International Association of Hydrogeologists Australia

Fault Seal Analyses – Common practices, a recent research and a case study

Saturday 23 February, 2013

Bozkurt Ciftci from the CSIRO will present a free evening lecture on fault seals. This event is jointly sponsored by IAH and The Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia (PESA).

Date and Time: Thursday, 7 March 2013
5.30pm – 7.30pm (drinks and nibbles from 5.30pm – talk starts at 6.00pm)

Where: The Melbourne Hotel – Cnr Hay and Milligan Streets, Perth WA

Registration: Even though this is a free event for IAH and PESA Members, you must register. Previous communications sent you to the PESA website, but the new true instructions are for IAH members to register at the IAH website.
Non-members cost is $25 and should be registered here http://events.pesa.com.au/detail.aspx?id=716

Abstract:

Prediction of fault seals is critical to hydrocarbon exploration and production and geological storage of carbon-dioxide. The primary components of the fault seal analyses include accurate modeling of the fault zone architecture and phyllosilicate content of the fault rocks. Understanding of the regional stress field and fault reactivation often provides complimentary information. The traditional fault seal analysis algorithms are limited to incorporate the state of stress on the fault plane and variable obliquity between the fault zone and sedimentary layering. Recent research indicates that these two parameters are critical for accurate prediction and an increase in the both parameters improves the hydraulic seal performance of faults. Soft and unconsolidated source-clay beds and flow of clay into the fault zone during faulting were not found to be essential for better seals in contrast to traditional models. A case study from Gippsland Basin provides a basin-scale example of how numerous parameters can be incorporated into the analysis. Calibration of these parameters with seal performance indicators may provide improved exploration tools for fault seal prediction.

Biography:

Bozkurt Ciftci holds a M.Sc. in Petroleum Geology (2001) from Colorado School of Mines and a Ph.D. in Structural Geology (2007) from Middle East Technical University (METU). He is a research scientist at CSIRO with current interest in the reservoir to semi-regional scale structural and fault seal analyses relevant to exploration and production of hydrocarbons and geological storage of carbon dioxide. Before joining CSIRO in 2008, he worked as an exploration geoscientist at Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) mainly focusing around the eastern Mediterranean region.

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