Date of Award

8-2016

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Geological and Environmental Sciences

First Advisor

Dr. David A. Barnes

Second Advisor

Dr. Robb Gillespie

Third Advisor

Dr. William B. Harrison

Keywords

A-1 Carbonate, modeling, stratigraphy, petrophysics, Niagaran

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Abstract Only

Restricted to Campus until

8-15-2026

Abstract

Continued use of the Silurian aged, Niagara – Lower Salina reef-complex reservoirs in the Michigan Basin require further investigation into the A-1 Carbonate (secondary reservoir), and development of new modeling practices utilizing recently developed stratigraphic findings. The A-1 Carbonate is investigated using traditional facies analysis techniques, with incorporation of modern chemostratigraphic analysis. These methods lead to the interpretation of four, fourth-order sea-level cycles, which along with the antecedent Brown Niagara topography, control primary facies distributions within the A-1 Carbonate. Transgressive and regressive intervals are identified within the four cycles and incorporated into a sequence stratigraphic model for the A-1 Carbonate in the Michigan Basin. Reservoir implications from the sequence stratigraphic model are then incorporated into a three-dimensional (3D) static reservoir model of a southern pinnacle reef trend reservoir. Recent insights into Brown Niagara facies distributions (Rine, 2015), along with the A-1 Carbonate findings, are translated into a conceptual depositional model for a southern-trend reef reservoir. This model is utilized as the basis for development of the modeling workflow presented for the reef-complex reservoirs. Results from the modeling exercise are tested for uncertainty and predictability, and are compared to results from a more simplistic modeling approach taken in previous works. These results demonstrate the decreased uncertainty and increased accuracy of the newly developed modeling workflow.

Download

Share

COinS