Quantitative paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic reconstruction using paleosols

Sedimentary basins are suitable to different degrees for CO2 geological sequestration as a result of various intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics, of which the geothermal regime is one of the most important. Warm basins are less favorable for CO2 sequestration than cold basins because of reduced capacity in terms of CO2 mass, and because of higher CO2 buoyancy, which drives the upward CO2 migration. A set of 15 criteria, with several classes each, has been developed for the assessment and ranking of sedimentary basins in terms of their suitability for CO2 sequestration. Using a parametric normalization procedure, a basin's individual scores are summed to a total score using weights that express the relative importance of different criteria. The total score is ranked to determine the most suitable basin or region thereof for the geological sequestration of CO2. The method is extremely flexible in that it allows changes in the functions that express the importance of various classes for any given criterion, and in the weights that express the relative importance of various criteria. Examples of application are given for Canada's case and for the Alberta basin in Canada.

Screening and ranking of sedimentary basins for sequestration of CO2 in geological media in response to climate change

Overpressure can be produced by the following processes: (1) increase of compressive stress, (2) changes in the volume of the pore fluid or rock matrix, and (3) fluid movement or buoyancy. Loading during burial can generate considerable overpressure due to disequilibrium compaction, particularly during the rapid subsidence of low- permeability sediments. Horizontal stress changes can rapidly generate and dissipate large amounts of overpressure in tectonically active areas. Overpressure mechanisms involving change in volume must be well sealed to be effective. Fluid volume increases associated with aquathermal expansion and clay dehydration are too small to generate significant overpressure unless perfect sealing occurs. Hydrocarbon generation and cracking to gas could possibly produce overpressure, depending upon the kerogen type, abundance of organic matter, temperature history, and rock permeability; however, these processes may be self-limiting in a sealed system because buildup of pressure could inhibit further organic metamorphism. The potential for generating overpressure by hydrocarbon generation and cracking must be regarded as unproven at present. Fluid movement due to a hydraulic head can generate significant overpressure in shallowly buried, "well-plumbed" basins. Calculations indicate that hydrocarbon buoyancy and osmosis can generate only small amounts of localized overpressure. The upward movement of gas in an incompressible fluid also could generate ©Copyright 1997. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.1Manuscript received October 17, 1995; revised manuscript received September 4, 1996; final acceptance January 20, 1997. 2Department of Geological Sciences, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom. Osborne e-mail: M.J.Osborne@ durham.ac.uk; GeoPOP web site http://www.dur.ac.uk/~dgl0zz7/ We wish to thank the companies that support the Geosciences Project on Overpressure (GeoPOP) at the universities of Durham, Newcastle, and Heriot-Watt: Agip, Amerada Hess, Amoco, ARCO, Chevron, Conoco, Elf Exploration, Mobil, Norsk Hydro, Phillips Petroleum UK Company Limited, Statoil, and Total. We also thank Neil Goulty (Durham) for commenting on an earlier draft of this paper. Osborne thanks Gordon Macleod (Newcastle) for help with geochemical modeling.

Mechanisms for Generating Overpressure in Sedimentary Basins: A Reevaluation

Porosity and permeability generally decrease with increasing depth (thermal exposure and effective pressure); however, a significant number of deep (>4 km [approximately 13,000 ft]) sandstone reservoirs worldwide are characterized by anomalously high porosity and permeability. Anomalous porosity and permeability can be defined as being statistically higher than the porosity and permeability values occurring in typical sandstone reservoirs of a given lithology (composition and texture), age, and burial/temperature history. In sandstones containing anomalously high porosities, such porosities exceed the maximum porosity of the typical sandstone subpopulation. Major causes of anomalous porosity and permeability were identified decades ago; however, quantification of the effect of processes responsible for anomalous porosity and permeability and the assessment of the predictability of anomalous porosity and permeability occurrence in subsurface sandstones have rarely been addressed in published literature. The focus of this article is on quantification and predictability of three major causes of anomalously high porosity: (1) grain coats and grain rims, (2) early emplacement of hydrocarbons, and (3) shallow development of fluid overpressure. Grain coats and grain rims retard quartz cementation and concomitant porosity and permeability reduction by inhibiting precipitation of quartz overgrowths on detrital-quartz grains. Currently, prediction of anomalous porosity associated with grain coats and grain rims is dependent on the availability of empirical data sets. In the absence of adequate empirical data, sedimentologic and diagenetic models can be helpful in assessing risk due to reservoir quality. Such models provide a means to evaluate the effect of geologic constraints on coating occurrence and coating completeness required to preserve economically viable porosity and permeability (Begin page 302) in a given play or prospect. These constraints include thermal history and sandstone grain size and composition. The overall effect of hydrocarbon emplacement on reservoir quality is controversial. It appears that at least some cements (quartz and illite) may continue to precipitate following emplacement of hydrocarbons into the reservoir. Our work indicates that integration of basin modeling with reservoir quality modeling can be used to quantify, prior to drilling, the potential impact of hydrocarbon emplacement on porosity and permeability. The best-case scenario for significant reservoir quality preservation due to fluid overpressure development is in rapidly deposited Tertiary or Quaternary sandstones. Our models suggest that significant porosity can be preserved in sandstones that have experienced continuous high fluid overpressures from shallow burial depths. The models also indicate that the potential for porosity preservation is greatest in ductile-grain-rich sandstones because compaction tends to be the dominant control on reservoir quality in such rocks. The case for significant porosity preservation associated with fluid overpressures in pre-Tertiary basins, however, is more problematic because of the complexities in the history of fluid overpressure and the greater significance of quartz cementation as a potential mechanism of porosity loss.

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Anomalously high porosity and permeability in deeply buried sandstone reservoirs: Origin and predictability

Mudstone is the most abundant sedimentary rock and variously acts as sources, seals, and shale gas reservoirs in petroleum systems. Many important physicochemical properties of mudstones are strongly influenced by the mineralogy and size of deposited grains, and by diagenetic changes (precompaction and postcompaction); these are commonly predictable. The diverse composition of mudstones reflects input and hydrodynamic segregation of detrital materials to basins, primary production within basins, and diagenetic processes (both precipitation and dissolution) in the sediment. High-magnification observations both in modern and ancient sediments demonstrate that mudstones are texturally and mineralogically heterogeneous; this variability is not always readily apparent. Although some mud is indeed deposited by suspension settling out of low-energy buoyant plumes, textural analyses reveal that it is commonly dispersed by a combination of waves, gravity-driven processes, and unidirectional currents driven variously by storms and tides. Such dispersal mechanisms mean that muddy successions are typically organized into packages that can be interpreted using sequence stratigraphy. Early bioturbation homogenizes mud, whereas early chemical diagenesis can result in highly cemented zones developing, especially at stratal surfaces. The nature of deeper burial diagenesis, which involves compaction, mineral dissolution, recrystallization, mineral reorientation and lithification, and petroleum generation, is preconditioned by depositional and early diagenetic characteristics of the mud. Although the petrophysical properties of homogeneous mudstones are reasonably well known, the quantitative implications of heterogeneity for petroleum expulsion, retention, petroleum migration, seal capacity, acoustic anisotropy, and identification of shale gas reservoir sweet spots are essentially unexplored. Future work should seek to redress this position.

Mudstone diversity: Origin and implications for source, seal, and reservoir properties in petroleum systems

Mechanisms for Generating Overpressure in Sedimentary Basins: A Reevaluation: Discussion

Comparison of Overpressure Magnitude Resulting from the Main Generating Mechanisms

Normally pressured reservoirs have pore pressures which are the same as a continuous column of static water from the surface. Abnormal pressures occur where the pore pressures are significantly greater than normal (overpressure) or less than normal (underpressure). Overpressured sediments are found in the subsurface of both young basins from about 1.0 to 2.0 km downwards, and in older basins, in thick sections of fine-grained sediments. The main mechanisms considered responsible for most overpressure conditions can be grouped into three broad categories, based on the processes involved: (1) ineffective volume reduction due to imposed stress (vertical loading during burial, lateral tectonic processes) leading to disequilibrium compaction, (2) volume expansion, including porosity increases due to changes in the solid:liquid ratios of the rock, and (3) hydraulic head and hydrocarbon buoyancy. The principal mechanisms which result in large magnitude overpressure are disequilibrium compaction and fluid volume expansion during gas generation. Disequilibrium compaction results from rapid burial (high sedimentation rates) of low-permeability rocks such as shales, and is characterized on pressure vs. depth plots by a fluid retention depth where overpressure commences, and increases downwards along a gradient which can closely follow the lithostatic (overburden) gradient. Disequilibrium compaction is typical in basins with a high sedimentation rate, including Tertiary deltas and some intracratonic basins. In older basins, disequilibrium compaction generated earlier in the basin history may be preserved only in thick, fine-grained sequences, but lost by vertical/lateral leakage from rocks with relatively high permeabilities. Gas generation from secondary maturation reactions, and oil cracking in the deeper parts of sedimentary basins, can result in large fluid volume increases, although the magnitudes are uncertain. In addition, the effect of increased pressures on the reactions involved is unknown. We doubt that any of the other mechanisms involving volume change can contribute significant regional overpressure, except in very unusual conditions. Hydraulic head and hydrocarbon buoyancy are mechanisms whose contributions are generally small; however, they can be easily assessed and may be important when additive to other mechanisms. The effects of transference of overpressure generated elsewhere should always be considered, since the present pressure distribution will be strongly affected by the ability of fluids to move along lateral and vertical conduits. Naturally underpressured reservoirs (as opposed to underpressure during depletion) have not been as widely recognized, being restricted mainly to interior basins which have undergone uplift and temperature reduction. The likely principal causes are hydraulic discharge, rock dilation during erosional unroofing, and gas migration during uplift.

Mark J. Osborne

Papers

Mechanisms for Generating Overpressure in Sedimentary Basins: A Reevaluation

Mechanisms for Generating Overpressure in Sedimentary Basins: A Reevaluation: Discussion

Comparison of Overpressure Magnitude Resulting from the Main Generating Mechanisms

Memoir 70, Chapter 2: Mechanisms that Generate Abnormal Pressures: an Overview

Mechanisms that Generate Abnormal Pressures: An Overview