Geology fluid control

To a large extent the reservoir geology controls the producibility of a formation, i.e. to what degree transmissibility to fluid flow and pressure communication exists. Knowledge of the reservoir geological processes has to be based on extrapolation of the very limited data available to the geologist, yet the geological model s the base on which the field development plan will be built. 

Setterfield, T.N., Hodder, R.W., Gibson, H.L., Watkins, J.J. 1995, The McDougall-Despina Fault Set, Noranda, Quebec Evidence for fault-controlled volcanism and hydrothermal fluid flow. Exploration and Mining Geology, 4, 381-393. 

Von Damm K. L. (1995) Controls on the chemistry and temporal variability of seafloor hydrothermal fluids. In Seafloor Hydrothermal Systems Physical, Chemical, Biological, and Geological Interactions, Geophysical Monograph 91 (eds. S. E. Humphris, R. A. Zierenberg, L. S. Mullineaux, and R. E. Thomson). American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, pp. 222-247. 

Watts, N.L., 1987. Theoretical aspects of cap-rock and fault seals for single- and two-phase hydrocarbon columns. Marine and Petroleum Geology, Vol. 4, November 1987, pp. 274-307 Weber, K.J., 1982. Influence of common sedimentary structures on fluid flow in reservoir models. Journal of Petroleum Technology, March 1982, pp. 665-672 Weber, K.J., 1987. Hydrocarbon distribution patterns in Nigerian growth fault structures controlled by structural style and stratigraphy. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 1, pp. 91-104... 

Figure I. Generalized geologic cross-section of the Illinois basin along cross-section A-A (see inset for the location of the cross-section). The locations of cores used a control points are shown as vertical lines. Note the pinchout of Mississippian limestone beneath the sub-Absaroka unconformity. Fluid flow in the Mississippian rocks would be confined between New Albany Group shales below, and Pennsylvanian (coal-bearing) shales above. Near the pinchout of the Mississippian rocks, fluids migrating in this part of the section would be forced upwards in the Pennsylvanian coal-bearing portion of the section. The extent of the zinc-arsenic enriched area in the northwestern part of the basin (see Fig. 10 for a map view) is shown for reference.

Oliver, N. H. S., 1996, Review and classification of structural controls on fluid flow during regional metamorphism Journal of Metamorphic Geology, no. 14, p. 477-492. 

The question how dynamic a system of fluid flow under geological conditions really is can only be answered if the losses of gas from a reservoir over time are quantified - or the complete balance of gases over a sedimentary section is established. This requires the determination of the physical process which drives the flow of gas through rocks. There are two different options for this mostly discussed (1) flow as a free phase controlled by capillary pressure within the seal (Hubbert, 1953 Antonellini and Aydin, 1984 Downey, 1984) and (2) diffusion (Leythaeuser et al.. 

Matray, J.-M., Fouillac, C. Worden, R.H. (1993) Thermodynamic control on the chemical composition of fluids from the Keuper aquifer of the Paris Basin. In Geofluids 93 (Eds Parnell, J., RuffeL A.H. Moles, N.R.), pp. 12-16. Geological Society of Ixjndon, Bath. 

X., 1999. Experimental and theoretical controls on the composition of mid-ocean ridge hydrothermal fluids. In Barrie, C.T., and Hannington, M.D. (eds) Volcanic-associated Massive Sulfide Deposits Processes and Examples in Modern and Ancient Settings Reviews in Economic Geology, 8 181-200. 

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