See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/338159725

Depositional Environment and Reservoir Characterization of Ola Reservoirs

Sand,'Ola ' Field, Niger Delta

Article · January 2018

CITATIONS READS

0 144

2 authors, including:

Uche Peters Adiela

Rivers State University of Science and Technology
103 PUBLICATIONS   28 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Niger Delta Hydrogeology View project

SEDIMENTOLOGICAL CHARATERISTICS OF THE AJALI AND BENIN FORMATIONS AROUND AROCHUKWU – ODORO IKPE AXIS SOUTHEAST NIGERIA View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Uche Peters Adiela on 25 December 2019.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Science
Volume 2, Issue 3, pp. 1-4, 2018. ISSN (Online): 2456-7361

Depositional Environment and Reservoir

Characterization of Ola Reservoirs Sand,‘Ola ’ Field,
Niger Delta,
ADIELA, U.P 1 JAYEOLA, A.O 2
1
Department of Geosciences, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt
2
Department of Earth Sciences, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Nigeria

Abstract— The OLA-1 reservoirs penetrated by five wells drilled in OLA field, Niger Delta, were investigated for its depositional
environments and petrophysical characteristics. The porosity ranges from very good to excellent and the permeability vary from good to
excellent. Assessment of the depositional environments is based on the integration of well logs and core data. Lithofacies analysis is grouped
into facies association comprising tidal channels, Upper shoreface, and Lower shoreface. A mixture of marine reworked sands and subordinate
fluvial sands, marked by erosion base characterises the tidal channel

I INTRODUCTION I. GEOLOGY OF NIGER DELTA

OLA sand comprises multi-storey sand bodies and heterolithic
mixture of sand shale. These sand bodies have good reservoir
quality, while the heterolithic have reservoir quality and act as
baffles to vertical flow of hydrocarbon. Thus, this cause
production problem in the sand. The overall depositional
character of the sand reflects the Petrophysical problems.
Production problems could be field wide or peculiar to the
Niger Delta depobelt. Porosity and permeability in the OLA
sand are affected by the grain size distribution, clay
composition, bioturbation, cementation and compaction. For
example, there is a decrease in porosity and permeability in
the area where shale content is relatively high. Therefore, the
top and bottom parts of the T20 sand a baffle to flow of
hydrocarbon.
Location of the Study Area
The hydrocarbon bearing (AB) sand is located in the ‘OLA’
field of the central depobelt of the Niger delta. The field
locations are kept confidential because of proprietary reasons
Figure 1. showing location of study wells
Niger Delta is a large arcuate Tertiary prograding sedimentary
complex deposited under transitional marine, deltaic, and
continental environments since Eocene in the North to
Pliocene in the South. Located within the Cenozoic formation
of Southern Nigeria in West Africa, it covers an area of about
75,000 Km2 from the Calabar Flank and Abakaliki Trough in
Eastern Nigeria to the Benin Flank in the West, and it opens to
the Atlantic ocean in the South where it protrudes into the
Gulf of Guinea as an extension from the Benue Trough and
Anambra Basin provinces (Burke and Whiteman, 1970; Burke
et al, 1972; Tuttle et.al 1999; IHS, 2010).
The Niger Delta as a prograding sedimentary complex is
characterized by a coarsening upward regressive sequences.
The overall regressive sequence of clastic sediments was
deposited in a series of offlap cycles that were interrupted by
periods of sea level change (Etu-Efeotor, 1997; Bouvier et al,
1989; IHS, 2010). These periods resulted in episodes of
erosion or marine transgression.
Stratigraphically, the Tertiary Niger Delta is divided into three
formations, namely Akata Formation, Agbada Formation, and
Benin Formation (Evamy et al, 1978; Etu-Efeotor, 1997;
Tuttle et al, 1999). The Akata Formation at the base of the
delta is predominantly undercompacted, over pressured
sequence of thick marine shales, clays and siltstones (potential
source rock) with turbidite sandstones (potential reservoirs in
deep water). It is estimated that the formation is up to 7,000
meters thick (Bouvier et al, 1989; Doust and Omatsola, 1990).
The Agbada Formation, the major petroleum-bearing unit
about 3700m thick, is alternation sequence of paralic
sandstones, clays and siltstone and it is reported to show a
two-fold division. (Evamy et al, 1978; Etu-Efeotor, 1997;
Tuttle et al, 1999). The upper Benin Formation overlying
Agbada Formation consists of massive, unconsolidated
continental sandstones.

1
http://ijses.com/
All rights reserved
 International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Science
Volume 2, Issue 3, pp. 1-4, 2018. ISSN (Online): 2456-7361

2), some of the parameters used in identifying the lithofacies

are as follows:
(1) Grain Sizes: Visually, the grain size distribution falls
within the range of very fine to coarse grain hence, bedding
surfaces are recognized mostly by abrupt vertical changes in
sizes and sometimes gradational changes occur.
(2) Sorting: This is the tendency of mineral grains in a
particular rock to approach uniformity in size. However, it
ranges from well sorting to poor sorting in the field of study.
For example, there is well -sorted very fine grain materials .
Conversely, poorly sorted grains are seen at the upper part of
the same well . The well -sorted zone in the wells contains
shales, while the poor sorted parts constitute a mixture of
different sizes of grain materials.
(3) Colour: There are varieties of grey colours seen while
examining the cores. Colour ranges from light grey to dark
grey. For example, at the distal end of the two cored wells, the
colour is found to be dark grey shale which is an indication of
the presence of organic matter.

Figure 2:Stratigraphic column showing the three

formations of the Niger Delta. (Adapted From: Tuttle
et al, 1999). III RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Presentation of Results
The deposition of the three formations and the progradation of
Fossiliferous Sandy heterolitlih. This sediment is observed
the Niger Delta has been dependent on the interaction between
in fine to very fine grained sandy strata. There is abundant
rates of subsidence and sediment supply, and modified by
shells debris which makes the lithofacies to be poorly sorted
faulting. Several growth-fault-bounded sedimentary units
and is a major characteristic of the lithofacies.
(depobelts) are present. These depobelts succeeded one
The clay content is high and could be noticed from the
another as the delta prograded through time under the
greyish-dark colour of the sandy heterolith. The lithofacies
influence of offlapping siliciclastic sedimentation cycles
consists of climbing ripple lamination. Bioturbàtion activity is
(Stacher, 1995; Tuttle et al, 1999).
moderate to high, though the trace fossils encountered in the
There are 11 proven plays in the Niger Delta Basin, the
lithofacies include Ophiomorpha and Skolithos traces which
Agbada group of plays being the main contributors of
occur sparingly. The very fine- to- fine grain size is an
reserves. Agbada Stratigraphic-structural Play accounts for
indication that it is deposited under low energy condition. The
58% of the basin recoverable oil reserves (34,603 MMb) and
abundant shell debris shows the presence of shoreline setting
55% of the basin recoverable gas reserves (114,925 Bcf) while
while the trace fossils indicate shallow marine environment.
the Agbada Structural Play accounts for another 40% of
hydrocarbon reserves (Tuttle et al, 1999).
Among the structural features are anticlinal traps (folds and
diapirs); roll-over anticlines; and faults (growth faults). The
structures for both of these plays are best developed at the
proximal margin of each successive depobelt, and at points of
major growth faults and associated roll-over anticlines.
Stratigraphic features / traps include pinch-out, beach and
barrier sands, salt domes, onlaps, and reefs; and they prevent
migration of the hydrocarbon within the reservoir beds due to
changes in permeability and porosity arising from changes in
lithology, nature of strata or depositional pattern (Evamy et al,
1978; Doust and Omatsola, 1990; Stacher, 1995; Etu-Efeotor,
1997; Tuttle et al, 1999).

II METHODOLOGY
Materials and Methods
Plate 1 Fossiliferous Sandy heterolith
Core Result
Core results of well indicate that the lithofacies are commonly
sandstone/shale alternations or sequences. (See Plate 1 and 2)

2
http://ijses.com/
All rights reserved
 International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Science
Volume 2, Issue 3, pp. 1-4, 2018.
Wave rippled sandy Heterolith. The lithofacies is composed
of fine to very fine grained sand intercalated with draped dark
grey mudstones. It is well sorted and well cemented.
Bioturbation is moderate. There is the dominance of
Paleophycus trace fossils; intercalation of sand with mud is an
indication of bed load and suspension depositions. Wave
ripple structure is an indication of low energy setting while
marine assemblages of Paleophycus indicate a lower
shoreface environment.
Plate 2: Wave rippled sandy Heterolith
Reservoir Quality.
The quality of reservoirs in an oil field is influenced by the
distribution of facies and the external geometry of the
reservoirs. In a depositional system, facies, facies assemblage
distribution and spatial portioning within sandstone result to
reservoir heterogeneity, which is the lateral and vertical
change in rock properties. Few traps containreservoir that are
uniform in thickness, porosity, permeability; most are
heterogeneous (Selley,1998).Thus, Galloway and Hobbday
(1996) identified five levels or sales of reservoir
heterogeneity: gigascopic, megascopic, macroscopic,
mesoscopic, and microscopic. Gigascopic heterogeneity is
shown at the scale of depositional systems, while megascopic
heterogeneity deals with the geometry of permeable and
impermeable units-a scale applied in identifying reservoir
units and for correlation between outcrops and borehole, and
for depositional interpretation (Keyu et al., 2004).
Macroscopic heterogeneity is at the facies scale and help to
understand depositional processes. Mesoscopic heterogeneity
occurs at the scale of lithofacies and stratification; while
microscopic heterogeneity is expressed at the scale of
individual grains and pores. In this study, heterogeneities of
reservoirs in OLA field were analyzed down to mesoscopic
level, taking into consideration of the limitation of one
dimensional (1D) data of just one oil well. On a megascopic
level, heterogeneity of permeability is reflected by gamma ray
differentiating sand bodies (permeable zones) and shale
(impermeable zones). Also, the volume of shale of each sand
unit indicates that most of Niger delta Agbada paralic
http://ijses.com/
All rights reserved
ISSN (Online): 2456-7361
sands form good reservoir on a megascopic scale. On
macroscopic-mesoscopic scale, shale(facies A) and
mud(facies F) occurring as isolated muddy and silty beds,
flaser bedding, mud drapes and overbank deposits are taken as
baffles or permeability barriers and where they are continuous
can form several flow units within the sand bodies. The
analysis of lithofacies and stratification aided the separation of
tidal flats from tidal channel and middle shoreface from lower
shoreface. Galloway and Hobbday, (1996) documented the
vertical connectivity and lateral continuity of various reservoir
sequence; which was used to predict the areal quality of
reservoirs in the field.
Tidal flat reservoirs are characterized by moderate lateral
continuity and poor vertical continuity as a result of mudlayers
that creates vertical permeability barrier. On a lithofacies and
stratification scale, tidal flat is taken as poor reservoir as a
result of finer-grained sediment, lots of disruptive bioturbation
and burrow lining or filling with clay. Similarly, tidal channel
reservoir also formed moderate lateral continuity but with also
moderate vertical connectivity. The vertical connectivity is
moderate as a results silty clay breaks and mud beds that
punctuate the reservoir.
According to Serra (1989), point bars potentially form good
reservoirs with porosity of up to 30% and permeability up to
thousand millidarcys. However, shale beds or clay lamina and
mud drapes on foreset bed boundaries and lateral accretion
surfaces can create permeability barriers. Similarly, mouth bar
generally have a good reservoir with porosity up to 35% and
permeability up to thousands millidarcys in relation to good
sorting(Serra, 1989), and this is evidenced with the low
percentage volume of shale in all the mouth bar sand units in
Table I. According to Galloway and Hobbday (1996), channel
mouth bar reservoirs have an excellent vertical connectivity
and moderatelateral continuity. The quality however decreases
seaward.
Shoreface reservoirs, generally exhibit moderate to excellent
lateral continuity but poor to moderate vertical connectivity. I
this study, the lithocacies separation of middle shoreface from
lower shoreface, provide and evidence of mesoscopic level of
heterogeneity.
Middle shoreface form better reservoir than lower shorefore,
but have limited volume. The horizontal flow properties of
middle shoreface reservoir may be good, but vertical flow
between beds is limited due to high frequency of mud
interbedding that can really pose serious developmental
challenges. Lowershoreface, form poor reservoir because of
finner grained sediment, intense to complete bioturbation and
lots of mud drapes that create permeability barriers.
Distributary channel reservoirs have a lower porosity in
comparison to mouth bar due to poor sorting but the
permeability is still good in relation to the coarser grain
(Serra1989). I this study, the erosive contact between
distributary channel “U1 and the middle shoreface could
possibly be an evidence of a discontinuous or pods of marine
sand locally cut by channel shoestring.
3
 International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Science
Volume 2, Issue 3, pp. 1-4, 2018. ISSN (Online): 2456-7361

REFERENCES
[1] L.C Amajor and J. F Lerbekmo. The Viking (Albian) Reservoir
Sandstones of Central and South-Central Alberta, Canada. Journal of Petrol.
Geol.
Vol. 13(4), Pp. 421-436 Oct. 1990.
[2]A.A Avbovbovo .Tertiary lithostratigraphy of the Niger Delta AAPG Bull.
Vol.62, pp.293-300, 1978
[3] R.G Bromley. Trace fossils. Blackwell Science publishers, Glasgow,
UK.1996
[4] J.E Ejedawe, Patterns of incidence of Oil Reserves in Niger Delta
Basin.1981 AAPG Bull., Vol. 65, Pp. 1574- 1585,1981
[5] D. Emery and K. Myers.Sequence Stratigraphy. Blackwell Science Publ.,
Massachusets , USA,1996
[6] D. Evamy . Hydrocarbon Habitats of Tertiary Niger Delta. AAPG Bull.
(62), Pp. 1-39, 1978
[7] F.J Franki and E.A Cordy . The Niger Delta Oil province- Present
Developments Onshore and Offshore. Proc. 7th World Petroleum Congress.
Mexico City, Vol. 2.Pp 195-209,1967.
[8] G. Nichols. Sedimentology and Sequence Stratigraphy. Blackwell science.
Publi. London,1999.
[9] P. Merki. Structural Geology of Cenozoic Niger Delta. In T.F.J.
Dessauvagie., A. J., Whitenian (eds): African Geology -Geol. Dept. Ibadan,
Nigeria,1972.
NAPE Bulletin, Vol.15. Pp. 61-67, 2000.

4
http://ijses.com/
All rights reserved

View publication stats