Heterogeneity and

Sedimentology
 Aims for today

• Understand why sedimentology is

important
• Facies models:
– Appreciation of the three-dimensional
arrangement of facies deposited in different
environments (we will use this later)
– Predict likely distributions of facies from
different depositional environments.
 Why Study Sedimentology?

• Hydrocarbon reservoirs almost always

occur in sedimentary rocks
• An understanding of the 3D distribution of
porosity and permeability is vital to the
efficient development of an oilfield
• Sandbody (or any sediment body)
geometry is different in each depositional
environment.
 Why Study Sedimentology?

• We can predicted reservoir geometry much

better if we understand the environment of
deposition
• Sedimentary processes control the initial
porosity and permeability of the reservoir and
the distribution of small-scale heterogeneities
• Diagenetic studies (i.e. into the compaction and
cementation of the sediment) allow prediction of
the final distribution of porosity and permeability
 Why Study Sedimentology?

• When trying to determine the extent of a

reservoir unit detected in wells, it is
necessary to have an understanding of the
potential geometry of that unit, and
therefore the depositional environment of
the unit and the surrounding units.
• This becomes important when attempting
to correlate units between wells.
 Sandbody Geometry
Sheet
Different
shapes of
fluvial
sandbodies
Ribbon

Sheet-like shallow
marine/shoreface sandbodies can
be traced many kilometres
Aeolian dune sandstones may occur in laterally
extensive sheets separated by non-reservoir or
poorer quality reservoir
 Facies

• Sandstone is a particular facies.

– What is facies?

• Idea is linked to lithology

• Facies maps, and logs of facies are

compared to idealised models of facies
that occur in depositional environments…
 Facies
• Different usages over time:
– older papers may use the term differently.

• Generally, modern usage is one of two ways:

1: Lithologies (e.g. siltstone facies) which is descriptive,
or
2: Depositional facies (e.g. lacustrine facies) which is
interpretive.
 Facies

• Usage in these two ways is implied by

definitions of the term:

• “A facies is a body of rock with specified

characteristics... A facies should ideally be
a distinctive rock that forms under certain
conditions of sedimentation, reflecting a
particular process or environment.”
» Reading 1996
 Facies

• Usage has extended into other areas of

rock description – we now have lithofacies
(the original meaning), biofacies (the
distinct assemblage of biota from a rock
unit, or a specific environment), and you
will become familiar with the term seismic
facies (distinct patterns on seismic lines,
linked to specific lithologies or rock
properties).
 Why?
• Facies change, vertically and horizontally. Different
facies imply different environments of deposition.
• Aim of analysing facies is to develop three-
dimensional models of reservoir variability
• Environmental facies analysis integrates all aspects
of sedimentology and applies them to the
recognition of environments of deposition
• Sedimentological models are developed from the
recognition of depositional environments, from
which an understanding of reservoir character can
be gained
• Most of this has to be done from one-dimensional
data – borehole geophysics and core
 Facies in Time and Space
• One of the basic tenets of sedimentology is Walther’s Law:
“The various deposits of the same [environmental] area
and, similarly, the sum of the rocks of different
[environmental] areas were formed beside each other in
time and space, but in crustal profile we can see them
lying on top of each other . . . it is a basic statement of far
reaching significance that only those [environmental]
areas can be superimposed, primarily, that can be
observed side by side at the present time.”
• In other words, we only see in a vertical sequence
sedimentary facies that were once side by side during
deposition. (It is more important to appreciate that this
relationship only applies when there are no major breaks in
the stratigraphic sequence, either stratigraphic or structural.)
Walthers Law example…
Walthers Law example…
 Sedimentary Facies
Sequences
• Analysis of a single sedimentary rock type is
insufficient for a full description of the
environment of deposition and the larger scale
depositional system
• Environmental interpretation requires the
analysis of depositional facies sequences
• Sedimentary facies are often superimposed on
top of one another in quite specific sequences
(in other words, the interrelationships of facies
are not random, but conform to a limited
number of geological patterns)
 Graphic Logs

• Facies sequences are analysed initially

through the development of graphic logs
• These record such characteristics as
grain size, sedimentary structures,
palaeocurrent direction, fossil content
• Because sediments accumulate
vertically, sedimentary logs are
developed from the base upwards
 Coarsening-upward and
fining-upward sequences*

• Graphic logs often highlight vertical trends

in grain size
• These are referred to as:
– upward-coarsening sequences
(commonly known as coarsening-upward
sequences, or CUS)
– upward-fining sequences
(commonly known as fining-upward
sequences, or FUS)

* ‘sequence’ is not used here in the sequence stratigraphic sense

Delta deposits –
coarsening-up
succession
 Depositional Systems and
Facies Models
• A facies model is a Facies model for a
general summary of braided fluvial
the sequence of
sedimentary facies
system
produced by a given
depositional system

• Facies models are

distilled from an
analysis of facies
relationships in both
modern and ancient
examples of
depositional systems
Controls on the Nature and
Distributions of Facies

• Sedimentary processes
– autocyclic processes
• Sediment supply
– sediment availability
• Tectonics
• Sea Level change
• Climate
• Biological Activity
• Water Chemistry
 Facies Associations and
Genetic Units
• Facies associations are commonly grouped into:
– Genetic Sedimentary Units (or Architectural Elements)
• Valuable concept for identifying fundamental
building blocks of reservoirs
• Facies and Genetic Sedimentary Units are non-
unique
Genetic Sedimentary Units

• Challenge for Geo - Engineers

– Identification in subsurface
– Prediction or modelling in interwell volume:
• Spatial distribution
• Form
• Petrophysical properties
– Influence on reservoir performance
Depositional Systems
• Continental:
– alluvial (alluvial fan and
fluvial)
– desert (aeolian)
– lacustrine (lake)
– glacial
• Shoreline:
– deltaic
– clastic shoreline
– arid (evaporitic)
shoreline
• Marine:
– shallow clastic sea
– shallow carbonate sea
– pelagic
– deep clastic sea
 Summary
• Facies are distinctive descriptive units – that
often have genetic connotations (a particular
lithofacies is deposited in a particular
depositional environment)
• The distribution of facies both vertically and
horizontally can be used to identify the
depositional environment – knowing the
depositional environment can help predict the
location of particular facies, which enables
accurate geological modelling
• Vertical distribution of facies provides clues to
basin history (subsidence, sea-level change)
Sandbody Geometry
Prediction of Sandbody
Geometry

An understanding
of the origin of a
sandbody,
derived from core
or wireline logs,
may be used to
infer its 3D
geometry
 Internal Arrangements of a
Sandbody
Shoreface: upward-
coarsening sandbody – best
reservoir quality is near the
top

Model for the complex fill of a turbidite

channel – ‘Thin, Bad, Good, Difficult’
Sandbody Distribution and
Stacking

Laterally extensive turbidite channel

complex composed of a number of stacked,
smaller channels

Isolated point bar sandbodies in Vertical and lateral stacking of fluvial

a meandering fluvial reservoir channel sandbodies – controls sandbody
continuity
 Controls: Porosity and
Permeability

Porosity and permeability

distribution in a carbonate reef

Facies control on porosity and

permeability in a mixed
aeolian/fluvial succession
 Use in Reservoir Models
Geological Petrophysical
model model
Well data +
conceptual
model

Reservoir
properties
Understanding the Depositional
System

3-D modelling
of fluvial
channels,
constrained
by outcrop
panel
 Fluvial Channel Dimensions
Blue Cove Eas t Sandbody Thicknes s es
Channel thickness (perimeter corrected)

70 100.00%

90.00%
60
80.00%

50 70.00%
Fre que ncy Blue Cove Eas t Sandbody Widths
40 Cumula tive %
60.00%
Channel width (perimeter corrected)
Frequency

50.00%
70 100.00%
30
40.00%
90.00%
60
20 30.00%
80.00%

20.00%
50 Frequency 70.00% Blue Cove Eas t Sandbody As pect Ratios
10
10.00%
40
Cumula tive %
60.00% Channel aspect ratio (perimeter corrected)
Frequency

0 .00% 90 100.00%
50.00%
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

More
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

30 90.00%
80
40.00%
Thic knes s (m)
30.00% 80.00%
20 70

20.00% 70.00%
60
10 Frequency
10.00% 60.00%
Cumulative %

Frequency
50

0 .00% 50.00%
40
0

More
100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

1100

1200

1300
40.00%
Width (m) 30
30.00%

20
20.00%

10 10.00%

0 .00%

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

240
As pect Ratio
 Sedimentological
Heterogeneities
Subtle petrophysical heterogeneities can lead to inefficient sweep and
hydrocarbon trapping, even within reservoir sandbodies
6.5 m

1.9 m

oil water
Waterflood through an outcrop-derived aeolian dune model, showing
the effect of capillary imbibition in the low permeability laminae. Note
the trapping of oil near the base of high-permeability foresets.
What do you need to know?
• Sedimentary rock types
– clastic, carbonate (organic or chemical) –
chapters 1.2, 3.1 & 3.2
• Relationship of texture (grainsize, sorting
etc) and reservoir quality (porosity and
permeability).
– chapters 3.2 - 3.5
• Transport, deposition and sedimentary
structures
– chapters 3.6 - 3.7
What do you need to know?

• Sedimentary logs
– what do they show you? Chapter 3.8
• Inferring depositional environment
– facies analysis. Chapter 3.8
• Depositional environments
– how this affects sediment distribution and
sediment body geometry. Chapters 3.9 - 3.10
– reservoir ‘shapes’ from different environments
What do you need to know?

• Other important features

– seals and sources. Chapter 2
• Diagenesis
– changes to properties during burial. Chapter
3.5.3.7
Isn’t this geologist territory?

• You need to understand what your

geologist is talking about…
– To use their reports/ideas effectively
– To give you ideas on how the reservoir will
behave
– Ask pertinent questions about the
interpretation
– Make useful suggestions, or give constructive
feedback…
Depositional Environments
Non-marine

Marginal marine
Shallow marine

Deep marine
Depositional Systems /
Facies Models
• Continental (non-marine)
– Alluvial (alluvial fan and fluvial)
– Desert (aeolian)
– Lacustrine (lake)
– Glacial
• Shoreline (marginal marine)
– Deltaic
– Clastic shoreline (beach/bar systems)
– Arid (evaporitic) shoreline (salt flats)
• Marine
– Shallow marine (clastic)
– Shallow marine (carbonate)
– Pelagic
– Deep marine (clastic)
 Aeolian Depositional Systems

• Modern deserts

• Aeolian facies models

• Ancient aeolian sediments and reservoirs

– (don’t forget - dunes occur along shorelines too!)

Modern Deserts
 Modern Deserts

• Aridity (low rainfall)

– Hot or cold
– Lack of vegetation
• Depositional sub-environments
– Aeolian sand seas (ergs)
• Dune and interdune areas
– Alluvial fans
– Playa lakes
 Desert Distribution and
Climate
• Primary control is pattern of atmospheric circulation
• Secondary control is distance from ocean
Distribution of the
world’s major deserts in
relation to major
atmospheric circulation
and topography
(after Glennie, 1970)

The pattern of
prevailing winds moves
to about 5o North of its
mean position in July
and 5o South in January.
This simplified pattern
is further modified by
the large land masses
which heat up rapidly in
summer and cool
rapidly in winter.
Tectonic Setting of Deserts

• Tectonics may control

– preservation of desert sediments
– facies patterns in desert basins
• Faulted basin margins show transition
from alluvial fans at basin margins to
playas and dune fields in centre
• Intra-cratonic basins
– e.g. Saharan and Australian deserts
– Mixed fluvio-aeolian processes at diffuse
margins
 Aeolian Bedforms
• Ripples
• Dunes http://faculty.weber
.edu/bdattilo/parks
– barchans /parks_t3_review.h
tml
– transverse
• Draas (‘complex dunes’)
– stellate
– longitudinal (seif)
 Deserts are not all dunes…

Images from www.saharamet.com/desert/photos/Sahara.html

Interdunes and Sand Sheets

• Low relief areas between

major bedforms (dunes
and draas)
– coarse granular/pebble lag
– wind ripples dominant in dry
interdunes
– wet interdunes
• adhesion structures
• ponds
• small ephemeral channels
• vegetation
Vegetation in interdune areas
 Ripple and Dune
Lamination Types
• Plane bed lamination
− high wind velocities on stoss side of dunes
− rarely preserved
• Translatent-ripple lamination
− product of migrating wind ripples
− low angle climbing
− few mm thick, with slight inverse grading
• Grainfall lamination
− fine sand propelled by strong winds from dune crest into separated flow zone
− poorly defined lamination
− most common on upper parts of lee faces of dunes
− may be indistinguishable from ripple lamination
• Grainflow lamination
− lobe shaped sandflows at intervals along lee face
− steeply dipping, up to several cm thick (i.e. thicker than layers produced by other
mechanisms)
− structureless
− lenticular in horizontal section
 Distribution of Different
Aeolian Lamination Types

Distribution of different types of lamination

within small aeolian dunes.
A. Relationship of topset and different types of
lee-side laminae.
B. Horizontal plan and section (A-B) of cross-
bedding in a dune truncated by wind deflation.
Simplified from an exposure on Padre Island,
USA. (After Hunter, 1977)
Ancient Aeolian Sediments

• Recognition Criteria
– Red bed association (alluvial fan
conglomerates, aeolian sandstones,
evaporites, duricrusts and lag horizons)
– Aeolian sandstones (dune deposits):
• Large scale cross-bedding in sandstones
• Well sorted, fine to medium sandstones
• Well rounded grains
• Lack of clay/mica
 Internal Structure of Aeolian
Sheet Sandbodies
• Sets and cosets typically m’s to 10’s of m thick
• At outcrop, hierarchies of bounding surfaces are
recognisable
– first order - very extensive, low angle
– second order - concave up parallel to palaeowind
– third order - discontinuities between bundles of foresets
First-, second- and third-order
bounding surfaces in idealised
aeolian cross-bedding. The second
order surfaces may be inclined either
up wind or down wind depending on
whether or not they are superimposed
on a larger, draa-scale form (based on
Brookfield, 1977).
 Entrada Formation - Sheet
Sandbody Architecture
• Parallel to palaeowind Distribution of cross-
bedding, bounding
surfaces and interdune
deposits in sections
through the Jurassic
Entrada Formation,
Western USA.
(After Kocurek,
1981b)
 Interdune Deposits
• Major cause of aeolian reservoir
heterogeneity
• Thinly bedded sandstones associated with
first order bounding surfaces
– ripple cross lamination
– desiccation cracks
– bioturbation
– deformed laminae
• Wind and water processes
 Deserts are not all dunes…

Images from www.saharamet.com/desert/photos/Sahara.html

Cross-bedded dune sandstones from a dry aeolian
system
Aeolian dune cross bedding overlain by interdune facies
0153_27
Interdune facies overlying aeolian dune cross bedding
0153_26
Wind-ripple lamination in aeolian dune cross bedding
0153_28
Upscaling of the different facies in
an aeolian reservoir (S. North Sea)

Geopseudo
Upscaling
wet interdune

aeolian

fluvial
 Impact of lamina-scale hetrogeneity on
hydrocarbon recovery in an aeolian reservoir

Waterflood through an outcrop-derived aeolian dune

model, showing the effect of capillary imbibition in
the low permeability laminae. Note the trapping of
oil near the base of high-permeability foresets.
6.5 m

1.9 m

oil water
 Aeolian reservoirs
• Reservoir and seal lithofacies
– Aeolian dune - best reservoir quality in grainflow
foreset facies
– Subordinate reservoirs in fluvial facies
– Interdune and sabkha facies tend to form barriers and
baffles
– Lacustrine or evaporitic facies may form regional seals

• Directional drilling may allow individual dune

sandbodies to be followed
Examples of aeolian reservoirs
• Permian Rotliegend of Southern North Sea
(similar to Moray Firth example)
• Gas reservoirs
• Reservoir lithofacies
– Aeolian dune
– Interdune and sabkha
– Fluvial
– Lacustrine
• Strong lithofacies control on reservoir quality
(also diagenesis)
 Got that?

• Lets see what you’ve remembered.

• Make a list of the important features of

aeolian systems…

• Compare your list to your neighbours…

 Important things…
• Tabular or sheet-like bodies of dune
facies, well sorted fine to medium sand,
strongly internally heterogeneous,
bounded by erosional surfaces and
interbedded with less well sorted interdune
facies.
• Other facies include fluvial, alluvial fan,
evaporitic or lacustrine (lower quality
reservoir and seal facies).