We KN 05

Borehole Imaging of Natural Fractures and Stress Indicators in

the Jurassic Carbonate Shale Plays, Eastern Saudi Arabia
M.S. Ameen1*
1
Saudi Aramco

Summary
An operational geomechanics study has been underway to facilitate the unconventional exploration and appraisal
of the Jurassic carbonate shale (mudstone) pay zones of Eastern Saudi Arabia. Part of the study involved the
multi-scale imaging of natural fractures and stress indicators. Natural fractures are mainly of microscopic and
mesocopic scale (individual fracture length ≤ several ft). No major faults occur in any of the tens of imaged long
reach horizontal wells, and the imaged and cored vertical wells. Therefore, the natural fractures facilitate
hydrofracturing. The absence of major fault zones or fracture clusters reduces the risk of pressure and fluid thieves
during hydrofracturing, and minimizes potential damage associated with fracture hits. The natural fractures and
current day stress regime is persistent regionally, and has been actively driven by the Late Cretaceous to present
Arabian Plate tectonics. The current day stresses within the pay zones are characteristic of thrust to strike slip
tectonics with the maximum horizontal in-situ stress trending ENE-WSW parallel to the current day Zagros
stresses. These regional stress and fracture patterns facilitate well planning, completion and stimulation design
with horizontal wells designed perpendicular to the maximum horizontal in situ stress.

Sixth EAGE Shale Workshop

28 April – 1 May 2019, Bordeaux, France
  

Introduction
This paper outlines the findings of a comprehensive effort to image and characterize the following:
natural fractures (faults, joints, etc.); drilling induced fractures referred to here as DIFs; and borehole
breakouts referred to here as BOs in the Jurassic, fluid rich to dry gas carbonate shale plays (Middle
Jurassic Tuwaiq Mountain Formation) in Eastern Saudi Arabia. The stratigraphy and hydrocarbon
potential are outside the scope of this work and were reviewed recently by Hakami and Inan, 2016 and
Almubarak et al., 2017. The study area is characterized by horizontal to very gentle structural dips (≤
5°) consistent with that observed in most parts of Eastern Arabia with some minor undulations in
azimuth. The ultimate objectives of this work are to
determine the current day stress regime and assess the
modes and aspect ratio of the natural fractures, to
optimize borehole planning, borehole completion and
hydrofracturing design.
Imaging Tools versus Hole Design and
Interpretation Methods
Imaging the full range of natural discontinuities could
not be achieved in vertical wells only or horizontal wells
only. Vertical borehole images calibrated with core
reveal a partial picture of vertical fractures but abundant
evidence of nearly horizontal, bedding-parallel
laminations and mineralized fractures. In deviated and
horizontal wells, the moderately to steeply dipping
fractures were effectively captured. We utilized 134.6
km of image logs, and drill cores in 10’s of vertical and
horizontal wells. In horizontal wells the 98.5 km logs
include azimuthal density, high-resolution azimuthal
resistivity, and wireline resistivity. In vertical wells the
32.8 km of both resistivity and ultrasonic wireline
Figure 1 Persistent stress indicators trends
imaging tools were run and calibrated with cores. The
cores’ depth was shifted to image depth and 3.3 km vertically across the stratigraphic
circumferential core images acquired in house were used sequences of the study area.
to calibrate the interpreted image logs. The theoretical
and analytical principles, definitions, and methods used here to delineate the stresses and fractures
follow those of Ameen, 2018.
Results
• In-Situ Stress Regime: Only BOs occur in vertical wells within the over-pressured pay zones,
whereas both DIFs and BOs occur outside the pay zone. In lateral wells within the pay zones caliper
logs show vertical borehole elongation in some areas augmented by incipient BOs and horizontal DIFs
on borehole images, indicating a stress regime characteristic of thrust tectonics where σH> σh >σv. In
other areas the stress regime is of a strike slip nature where σH> σv >σh. The BOs and DIFs orientations
indicate a regional stress regime across the Jurassic sequences in the Jarufah basin with an ENE-WSW
maximum horizontal in-situ stress σH and NNW-SSE minimum horizontal in-situ stress σh (Figures 1
and 2). A similar regional stress pattern was observed across the whole stratigraphic section from
Paleozoic to the Upper Jurassic in Eastern Saudi Arabia (Ameen et al., 2010, 2012, and Ameen, 2014,
MacPherson and Ameen, 2014).

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• Natural Fractures: These encompass

nearly horizontal bedding-parallel
discontinuities and moderately to steeply
dipping discontinuities. The bedding-
parallel category includes a
laminations/fissile texture and is defined
by a high concentration of organic matter;
bedding-parallel veins; and beef fractures
that vary in thickness up to a few inches
and thrusts (Figures 3a and b). The steeply
to moderately dipping natural hydraulic
fractures (joints and faults) include
buckled natural hydraulic fractures,
which occurred prior and/or
contemporaneously with the lime mud
compaction (Figures 3b, c and d). The
latest steeply to moderately dipping
natural hydraulic fractures include planar Figure 2 Location of the Jafurah Basin relative to the
hairline joints and faults, which postdate Arabian Plate (red ellipse), and (A) a zoomed-in basin
the main compaction of the carbonate boundary with rose diagrams of BO’s (black) and DIF’s
muds and associated fluids’ expulsion (red) showing persistent trend with little evidence of rotation
(Figures 3 e and f). Calcite, anhydrite, and between different locations in the basin (1 to 10); (B) a
bitumen filling occur in both bedding synoptic rose diagram of the trends of 1533 BOs (black) and
parallel gently dipping fractures and the DIFs (red) and the derived σH and σh directions from tens of
steeply to moderately dipping fractures. wells drilled across the basin vertical and horizontal wells;
These types of fractures have been (C) a synoptic rose diagram of the strikes of all 6297
successfully resolved using high moderately to steeply dipping natural fractures strike
resolution water-based LWD resistivity measured across the basin in tens of vertical and horizontal
imaging (Figure 4). wells (Blue: mineralized with incipient shear; grey are
dominantly extension fractures).
A regional fractures’ system of four sets
with a systematic relation to the current
day stress regime emerged from this study. In addition to the bedding-parallel fractures the system
includes two shear fracture sets (mesofaults), whose enclosed acute angle is bisected by one extensional
fracture, which is nearly parallel to σH (Figure 2c). The orientations, dimensions, aperture types, and
degree of clustering of the fractures, and the current in-situ stress regime impact the reservoir-scale
geomechanics, and response to hydrofracturing. Outside the pay zones the regional trend of natural
fractures and in situ stresses persists and becomes abundantly clear in deviated and horizontal wells
mostly as vertical to nearly vertical stylolite related fractures nucleating around bedding stylolites, in
addition to tectonic stylolites and mesofaults. Some of these stylolite fractures have evolved and
interacted across layers to develop extensive fracture clusters both vertically and laterally. These rocks
sustained extensive bedding parallel pressure solution in response to burial compaction unlike the pay
zones, where bedding partings and bedding parallel fractures and dislocations dominate, due to over
pressured thrust tectonic to strike slip tectonic stress regime. The stylolite fractures indicate an
anisotropic stress regime in which the fractures are nearly parallel to the current σH and indicate a
persistent causative Zagros stress regime similar to that which affect the pay zones.

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• Driving Factors and Stress-Criticality of Fractures: The correlation of the moderately to steeply
dipping fractures’ density with the matrix composition and mechanical properties shows that rock
mechanical properties affect the degree of fracturing. Stronger rocks with higher Young’s Modulus,
unconfined compressive strength (UCS), and tensile strength, and lower Poisson’s ratio have higher
fracture density than weaker rocks. The
pay zones are mineralogically composed
mainly of calcite with insignificant clay
minerals. The rock mechanical
properties of these rocks are
predominantly impacted by their total
organic carbon TOC, where higher TOC
rocks are weaker and possess higher
Poison’s ratio than lower TOC rocks
(Figure 5).
Stress criticality of the existing fractures
is not a constant (static) but dynamic
property that changes with reservoir pore
pressure and in-situ stresses relative
magnitudes. The criticality degree varies
laterally in the same horizontal well; Figure 3 (A) Beef fracture; (B) Thrust structure
vertically (with depth) in vertical wells; displaced by a younger steep dipping sinister fault which
and with time in the same location. The developed as a natural hydraulic fracture subsequently
current day stress regime in the pay buckled by 50% vertical compaction; (C) Steep dipping
zones is characterized by relatively low natural hydraulic (expulsion) fracture buckled due to
differential stresses in such a manner that subsequent 57% compaction; (D) Moderately to steeply
the natural fractures are generally not dipping natural hydraulic (expulsion) fractures
critically stressed under reservoir truncated and/or offset by bedding parallel shear evident
conditions, even when we assume zero from trails of crushed and dragged mineralization along
cohesion on existing fractures, and 20
the bedding shear planes: (E and F) Planar hairline
degrees angle of friction, and exaggerate
fractures which postdates the compaction of the
considerably the pore pressure (Figure
6a and b). The current regime has carbonate muds and associated fluids expulsion
persisted since the commencement of the fractures shown in A to D. See Figure 4 also.
Zagros in the late Cretaceous, as evident
from the mild nature of the natural
fractures, and the sparse evidence of
major faults within the pay zones.
Conclusions
A combination of high-resolution
resistivity images in vertical and
horizontal wells calibrated with core
enabled the delineation of the fractures
(faults, joints, veins, etc.) population in
the target pay zone. The fractures’
pattern includes four regional sets, with
a systematic relation to the current day
stress regime across the sequences and
geographically across the basin. They
encompass two shear fracture sets Figure 4 Fractures in water based LWD resistivity
(mesofaults), whose acute enclosed image logs.
angle is bisected by one extensional

Sixth EAGE Shale Workshop

28 April – 1 May 2019, Bordeaux, France
  

Figure 6 (A and B) Stability of the natural fractures

under zero friction, low angle of internal friction and
Figure 5 Natural fracture density versus high pore pressure (C) Incipient kinematics of the
TOC, and mechanical properties in a natural fractures when stimulated by
horizontal well. hydrofracturing.

fracture, which is nearly parallel to σH and one tectonic stylolite, which occurs mainly above the pay
zones perpendicular to σH. The high-resolution imaging of tens of kilometers of horizontal wells shows
the lack of major faults that would act as thief zones to hydrofracturing fluids, and present a risk to
effective hydrofracturing. Interpreted fracture density observed in horizontal wells are used to select
perforation and hydrofracturing stages. The prevalence of the microfractures and mesofractures
network, and the lack of major faults or fracture clusters in the pay zones, facilitate hydrofractures’
cloud development in a manner that optimizes reservoir stimulated volume (SRV).
References
Almubarak, A., Hakami, A., Leyva, I, and Kurison, C. [2017] Saudi Arabia’s unconventional program
in the Jafurah basin: transforming an idea to reality with the Jurassic Tuwaiq mountain formation. Paper
F02 - Unconventional Hydrocarbon Resource Development – North American Phenomena or Global
Opportunity? 22nd World Petroleum Congress, Istanbul 2017.
Ameen M.S. [2014] Fracture and in-situ stress patterns and impact on performance in the Khuff
structural prospects, eastern offshore Saudi Arabia. Marine and Petroleum Geology 50, 166–184.
Ameen, M. S. [2018] Operational geomechanics: A rock-based science for environmental, energy, and
engineering applications. EAGE Publication, 327pp.
Ameen M.S., Buhidma I.M. and Rahim Z. [2010] The function of fractures and in-stresses in the Khuff
reservoir performance, onshore fields, Saudi Arabia. AAPG Bulletin 94 (1), 27–60.
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Implications for unconventional hydrocarbon potential of the Jurassic Tuwaiq Mountain Formation.
International Journal of Coal Geology, 165, 201-222.
MacPherson, K.A.T., and Ameen, M.S. [2014] Fractures in the Jurassic Arab Formation and Lower
Fadhili carbonate member of the Dhruma Formation, Saudi Arabia. 76th EAGE Conference and
Exhibition, Amsterdam RAI, The Netherlands, 16-19 June 2014. pp. 16–19.

Sixth EAGE Shale Workshop

28 April – 1 May 2019, Bordeaux, France