Abstract
The sediments of Sahaiawei-1 Well in the Northern Delta Depobelt are represented by sand and shale alternation. Lithofacies characterization and X-ray diffraction technique were used to characterize the sediments from the well in order to characterize the lithofacies, identify the minerals present, determine environment of deposition and identify potential zones for hydrocarbon exploitation. The lithofacies characterization was based on the textural properties, mineralogical composition, fossil content, homogeneity and heterogeneity of the lithofacies units of the well. The lithofacies analysis for Sahaiawei-1 Well identified four (4) lithofacies types of mainly sandstone, shaly sandstone, sandy shale and shale; and fourteen (14) lithofacies zones. The result of the X-ray diffraction analysis identified the following clay minerals – kaolinite, illite/muscovite, chlorite and sepiolite; carbonates and non-clay minerals. Therefore, due to the high percentage of kaolinite in Sahaiawei-1 Well (2% to 39.87%), it could be concluded that pore filing kaolinite may have more effect on the reservoir quality than the pore bridging illite and pore lining chlorite.
 Keywords: alternation, lithofacies, X-ray diffraction, reservoir, mineralogy
Highlights
The Niger Delta Basin is the major hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation basin in West Africa since the discovery of hydrocarbon in Oloibiri community, Bayelsa State in 1956 (Reijers et al, 1996)
The growth of the Niger Delta can be seen as a function of rate of sedimentation (Rd) and rate of subsidence (RS).The delta progrades toward the gulf of Guinea
Exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbon necessitates the spatial and depth distribution of geological materials and interplay of favourable conditions (Ighodaro et al, 2016). These conditions include the distribution of source rock, reservoir rock, sealing mechanism, migration pathways and timing; these conditions are regarded to as hydrocarbon play
Summary
The Niger Delta Basin is the major hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation basin in West Africa since the discovery of hydrocarbon in Oloibiri community, Bayelsa State in 1956 (Reijers et al, 1996). During the Eocene to Recent phase, there was initiated response to the epirogenic movement along the Benin and Calabar flanks and continued to build up the Niger Delta up till present time This stage was marked by regression that was frequently interrupted by minor transgression (Frankl and Cordry, 1967). The variation in relation to rate of sedimentation and subsidence rate gave rise to the development of distinct sedimentary mega-units of different shapes, sizes and thicknesses. The age of these formations decrease basin-ward, reflecting the general regression of depositional environments with in the Niger Delta clastic sedimentary wedge. The three formations occur in each of five off lapping siliciclastic sedimentation cycles that comprise the depobelts (Weber, 1987; and Weber and Daukoru, 1975)
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