MBDCI

Rock Properties in Sedimentary Basins:

Diagenesis, Lithology, Depth, Age
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

Maurice Dusseault
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Rock Properties (in general)

Sediments become stiffer & stronger with age

Also, they are stiffer and stronger with depth

And, with the degree of chemical diagenesis

Porosity is also reduced, and permeability is
usually degraded with age, depth & diagenesis
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

There are also effects of lithology (sands,

shales, carbonates, evaporites, basalt flows)

and mineralogy (NaCl, quartz, clays)

with correlations to geophysical log values
and seismic properties as well
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The Basic Rock Properties

Porosity 0 50 100

Stiffness E - GPa

Permeability

Stiffness (rigidity, Example:
compressibility, E = (z)
elastic modulus,
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

Youngs modulus)

Strength
What caused this zone

vP, vS, Q of anomalously low E?

c,, T (thermal 5 km - ~16,000
properties) Depth - z
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Age of the Rock

Canadian Oil Sands Maracaibo Heavy Oils

Brent, Statfjord Sss Orinoco Heavy Oils

Sherwood Sandstone
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

Rotliegend Sandstone Frio Sands (GoM)

Murdoch Gas Field

Frigg Sandstone
Old Red Ss (Buchan)

St Peter Sandstone

Tui Field (offshore NZ)

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Diagenesis and Sedimentary Rocks

Mechanical diagenesis (compaction)
 Burial strength & stiffness
 This can be impeded by high pore pressures

 Very important in shales (higher po common)

Chemical diagenesis
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

 Graincontact dissolution & re-precipitation

 Mineral alterations (eg: smectite illite + SiO2)

 Cementation at grain contacts (e.g. CaCO3)

 Massive pressure solution (limestones)

Geologists provide valuable diagenetic info.

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Effect of Burial on Rock Properties

Rocks that have been chemical
buried at greater depths v diagenesis
 Have lower porosities

30
 Are much stiffer

l
ria
=
bu
 Are stronger

d,
 Are less likely to crush

yiel
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

 Are less permeable

n
h

sio
 Have more cementation

=
v

ero
of
 And so on

ne
Li

And, stresses can be
changed (hmin/v ratio
alterations)
Current state
h
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Mechanical Compaction & Porosity

Some comments:
Sands compress less than clays with
50
Porosity recovery with - is modest
Pre-compacted strata are far stiffer
40 immediate in sands, slow in shales
porosity -

Quart
30 Mix zose More grain
e sand crushing
d-c
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

lay
s hal
20 e

10

Stress - log(v)
0

1 MPa 10 MPa 100 MPa

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Mechanical Compaction Effects

Purely mechanical diagenesis effects in sands:
 Not too important: loss of from 35% to 28-30%
for SiO2 sands and of 10-15 MPa
 Drop in k by a factor of perhaps 2 to 3..

 More important in litharentites, arkoses

3-B Rock Properties with Depth

Purely mechanical effects in shales:

 Extremely important: loss of from 60% to 15%
for shales and of 10-15 MPa
 Permeability becomes negligible

For sands and shales, persistence of high

overpressures retard mechanical compaction
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Chemical Diagenesis
stresses

pressure
time
solution,
temperature 25-32%
chemistry
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

porosity
initial state: reduction cementation,
35-38% porosity after 25-32%
sedimentation,
shallow burial (25 m)

Both solution and cementation reduce , increase E, vP, etc.

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Sandstone Stiffness & Diagenesis

ij l =

T, t, , p
p p
chemistry
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

high , low ,
small A large A

DIAGENESIS!
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An Unconsolidated Sandstone

St Peter Snds, (source of
Ottawa Sand), = 26%

Ordovician age, max Z
perhaps 800-1000 m

99.5 SiO2

Highly rounded grains
aeolian/beach sand
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

Indentations evidence of
contact pressure solution

No cement whatsoever

High friction angles
because of interlocking

This rock has lost 30% of its original porosity, (35 - 26)/35
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Extreme Diagenesis Case

Interpenetrating fabric

SiO2 grains
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

Crystal overgrowths

Highly soluble grain

This rock has lost 90% of its original , expelling fluids

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Diagenesis and Properties

Cohesion (c) is greatly increased

Tensile strength (To) somewhat increased

Friction angle () increased somewhat

Stiffness (E) is increased greatly

Shale anisotropy in all properties is
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

generated by compaction diagenesis

Shale Poissons ratio decreased (0.4 to 0.3)

Weak anisotropy generated in sandstones

Permeability drops (pore throat dia., fractures)

Thermal properties are altered slightly
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Sandstone Diagenesis Evidence

Dense grain packing

Many long contacts

Concavo-convex grain
contacts

SiO2 precipitated in
interstitial regions
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

Only 1% solution at
contacts = 8% loss in
volume

-A stable interpenetrative Fine-grained
fabric develops with high unconsolidated sandstone
stiffness and strength - Alberta Oil Sands
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Precompaction Effect by Erosion

porosity
apparent threshold

virgin
erosion
compression curve
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

present state
stiff reload
response

log(v)

Burial compaction (diagenesis) is largely irreversible

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Stiffness, Strength, Diagenesis

A larger contact area
Egrain, grain
means the sandstone is
now much stiffer
dis tribution Also, the porosity is lower,
Contact force

giving a higher frictional

strength
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

If mineral cements are

added, strength and
stiffness are higher yet
Egrain, grain

Also, the 3-D interlock that
arises from the diagenesis
increases strength
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Diagenesis and Strength

a = 1 slip
max planes
diagenesis planes
shear stress effects on the
r = Mohr-Coulomb
3 r
strength envelope
chemical cementation Triaxial
a
Test
Stresses
densification
(more interlock)
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

original
cohesion diagenetic sediment
strength
c increase
normal
3 1 stress
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Porosity vs Depth & Overpressure

0 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.0

porosity
sands & mud
sandstones

clay
clay & shale,
normal line Specific details of
mud- these relationships
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

stone are related to basin

age, diagenesis, heat
shale flux, geochemistry ...

effect of
overpressures
4-8 km +T
depth
on porosity
slate (deep)

Different basins ~different = (z) for sandstones, shales

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Permeability and Depth

Muds and shales have Permeability k Darcies
0 1 2 3 4 5
low k, < 0.00001 D, and
as low as 10-10 D Muds and
Shales Sands and Sandstones

Exception: in zones of 5
deep fractured shale, k

Depth z 1000s ft
Intact muds and shales
have negligible k
can approach 0.1-1 D 10
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

For sands: k with z

Exception, high sands 15
High porosity OP sands
have anomalously high
in overpressured zones porosity & permeability

can have high k 20

Anhydrite, salt = 0 D Fractured shales at depth may

have high fracture permeability

Carbonates, depends 25
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Over-Compacted Cases

0 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.0

porosity
mud
sands &
sandstones
clay
clay & shale,
normal line
mud-
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

stone

shale Over-compaction is
also a complex
function of geological
4-8 km history, mineralogy,
depth erosion, T, t

Strata over-compacted from previous deeper burial

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Seismic Attributes

Lower porosity higher vP, vS, Q
 e.g.:
quartz sand at 28% vs. 35% porosity
 And of course greater strength, E, lower Cc, etc.

Greater stress higher vP, vS, Q

 Hertz-Mindlin theory : v ()1/6
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

 In the lab, reality is closer to v ()0.22-0.27

Greater density higher vP, vS, Q

 e.g.: halite versus anhydrite, both with 0
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Seismic Velocity and Rocks

vP velocity kft/s
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

Increasing diagenesis

Source unknown vP velocity km/s

3-B Rock Properties with Depth

Porosity

kilometers
Density

kilometers
RPDT (Rock Physics Depth Trends)
vP & vS (m/s)

Hoang P, Avseth PA, Ursin B, van

Wijngaarden 207 FO32, EAGE 69th Conf,
MBDCI

London 2007 con

3-B Rock Properties with Depth

Porosity

kilometers
Density

Hoang P, Avseth PA, Ursin B, van Wijngaarden

207 FO32, EAGE 69th Conf, London 2007 con

kilometers
Anomalous Rock Properties Zones
vP & vS (m/s)
MBDCI

Hoang P, Avseth PA, Ursin B, van

Wijngaarden 207 FO32, EAGE 69th Conf,
London 2007 con
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Using RPDT Data

Combine well log data (lithology, density, etc.)
with normal compaction trends models

Identify departures from the models

Interpret the reason for the departure
 Anomalous cementation event
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

 Uplifting and erosion effects

 Overpressure effects

Infer other rock properties from identifying

the reason for the anomalous data

Based on calibrated empirical relationships
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What About Thermal Properties??

Thermal conductivity somewhat affected
by porosity, by a factor of 2-3 maximum

Thermal capacity c relatively insensitive to
burial = (solid and liquid composition)

Coefficient of thermal expansion T
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

somewhat affected by the porosity

Thermal properties are also affected by the
mineralogy
 Halitehas the highest , very high T
 Most rocks lie in relatively narrow ranges
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Thermal Conductivity, Basalt

Wm-1K-1

Vesicular basalt can have

a wide range of porosities
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

Clauser and Huenges, AGU, 1995

porosity -
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Sandstone Thermal Conductivity

Wm-1K-1

Region of
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

practical
interest

Clauser and Huenges, AGU, 1995

porosity -
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Finally Mineralogical Changes

Gypsum becomes anhydrite
 CaSO42H2O CaSO4 + liberated 2H2O
 Generally, because of high solubility, 0

With great depth, smectite undergoes change

 Smectite Illite + SiO2 +H2O
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

 Large shrinkage associated with this

 Leads to Q-I shales

 Leads to intense fracturing of shales

 Leads to low lateral stresses as well

 Below 5-6 km, no more smectite!

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Summary

We can build robust expectations about the
geomechanical behavior of rock with depth

Diagenesis, even mineralogical changes

Depth of burial and time at depth

Degree of compaction (effective stress, p)
3-B Rock Properties with Depth

Mineralogy, clay content

Amount of erosion, tectonic stressing

Drilling parameters, and so on

Part of the GEM Geomechanics Earth Model