The prediction of high porosity chalks in the East Hod Field

Abstract

The East Hod Field in the Norwegian Block 2/11 produces from the Lower Tertiary and Upper Cretaceous Chalk Group. Although at first sight the trapping mechanism of the East Hod Field appears to be structural, increased understanding of porosity preservation, combined with new seismic interpretation, demonstrates that there is also a strong stratigraphic component. Both autochthonous and allochthonous facies occur, the latter forming the principal reservoirs. The extremely homogeneous nature of the matrix means that variations in seismic response directly reflect changes in pore volume, and a good correlation between seismic impedance and porosity is observed. High quality 3D seismic data made it possible to undertake seismic inversion which, together with the correlation between seismic impedance and porosity, allows prediction of porosity variations within the inter-well volume. The results indicate that within the allochthonous reservoir units, porosity is maintained in down-flank areas at depths previously believed to be predominantly tight. Seismic inversion is particularly accurate for predicting porosity because of the exceptionally uniform nature of the chalk matrix.