Data for: Natural Fracture System of the Cambro-Permian Wajid Group, Wadi Al-Dawasir, SW Saudi Arabia

Published: 19 December 2018| Version 1 | DOI: 10.17632/pf64zwrdvg.1
Contributor:
Mohammed benaafi

Description

This study investigates the regional and outcrop-scale fracture system within the Wajid Group exposures in Wadi Al-Dawasir, southwest Saudi Arabia. The Wajid Group is a Cambro-Permian siliciclastic succession that forms the main groundwater aquifers in the study area and is considered as a potential hydrocarbon reservoir in the Rub' Al-Khali Basin. The succession is composed of fluvial, marine, and glacial to glaciofluvial deposits. This study aims to characterize and model the fracture system within the Wajid Group in the Wadi Al-Dawasir area using satellite imagery and direct field measurements. A further study objective is to define the geological factors controlling the fracture distribution within the Wajid Group succession. Five sets of regional-scale fractures (lineaments) were defined: N000°, N015°, N035°, N075°, and N135°. In addition, five sets of the outcrop-scale fractures were delineated: N015°, N035°, N075°, N135°, and N165°. The N135°- and N035°-oriented fracture sets are predominant at the regional scale. At the outcrop scale, however, the N165°- and N075°-oriented fracture sets are predominant. The trace-length of the regional-scale fractures is distributed according to the negative exponential distribution. The fractures within the Wajid Group outcrops are vertical to sub-vertical extensional fractures (mode 1). Those fractures are open, however, and at some localities, they are sealed or coated with calcite or iron oxides. Fracture swarms with an orientation of N015° were also observed in the southeastern part of the study area. Hierarchical outcrop conceptual models of two fracture sets are proposed. The proposed models show that the regional-scale fractures are not influenced by stratigraphic or lithological variations. In contrast, the outcrop-scale fractures are controlled by the stratigraphic, lithological, and diagenetic variations in the fracture-hosting sandstone. The diagenetic characteristics (cementation and dissolution), bed thickness, and porosity of the fracture-hosting sandstone play a key role in the fracture distribution within the Wajid succession. The results of this study contribute to the understanding of groundwater flow behaviour within fractured aquifers in the study area and will help to enhance gas production from fractured hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Rub' Al-Khali Basin.

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Geology, Petroleum Reservoir Characterization

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