Presalt reservoirs of the Santos Basin accounted for more than 50% of Brazilian hydrocarbon production in the first two months of 2019. Its most important reservoirs are found in the Barra Velha Formation; thus understanding its genesis and geologic history is essential. This formation is composed of carbonates deposited in an alkaline lacustrine environment with a multiplicity of facies from boundstones and grainstones to mudstones. We have performed a sedimentary analysis based on the integration of sidewall core (SWC) samples and well logs from two wells coupled with seismic patterns discrimination to characterize the tectonic and depositional evolution of the Barra Velha Formation in a sector of the Outer High of the Santos Basin in this study. Our method initially consisted of the evaluation of well logs, aiming to identify shallowing and flooding upward cycles of the second and third orders for the paleoenvironmental conceptualization upper rift and sag phases. Then, we defined electrofacies through the integration of SWCs, gamma ray, and acoustic impedance logs using the crossplot approach. Finally, we described seismic patterns throughout the study area and correlated with results from well data analysis. Therefore, the Barra Velha Formation was subdivided into three zones: the lower, intermediate, and upper zones. Well 1 has a facies association characteristic of a proximal and stable environment during deposition, whereas well 2 initially presents in a distal environment sedimentation that evolves to a more proximal setting. This fact evidenced differences with respect to base-level variations indicating compartmentalization within the lacustrine environment of the upper rift and sag phase that corroborated with the detailed seismic pattern interpretation of the study area.
The main reservoirs in the Linguado Field are grainstone and packstone carbonates composed of oolites, oncolites, pelloids, and rare bioclasts, of the Quissamã Formation (Albian-age) and coquinas of the Coqueiros Formation (Aptian-age). Within Quissamã Formation, facies have high porosity variations and their 3D characterization is of utter importance to allow for a better location of the wells. The objective of this study was a volumetric characterization of Quissamã Formation by means of an adapted classical workflow composed of well-seismic tie, seismic preconditioning, seismic interpretation, seismic inversion, petrophysical properties estimation, and porosity geostatistical modeling. Seismic inversion results allowed the interpretation of a horizon to separate the carbonate platform in an upper zone, with low acoustic impedance, from a lower zone, with high acoustic impedance. Finally, behavioral knowledge of acoustic impedance and the porosity distribution within the Albian carbonate platform helped to better characterize the distribution of carbonaceous facies allowing the confirmation that commercial wells were drilled in low acoustic impedance and high porosity regions. It was also possible to confirm that a well, declared as noncommercial, was drilled in a poor reservoir region with high acoustic impedance and low porosity and identified other locations that were not yet drilled but could represent potential targets.
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