Subsurface Maps

K. W. Weissenburger
Conoco, Inc.
Ponca City, Oklahoma, U.S.A.

INTRODUCTION
Reservoir properties are mapped to promote optimal field
development. Subsurface maps dictate well placement and
enable engineers to calculate reserves and monitor trends in
reservoir performance. Geologists play a key role in
subsurface mapping by using interpretations of depositional
environments and diagenetic events to project reservoir data
away from relatively few well control points (see other
chapters in Part 6). In this sense, subsurface mapping is in
great contrast to geological mapping of the earth's surface.
Whether using traditional concepts (Landes, 1951) or "high
technology" computer contouring hardware/software
systems (Jones et al., 1986), mapping interwell areas places a
premium on interpretation rather than straightforward
plotting of precise data. "Mapping" is here limited to
projections in plan view.

fields, unconformities are the location of sealing shales

and/or source rocks above reservoir pay. Subcrop maps,
traces of productive zones, barriers, or marker horizons
mapped on the unconformity surface are invaluable for
planning well placement and for reservoir development.
Pressure
Maps of reservoir pressure are useful throughout reservoir
life (Figure 3). Pressures should be converted to a common
depth datum, such as mid-reservoir, prior to contouring. (For
information on obtaining pressure data, see the chapters on
"Production Testing" and "Pressure Transient Testing" in
Part 9, "Wireline Formation Testing" in Part 4, and "Drill
Stem Testing" in Part 3.)

MAPPING THICKNESSES
MAPPING SURFACES
A number of surfaces are typically mapped during
reservoir development to show closure and other limits to
reservoir production. Maps of top of pay and bottom of pay
can also be "subtracted" to determine pay thickness.

Interpretations of depositional trends, pre- and

syndepositional structural development, and reservoir
storage capacity are based in large part on thickness
information. An accurate meaning of thickness is critical in
these and other analyses (see the chapter on "Conversion of
Well Log Data to Subsurface Stratigraphic and Structural
Information" in Part 6).

Structure
Structure maps show lines of equal elevation or depth for a
selected marker horizon (Figure 1) (see the chapter on
"Evaluating Structurally Complex Reservoirs" in Part 6).
Mean sea level is a useful reference datum. Commonly
contoured horizons are top of zone or top of net pay. Control
points are provided by surveyed wells and can be
supplemented by seismic interpretations, especially offshore.
In highly developed fields, typically onshore, sufficient well
control might exist to allow geostatistical interpolation
between control points (see Part 8).
Fault Planes
Faults are special surfaces whose traces will show on
structure contour maps (Figures 1 and 2). Faults form
bounding surfaces for some reservoirs, and sufficient well
control might exist to contour map the fault surface itself.
Projections of subsurface data into the plane of the fault are
also useful "maps" for reservoir development, but are more
appropriately described as cross sections. (For details of
construction of fault plane maps, see the chapter on
"Conversion of Well Log Data to Subsurface Stratigraphic and
Structural Information" in Part 6.)
Unconformities and Subcrops
Surfaces of unconformity can be especially useful marker
horizons for structure contour mapping (Figure 2). In many

Isopach
A contour map of equal values of true stratigraphic
thickness is an isopach map (Figure 4). Except for vertical wells
in horizontal beds, corrections for wellbore deviation and
formation dip are needed to make isopach maps.

Isochore
A contour map of equal values of true vertical thickness is
an isochore map (Tucker, 1988). Note that in common practice,
isochore maps are informally referred to as "isopach" maps, a
term that properly should be restricted to true stratigraphic
thickness.
Isochron
An isochron map is a contour map of equal values of seismic
travelfime between selected events (Tucker, 1988). Isochron
maps are the seismic analog of isochore maps and, as such,
are intended to derive thickness information from seismic
data. Isochroning between events above and below a pay
horizon, for example, would estimate pay thickness. Renick
and Gunn (1989) present a good case history of using isochron
and time-structure maps to generate "isopach" and
elevation-structure maps. Their isochron-isopach approach
delineated reef trends for further development drilling and
used well penetrations through a shallow horizon for depth
control on a deeper horizon. Phipps (1989) documents the

Subsurface Maps

295

5 MILES

Figure 1. Structure map of the top of the T5 marker, Frio Formation, Brazoria County, Texas. (After Bebout et al., 1978.)

pros and cons of using isochron thins and structural highs as

exploration drilling criteria for dolomirized Devonian limestones.

MAPPING TO CALCULATE RESERVES

When few production performance data are available,
typically early in the life of a reservoir, reserves can be
calculated by a volumetric analysis (see the chapter on
"Reserves Calculations" in Part 10). For an oil reservoir, the
basic volumetric equation is as follows:
N = 7758 x A x H x $ x (1 - Sw)/Boi
where
N = original oil in place, stock tank barrels (STB)
7758 = conversion factor (acre-feet to barrels)

A = area of reservoir (acres)

H = height or thickness of pay zone (feet)
<>| = porosity (fraction of bulk volume)
S w = connate water saturation (fraction of pore volume)
Boi = oil formation volume factor (dimensionless,
reservoir bbls/stock tank bbls)
A similar basic equation applies to gas reservoirs.

Net Pay
The product A x H is the reservoir bulk volume, and the
product A x H x ty is the reservoir pore volume. The general
determination of bulk reservoir volume involves mapping
reservoir area in plan view and mapping net pay in terms of
true vertical thickness to provide a common presentation of
dipping beds or deviated wells. An isochore map of net pay

296

PART 6GEOLOGICAL METHODS

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BOTTOM
WATER INJECTOR
. PERIPHERAL
' WATER INJECTOR

PATTERN
WATER INJECTOR
CONTOUR INTERVAL
2750 kPa

PRESSURE
<
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Figure 3. Map of pressure response to pattern flood, Judy Creek

field, western Canada, 1974 and 1975. Contour interval is 2750
kPa. (After Jardine and Wilshart, 1987.)

Water Saturation
The water saturation (Sw) within the net pay interval is
typically estimated from well logs. Water saturations can also
be derived from capillary pressure testing of cores to
determine the relationship of water saturation versus height
above the oil-water contact (see the chapter on "Capillary
Pressure" in Part 5). Like porosity, the water saturation data
in an individual well within the net pay interval can be
averaged arithmetically and posted on a map for contouring
(Figure 5). The averages should be weighted by porosity.
Figure 2. Structure of the base of the Humber unconformity (top
of the Brent Group), Dunlin field, U.K. Northern North Sea
mapped with 1979 and 1989 vintage data. Contours are marked
in ft subsea x 100; contour interval is 100 ft. (From Bralthwaite
et al., 1989.)

should be contoured using well control points and

interpolated or extrapolated using available seismic and well
test data and the geologist's interpretation of depositional and
diagenetic history.
"Net" pay (see the chapter on "Effective Pay Determination" in Part 6) implies that some formation thickness
has been excluded from consideration by either (1) occurring
below an oil-water contact (or above a gas-water contact), or
(2) having porosity a n d / o r permeability values below a
"cutoff" limit for productivity. Not all net pay is necessarily
productive at a given well spacing. Discontinuous productive
horizons between wells might be described, for example, by
the concept of net pay to net connected pay ratio (Poston,
1987).
Porosity
The porosity ((ji) in a reservoir zone can be determined
from log and /or core data (see the chapter on "Porosity" in
Part 5). The data in an individual well within the net pay
interval can be averaged arithmetically and posted on a map
for contouring. The averages should be weighted by
thickness.

Oil Saturation
In an oil-water system, the water saturation and oil
saturation (S0) sum to 1. Therefore, once S w has been
determined, oil saturation can be calculated and mapped as
S = l - S ,

MAPPING FOR RESERVOIR MANAGEMENT

A variety of maps are used to predict or monitor reservoir
performance.
Permeability
Permeability (k) can also be mapped and contoured (see
the chapters on "Permeability" and "Core-Log
Transformations and Porosity-Permeability Relationships" in
Part 5). As for saturation values, some care must be exercised
in mapping permeability because values must be derived
from indirect measurements. Typically, permeabilities are
derived from wireline log porosities transformed on the basis
of core permeability versus porosity cross plots.
Permeabilities can be reported at ambient laboratory
conditions of pressure or adjusted to reservoir conditions of
confining pressure. Similarly, permeabilities can be absolute
permeabilities to air (nitrogen) or liquid or effective
permeabilities to oil in the presence of irreducible water.
Permeability values in an individual well are thickness

Subsurface Maps

Figure 4. (a) Cross section and (b) net pay Isopach map of the
Strachan gas field, western Canada. Contour Interval is 100 ft.
(From Hriskevlch et al., 1980.)

weighted and typically averaged harmonically, arithmetically,

or geometrically, depending on flow geometry. Alternatively,
flow capacity (kH) values derived from pressure transient
testing can be divided by net pay thickness (H) to yield a
liquid permeability value for a well.
Porosity Thickness
Reservoir storage capacity or porosity thickness (H) is the
product of porosity and net pay (Figure 6).
Productivity Index
To avoid coning, sand production, pipe collapse, or other
harmful effects, wells might not be produced at their
maximum wide-open flow rates. Therefore, the ability of a
well to produce is usually determined by a productivity index
(PI) (Kimmel and Dalati, 1987). The PI is a measure of the
stock tank barrels (STB) of oil produced per day per psi
drawdown under steady-state or pseudosteady-state flow
conditions (see the chapter on "Production Testing" in Part 9).
Changes will show on periodic maps of PI during reservoir
life indicating trends in reservoir depletion or formation
damage.

297

Figure 5. Porosity-weighted average water saturation map for

Layer 2 of a Middle Eastern carbonate reservoir.

Solution Gas to Oil Ratio

Engineers forecast ultimate recoverable reserves by
applying material balance equations or decline curve analysis
to production history records. For example, in a depletiontype reservoir, the solution gas to oil ratio is sometimes
plotted versus cumulative oil production on semilog paper
(Garb and Smith, 1987). If such a curve shows a good
straight-line relationship, the curve can be used to predict the
trend of a cumulative gas or cumulative oil plot to estimate
ultimate recovery.
The solution gas to oil ratio (GOR) is the amount of
dissolved gas that will evolve from the oil as the pressure is
reduced to atmospheric from some higher pressure. GOR is
usually expressed in units of SCF gas/STB oil. A barrel of oil
and its solution gas at reservoir conditions of temperature and
pressure will usually "shrink" as the fluid is produced and
brought to stock tank conditions (normally reported at 60 T
and 14.7 psia). As GOR changes during reservoir life, GORs
for individual wells can be mapped periodically to identify
areas of the reservoir receiving or not receiving pressure
support and serving as indicators for reservoir management
action.

298

PART 6GEOLOGICAL METHODS

B zone
absent

A and C zones
combined

10,000 feet
Figure 6. Porosity thickness (4>H) maps for the B and C zones from the San Andres Formation reservoir, Jordan field, Ector and Crane
Counties, Texas. Contours in PV fraction-feet. (After Major and Holtz, 1989.)

Water Cut
Water cut is the fraction of a liquid production stream that
is water, where oil cut = 1 - water cut. Like GOR, water cut
will change during the life of a reservoir, and periodic
mapping can serve as a performance indicator for reservoir
management. A variety of performance features can be
indicated by water cut maps, including water coning,
directional permeability or channeling, and formation
damage.
Cumulative Production
Cumulative oil or gas production is a parameter useful for
ultimate reserves forecasts. Cumulative production can also
be mapped periodically as a performance indicator signaling
areas of the reservoir that may be responding in a manner
seemingly unrelated to initial potential. Figure 7 shows an

example of cumulative production that was concluded to be

only poorly correlated to storage capacity (Figure 6) in
individual and summed zones of a carbonate reservoir (Major
and Holtz, 1989). In this case, porosity did not necessarily
indicate effective porosity.
OTHER MAPS
A variety of other maps can come into play during the
development of a specific reservoir. Maps of fades, facies
architecture, paleoenvironment, and isolithology might be
particularly important in selecting stepout well locations and
planning reservoir development strategy. Other reservoir
properties such as temperature can have value for specific
reservoir engineering applications, particularly where
potentially temperature-sensitive chemical stimulation,
production, or recovery technology might be involved.

Subsurface Maps

>1000
750-1000

500-750

250-500
<250

Figure 7. Cumulative oil production map for the A, B, C, and D

zones from the San Andres Formation reservoir, Jordan field,
Ector and Crane counties, Texas. Contours in MSTB/year/acre.
(After Major and Holtz, 1989.)

299