Reservoir prediction in wave-dominated fluvio-deltaic systems using seismic sequence stratigraphic techniques, an example from the cretaceous Golden Beach Formation, offshore Gippsland Basin
Lindsey Wilkinson A * , Ciaran Lavin A and Clare Davies AA
Lindsey Wilkinson graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2007 with a BSc (Hons) in Geology, and the University of Exeter with an MSc in Mining Geology in 2008. She joined BHP in 2008 as an Exploration Geologist in Minerals before transferring to the BHP Petroleum Division in 2015. Since then, she has spent time in both Houston and Perth working on a variety of Exploration, Development and Production projects. She currently works in the Australian Exploration team at Woodside Energy. |
Ciaran Lavin is a Geological Advisor at Woodside. Ciaran joined Woodside in 1998 after working for the Geological Survey of Victoria for 3 years, focussed on the Otway Basin. Whilst at Woodside, Ciaran has worked a variety of roles in basins across the world, including the Atlantic margin basins, the Mediterranean and Australia in exploration, new ventures and business development roles. Ciaran currently works in the Portfolio and Innovation Team in Woodside’s Exploration and Development Division seeking international opportunities. |
Dr Clare Davies has held leadership roles at Woodside Energy since 2022 as both Bass Strait Opportunity Lead and Australian Exploration Manager, previously supporting similar roles for BHP Petroleum from 2017. With over 20 years in the industry, Clare has worked for several major E&P companies where the majority of her roles were in Exploration and New Ventures as well as roles in consulting companies leading teams to provide outcrop and data driven interpretations to support industry. Through these roles Clare’s desire to fully understand basin analysis with a multitude of different datasets has continued to develop and has driven an interest in the application of paleo-drainage, sediment input and provenance analysis as tools to better understand reservoir development. |
Abstract
Wave-dominated deltas are important hosts for global hydrocarbon reserves, containing significant volumes within good quality, laterally extensive sandstone reservoirs. These deltas often contain an ordered internal architecture with predictable facies distribution patterns identified at a detailed scale in outcrops such as the Cretaceous Blackhawk Formation of the Book Cliffs, Utah, USA. This predictability can be utilised to support reservoir characterisation and modelling in subsurface regions with limited well control and only seismic scale resolution, reducing risk and uncertainty in predicting hydrocarbon volumes. This study illustrates how detailed seismic mapping and attribute extractions were used to refine a sequence stratigraphic framework for a wave-dominated shoreline in the Gippsland Basin. The natural cyclicity of progradational, aggradational and transgressive systems was captured in this assessment, interpreted to have been driven by autocyclic switching, influenced by fluvial input and active extensional tectonism, reworked by waves. Integration of this detailed sequence stratigraphic framework with world class analogues was used to inform facies distributions, supporting predictions for reservoir distribution and quality away from well control.
Keywords: depositional environments, exploration, reservoir characterisation, reservoir distribution, reservoir prediction, sequence stratigraphy, shoreface, wave dominated deltas.
Lindsey Wilkinson graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2007 with a BSc (Hons) in Geology, and the University of Exeter with an MSc in Mining Geology in 2008. She joined BHP in 2008 as an Exploration Geologist in Minerals before transferring to the BHP Petroleum Division in 2015. Since then, she has spent time in both Houston and Perth working on a variety of Exploration, Development and Production projects. She currently works in the Australian Exploration team at Woodside Energy. |
Ciaran Lavin is a Geological Advisor at Woodside. Ciaran joined Woodside in 1998 after working for the Geological Survey of Victoria for 3 years, focussed on the Otway Basin. Whilst at Woodside, Ciaran has worked a variety of roles in basins across the world, including the Atlantic margin basins, the Mediterranean and Australia in exploration, new ventures and business development roles. Ciaran currently works in the Portfolio and Innovation Team in Woodside’s Exploration and Development Division seeking international opportunities. |
Dr Clare Davies has held leadership roles at Woodside Energy since 2022 as both Bass Strait Opportunity Lead and Australian Exploration Manager, previously supporting similar roles for BHP Petroleum from 2017. With over 20 years in the industry, Clare has worked for several major E&P companies where the majority of her roles were in Exploration and New Ventures as well as roles in consulting companies leading teams to provide outcrop and data driven interpretations to support industry. Through these roles Clare’s desire to fully understand basin analysis with a multitude of different datasets has continued to develop and has driven an interest in the application of paleo-drainage, sediment input and provenance analysis as tools to better understand reservoir development. |
