Abstract
We derive the discrete fracture network (DFN) of a Lower Cretaceous carbonate platform succession exposed at Mt. Faito (Southern Apennines), which represents a good outcrop analogue of the coeval productive units of the buried Apulian Platform in the Basilicata oilfields. A stochastic distribution of joints has been derived by sampling at two different scales of observation. At the outcrop scale, we measured fracture attributes by means of scan lines. At a larger scale, we extracted fracture attributes from a 3D model. This multiscale survey showed the occurrence of an arresting bed for through-going fractures, which is characterized by a low relative permeability, determining a vertical compartmentalization. The DFN model, obtained by integrating fieldwork and numerical modelling by means of the 3D-Move® software, shows a well-defined relationship of permeability and fracture porosity with the relative connectivity of the fracture network. The latter is influenced by the length and aperture and to a lesser extent by the fracture intensity. The permeability distribution obtained for our outcrop analogue can be used to inform modelling of the Basilicata oilfield reservoirs, although the different burial history between the exposed Apennine Platform and the buried Apulian Platform must be taken into account.
Highlights
The three-dimensional characterization of fracture networks in carbonate reservoirs represents a primary approach to understand the processes of fluid flow
discrete fracture network (DFN) modelling has been performed with the software Move, a complete structural geology toolkit developed by the Scottish company, Midland Valley
A reservoir DFN modelling has been carried out by means of a statistical sampling performed with a multiscale approach, analysing a fractured carbonate succession located in the Sorrento Peninsula, which represents a good analogue of buried reservoir units of southern Italy major’s oil fields
Summary
The three-dimensional characterization of fracture networks in carbonate reservoirs represents a primary approach to understand the processes of fluid flow. DFN modelling was performed following a multiscale joint sampling carried out at two different scales of observation: at the mesoscale (i.e., outcrop scale) with the scan line method and at a larger scale performing a photogrammetry analysis with the help of an unmanned aerial vehicle These two scales were chosen in order to obtain information from the bed scale to the reservoir scale. Through-going joints are meters and tens of meters-long fractures which, crosscutting several beds, are essential in the linkage of the different fracture systems at Geofluids the reservoir scale providing an important contribution to the permeability They develop from a series of vertically aligned, subparallel systematic joints that, crosscutting many beds, may form a multilayer brittle structure. Mechanical and stratigraphic results from outcropping analogues could provide an important tool to understand fluid flow processes in the reservoirs, the different burial depth conditions must be considered
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