, were chosen as sample materials. Log-derived velocities, in addition to some laboratory ultrasonic velocity measurements, were used in this study.

The paper presents the results of laboratory compaction tests on two samples of the lower Kimmeridge Clay Formation obtained from two different outcrop localities in the UK. The purpose of the testing programme is to study the compaction behaviour of an argillaceous sediment from the same parent material but with different diagenetic histories. Since most available data are for clays subjected to moderate effective stresses (less than 20 MPa), the compaction laboratory tests were carried out to as high as 120 MPa, corresponding to about 9 km burial. The microstructure of the tested materials was studied in a scanning electron microscope before and after compaction testing to evaluate the effects of diagenesis on the microstructure of argillaceous sediments. The two tested materials have, in the past, been subjected to different burial depths and degrees of chemical precipitationand cementation. Several pieces of evidence are shown of the effects of mechanical and chemical processes on the compaction behaviour of argillaceous materials. Mechanical compaction can only account for part of the porosity loss and increase in stiffness of argillaceous materials during burial. Mechanical compaction produces an anisotropic rearrangement of clay particles in uncemented sediments. Once chemical diagenesis has taken place, chemical cementation preserves the microstructure of the sediment and only minor changes in clay particle arrangements take place during further mechanical compaction, even when very high stresses are used. Also, it is seen that chemical processes reduce the permeability more strongly than mechanical compaction.

Petroleum inclusion and geochemical data from core extracts were applied to deduce a model for oil migration, overpressure development and palaeo-leakage of oil from currently dry structures in the Haltenbanken Vest area. The existence of fluorescent oil type inclusions in quartz in the Smorbukk (Asgard-2) field suggest that oil migrated into this structure 70–50 million years before present (Ma bp). This is also the case for the dry structures 6506/12-4, 6506/11-3 and 6506/11-1, west of the main Smorbukk Fault Zone. Black oil inclusions with medium gas/oil ratio (GOR) occur in these fields together with condensate-type petroleum inclusions. This suggests that the dry structures transformed from containing oil to condensate before leakage. Petroleum extracted from inclusions in these structures and in nearby fields have identical marine type II kerogen signatures. Source rocks at the Spekk Formation level in the current drainage area of Smorbukk and these dry structures, were immature 70–50 Ma bp and the Smorbukk Sor (Asgard-3) field did not fill at this early time. Thus, oil must initially have entered into Smorbukk from areas to the W-SW, through the currently pressure sealing Smorbukk Fault Zone which today marks the westward limit of the Smorbukk field. Diagenesis in this fault zone caused the much later overpressure development and petroleum was lost from the 6506/12-4, 6506/11-3 and 6506/11-1 structures as overpressure built up regionally. Petroleum loss from these structures with their often thick seals must have occurred via self-propagating open-fracture-induced mechanisms. Lack of petroleum in the Cretaceous strata above these structures suggests that leakage occurred to even shallower strata. This could imply that the Cretaceous strata in Halten Vest were overpressured at the time of leakage. In contrast, the oil in the Cretaceous Lysing and Lange Formation (above the Jurassic reservoirs in Smorbukk and Smorbukk Sor) most likely originated (based on geochemistry and GORs) from the Jurassic reservoirs below and not from Cretaceous strata. This migration event would have been facilitated if it occurred before these sands became overpressured as they are today. Modelling suggests that the Spekk Formation became mature in the Smorbukk Sor region

This study examines the one-dimensional stress–strain behaviour of sand at effective stresses as high as 50 MPa. Experiments were performed on 22 sands (approx. 150 tests) with different grain size, uniformity coefficient, angularity, density, grain mineralogy, and clay content. The results show that minor grain corner crushing starts at stresses of 2–8 MPa. The point of maximum curvature (yield point) in the porosity (n) versus logarithm of vertical effective stress (σ'v) curve defines the initiation of marked particle crushing. The stress at the yield point varies between 3 and 31 MPa depending on sand characteristics. A low yield stress is indicative of high porosity loss in the interval of intermediate stress (5–25 MPa). The yield stress is low when the grain size is large, grains are angular, grain strength is low, and uniformity coefficient is low. The lowest yield stress value occurs in the coarser carbonate sand, and the highest in the chert-rich sands. The sands rich in clays are highly compressible up to 25 MPa. At stresses higher than ~10 MPa, the coarser biogenic carbonate sands maintain higher porosities than the other sands. This can be explained by the fact that coarser biogenic carbonate sands have low yield stresses due to high angularity and low grain strength and initially there is local grain crushing at grain contacts. This increases the area of the grain contacts, so the coarser carbonate sands become less compressible at higher stresses. Within the high stress range (25–50 MPa) the porosity loss differences related to grain size, grain shape, grain mineralogy, and sand uniformity coefficient are significantly reduced. Hence the greater compressibility of lithic and carbonate sands becomes less evident in the high-stress interval as the grain size increases.Key words: sand, grain crushing, grain size, high stress, compression.

The Garn Formation is an important reservoir-sandstone in the Haltenbanken area. The Garn Formation from the Kristin field is deeply buried (4.6–4.9 km) but displays higher porosity values compared to the general porosity trend in the region. In the Lavrans field the same formation is extensively quartz cemented with low porosity values despite its shallower depth (4.4–4.5 km). Porosity is controlled by grain coatings preventing quartz overgrowth. It is well known that chlorite coatings inhibit quartz cementation, but our observations show that illite and illite/chlorite coatings can also be effective in preventing quartz precipitation. The grain-coating illite and chlorite in the studied wells may have developed from a smectitic precursor that formed from volcano-clastic material at lower temperatures. Bitumen covers the grains in many of the samples, but the bitumen formed too late to significantly affect quartz overgrowths and has not contributed to preservation of porosity.

Pressure solution is responsible for mechano-chemical compaction of sediments in the upper crust (2–10 km). This process also controls porosity variations in a fault gouge after an earthquake. We present experimental results from chemical compaction of aggregates of halite mixed with clays. It is shown that clay particles (1–5 microns) greatly enhance the deformation by pressure solution in salt aggregates (100–200 micron), the strain rates being 50% to 200% faster in samples containing 10% clays than for clay-free samples. Even the presence of 1% clay increases the strain rate significantly. We propose that clay particles enhance pressure solution creep because these microscopic minerals are trapped within the salt particle contacts where they allow faster diffusion of solutes from the particle contacts to the pore space and inhibit grain boundary formation.