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Importance of diagenesis in naturaly fractured reservoirs

Conference Paper · January 2020

DOI: 10.3997/2214-4609.2020622040

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NFR01
Importance of diagenesis in naturaly fractured reservoirs
E. Ukar1
1
University of Texas at Austin

Summary
Diagenesis affects fracture properties. Fracture cements contain information about temperature, pressure, and fluid
composition during and after deformation, as well as fracture timing. Cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging of
fracture cements is key to unravelling the evolution of fractures, but limitations of this technique have heretofore
limited our ability to image ubiquitous carbonate cements. Here I show three examples of carbonate-cemented,
naturally fractured reservoirs for which recent advances in SEM-CL imaging enabled determination of fracture
formation timing and/or sealing. Extensional fault zones in the Apennines contain carbonate cements precipitated
in the vadose/phreatic zone during and after faulting. Fault cores show higher porosity and permeability than the
host rock, but cement linings and reactivation associated with coseismic slip caused permeability reduction. In the
Vaca Muerta Formation, a combination of thrust fault-bounded kinematic indicators within bed parallel veins
(BPVs) and fluid inclusion microthermometry indicate BPVs formed in the Late Cretaceous, whereas bed-
perpendicular fractures formed in the Paleocene. Finally, cross-cutting relationships, isotopic analyses, and
radiometric dating of fracture and vug-filling cements indicate the main reservoir porosity-forming event in
Ordovician carbonates of the Halahatang oilfield, Tarim Basin, occurred in the Silurian-Devonian at depths of as
much as ~1.5-2 km. Dissolution was related to fractures and faults.

4th Naturally Fractured Reservoir Workshop

11 -13 February 2020
Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
Importance and applications of diagenesis in naturally fractured reservoirs

Estibalitz Ukar

Summary
Diagenesis affects fracture properties. Fracture cements contain information about temperature,
pressure, and fluid composition during and after deformation, as well as fracture timing.
Cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging of fracture cements is key to unravelling the evolution of
fractures, but limitations of this technique have heretofore limited our ability to image ubiquitous
carbonate cements. Here I show three examples of carbonate-cemented, naturally fractured reservoirs
for which recent advances in SEM-CL imaging enabled determination of fracture formation timing
and/or sealing. Extensional fault zones in the Apennines contain carbonate cements precipitated in the
vadose/phreatic zone during and after faulting. Fault cores show higher porosity and permeability than
the host rock, but cement linings and reactivation associated with coseismic slip caused permeability
reduction. In the Vaca Muerta Formation, a combination of thrust fault-bounded kinematic indicators
within bed parallel veins (BPVs) and fluid inclusion microthermometry indicate BPVs formed in the
Late Cretaceous, whereas bed-perpendicular fractures formed in the Paleocene. Finally, cross-cutting
relationships, isotopic analyses, and radiometric dating of fracture and vug-filling cements indicate
the main reservoir porosity-forming event in Ordovician carbonates of the Halahatang oilfield, Tarim
Basin, occurred in the Silurian-Devonian at depths of as much as ~1.5-2 km. Dissolution was related
to fractures and faults.

In the metamorphic realm, mineralogic reactions and chemical changes are commonly associated with
deformation and fluid infiltration; understanding these relationships is of vital importance for studying
high-temperature transformations. Most natural fractures recovered in core from depths between 500-
5000 m contain some amount and type of cement, providing evidence that coupling between
geochemistry and deformation is also widespread in the realm of diagenesis. Understanding the
interaction between diagenetic processes that act during deformation –structural diagenesis (Laubach
et al., 2016; 2019)– is key for a variety of applications, including hydrocarbon exploration and
extraction, groundwater fluid circulation, and predicting the fate of stimulated and hydraulically
reactivated reservoirs. Cements and fluid inclusions trapped within them provide a means to do so by
recording information about temperature, pressure, stress, and fluid compositions during deformation
(Lee and Morse, 1999; Holland and Urai, 2010; Bons et al., 2012; Fall et al., 2015). When combined
with burial history curves, structural diagenesis offers opportunities to solve long-standing questions
regarding timing of opening and cementation of fractures and faults, rates of fracture opening and
growth, preservation and destruction of fracture porosity during and after deformation, and formation
of fracture corridors.

High-resolution imaging techniques, especially scanning electron microscope-based

cathodolulminescence (SEM-CL), reveal subtle differences in trace element composition and crystal
structure allowing to contextualize fluid inclusions and unravel fluid histories from cement deposits in
fractures. In quartz, SEM-CL has been effective for imaging microstructures including microfractures,
crystal growth zoning, crack-seal textures, and crosscutting relationships. In calcite, however,
phosphorescence –delay to decay of long-wavelength emissions following cessation of excitation by
the electron beam– has hindered high-resolution CL imaging to the same level that has been possible
in quartz. Recent advances in SEM techniques have overcome such imaging impediments and have

4th Naturally Fractured Reservoir Workshop

11 – 13 February 2020, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
served to unravel microstructures in carbonate cements similar to those previously observed in quartz
(Ukar and Laubach, 2016). Because carbonates are the most common types of cements in fractures
within mudrocks, carbonate rocks, and lithic- and/or carbonate-rich sandstones deformed under
diagenetic conditions, such recent developments provide the opportunity to advance our knowledge
on the development and evolution of naturally fractured carbonate rocks.

Here I show examples of carbonate-cemented, naturally fractured systems where structural diagenesis
studies allowed to determine timing and/or conditions of fracture formation and sealing.

Syn- and postkinematic cements and porosity preservation in carbonate fault rocks: central-
southern Apennines
The amount and type of cement deposits present determine whether or not fractures are open.
Synkinematic cement textures record episodic fracture widening and are thus contemporaneous with
movement of the fracture walls. During synkinematic cementation, the cracking event creates local
permeability, while during the sealing event growing crystals fill the gap and (partly) restore the
rock’s strength (e.g., Cox, 1987). The strength and permeability of the rock is thus dependent on the
state of sealing of veins. Below a certain fracture aperture size (emergent threshold of Laubach,
2003), fractures tend to be completely filled by synkinematic cements, whereas wider fractures are
lined by cements and bridged by isolated pillars of cement accumulations preserving fracture porosity
within uncemented parts of the fracture. Postkinematic cements postdate synkinematic deposits,
overlapping cements precipitated during active fracture opening and potentially occluding any
remaining fracture porosity. In fault zones, diagenetic processes not only enhance or reduce porosity
by affecting pore geometries and sizes of fault rocks, but can also influence fault reactivation and slip
potential, as well as earthquake nucleation and propagation.

High-angle extensional fault zones currently exposed in the central and southern Apennines, Italy
cross-cut Mesozoic platform-related carbonate rocks. Despite their different amounts of throw,
lithologies, and inherited structural fabric of the protoliths, all five carbonate fault cores studied are
comprised of cataclastic fault rocks with comparable textures and multiscale dimensional properties
of survivor grains. However, their diagenetic evolution differs, as it was controlled mainly by the
nature of the protolith and by the phreatic/vadose hydrogeological environments in which they
occurred (Ferraro et al., 2019). Cementation was widespread within limestone-hosted and mixed
dolomite/calcite-rich fault cores. By contrast, in dolostone-hosted fault zones physical rather than
chemical compaction dominated. Limestone-hosted fault rocks contain several generations of calcite
cements, including 1) microcrystalline, dark-luminescent cement rinds around survivor grains fomed
in a deep, stagnant phreatic zone, 2) light-luminescent, fibrous synkinematic calcite cements pores
precipitated in a shallow-phreatic environment, and 3) overgrowths of calcite cement with euhedral
terminations formed within open pore space and open fractures in a vadose diagenetic environment
(Fig. 1). Outer core and inner core grain-supported and matrix-supported fault rocks show higher
porosity (10–12%) and permeability (2–5 mD) than the host rock (~5%; 10-3 mD) (Ferraro et al.,
2020). Although porosity increased from grain-supported outer core to more-deformed, matrix-
supported inner core rocks, permeability decreased due to reduced pore and fracture connectivity
caused by cement linings. Further deformation and comminution caused both porosity and
permeability to decrease to values similar to those of the host rock within the more-cemented areas of
the inner fault core.

Fracture timing from kinematic indicators and fluid inclusions: example from Vaca Muerta
Formation

4th Naturally Fractured Reservoir Workshop

11 – 13 February 2020, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
The Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Vaca Muerta Formation in the Neuquén Basin, Argentina, is
one of the largest shale-gas and shale-oil reservoirs in the world. Natural fractures have the potential
to contribute to the overall effective permeability of the tight matrix depending on their length,
aperture, orientation, and connectivity, and may interact with hydraulic fractures. Orientations,
dimensions, cements, intensities, and spacings of natural fractures are similar in Vaca Muerta
Formation outcrops and cores, although with important differences, the biggest difference being the
abundance and size of bed-parallel fractures (BPVs) in Vaca Muerta Formation outcrops (Ukar et al.,
in press). A second difference is that in outcrop, most bed-perpendicular fractures are oriented E–W
and N–S, whereas in the subsurface E–W fractures are predominant and N–S fractures are generally
absent. Such differences are reflective of differences in the tectonic and diagenetic history of rocks
exposed in the Agrio Fold-and-Thrust Belt as compared to those currently in the Embayment of the
Neuquén Basin. Differences highlight the necessity to find comparable fracture attributes for outcrops
to serve as adequate subsurface analogs (Ukar et al., 2019).

A new type of kinematic indicator within bed-parallel veins provides evidence that thick, fibrous
calcite-filled BPVs in outcrop developed during bed-parallel contraction (Ukar et al., 2017a) (Fig. 2).
Kinematic indicators form domal, thrust-fault bounded pop-up structures within uppermost and
lowermost edges of BPVs. Orientations of domal structures indicate E-W contraction; crack-seal
textures defined by alternating host-rock shale inclusions and fibrous calcite that comprise the
kinematic indicators indicate E–W contraction was concurrent with BPV growth. Such kinematic
indicators are also present in core within folded areas of the basin.

Fluid inclusion microthermometry and Raman spectroscopy of two-phase aqueous fluid inclusions
trapped in crack-seal bands may be used to track the P-T-X evolution of pore fluids during fracture
opening and cementation (e.g., Becker et al., 2010). When combined with burial evolution models,
fluid inclusion microthermometry is a powerful tool that can provide an estimate of the absolute
timing of fracture formation as well as fracture opening rates. Calcite within Vaca Muerta outcrop
BPVs contains coexisting two-phase aqueous and hydrocarbon gas inclusions (Fig. 2c), which provide
temperature estimates at the time of cement precipitation concurrent with vein growth. Fluid-inclusion
microthermometry combined with burial-history curves indicates that BPVs in outcrop formed in the
Late Cretaceous during bed-parallel contraction and under overpressure conditions, whereas bed-
perpendicular sets formed in the Paleocene (Ukar et al., 2017b). In the Late Cretaceous, the
orientation of horizontal contraction was ~E–W, compatible with the state-of-stress inferred from
synchronous kinematic indicators. Lacking appropriate fluid inclusions for microthermometry in core,
a tectonic model indicates that in the Loma Campana area, fractures preferentially formed in the Early
Cretaceous, Late Cretaceous, Cenozoic, and Present Time (Ukar et al., in press).

Deep, decameter-scale porosity formation due to fault-related dissolution: Middle Ordovician

carbonates, Tarim Basin

Middle Ordovician carbonates in the Tabei Uplift, Tarim Basin, NW China, form highly productive
oil-and-gas reservoirs. These carbonates contain dissolution features, opening-mode fractures, and
faults and are in a setting of rapid, large-scale shortening. Evidence exists for large voids in the
subsurface, including decameter-scale bit drops at more than 7 km depth. These dissolution-modified
carbonate rocks have heterogeneous porosity and are challenging for exploration.

Outcrops contain cemented paleokarst features, but Yijianfang Formation cores lack evidence of
ancient, still-porous karst (Baques et al., in press). Unlike previously proposed, we found little
evidence for near-surface dissolution in the Yijianfang Formation in the Halahatang area, although

4th Naturally Fractured Reservoir Workshop

11 – 13 February 2020, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
well-developed karstic breccias are common in outcrop. Cores contain textural evidence of repeated
formation of dissolution cavities and subsequent filling by cement. The established paragenetic
sequence of structural-diagenetic features (fractures, vugs, stylolites), temperature based on O-C
isotopic values and fluid inclusions, and geochemical conditions indicate this reservoir underwent
multiple dissolution and mineralization events both near-surface and at depth. Dissolution was caused
by acidic fluids derived from middle-late Silurian and/or Devonian-Permian hydrocarbon generation
and maturation, high-temperature fluids, some of which were associated with late Permian igneous
activity, and Mg-rich fluids that accompanied Jurassic-Cretaceous deformation and formation of
partially open fractures and stylobreccias (fault breccias) (Fig. 3).

The main reservoir porosity-forming event in this part of the Yijianfang Formation is attributed to
dissolution within the intermediate to deep burial diagenetic realm, perhaps at depths of as much as
~1.5-2 km. A Sm-Nd isochron age of 400 ± 37 Ma for fracture-filling fluorite indicates cavities in
core formed and were partially cemented prior to the Carboniferous, predating Permian oil
emplacement (Ukar et al., in press). The association of large cavities with fault traces, correlation of
cement-filled vugs with decameter-scale fractured and dissolution-enhanced zones, and paragenetic
timing constrains suggest dissolution was related to fractures and faults. This area is under current,
rapid fault-perpendicular extension that could promote porous and/or solution-enlarged fault rock,
fractures, and cavities to connect.

Conclusions
Diagenesis affects fracture properties, especially the ability for fractures to transport fluids and
become reactivated. Cements allow us to obtain information on chemical and physical conditions
during fracture development that would otherwise be unavailable from empty cracks. Recent
advancements in microtextural imaging of carbonate cements unravel evolutional histories of
carbonate-cemented natural fractures in reservoirs.

Figure 1 Panchromatic scanning electron

microscope-cathodoluminescence (SEM-
CL) image of carbonate fault rock from the
central Apennines showing dark-
luminescent cement rinds around survivor
limestone grains and zoned calcite
overgrowths with euhedral terminations
growing into open pore space (black).
40 µm

Figure 2 a) Top surface of bed-parallel vein (BPV) within the Vaca Muerta Formation exposed at
Arroyo Mulichinco. Note ellipsoidal domal structures (kinematic indicators) and cutting, calcite-filled
bed-perpendicular veins within the BPV. b) Plane-light photomicrograph of cross-sectional view of an
ellipsoidal kinematic indicator as shown in a). Note alternating slivers of host-rock inclusions and

4th Naturally Fractured Reservoir Workshop

11 – 13 February 2020, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
calcite fibres of the BPV indicating crack-seal textures. c) Coexisting two-phase aqueous and single-
phase hydrocarbon gas inclusions in BPV calcite.

Figure 3 Secondary caves developed along NW–SE-striking opening-mode fractures in Yijianfang

Formation outcrop. Caves are filled with fluorite, coarse-crystalline calcite, and gypsum. Geological
model shows infiltration of fluids and formation of cavities along faults and associated fractures within
the Yijianfang Formation (Oyj) and underlying Yingshan Formation (Oys). Radiometric ages of
fracture-fill fluorite in core indicate substantial fault-related dissolution must have occurred at depth
by the end of the Devonian. Cavities were infilled by hydrocarbons.

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