Matrix versus fracture permeability in a regional sandstone aquifer (Wajid sandstone, SW Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

Sandstones are often characterized as fractured aquifers. We present a case study of the Wajid sandstone, which forms a regional aquifer system in SW Saudi Arabia, where matrix, fracture, and large-scale hydraulic conductivities are coincident. The measurements deal with different scales and methods and are based on porosity and permeability measurements in the laboratory, as well as pumping tests in the field. Porosities of the sandstone samples in general are high and range between less than 5 % and more than 45 %. Gas permeabilities for strongly cemented samples are < 1 mD, whereas most samples range in between 500 and 5,000 mD. There is only a weak anisotropy with preference of the horizontal x-, y-directions. Hydraulic conductivities of the matrix samples (5.5 · 10−6 m/s and 1.1 · 10−5 m/s for the Upper and Lower Wajid sandstone, respectively) were in the same order of magnitude compared to hydraulic conductivities derived from pumping tests (8.3 · 10−5 m/s and 2.2 · 10−5 m/s for the Upper and Lower Wajid sandstone, respectively).