Wave-influenced shallow marine systems are generally regarded to form good quality, highly continuous reservoirs. However, tidal and fluvial processes acting in these depositional environments can introduce significant levels of heterogeneity which can lead to uncertainties in predicting the distribution and the lateral continuity of reservoir facies.
Mitchell River Delta, Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia - reservoir
element scale map and 3D model (left). The delta is classified as tide-dominated, wave-influenced, fluvial-affected (Twf).
Process-based marginal marine classification (right). WAVE Consortium PHASE I data.
The WAVE Consortium is an eleven company, industry sponsored consortium. The PHASE I (April 2008 - September 2010) research budget was approximately AU$ 1.1 Million. The PHASE II (April 2011 - March 2014) budget is currently AU$1.4 Million. Consortium sponsors are globally located; Australia, Austria, Canada, Egypt, New Zealand, Norway, The Netherlands and USA.
The aim of the consortium is to better characterise mixed-influence (wave, tidal and fluvial processes) coastal depositional environments and to analyse the potential impact of heterogeneities (shales and cemented zones) on reservoir connectivity and compartmentalization and how it can best be predicted and mitigated in the subsurface. PHASE I work has resulted in a new process-based architectural classification system for marginal marine settings which has been integrated into the WAVE Knowledgebase, a user friendly, interactive knowledgebase and geospatial database. Predictive aspects of the WAVE Knowledgebase can be utilised in exploration, development and production settings.
PHASE II of the project (April 2011 - March 2014; see Research Proposal tab) will focus on further development of the WAVE Knowledgebase via improved ichnological data integration, further geometrical data population and focussed fieldwork in the Gulf of Carpentaria (Australia), Fayoum (Egypt) and Drumheller (Canada).
Principal investigators are Professor Bruce Ainsworth, Dr Boyan Vakarelov, Dr Rachel Nanson (Australian School of Petroleum, University of Adelaide, Australia) and Professor James MacEachern (Simon Fraser University, Canada).
Parties interested in joining PHASE II should contact Bruce Ainsworth (bainsworth@asp.adelaide.edu.au).