Implications of Outcrop Geology for Reservoirs in the Neogene Productive Series: Apsheron Peninsula, Azerbaijan

Abstract

The Neogene sediments of eastern Azerbaijan and western Turkmenistan contain significant hydrocarbon reserves in deltaic reservoirs. Sedimentary logging of these reservoirs at outcrop in Azerbaijan has outlined four facies associations that encompass a range of paleoenvironments, from alluvial braided river sandstones and conglomerates to delta-front siltstones and mudstones. The facies associations suggest a river-dominated braid delta and are arranged into an architecture controlled by base-level changes: parasequences, parasequence sets, and sequence boundaries are key elements. The facies associations and stratigraphic architecture, together with outcrop observations of cementation and faulting, are summarized in terms of four idealized reservoir models: fluvial, delta plain, proximal delta front, and distal delta front. Each reservoir model has distinctive grain-size and shale distributions. Comparison of nearby oil fields with the studied outcrops suggests that the outcrops form good analogs from which to model reservoir architecture, barriers and baffles to fluid flow, reservoir heterogeneity, and reservoir quality variations.