Integrated Fluid Inclusion Study; Norwegian Sea

A Regional Evaluation in Support of the 16^th Licensing Round

RESULTS

Present and Past Distribution of Petroleum

Petroleum Type and Quality

Proximal Undrilled Pay

Bypassed Pay

Seals and Pressure Compartments

Reservoir Compartments

Temperature and Timing of Petroleum Migration and Porosity Occlusion

25 Wells; 10,000 Samples

TOOLS

Fluid Inclusion Technologies is conducting a regional evaluation of petroleum charge in key wells from the mid-Norway area to be offered as a non-exclusive study in support of the pending 16^th licensing round.  The foundation for this study is fluid inclusion volatile analysis (Fluid Inclusion Stratigraphy or FIS) of over 10,000 samples from 25 wells, representing most of the released borings in or near the most heavily nominated blocks.  Detailed fluid inclusion petrography, geochemistry and rock description will follow on potential reservoir sections that show significant FIS anomalies (possible migration pathways, paleo-hydrocarbon columns or present-day hydrocarbon columns).  Use of these data will lead to better assessment of charge potential within blocks that may be licensed in the 16^th round. 

Classical geochemical techniques that analyze residual pore fluids are often inadequate for determining where petroleum fluids have been, and are typically hampered by contamination, fractionation and alteration issues.  Subsurface fluid processes leave resolvable chemical traces in the form of crystallographically trapped fluids in diagenetic cements and healed microfractures.  These fluid inclusions are not subject to evaporation during sample storage or loss of light ends during sampling from depth.  They persist in the geologic record long after the parent fluids have moved on, but are continuously formed even up to the very recent past.  Hence, fluid inclusion studies have the potential to provide a detailed account of petroleum distribution and charge history.

Deliverables consist of:

1. Individual reports on FIS (petroleum distribution and type; seals, proximal undrilled pay, etc.), reservoir quality, fluid inclusion geochemistry and timing of petroleum emplacement for each well. 
2. A summary report of regional and local trends, including exploration significance.
3. Digital files and hard copy of all data and photomicrographs. 

Delivery date: December, 1999.  Pricing: $25,000 USD before November 1; $30,000 thereafter (based on a minimum level of participation); project details subject to change.

Phone: +918-461-8984

Fax: +918-461-2085

Fluid Inclusion Technologies, Inc.

"Innovations in Petroleum Risk Management"

2217 N. Yellowood Ave., Broken Arrow, OK 74012 USA

fit@fittulsa.com

www.fittulsa.com

Analytical Program

Wells:

Well

Total Depth

Fm at TD

Well

Total Depth

Fm at TD

6201/11-1

3850

Triassic

6506/11-1

4679

E. Jurassic

6201/11-2

3778

Triassic

6507/2-1

4477

Triassic

6205/3-1R

5264

Jurassic

6507/2-3

3972

Jurassic

6305/12-1

4301

?

6507/10-1

3693

Triassic

6305/12-2

3162

Bsmnt

6507/11-2

2905

Triassic

6306/10-1

3187

Bsmnt

6507/11-4

3045

E. Jurassic

6406/3-1

4902

Triassic

6607/5-1

3817

Cretaceous

6406/6-1

4711

E. Jurassic

6607/5-2

4189

Cretaceous

6406/8-1

4914

E. Jurassic

6607/12-1

3521

L. Cretaceous

6407/4-1

4835

Triassic

6608/10-1

3437

E. Jurassic

6407/5-1

4306

M. Jurassic

6608/10-5

3200

E. Jurassic

6407/6-1

2895

Jurassic

6609/5-1

3600

Triassic

6407/9-7

2561

Triassic

Project Description:

Fluid Inclusion Stratigraphy

Cuttings and core samples from 25 key wells will be analyzed for their fluid inclusion volatile content with the Fluid Inclusion Stratigraphy (FIS) volatile mapping technique.  The sample set represents most of the released wells in or near the most heavily nominated blocks in the mid-Norway area.  Full-well profiles of key inorganic and C1-C13 organic species will be constructed from FIS results.  These data will be interpreted in terms of petroleum inclusion presence, type and quality; possibility for deeper or lateral proximal pay; and prominent seals or reservoir compartments.  FIS results and stratigraphic information will determine samples on which the following detailed analyses will be performed.

Fluid Inclusion Petrography and Reservoir Quality Assessment

Zones within the analyzed wells that show elevated FIS hydrocarbon responses will be evaluated for their aqueous and petroleum inclusion populations via thin section analysis under plane light and UV illumination.  Fluid inclusions will be characterized in terms of their relationship to the host (e.g., in cements or healed microfractures), fluorescence characteristics, origin (generated locally from intercalated source rock, or migrated into the section from a deeper kitchen) and suitability for determining quantitative information.  Multiple petroleum populations will be distinguished and placed into a relative chronology. 

Where FIS anomalies occur in potential reservoir sections, basic, quantitative reservoir quality assessments will be performed.  This will include point counting of rock constituents (framework grains and cements) and porosity.  These data will be supported by selected SEM analyses (e.g., photography, elemental analysis and CL assessment of healed microfractures in quartz grains).  The purpose of this step is to evaluate the potential for effective hydrocarbon reservoirs within intervals that have seen charge.

Fluid Inclusion Microthermometry

Based on the results of the previous analyses, samples will be selected for quantitative fluid inclusion microthermometric determinations. Salinities and homogenization temperatures will be collected for aqueous inclusions.  API gravity and bubble-point or dew-point temperatures will be evaluated for petroleum inclusions.  Temperature data will be coupled with basin modeling information (described below) to assess timing of petroleum migration events, reservoir charging and cement formation.  API gravities coupled with bubble-points or dew-points of petroleum inclusions will be combined with FIS data to evaluate hydrocarbon type and quality.

Evaluation of Charge via the GOI Technique

GOI technology, developed by the Fluid History Analysis Group of CSIRO, Australia, will be applied in order to distinguish between paleocharge and migration pathways.  GOI is a sophisticated method of quantifying petroleum inclusion distribution within thin sections and relating it to paleo-saturation within the interval.  The technique has been used with great success on the Northwest Shelf, an area analogous in many ways to the mid-Norway area.  Samples will, again, be selected on the basis of initial FIS results.

Direct-Crush GC analysis of Fluid Inclusions

Selected samples will be analyzed with a novel fluid inclusion GC system to quantify the C1-C30+ fraction.  These data will be used with results of previously described analyses to evaluate hydrocarbon type, maturity and extent of fractionation or alteration processes.

1D Basin Modeling

Burial-depth and temperature-history data will be constructed in selected areas using Fobos^TM, Geologica’s 1D basin model.  This information will be used to place fluid inclusion temperature constraints into the context of time, allowing temporal assessment of petroleum migration, reservoir charging and significant porosity-occluding events.