Petroleum Geology of the South Caspian Basin ii Contents Petroleum Geology of the South Caspian Basin Leonid A. Buryakovsky George V. Chilingar Fred Aminzadeh Boston Oxford Johannesburg Melbourne New Delhi Singapore Gulf Professional Publishing is an imprint of Butterworth–Heinemann. Copyright © 2001 by Butterworth–Heinemann A member of the Reed Elsevier group All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Recognizing the importance of preserving what has been written, Butterworth–Heinemann prints its books on acid-free paper whenever possible. Butterworth–Heinemann supports the efforts of American Forests and the Global ReLeaf program in its campaign for the betterment of trees, forests, and our environment. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data ISBN 0-88415-342-8 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The publisher offers special discounts on bulk orders of this book. For information, please contact: Manager of Special Sales Butterworth–Heinemann 225 Wildwood Avenue Woburn, MA 01801-2041 Tel: 781-904-2500 Fax: 781-904-2620 For information on all Gulf Professional Publishing publications available, contact our World Wide Web home page at: http://www.gulfpp.com. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America Contents v Dedication This book is dedicated to His Highness, the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, for His outstanding support of the petroleum industry and personal concern He has demon- strated for the well being of His people. vi Contents Special Acknowledgment We especially wish to acknowledge the outstanding help of academician John O. Robertson Jr., Ph.D., in prepara- tion of the illustrations. The help extended by Michael V. Garfunkel, Essam Al-Ajeel, and Khaled Ben-Ameirah is also greatly appreciated. CHAPTER 1 CH Contribution No. 10, Rudolf W. Gunnerman Energy and Environment Laboratory, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California Contents vii Contents Foreword, x Preface, xii Nomenclature, xv Abbreviations, xix Structures of Azerbajan Part of the South Caspian Basin, xx CHAPTER 1 Geology of Azerbaijan and the South Caspian Basin 111 General Overview, 1. Geologic Setting of Super-Deep Deposits, 5. Saatly Super Deep Well, SD-1, 9. CHAPTER 2 Mud Volcanoes 116 Yasamaly Valley, 18. Alyaty Ridge, 20. CHAPTER 3 Regional Distribution of Oil and Gas 122 CHAPTER 4 Lithostratigraphic Framework 127 vii CHAPTER 5 Onshore Oil and Gas Fields 132 Region I: Apsheron Peninsula, 32. Region II: Pre-Caspian–Kuba Monocline, 43. Region III: Lower Kura Lowland, 44. Region IV: Yevlakh-Agdzhabedi Area, 44. CHAPTER 6 Offshore Oil and Gas Fields 52 Caspian Sea Overview, 52. Zone I: Western Portion of Apsheron–Pre-Balkhan Anticlinal Trend, 57. Zone II: South Apsheron Offshore Area, 91. Zone III: Baku Archipelago, 101. CHAPTER 7 General Regularities in Oil and Gas Distribution 113 I. Azerbaijan Portion of the South Caspian Basin, 113. II. Turkmenistan Portion of the South Caspian Basin, 199. III. Regions Adjacent to the South Caspian Basin, 212. CHAPTER 8 Conclusions (Chapters 1–7) 239 CHAPTER 9 Mathematical Models in Petroleum Geology 243 Introduction, 243. Mathematical Simulation of Geologic Systems, 244. CHAPTER 10 Mathematical Models in Oil and Gas Exploration and Production (Static Geologic Systems) 248 Mapping of Structures within the Apsheron–Pre-Balkhan Anticline Trend, 248. Reservoir Characterization Using viii Log Data, 254. Modeling of Sedimentary Sequences Based on Well-Logging Data, 284. Entropy as Criterion of Heterogeneity of Rocks, 290. Anisotropy of Stratified Rocks, 297. Permeability of Reservoir Rocks, 302. Surface Activity of Rocks, 313. Models of Oil Composition and Properties, 324. CHAPTER 11 Mathematical Modeling of Geological Processes (Dynamic Geological Systems) 347 Methodology of Simulation of Dynamic Systems, 347. Mathematical Simulation of Sediment Compaction, 355. Numerical Simulation of Oil- and Gas-Bearing Rock Properties, 365. CHAPTER 12 Other Applications of Numerical Simulation Methodology 384 Basic Principles and Calculation Techniques, 384. Simulation of Reservoir-Rock Properties, 386. Simulation of Petrophysical Properties of Rocks, 390. Simulation of Water Invasion into Oil-Saturated Rocks, 398. Simulation of Pore-Fluid (Formation) Pressure, 400. Simulation of Hydrocarbon Resources and Evaluation of Oil and Gas Reserves, 403. CHAPTER 13 Conclusions (Chapters 8–13) 408 Bibliography 410 CHAPTER 1 VH ix Foreword If the end of cold war is the biggest news of the century in terms of world politics, the unleashing of the wealth in terms of untapped oil and gas reservoirs in the Caspian Sea region is probably the biggest economic news of the same century. Addressing the petroleum geology of South Caspian Basin at this crucial time of energy awareness shows unparalleled wisdom, experience, and maturity of the authors. The timing for such a useful book on a region that is considered to be the next Persian Gulf could not be more appropriate. The news of petroleum discoveries in the Caspian Sea region continue to pour in. Only a few months ago, the news broke about the possibility of discovering 50 billion barrel in the Kashagan offshore structure. If this is true, as all indications are, this latest discovery will put Kashagan structure second to only Saudi Arabia’s onshore Ghawar field, with remaining reserve of 70 billion barrels. Incidentally, Saudi offshore, Safaniya, the world’s currently known largest offshore deposit contains 19 billion barrels. The book provides one with a treasure of information on the most studied section of the Caspian Sea region. The book is written with a comprehensive approach that includes the development of scientific bases, simulation techniques, and mathematical models of both static and dynamic geological systems. This approach is necessary if one is interested in exploration, development, and production of a petroleum reservoir. The combination of science and engineering has been sought for a long time, and the book provides one with a fine example of how one should approach in developing oil and gas fields in the 21st century. As the world order is moving from the Modern to the Knowledge Era, the petroleum industry is creating a culture that requires combining cutting edge science with engineering into the core of decision making structure. This, in petroleum vocabulary, means that the petroleum industry must combine geological and geophysical skills with petroleum production engineering. This book collects this information from the anal of 150 years x [...]... CHAPTER 1 Geology of Azerbaijan and the South Caspian Basin GENERAL OVERVIEW The territory of Azerbaijan (Figure 1-1) is part of the Alpine fold belt and consists of folded systems, embracing the eastern parts of the Greater and Lesser Caucasus Mountains, the Kura Intermontane Depression (Kura Lowland) separating them, and also the Middle and South Caspian basins (Figure 1-2) Thickness of the Earth’s... geophysical data in the South Caspian Geology of Azerbaijan and the South Caspian Basin 5 Basin adjacent to the Lower Kura subdepression, thickness of the Paleogene-Quaternary interval reaches 20 km The modern structure of Azerbaijan and the South Caspian Basin originated during the last stage of Alpine folding This explains why structures are parallel to ancient structural elements that predate the latest... where, in the lowermost strata, they are represented by shallow marine deposits, whereas the uppermost strata consist of alluvial and delluvial deposits The above Phanerozoic deposits are submerged within Middle and South Caspian basins located to the east and the southeast of the Azerbaijan land area Within the South Caspian Basin these deposits are buried at great depth, and thickness of the Paleogene-Quaternary... composed of calcarenites and reef limestones (thickness 4 Petroleum Geology of the South Caspian Basin of 300 m), and in the southern slope by flysch-like variegated, silicified, and carbonaceous shales (thickness of 500 m) These deposits in the Lesser Caucasus and in the Kura Depression consist of reef limestone and volcanogenic-clastic intervals (500–1,500 m) Lower Cretaceous deposits of the Greater... 55 km The greater thickness occurs within the Greater Caucasus, the lesser in the Talysh foothills In the submontane belt of the Lesser Caucasus crustal thickness reaches 40 to 45 km, and 50 km in the Kura Intermontane Depression Peculiarities of the folded system of the Greater Caucasus include a flysch-filled trough at the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus with an extensive development of overlying... region of active folding, diapirism, fracturing, seismicity, mud volcanism, geysers, and thermal springs The presence of Middle Pliocene terrigenous strata 2,500–3,500 m thick (the Productive Series) with oil and gas fields, and the widespread distribution of mud volcanism in the south- eastern Caucasus and in the offshore area of the South Caspian Basin, are distinctive features of Azerbaijan geology. .. mobility The Middle Kura Trough with an extent of 300 km embraces the area from Tbilisi, Georgia, to the meridian of Kyurdamir, Azerbaijan A wide, buried uplift extends toward Vandam from the region of Talysh foothills to the north The Lower Kura Trough extends from the western Caspian abyssal fracture, located along the eastern slope of Talysh-Vandam uplift, to the western shore of the Caspian Sea These... including the following investigations: 1 A detailed study of solid, fluid and gaseous phases of the Earth’s crust and their changes with depth 2 The study of the geologic nature of seismic boundaries and the establishment of the reasons for crustal foliation by geophysical parameters 3 The study of peculiarities of endogenic geologic processes manifested in deep parts of the Earth’s crust, including the. .. of the independent countries in western Asia, bounded on the south by Iran (Province of Iranian Azerbaijan), on the north by Russia, on the west by Georgia and Armenia, and on the east by the Caspian Sea The country consists mainly of lowlands surrounded by the Kura River and its tributary, the Araks, which forms the border with Iranian Azerbaijan The landscape ranges from semidesert to mountains of. .. 1,025 m/3,361 ft The Caspian Sea has no outlet, and although the surface level fluctuates, it averages about 25 m/82 ft below ocean level according to recent measurements Geological studies in the Caspian Sea began in the second half of the 19th century The South Caspian Basin, which comprises the South Caspian Sea, Eastern Azerbaijan, and Western Turkmenistan, with a high density of confirmed structures, . Petroleum Geology of the South Caspian Basin ii Contents Petroleum Geology of the South Caspian Basin Leonid A. Buryakovsky George V. Chilingar Fred. Distribution 113 I. Azerbaijan Portion of the South Caspian Basin, 113. II. Turkmenistan Portion of the South Caspian Basin, 199. III. Regions Adjacent to the South Caspian Basin, 212. CHAPTER 8 Conclusions. is the southernmost of the CIS countries. The Turkmenistan Republic is bordered by the Caspian Sea to the west, Iran and Afghanistan to the south, Kazakhstan to the north, and Uzbekistan to the