Table Of ContentEarth and Environmental Sciences Library
Osman Abdullatif
Mohammad Makkawi
Mohamed Yassin
Geological
and Geostatistical
Aquifer
Characterization
of Wajid Sandstone,
Saudi Arabia
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(cid:129) (cid:129)
Osman Abdullatif Mohammad Makkawi
Mohamed Yassin
Geological and Geostatistical
Aquifer Characterization
of Wajid Sandstone,
Saudi Arabia
OsmanAbdullatif MohammadMakkawi
DepartmentofGeosciences DepartmentofGeosciences
KingFahdUniversityofPetroleum KingFahdUniversityofPetroleumandMinerals
andMinerals Dhahran,SaudiArabia
Dhahran,SaudiArabia
MohamedYassin
InterdisciplinaryResearchCenterforMembrane
andWaterSecurity,ResearchInstitute
KingFahdUniversityofPetroleum
andMinerals
Dhahran,SaudiArabia
This work was supported by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology General
DirectorateofResearch
ISSN2730-6674 ISSN2730-6682 (electronic)
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Preface
Theobjectiveofthisresearchprojectistoinvestigateandcharacterizethesedimen-
tary heterogeneity and to establish geological and geostatistical models utilizing
outcropaquiferanalogsfortheWajidSandstonemembersinthesouthwesternpart
of Saudi Arabia. The members studied included Lower Dibsiyah member, Upper
Dibsiyahmember,UpperDibsiyah-Sanamahmember,andtheKhusayyaynmember
usingsedimentologicalfield,laboratory,andgeostatisticalmethods.Thefieldfacies
analysis of these members has revealed a wide range of sedimentary facies, which
vary in types, abundance, and depositional environments. Three main depositional
environments were recognized and included: fluvial braided stream and shallow
marine and glacial environments. Sandstone facies dominates with minor siltstone
which represents subordinate amounts. These sandstones vary in grain size from
verycoarse,locallypebbly,andmediumtofineandveryfine-grained.Sortingvaries
from moderately well sorted to well sorted. The QFL sandstone classification
revealed quartz arenite and subarkose composition and mainly of transitional to
continental tectonic setting. Sandstone matrix content varies from 2 to 12% and
cementcontentvariesfrom4to25%andconsistsofdifferenttypesincludingclay,
ironoxides,andcalcite.Porosityismainlyintergranular,rangesfrom12to40%,and
reaches a minimum of 1%. Porosity increases with the increase in grain size;
however, no clear relation is noted between porosity and sorting. Permeability
increaseswiththeincreaseofporosityandbothporosityandpermeabilitydecrease
with the increase of matrix and cement content. The poor to moderate relation or
correlation between porosity and permeability and other textural parameters in the
four members may be attributed tothe vertical and lateral textural heterogeneityat
outcrop scale, vertical and lateral facies change, and cyclic sedimentation patterns
relatedtofining-upwardtrends.Post-depositional(diagenetic)controlcanalsoplay
aroleinintroducingfurtherheterogeneityrelatedtoporestructureandcementation
types,whichmayvaryfromporeliningtoporefillingascontrolledbydepositional
environment.Generally,thefourstudiedoutcropsshowthatporositymeasurements
almost follow Gaussian statistical models. However, permeability values for the
same four profiles revealed positively skewed statistical distributions. Effects of
v
vi Preface
diagenesis play a great role in this regard. Variability observed in porosity and
permeability estimates isattributedtofacieschanges,diagenesis, andmix between
different depositional environments (shallow marine and fluvial environments).
Variogrammodels ofporosityandlog-transformed permeabilityinbothhorizontal
andverticaldirections,generally,followthesimplesphericalmodelwithnodetected
trend. However, most models reflect slight cyclicity patterns due to either lateral
and/or vertical depositional and diagenetic variations at outcrop scale. Almost all
models show geometrical anisotropies between horizontal and vertical directions.
Exceptions are variogram models of Lower Dibsiyah outcrop and the vertical
permeability model of Khusayyayn outcrop. These show zonal anisotropy due to
well-identified layering in the vertical direction. With reference to the generated
geostatisticalestimate(kriging)models,itcanbestatedthatLowerDibsiyahMem-
ber outcrop is relatively dominated by moderate porosities (10–20%) and low to
moderate range of permeability (0–5000 mD). Hence, the outcrop analog suggests
thatitssubsurfaceextensionmightbeinterpretedasagoodwater-bearingbutlowto
moderate yielding aquifer. Better porosities (24–30%) and permeability (5000–
>11000 mD) are observed in Upper Dibsiyah Member outcrop model. This might
indicatethatthesubsurfaceextensionofthismemberisanexcellentqualityportion
of Wajid aquifer system. This might be due to the existing channelized sandstone
facies that interbedded this member. Moreover, continuation of good porosities
(17–23%)andpermeability(600–18000mD)isshowninSanamahMemberoutcrop
model. This suggests that this member could also be a good aquifer target in the
subsurface. Existence of fluvial facies supports this interpretation. Lower porosity
(14–20%) and permeability (0–2000 mD) values dominate Khusayyayn Member
outcrop model due to siltstone and fining-upward facies. Some higher porosity–
permeabilityzonesarealsoobserved,whichmightbeattributedtobarandsandstone
facies. This profile might indicate that the member could form a less-favorable
water-yieldingpartofWajidSandstoneinthesubsurface.Thegeological(statistical
andgeostatistical)modeling modelsdevelopedinthisresearch areexpectedtoadd
valueandsignificantcontributiontobetterunderstandWajidaquiferbymodelingits
hydraulic parameters in its outcrops and determination of the controls on aquifer
qualityandarchitecture.
Dhahran,SaudiArabia OsmanAbdullatif
MohammadMakkawi
MohamedYassin
Acknowledgments
This book on the geological and geostatistical characterization of the Wajid Sand-
stoneaquiferatSWSaudiArabiaisbasedonaresearchproject(25–65)conductedat
the Geosciences Department, KFUPM, Saudi Arabia. We want to thank King
Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) for financing the research
projectandforallthehelptheyprovidedduringtheresearchproject.Wewouldalso
liketothanktheDeanshipofScientificResearchandtheirteam,KFUPM,forallthe
administrative assistance and management support during the execution of the
research. We would also like to thank the Geosciences Department, College of
Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences, KFUPM, for providing all the needed
facilities to execute the fieldwork, data collection, and laboratory analysis. We
would also like to thank the geosciences graduate students and the technical staff
for their great help and support during the fieldwork and laboratory analysis
execution.
vii
Contents
1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 LocationofStudyArea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Objective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3.1 Technical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3.2 Other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.4 MethodsofStudy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.5 LiteratureReview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.5.1 PaleozoicAquifers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.5.2 WajidSandstone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.5.3 QuantitativeGeologicalModeling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.5.4 ApplicationofReservoir/AquiferOutcropAnalog. . . . . . . 12
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2 FieldSedimentologicalStudy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2 FieldMethodsandTechniques. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.3 OutcropSamplingPlanandDesign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.4 WajidMembersFaciesDescription. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.4.1 LowerDibsiyahMember(Cambro-Ordovician). . . . . . . . . 20
2.4.2 UpperDibsiyahMember. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.4.3 UpperDibsiyah-Sanama(Ordovician-LowerSilurain?). . . 21
2.4.4 KhusayyaynMember. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.4.5 SummaryofLithofaciesandDepositionalEnvironments. . . 32
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3 LaboratoryInvestigation.. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. 43
3.1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.2 RockSampleDescription. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.2.1 LowerDibsiyahMember. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.2.2 UpperDibsiyahMember. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
ix
x Contents
3.2.3 UpperDibsiyah-SanamahMember. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.2.4 KhusayyaynMember. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.3 PorosityMeasurements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.4 PermeabilityMeasurements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.5 ThinSectionPetrography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.5.1 LowerDibsiyahMember. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.5.2 UpperDibsiyahMember. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.5.3 UpperDibsiyah-SanamahMember. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.5.4 KhusayyaynMember. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.6 WajidTexture,CompositionandPorosity-Permeability
Relations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.6.1 TextureandPorosity-PermeabilityforLowerDibsiyah
Member. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
3.6.2 TextureandPorosity-PermeabilityforUpperDibsiyah
Member. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
3.6.3 TextureandPorosity-PermeabilityforUpperDibsiyah-
SanamahMember. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
3.6.4 TextureandPorosity-PermeabilityforKhusayyayn
Member. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
3.6.5 Texture,Porosity-PermeabilityRelations:Discussion. . . . . 73
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
4 QuantitativeModelingApproaches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
4.1 Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
4.2 ModelingMethodologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
4.2.1 StatisticalMethods.. . . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . . .. 137
4.2.2 GeostatisticalProcedures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
5 StatisticalandGeostatisticalAnalyses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5.1 SamplingStrategyandDataset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5.2 StatisticalAnalysisofPorosityandPermeabilityintheOutcrops. . . 144
5.2.1 LowerDibsiyahMember(LDM). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
5.2.2 UpperDibsiyahMember(UDM). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
5.2.3 SanamahMember(SNM). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
5.2.4 KhusayyaynMember(KNM). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
5.3 GeostatisticalModeling. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 176
5.3.1 ExperimentalandModelSemivariogramofPorosityand
PermeabilityintheOutcrops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
5.3.2 GeostatisticalModelingPlan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
5.3.3 PorosityandPermeabilityKrigingModelsofthe
Outcrops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
6 ConclusionsandRecommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
6.1 FieldSedimentologicalAnalysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
6.2 ThinSectionPetrography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
