We are inviting interested parties to fund and participate in a consortium aimed at providing a comprehensive understanding of Jurassic petroleum systems, specifically focusing on the Norphlet and Smackover Formations in the onshore and offshore Gulf of Mexico.
The Norphlet and Smackover will be evaluated as analogues for other dryland/fluvial plays and marine and non-marine oolite-abiotic and microbial ramp plays worldwide, with specific applicability to the pre-salt Brazil and Campeche.
We propose to study the Norphlet and Smackover systems in tandem, integrating depositional and diagenetic parameters to build advanced, process-based reservoir models. We implement a multi-scale approach to interpreting depositional environments and diagenesis—from thin section to well to basin scales.
Seismic attribute analysis, focusing on calibrated seismic facies that relate to environments of deposition and diagenetic overprint, will be used to develop process-based reservoir models. We will leverage well logs, core data, and other related datasets housed at the Geological Survey of Alabama and the State Oil and Gas Board of Alabama. UA facilities include: industry interpretation software, welltops database; handheld XRF and LIBS for elemental analysis; portable probe permeameter; the Alabama Stable Isotope Laboratory; gamma spectrometer; thin section preparation facilities; cathodoluminescence, fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy.
We will apply novel, process-based applications of geochemical proxies to advance our understanding and prediction of carbonate factory type, carbonate and dryland/fluvial sedimentary facies, and reservoir quality.
Core workshops and field trips to analogue outcrops, including carbonate systems in south China and the Fort Worth basin, and Jurassic eolian deposits in Utah, can be arranged upon sponsor request.
A steering committee to oversee project work will be convened and will meet annually to discuss research directions and deliverables. A password-protected site for sponsors will provide access to all data, directly presented to sponsors.
Contact: Dr. Marcello Minzoni, mminzoni@ua.edu