Implications of controlling factors in evolving reservoir quality of the Khatatba Formation, Western Desert, Egypt

Abstract

This paper sheds light on the role of petrophysical properties, framework grains and its textural properties, capillary pressure, diagenetic constitutions and events as controlling factors in evolving sandstone quality of the Khatatba Formation in the Western Desert, Egypt. Petrophysical analyses coupled with petrographic observations and diagentic studies have been carried out for many core samples in order to infer the controlling factors of reservoir quality. It has been observed that the sandstone quality of the Khatatba Formation have been adversely affected from well to well in the study area and from zone to zone in the same well and formation. Good- quality sandstones have been found with the porosity ranges from 10–17% and permeability ranges from 100 –1000 mD. The petrographic description indicates the presence of many open hydraulic fractures and dissolution phenomena which all took place in multiple phases during the late diagenetic stage, leading to improvement in the reservoir quality. Dramatic reservoir quality deterioration has been recorded in many zones. The reduction of permeability and fluid pathways in addition to the mechanical compaction, solid bitumen occupying many pore spaces and fractures are observed in many zones. These cause major destroy in reservoir quality that leading to lowering the oil recovery compare to the expected outcome