Geologic study and multiple 3-D surveys give clues to complex reservoir architecture of giant Coalinga oil field, San Joaquin Valley, California

Clark, Michael S.; Klonsky, L.; Tucker, Karla E.

doi:10.1190/1.1487285

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The Temblor Formation sandstone contributes 90 percent of the total oil production as of 2001 (Clark et al, 2001). The average well depths range from 500 to 4500 ft. As of 2001, the total number of wells was 4000.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The accumulated heavy oil is produced by steam injection which fractionates the high-gravity oil beneath these sealants into low-gravity crude (Clark et al, 2001). At places, shales and calcite-cemented sandstone in the upper part of the Top Temblor create an effective top seal in the reservoir (Clark et al, 2001). The reservoir rocks are highly heterogeneous due to its proximity to the tectonically disturbed San Andreas transform.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A northwest-southeast trending anticline (Coalinga nose) separates the two fields. The nose and its eastern part crosses regional strike and extends about five miles along the southeast plunge of the nose (Clark et al, 2001). Our focus, West Coalinga field, parallels the upturned, monoclinal west margin of the basin.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The tight outcrops and solidified tar mats in the near surface of these outcrops provide the sealing mechanism (cap rocks) of the Temblor reservoirs. The accumulated heavy oil is produced by steam injection which fractionates the high-gravity oil beneath these sealants into low-gravity crude (Clark et al, 2001). At places, shales and calcite-cemented sandstone in the upper part of the Top Temblor create an effective top seal in the reservoir (Clark et al, 2001).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…About three to four barrels of steam are being pumped into the reservoir for every single barrel of oil recovery. The field requires more steam to be injected to produce oil than most other heavy oil reservoirs in the San Joaquin basin due to its geological complexities (Clark et al, 2001). …”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Seismic Determination of Reservoir Heterogeneity: Application to the Characterization of Heavy Oil Reservoirs

Imhof¹,

Castle²

2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The objective of the project was to examine how seismic and geologic data can be used to improve characterization of small-scale heterogeneity and their parameterization in reservoir models. The study focused on West Coalinga Field in California.The project initially attempted to build reservoir models based on different geologic and geophysical data independently using different tools, then to compare the results, and ultimately to integrate them all. Throughout the project, however, we learned that this strategy was impractical because the different data and model are complementary instead of competitive. For the complex Coalinga field, we found that a thorough understanding of the reservoir evolution through geologic times provides the necessary framework which ultimately allows integration of the different data and techniques.3

show abstract

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Seismic Determination of Reservoir Heterogeneity: Application to the Characterization of Heavy Oil Reservoirs

Imhof¹,

Castle²

2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Heat advection by groundwater flow through a heterogeneous permeability crust: A potential cause of scatter in surface heat flow near Parkfield, California

Popek¹,

Saffer²

2011

J. Geophys. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

[1] Surface heat flow in the California Coast Ranges near Parkfield, California, exhibits substantial scatter, with differences as large as 20 mW m −2 over lateral distances of 5-70 km. This scatter has been an important limitation in using the heat flow data set to constrain geodynamic processes, but to date it has not been explained. Here we use a numerical model of coupled fluid and heat transport to test the hypothesis that heat advection by groundwater flow can generate the scatter. Our study significantly extends previous investigations in that we consider realistic and heterogeneous permeability architecture and topographic driving forces. We find that the magnitude and spatial characteristics of the scatter, including the standard deviation, variation in heat flow as a function of separation distance, and patterns of heat flow and elevation can be generated if the Tertiary sediments in the upper 2-3 km of the crust have a permeability ≥3 × 10 −16 m 2 , allowing recharge of ∼0.5 cm yr −1 or higher. These permeabilities and recharge rates are consistent with existing constraints on both quantities, suggesting that groundwater flow offers a plausible explanation for the observed scatter in the heat flow data set. Last, although not the primary focus of this study, we demonstrate that for a range of reasonable permeability architectures, topographically driven groundwater flow would not mask a thermal anomaly associated with frictional heating on the San Andreas Fault.

show abstract

Poststack interpretive static correction

Mahapatra

Imhof

Kempner

2003

SEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts 2003

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Geologic study and multiple 3-D surveys give clues to complex reservoir architecture of giant Coalinga oil field, San Joaquin Valley, California

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

Seismic Determination of Reservoir Heterogeneity: Application to the Characterization of Heavy Oil Reservoirs

Seismic Determination of Reservoir Heterogeneity: Application to the Characterization of Heavy Oil Reservoirs

Heat advection by groundwater flow through a heterogeneous permeability crust: A potential cause of scatter in surface heat flow near Parkfield, California

Poststack interpretive static correction

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About