PREDICTION OF 3-D SMALL-RADIUS DEEP-WATER FAN
ARCHITECTURE AND FACIES FROM ONE DIMENSIONAL
CORE DATA
A NEW METHODOLOGY BASED ON SEDIMENT FLOW
DYNAMICS
Course Leaders
Dr George Postma and Dr Kick Kleverlaan
4-5 days field course
.
Hydrocarbon reservoir prediction of deep-water sands is traditionally
performed by analogue outcrop studies and numerical modelling.
Up to date, the sedimentological models in use do not fully comprehend the full
range of sediment flow dynamics that are required to predict reservoir architecture
on a scale of hundreds of meters up to a few kilometres.
By combining process studies from physical experiments with outcrop and core
data, we have forwarded a new, holistic methodology encompassing the products of
sub- and supercritical low- and high density turbidity currents.
The new approach breaks new grounds in traditional submarine fan models and
enables, for the first time, prediction of three-dimensional architecture from one
dimensional core- and outcrop data.
The suggested methodology also enhances considerably reconstruction of
depositional sub-environments of deep water, small-radius fans.
The outline of the course
Day 1 Positioning of the submarine fan deposits in the Tabernas Basin fill
Day 2 Mixed fan lobe deposits, mega beds, and channel lobe transition (Kleverlaan,
1989ab; Postma et al. 2014)
Day 3 3D study of sand-rich fan with channel-lobe transition zone with sub- and
supercritical flow deposits (Mizala fan system in the Sorbas basin Postma &
Kleverlaan, 2018). Facies reveal a variety of bedforms, which are related to
flow characteristics (Cartigny et al. 2014, Postma & Kleverlaan, 2018) and
facies related to hydraulic jump (Postma et al. 2009)
Day 4 Buho Canyon fill dominated by tabular and lens- shaped turbidite beds (cyclic
steps, in Postma et al. 2014)
Day 5 Mass transport complexes and on the preservation of cyclic steps in the
Solitary Channel complex
1989ab; Postma et al. 2014)
Day 3 3D study of sand-rich fan with channel-lobe transition zone with sub- and
supercritical flow deposits (Mizala fan system in the Sorbas basin Postma &
Kleverlaan, 2018). Facies reveal a variety of bedforms, which are related to
flow characteristics (Cartigny et al. 2014, Postma & Kleverlaan, 2018) and
facies related to hydraulic jump (Postma et al. 2009)
Day 4 Buho Canyon fill dominated by tabular and lens- shaped turbidite beds (cyclic
steps, in Postma et al. 2014)
Day 5 Mass transport complexes and on the preservation of cyclic steps in the
Solitary Channel complex
The workshop/seminar
will be based in a small hotel on
the beach of Carboneras, a
fishing village, just east of
Almeria in SE Spain
The field sessions are backed
up by short discussion sessions
and movies from physical
experiments highlighting
turbidity current processes and
fan building
The new methodology comes
forward from a synthesis of
subcritical and supercritical
turbidity currents and their
deposits (Postma & Cartigny
et al. 2014, Geology) and
detailed studies of deep
water sediments in the
Tabernas Basin over the last
40 years by Postma,
Kleverlaan and others
