Arabian carbonate reservoirs: A depositional model of the Arab-D reservoir in Khurais field, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The Upper Jurassic Arab Formation in the Arabian Peninsula, the most prolific oil-bearing interval of the world, is a succession of interbedded thick carbonates and evaporites that are defined stratigraphically upsection as the Arab-D, Arab-C, Arab-B, and Arab-A. The Arab-D reservoir is the main reservoir in Khurais field, one of the largest onshore oil fields of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In Khurais field, the Arab-D reservoir is composed of the overlying evaporitic Arab-D Member of the Arab Formation and the underlying upper part of the Jubaila Formation. It contains 11 lithofacies, listed from deepest to shallowest: (1) hardground-capped skeletal wackestone and lime mudstone; (2) intraclast floatstone and rudstone; (3) pelletal wackestone and packstone; (4) stromatoporoid wackestone, packstone, and floatstone; (5) Cladocoropsis wackestone, packstone, and floatstone; (6) Clypeina and Thaumatoporella wackestone and packstone; (7) peloidal packstone and grainstone; (8) ooid grainstone; (9) crypt-microbial laminites; (10) evaporites; and (11) stratigraphically reoccurring dolomite. The Arab-D reservoir lithofacies succession represents shallowing-upward deposition, which, from deepest to shallowest, reflects the following depositional environments: offshore submarine turbidity fans (lithofacies 1 and 2); lower shoreface settings (lithofacies 3); stromatoporoid reef (lithofacies 4); lagoon (lithofacies 5 and 6); shallow subtidal settings (lithofacies 7 and 8); peritidal settings (lithofacies 9); and sabkhas and salinas (lithofacies 10). The depositional succession of the reservoir represents a prograding, shallow-marine, reef-rimmed carbonate shelf that was subjected to common storm abrasion, which triggered turbidites.