Microporous Limestones Research Articles

Pore space evolution and elastic properties of platform carbonates (Urgonian limestone, Barremian–Aptian, SE France)

A dataset of 214 ultrasonic velocity and porosity measurements on Barremian–Aptian carbonates from Provence (SE France) provides well-constrained velocity–porosity transforms and allows the quantification of the impact of pore type and diagenetic history on these velocities. A numerical approach (EPAR: equivalent pore aspect ratio) was used to link diagenetic transformations, pore network evolution and elastic properties. Three categories of samples characterized by their dominant pore type were discriminated from the velocity and porosity database by means of the EPAR values derived from bulk (K-EPAR) and shear (μ-EPAR) moduli: 1) purely microporous limestones (low K- and μ-EPAR <0.22), 2) samples with preserved intergranular and moldic pores (intermediate K- and μ-EPAR), and 3) vuggy limestones (K- and μ-EPAR>0.3). Three velocity–porosity trajectories related to three diagenetic paths were defined and quantified from the Urgonian database: 1) EPAR-preserving micro-scale cementation of micrite, 2) non-EPAR-preserving dissolution with moldic pore development and 3) EPAR-preserving sparry calcite cementation of molds. Equivalent Pore Aspect Ratio can therefore be regarded as a robust tool to decipher diagenetic trends in velocity–porosity transforms and may help predicting pore architecture from subsurface data.

Diagenetic patterns and pore space distribution along a platform to outer-shelf transect (Urgonian limestone, Barremian–Aptian, SE France)

The Urgonian limestones of Late Barremian/Early Aptian from Provence (SE, France) are characterized by the occurrence of microporous limestones at regional scale alternating with tight carbonates. This study, based on petrographical (sediment texture, facies) and diagenetical analyses (cement stratigraphy, porosity and isotope geochemistry) of more than 800 limestone samples provides insight into the parameters controlling the genesis, preservation or occlusion of microporosity along an inner platform to outer shelf transect. The tight and microporous Urgonian limestones from Provence can be grouped into 5 rock-types based on textures, associated depositional environments, porosity and pore-type, being: (1) tight inner-platform: TIP; (2) porous inner platform: PIP; (3) tight outer platform: TOP; (4) porous outer platform: POP and (5) tight outer shelf: TOS. In tight (TIP, TOP and TOS types) limestones intergranular and intragranular pore spaces were entirely occluded by early marine and/or early meteoric cementation, whereas in microporous (PIP, POP) limestones a significant fraction of the intergranular macroporosity was preserved during early and shallow burial diagenesis. Micrite neomorphism (hybrid Ostwald ripening process) occurred during meteoric shallow burial diagenesis in PIP and POP limestones during the regional Durancian Uplift event (Albian–Lower Cenomanian). This process resulted in microporosity enhancement and preservation. Circulation of meteoric fluids during exhumation produces intercrystalline microporosity enhancement and moldic porosity development. The present study documents the important role that both early diagenetic and depositional cycles and long-term tectonic processes have on pore space evolution and distribution in Mesozoic platform carbonates.

Mapping oil saturation distribution in a limestone plug with low-field magnetic resonance

Abstract Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to quantify in situ the recovery of crude oil from a strongly oil-wet microporous limestone core-plug. We demonstrate the capability of low-field MRI to continuously monitor oil saturation distribution by obtaining a series of spatially resolved transverse relaxation time ( T 2 ) distributions using the robust spin echo single point image (SESPI) profiling method to obtain T2 maps with a temporal resolution of 45 min. These T2 maps are shown to provide comparable data to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) well-logs. The low injection rate of 1.4 × 10 − 3 cm 3 s − 1 (equivalent to an interstitial velocity of 1 ft day−1 in the formation) allowed a large number of T2 maps to be acquired during the flood. Fluid-phase discrimination is achieved here in the T2 dimension; the brine relaxation time is reduced by addition of paramagnetic manganese. Some manganese is lost through adsorption on the limestone surface, but sufficient relaxation contrast is obtained to position an unambiguous oil/brine T2 cut-off. The spatial distributions of both the brine and oil are therefore determined simultaneously and independently. Capillary end effects are observed in the short core-plug due to the difference in wettability and permeability between the plug faces and the core-holder end-caps. The inclusion of the spatial dimension in the experiment allows a region of the plug, unaffected by end effects, to be considered representative of behavior in the reservoir. Overall, we highlight the importance of spatial resolution in laboratory-scale core analysis and demonstrate the capability of low-field MRI spectrometers to continuously monitor oil recovery experiments.

Morphometry of micrite particles in cretaceous microporous limestones of the Middle East: Influence on reservoir properties

Microporosity may account for a significant part of the total porosity of Cretaceous limestone reservoirs of the Middle East. In these microporous facies porosity is moderate to excellent (up to 35%) while permeability is poor to moderate (up to 190 mD). Micritic limestones also may form dense layers with very low porosity and permeability values. Micritic samples were collected from three fields of the Habshan and Mishrif Formations, to examine the spatial relationship with their porosity, permeability and pore throat radius distributions. Two key parameters of the micritic particles are studied using scanning electron microscopy: their morphology (shape and inter-crystal contacts), and their crystallometry. Results reveal that micrite matrixes can be subdivided into three petrophysical classes. Class C (strictly microporous limestones with coarse punctic-to-partially coalescent micrites) is made up of coarse (>2 μm) polyhedral to rounded micritic crystals, it has good to excellent porosity (8–28%), poor to moderate permeability (0.2–190 mD) and a mean pore threshold radius of more than 0.5 μm. The class C is usually observed in rudist shoal facies where relatively high hydrodynamic energy disfavoured deposition of the finer micritic crystals. It also developed within meteoric leaching intervals below exposure surfaces. Class F (strictly microporous limestones with fine punctic-to-partially coalescent micrites) is composed of fine (<2 μm) polyhedral to rounded micrites with poor to excellent porosity (3–35%), but permeability values of less than 10 mD and a mean pore threshold radius of less than 0.5 μm. It is mostly observed in sediments deposited in a low energy muddy inner platform setting. Class D (strictly microporous mud-dominated facies with compact anhedral to fused dense micrites) comprises subhedral to anhedral crystals with sutured contacts forming a dense matrix. It has very low porosity and permeability. Class D is only found in low energy muddy inner platform facies and forms inter-reservoir or caps rock layers in close association with stylolites and clay contents that usually exceed 10%.

TEM study of Mg distribution in micrite crystals from the Mishrif reservoir Formation (Middle East, Cenomanian to Early Turonian)

Microporous limestones composed of micrite crystals constitute sizeable hydrocarbon reservoirs throughout the world and especially in the Middle East. However, the crystallization history of micrites is poorly understood. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) with X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) studies give morphological and bulk composition information about micrites, but no information exists on the distribution of minor elements inside micrite grains. This study proposes Mg maps obtained with X-ray EDS combined with scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) of micrite crystals from the Mishrif reservoir Formation (Middle East, Cenomanian to Early Turonian). Three types of Mg distribution were observed through micrite crystals from five different samples: (1) homogenous Mg concentration, (2) small Mg-enriched areas close to the center of the crystal, and (3) geometric Mg impoverishments near crystal edges and parallel to present crystallographic faces. The homogenous Mg distribution is the most frequent and is found both in microporous and in tight micrites. The second type of distribution showing small Mg-enriched areas inside micrite crystals relatively close to their center comes from a microporous sample located below an emersive surface. These enriched areas may correspond to crystal seeds. The third type of distribution was observed in micrite crystals from another microporous sample situated just below an emersive surface. The Mg-poor zones probably represent overgrowths that precipitated in contact with less Mg-rich meteoric fluids.

Microporous and tight limestones in the Urgonian Formation (late Hauterivian to early Aptian) of the French Jura Mountains: Focus on the factors controlling the formation of microporous facies

Microporous and tight limestones, with contrasting porosity and permeability values directly related to the microfabric of the micritic matrix, outcrop in the Urgonian Formation of the French Jura Mountains. This study investigates the factors controlling the differentiation between the microporous and tight facies, and proposes a diagenetic model for the development and preservation of the microporosity in these limestones. The petrophysical properties are not related to the depositional texture, the petrographical content or the mineralogical composition. However, the tight layers contain indications of emersion (e.g.: bird eyes, keystone vugs, and desiccation cracks). The sedimentation in very shallow conditions up to emersion is confirmed by the covariant more positive values of oxygen and carbon isotopes. The microporous intervals systematically occur a few meters below the tight layers affected by emersion. This position strongly suggests the importance of meteoric water input rapidly after sedimentation in the differentiation between tight and microporous limestones. The diagenetic model proposed for the development and preservation of the microporous facies involves partial early cementation of the interstitial mud, mainly composed of low-Mg calcite crystals (sedimentation during a calcite sea period), inside a meteoric phreatic lens by in situ dissolution–reprecipitation processes (“hybrid Ostwald ripening”). This early cementation partly preserves the original microfabric and intercrystalline microporosity and allows the carbonate sediment to resist compaction during burial. The identification of the conditions favorable to the development of microporosity in these Urgonian limestones may improve the knowledge and modeling of some microporous carbonate reservoir rocks.

Lacustrine microporous micrites of the Madrid Basin (Late Miocene, Spain) as analogues for shallow-marine carbonates of the Mishrif reservoir Formation (Cenomanian to Early Turonian, Middle East)

Shallow-marine microporous limestones account for many carbonate reservoirs. Their formation, however, remains poorly understood. Due to the lack of recent appropriate marine analogues, this study uses a lacustrine counterpart to examine the diagenetic processes controlling the development of intercrystalline microporosity. Late Miocene lacustrine microporous micrites of the Madrid Basin (Spain) have a similar matrix microfabric as Cenomanian to Early Turonian shallow-marine carbonates of the Mishrif reservoir Formation (Middle East). The primary mineralogy of the precursor mud partly explains this resemblance: low-Mg calcites were the main carbonate precipitates in the Cretaceous seawater and in Late Miocene freshwater lakes of the Madrid Basin. Based on hardness and petrophysical properties, two main facies were identified in the lacustrine limestones: a tight facies and a microporous facies. The tight facies evidences strong compaction, whereas the microporous facies does not. The petrotexture, the sedimentological content, and the mineralogical and chemical compositions are identical in both facies. The only difference lies in the presence of calcite overgrowths: they are pervasive in microporous limestones, but almost absent in tight carbonates. Early diagenetic transformations of the sediment inside a fluctuating meteoric phreatic lens are the best explanation for calcite overgrowths precipitation. Inside the lens, the dissolution of the smallest crystals in favor of overgrowths on the largest ones rigidifies the sediment and prevents compaction, while partly preserving the primary microporous network. Two factors appear essential in the genesis of microporous micrites: a precursor mud mostly composed of low-Mg calcite crystals and an early diagenesis rigidifying the microcrystalline framework prior to burial.

Diagenesis and porosity preservation in Eocene microporous limestones, South Florida, USA

Microporous limestones may contain immobile, capillary-bound (irreducible) water that is only in diffusional contact with mobile pore waters or in some reservoirs may contain producible hydrocarbons. The preservation and distribution of microporosity impact both subsurface fluid flow and solute transport. The diagenesis of microporous limestones has received relatively little attention because their very fine grains and cements are not amenable to standard analytical methods. The Ocala Limestone (Upper Eocene) and upper Avon Park Formation (Middle Eocene) in South Florida contain microporous micritic limestones (mudstones to packstones) that are at an intermediate stage of diagenesis. The limestones have been exposed to the active near-surface environment, but have not yet reached a burial depth sufficient for intense chemical compaction and associated porosity reduction. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logging allowed for the quantification of total porosity, pore-size distribution, and permeability. The Ocala Limestone and Avon Park Formation have different predominant microfacies and porosity size distributions, but yet both retain total porosities predominantly between 35% and 37%. Estimated microporosities range mostly between 12% and 45%. The mudstones and wackestones of the Ocala Limestone have significantly lower permeabilities (mostly 3 to 12 md) than the wackestones to grainstones of the Avon Park Formation (commonly in the 100 to 3000 md range), which have more mixed and overall coarser pore sizes. Computer modeling using carbon and oxygen stable data indicates that the studied microporous limestones underwent only a low degree of chemical diagenetic alteration, despite likely experiencing episodes of freshwater flushing associated with post-depositional sea-level lowstands. The Ocala Limestone and Avon Park Formation limestones illustrate the general concept that total porosity is often largely preserved through early diagenesis (although may undergo intra-formational redistribution) and that confined aquifers are diagenetic quiescent environments.