Environment in which carbonate reservoir rocks are deposited was studied by visiting and collecting rock samples from a carbonate reservoir analog located at Jabal Fuwairit in the Northeastern coast of Qatar. The primary objective of this study is to develop methods to characterize carbonate reservoirs.
The experimental procedure included collecting samples based on geology, mapping the location and altitudes of the samples using a high-resolution Global Positioning System (GPS) with an altimeter, permeability measurements at selected locations, conducting petrophysical measurements on the samples, Conventional and Micro-X-ray Computed Tomography Scanning (CT Scanning), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) imaging.
It is observed that the permeability measurements show an alternating pattern as a function of height above sea level. The cyclicity is probably representative of repeating sequences of sea level changes over geological time. CT Scanner and Micro-CT Scanner measurements were employed to obtain vital information about the flow pathways in the rock, thus assisting in calculating the porosity to compare with values measured in the lab. SEM results gave direct visualization of the pore network and information about grain size (500 microns) and intergranular porosity, mineralogy, compared with the EDS results, and lithotype. EDS results showed that reservoir rocks directly exposed to environment had significant alteration due to weathering. However, it is encouraging to learn that samples even few inches away from the surface had minimal environmental influence.
