Reservoir geology of the Berea Sandstone (uppermost Devonian), eastern Kentucky

Abstract

Berea reservoirs in eastern Kentucky are developed in tight siltstone and sandstone. Precision horizontal drilling provides access to thin ( 0.1 md, porosity is generally >10%. Cement in Berea samples includes quartz overgrowths, ferroan dolomite, siderite, pyrite, and kaolinite. In addition, these rocks were subject to varying degrees of intergranular compaction, quartz overgrowths, and secondary porosity formation (grain dissolution). In thin section, three pore types were encountered: (1) primary intergranular pores, (2) secondary moldic pores, and (3) microporosity. Intergranular porosity is most common. Mercury capillary injection tests show that moderate-permeability (0.02–0.2 md) Berea has pore size distributions of 1 to less than 0.1 μm, but mostly from 0.5 to 0.6 μm, which are commonly found in gas reservoirs. Higher-permeability samples (1.2–2.0 md) have pore-throat diameter distributions of 2 to >0.1 μm. The highest pore volumes (near 3.25%) have pore diameters of 1–2 μm, which is more characteristic of oil-producing reservoirs.