Hydrocarbon Potential Assessment of Carbonate-Bearing Sediments in a Meyal Oil Field, Pakistan: Insights from Logging Data Using Machine Learning and Quanti Elan Modeling.

The Meyal oil field (MOF) is among the most important contributors to Pakistan's oil and gas industry. Northern Pakistan's Potwar Basin is located in the foreland and thrust bands of the Himalayan mountains. The current research aims to delineate the hydrocarbon potential, reservoir zone evaluation, and lithofacies identification through the utilization of seven conventional well logs (M-01, M-08, M-10, M-12, M-13P, and M-17). We employed the advanced unsupervised machine-learning method of self-organizing maps for lithofacies identification and the novel Quanti Elan model technique for comprehensive multimineral evaluation. The shale volume, porosity, permeability, and water saturation (petrophysical parameters) of six wells were evaluated to identify the reservoir potential and prospective reservoir zones. Well-logging data and self-organizing maps were used in this study to provide a less costly method for the objective and systematic identification of lithofacies. According to the SOM and Pickett plot analyses, the zone of interest is mostly made up of pure limestone oil zone, whereas the sandy and dolomitic behavior with a mixture of shale content shows non-reservoir oil-water and water zones. The reservoir has good porosity values that range from 0 to 18%, but there is a high water saturation of up to 45% in reservoir production zones. The presence of shale in the entire reservoir interval has a negative effect on the permeability value, but the petrophysical properties of the Meyal oil reservoir are good enough to permit hydrocarbon production. According to the petrophysical estimates, the Meyal oil field's Sakesar and Chorgali Formations are promising reservoirs, and new prospects for drilling wells in the southern and central portions of the eastern portion of the research area are recommended.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest.
(© 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)