Miller Field, a Subtle Upper Jurassic Submarine Fan Trap in the South Viking Graben, United Kingdom Sector, North Sea: ABSTRACT

Abstract

The Miller field is situated at a depth of 4 km in the South Viking graben, some 270 km northeast of Aberdeen. The field was discovered in 1983 in previously relinquished U.K. license blocks 16/7b and 16/8b. The discovery can be attributed to a detailed understanding of the regional sedimentological and seismic velocity models, which predicted the presence of submarine fan sediments within a structural nose some 10 km from the graben margin sediment source. The Miller field reservoir comprises up to 100 m of oil-bearing Upper Jurassic, Brae Formation turbidites. Core, electric log, and well test analyses show that the turbidites have excellent reservoir qualities. Porosity ranges from 12 to 23%, and net/gross ratios are typically greater than 0.75. The reservoir is highly productive, with permeability typically ranging from 50 to 1200 md. The reservoir fluid is an undersaturated, CO2-rich, sour, 37.5° API oil sourced from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation, which overlies and interfingers with the reservoir. The oil is trapped by a subtle combination of structural and stratigraphic mechanisms. Thirty development wells will be drilled from a single platform. A total of ten wells (five producers and five injectors) will be predrilled through a template prior to platform installation. The first of these wells was spudded in March 1989 in preparation for first oil production in early 1992. Ultimate recovery is estimated to be approximately 300 MMSTB of oil and 0.57 tcf of associated gas. End_Page 307------------------------