Developing a petrophysical model for the Pre‐Salt coquinas of the Morro do Chaves Formation, Sergipe‐Alagoas Basin, Brazil

Recent giant discoveries of hydrocarbons in non‐marine, lacustrine carbonate Pre‐Salt reservoirs, present on the African and Brazilian Atlantic margins, has increased interest in the industry and academia in studying these... [ view full abstract ]

Recent giant discoveries of hydrocarbons in non‐marine, lacustrine carbonate Pre‐Salt reservoirs, present on the African and Brazilian Atlantic margins, has increased interest in the industry and academia in studying these complex reservoirs. In this context, the outcropping coquinas of the Morro do Chaves Formation (Barremian‐Aptian, Sergipe‐Alagoas Basin, NE Brazil) have a prominent role to play in the study of the analogous Pre-salt reservoirs in the hydrocarbon producing basins of the eastern Brazilian margin. The Morro do Chaves Formation is some 200m thick and is composed of predominantly coquinas, with sandstones and shales, representing a mixed carbonatesiliciclastic depositional paleoenvironment. Due to the high complexity of these reservoirs, directly related to the heterogeneous distribution of the permeability and pore space, there are several challenges in modeling their petrophysical characteristics. This research involves the integrated, multidiscipline petrophysical characterization of the coquinas of Morro do Chaves Formation, using CT scan data, petrophysical well logs, core along with laboratory tests and measurements on core‐plugs, integrated with thin‐section analysis of the well 2‐SMC‐01‐AL which is one of 4 wells drilled by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in this coquina formation. The ability to integrate CT data, with geological, geophysical and petrophysical data may offer a different appraoch to the understanding of the characteristics of these reservoirs, especially in the context of the outcrops and cores.