Supervised Waveform Analysis to Find Wasia Carbonate Stratigraphic Traps in Rub' Al-Khali Basin, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The Wasia Formation presents opportunities to explore for stratigraphic traps in the Saudi Arabian Rub’ Al-Khali Basin because it contains numerous interbedded reservoirs, sources, and sealing rocks. The mid-Cretaceous Wasia Formation includes a rudist carbonate platform with five, third-order sequences comprising, from oldest to youngest, Safaniya, Mauddud, Ahmadi, Rumaila, and Mishrif members. These members include proximal shallow-marine, highstand carbonate shoals at the platform margin in close proximity to fine-grained carbonate deposits in the Shilaf Basin. The resulting depositional cycles and stratigraphic architecture position muddy-tight seals, adjacent to porous shallow-marine carbonate-shoal bodies. Two members (Safaniya and lowermost Mishrif) have high organic-matter content situated in the oil window. Core data, well logs, seismic signals, and modern analogs were analyzed to help understand the Wasia deposition. Detailed correlations were made of well logs and neural network training was used to generate electro-facies. Next, supervised waveform analysis was used, correlated to five well log facies, to create five waveform facies including (1) lagoon, (2) back-shoal, (3) shoal, (4) slope, and, (5) basin facies. Sources of potential uncertainties include data processing, seismic to well ties, position of stratigraphic tops and seismic horizon interpretation. To minimize these, care was taken in data processing and a blind test was performed to validate the final interpretation. On the basis of integrating the aforementioned data with our waveform facies, a reference geological model was built demonstrating that potential stratigraphic traps are porous, shallow-marine carbonate shoals intercalated with muddy-tight slope deposits resulting in isolated, porous carbonate reservoir bodies sealed by tight rocks. For example, the Ahmadi Memberseal was deemed to be too thin to seal the oil in the underlying Mauddud. In addition, muddy-tight lowermost Mishrif Member strata are also too thin to seal oil in the underlying Rumaila. In the worst case, laterally extensive upper Mishrif reservoirs are not sealed by interbedded lateral seals even though the Aruma shale seals their tops. The two best trap configurations include (1) the first highstand lower sequence of the Mishrif reservoir sealed by interbedded extensive transgressive muddy Mishrif carbonates and (2) thick Ahmadi and lowermost Mishrif fine-grained carbonates sealing Mauddud and Rumaila highstand system tracts.