Dolomite and dolomitization of the Permian Khuff-C reservoir in Ghawar field, Saudi ArabiaSea

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Permian Khuff-C reservoir in Saudi Arabia is known for its lateral and vertical heterogeneity caused mainly by dolomitization. Detailed petrographic analysis of 600 thin sections, from six cored wells, revealed three main replacive dolomite fabrics: (1) fabric-preserving mimetic (FPM), (2) fabric-preserving nonmimetic (FPNM), and (3) fabric-destructive (FD) dolomites. Crystal sizes are mostly less than or equal to 20 μm for FPM dolomite, less than or equal to 50 μm for FPNM dolomite, and less than or equal to 100 μm for FD dolomite. The FPM dolomite decreases in abundance, and FPNM dolomite increases in abundance, with increasing grain content of the facies. The δ 18 O values of dolostones (although considered an obsolete term, dolostone is used here to mean rock containing ≥80% dolomite) indicate early dolomitization at low temperatures in Permian seawater or evaporated seawater, with landward facies (mudstone and wackestone) generally dolomitized by more evaporated waters and seaward grainy facies generally dolomitized by less evaporated, more normal marine seawaters. Stratigraphic variations in the dolostones’ δ 18 O values track with facies variations through fourth-order depositional sequences and indicate that different stratigraphic bodies of dolomite formed from seawaters with different degrees of evaporation. The δ 13 C values of the dolostones exhibit temporal trends inherited from the precursor limestones. Variations in the lateral and vertical abundance of dolomite and dolomite fabrics, in the propensity for each facies to be dolomitized, and in the dolomites’ oxygen isotopic values all suggest that multiple dolomitization events occurred in the Khuff-C reservoir as depositional cycles accumulated, with some dolostones overprinted by younger events. Average porosities of grain-rich dolostones are greater than those of mud-rich dolostones, indicating that depositional facies preordained porosity distribution within the dolostones. However, the more evaporated the dolomitizing fluid, the more likely dolomitization resulted in lower porosity regardless of facies.