TECHNICAL NOTE

Integrated Approach To Develop

Shaly, Interbedded Sandstone
Reservoirs in Greater Burgan Field
S.P. SINHA, R. AL-QATTAN
Kuwait Oil Company

S.E. ROE, J. CROWE

ChevronTexaco Overseas Petroleum Technology Company

Abstract
The Greater Burgan Field of Kuwait has been producing for
57 years. The massive sandstone reservoirs have contributed the
bulk of oil production. Large reserves are situated in interbedded
sandstone reservoirs and will play a critical role in future Greater
Burgan development. The current challenge is how to develop
these reservoirs that have high uncertainty in net pay.
In the recent past, several wells were completed in the interbedded sandstone sequences and no flow was reported. As a result, a review of log, core, fluid, well tests, PLT, pressure data,
and the method of net pay determination has been done. The
teams objective has been to develop an integrated understanding
of the net pay intervals that can contribute to flow at a given
API, viscosity, depth, and reservoir pressure. It is assumed that
artificial lift may be available, and that drilling, workover, and
completion practices do not result in any permeability or perforation damage. A conceptual model has been set up to study all
the related parameters and to prove what contributes to making
the well flow. Our simulation model includes vertical lift performance for the tubing size, the depth of the reservoir, and the hydrocarbon properties. The model has been calibrated using log,
core, PLT, and well test data.
This paper represents the details of the integrated study made
to redefine net pay by improving and incorporating static and
dynamic data. The objective is to guide the well completion
strategy for interbedded sandstone reservoirs and reduce the uncertainty of remaining oil in place and reserves. The proposed
methodology will influence future investments in infill wells, artificial lift, and improved oil recovery methods.

Background
The Greater Burgan Field of Kuwait has been in production
from the upper Cretaceous Wara and Burgan formations. The bulk
of the production has been comprised from the generally massive
Third Sand Middle and Fourth Sand members of the Burgan formation. Other reservoirs such as Wara, Third Sand Upper, and Third
Sand Lower members are primarily interbedded sand and shale
reservoirs. These reservoirs have been deposited under various
sedimentary systems typical of a delta plain environment. Some of
the examples are distributory channel fills, interdistributory bays,
overbank splays, bay fills, distributory mouth bars, delta front, and
prodelta deposits. This diverse setting explains the complex heterogeneous nature of these reservoirs in the Greater Burgan Field.

Formation Evaluation
The development of the Greater Burgan Field has taken place
over more than five decades; the petrophysical data demonstrate

the evolution of formation evaluation tools and technology. The

petrophysical data of the field consists of a wide range of different
vintages and quality of data. It includes one of the first ever electric logs. Petrophysicists have been consolidating, validating, and
normalizing these data to ensure reliability and consistency of formation evaluation.

Shale Volume Determination

Shale volume (Vsh) has been of prime importance in developing an understanding of quality of pay. Vsh curves were calculated mainly on the basis of gamma ray (GR) and spontaneous
potential (SP) data. However, the frequent and indiscriminate presence of radioactive sands and the lack of adequate log data in many
wells complicate the calculation of Vsh. In such cases, other open
hole logs, namely neutron, density, sonic, resistivity, and cased
hole pulse neutron data are used. Vsh results are calibrated and
validated by comparing to core descriptions, core images, X-Ray
diffraction, and production data.

Porosity Calculation
Total porosity determination required the following methods, in
order of priority:
Density/neutron derived porosity (1976 present);
Density derived porosity (1968 1976); and,
Porosity derived from normalized cased hole neutron logs.
Core porosity was used to calibrate the log porosity in the cored
wells.
The use of various open hole and cased hole data for a better
understanding is depicted in Figure 1a. The presence of pyrites,
etc. can mislead the fluid content interpretation, as illustrated in
Figure 1b.

Permeability
In recent years, a number of wells have been drilled and cored.
The routine core analysis from seven of these wells has been used
to make a semi-log cross-plot of porosity vs. permeability in the
horizontal cores at an overburden pressure of 2,000 psi (Figure
2a). The cross-plot has a large scatter as also indicated by a correlation coefficient of 0.66. To improve the correlation, additional data
such as Vshale, resistivity, neutron porosity, and density were also
considered. The data was grouped in various meaningful combinations to improve the correlation. Permeability data was analyzed in
terms of reservoirs and yielded improved correlation trends with a
correlation coefficient of the order of 0.85 (Figure 2b). Another approach of grouping by facies is being looked at with the enormous
task of reconciliation of the log and image data.

THIS PAPER IS BEING PUBLISHED AS A TECHNICAL NOTE AND HAS NOT BEEN PEER REVIEWED.
20

Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology

FIGURE 1a: Use of open hole and case hole data.

FIGURE 2b: Modified cross-plot of core porosity and permeability.

40,000

Cumulative Flow Capacity

35,000

FIGURE 1b: Presence of pyrites.

100,000

Correlation Coefficient = 0.659

Core Permeability (%)

10,000

30,000
25,000
6
20,000
15,000
10,000
3
5,000

1,000

0
0

100

Cumulative Storage
FIGURE 3: Cumulative flow capacity vs. cumulative storage for
XE-22.

10

Probabilistic Pay
1
0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

45.0

Core Porosity (md)

FIGURE 2a: Cross-plot of core porosity and permeability from new
wells.

Flow Units
In an earlier work to develop a workover tool, flow units were
defined by at least a 0.61-metre (2-ft) thickness of impermeable
boundaries and a porosity higher than 18%. Another method to
identify the flow units has been deployed by making a cross-plot
of cumulative flow capacity vs. cumulative storage capacity calculated from the top to the bottom of the reservoir. Slope changes on
the plot mark the boundaries of the flow units. Six flow units have
been identified based on the slope changes, as indicated in Figure 3
for well XE-22. These flow units have also been displayed in terms
of depth along with the well log traces in Figure 4.
July 2005, Volume 44, No. 7

Tentatively, cutoffs have been related to porosity values and

Vshale. In this case, pay assignments were guided by the cross-plot
of porosity and permeability. Probabilistic pay flags were generated to represent three different domains of porous and permeable
formations: the optimistic (P90), base case (P50), and pessimistic
(P10). As mentioned earlier, Wara, Third Sand Upper, and Third
Sand Lower reservoirs, being more interbedded and heterogeneous, displayed wide variations in pessimistic and optimistic pay,
as illustrated in Figure 5. In other words, base case and optimistic
pay counts showed lower confidence and higher uncertainty in regard to their ability to contribute to production.

Net Pay
Net pay is a crucial parameter in the determination of both
original oil or gas in place and remaining mobile hydrocarbons.
In practice, net pay is strongly related to porosity cutoff. However, this practice sometimes fails to calculate net pay that represents the portion of the rock that contains economically producible
21

FU1

FU2

FU3
FU4
FU5
FU6

FIGURE 6: Radial model showing porosity distribution for YO-03.

Field Example 1: Well XE-22

Well Information

FIGURE 4: Flow units based on flow capacity vs. storage cross-plot.

100

PLT vs. Simulated Flow Rates

P90
Net Pay

90

PLT was carried out in XE-22. The results of PLT are displayed
in Figure 7b for every 0.61 m (2 ft) of formation thickness. The
upper set of perforations contributes 180 BOPD and the remaining
1,260 BOPD comes from lower set of perforations situated in
higher quality pay. The simulated oil rates from the two sets of perforations are 200 and 1,240 BOPD. Figure 7c gives the simulated
oil rate for every 0.61 m (2 ft) of formation thickness.

80

Probability

70
60
P50
Net Pay

50

The well XE-22 was completed in Third Sand Middle. The well
has two sets of perforations: 1,350.9 1,353.3 m (4,432 4,440')
and 1,357.9 1,361.5 m (4,455 4,467') located in a variable
quality of pay, as shown in Figure 7a. The oil rate is 1,440 BOPD
with a THP of 607 psi.

40
30
20
10

Discussion

P10
Net Pay

0
27.5

32.5

37.5

42.5

47.5

52.5

Net Pay (ft)

FIGURE 5: Uncertainty in net pay in interbedded reservoirs.

hydrocarbons. Net pay could vary under various development scenarios such as self-flow, artificial lift, and improved oil recovery
projects. Permeability cutoffs may be considered adequate in case
of natural depletion. But presence of lateral continuity in addition
to the threshold permeability value may be a necessary condition
for being counted as net pay for waterflood or other displacement
processes of EOR. In the present work, no porosity or permeability
cutoffs were considered. To make the calculation of net pay as
objective as possible, the present work reviews the raw log data,
interpretation results, core, fluid, pressure, and PLT data and attempts to find out how they interact and influence each other.

Well Model
In order to analyze the ability of different parts of formation
with varying pay quality to contribute to oil production, a radial
well model was set up with model layer thickness of 0.61 m (2 ft).
A drainage radius of 914.4 m (3,000 ft) and 12 angular divisions
have been considered. Figure 6 shows the porosity distribution in
the radial model for the well YO-03. The flow tables have been developed using the specific perforation depth, oil API, and well configuration. They are used in the model to produce the well at the
given THP. Cases have been run for the FBHP controlled well with
the FBHP equal to 500 psi to model artificial lift. No PI damage
has been considered. In every case, the layer contributions have
been reported and plotted against the PLT results.
22

It is observed that simulation results and the PLT data for the
individual layers show a very good match. The entire P50 pay is
effectively contributing to oil production. However, as there is
negligible difference in P50 and P90 pay, it is difficult to make the
same conclusion regarding the contribution for all of the P90 pay.

Field Example 2: Well YO-03

Well Information
The well YO-03 was completed in the Third Sand Upper and
Third Sand Middle. The well has five sets of perforations: 1,251
1,252 m (4,104 4,108'), 1,257 1,260 m (4,124 4,133'), 1,263
1,266 m (4,144 4,154'), 1,270 1,273 m (4,166 4,178'), and
1,278 1,295 m (4,193 4,250') located in a variable quality of
pay, as shown in Figure 8a. The oil rate is 5,680 BOPD with THP
of 405 psi.
PLT vs. Simulated Flow Rates
PLT was carried out in YO-03. The results of PLT are displayed
in Figure 8b for every 0.61 m (2 ft) of formation thickness. The
individual contributions from different perforations are given as
under:

Perforation
1,251 1,252 m (4,104 4,108')
1,257 1,260 m (4,124 4,133')
1,263 1,266 m (4,144 4,154')
1,270 1,273 m (4,166 4,178')
1,278 1,295 m (4,193 4,250')

Oil, BOPD

Simulated Oil
Rate

160
0
320
560
4,400

400
130
221
282
4,647

Figure 8c gives the simulated oil rate for every 0.61 m (2 ft) of
formation thickness.
Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology

Oil, BOPD
0

50

100

150

Simulation Interval Rate

200

250

300

4432

4432

4436
4440

4436

4444

4444

4448

4448

4452

4452

4456

4456

4460

4460

4464

4464

4467

4467

50

100

150

200

250

300

4440

(b)

(c)

(a)

FIGURE 7: a) XE-22 well log with pay flags; b) XE-22 PLT data; and, c) XE-22 simulation data.

Simulation Interval Rate

Oil, BOPD
0

200

400

600

800

1,000

4104

(a)

200

400

600

800

1,000

4104

4112

4112

4120

4120

4128

4128

4136

4136

4144

4144

4152

4152

4160

4160

4168

4168

4176

4176

4184

4184

4192

4192

4200

4200

4208

4208

4216

4216

4224

4224

4232

4232

4240

4240

4248

4248

(b)

(c)

FIGURE 8: a) YO-03 well log with pay flags; b) YO-03 PLT data; and, c) YO-03 PLT data.
July 2005, Volume 44, No. 7

23

Oil, BOPD
0

10

15

20

Simulation Interval Rate Self Flow

25

30

35

4262

4262

4270

4270

4278

4278

4286

4286

4294

4294

4302

4302

4310

4310

4318

4318

4326

4326

4334

4334

4342

4342

4350

4350

4358

4358

4366

4366

4374

4374

4382

4382

4390

4390

4398

4398

4406

4406

10

15

(b)

(a)

20

25

30

35

(c)

FIGURE 9: a) YO-16 well log with pay flags; b) YO-16 PLT data; and, c) YO-16 simulation data.

Simulation Interval Rate

Oil, BOPD
0

50

100

4322

150

200

50

100

150

200

4322

4332

4334

4342

4346

4352

4358

4362
4372

4370

4382

4382

4392

4394

4402

4406

4412
4418

4422
4432

4430

4442

4442

4452

4454

4462

4466

4472

4478

4482

(a)

(b)

(c)

FIGURE 10: a) YO-47 well log with pay flags; b) YO-47 PLT data; and, c) YO-47 simulation data.
24

Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology

100.00%

100.00%

90.00%

80.00%

80.00%

70.00%

70.00%

Frequency

Frequency

90.00%

60.00%
50.00%
40.00%

Cumulative %

30.00%

60.00%
50.00%
40.00%

20.00%

30.00%

10.00%

20.00%

.00%
0

0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9

1 More

Cumulative %

10.00%
.00%

Shale Volume (fraction)

10 More

Formation Resistivity (ohm-m)

FIGURE 11: Volume of shale for contributing part of the formation.

FIGURE 12: Resistivity of the non-contributing part of the

formation.

Discussion
The PLT data suggests much lower contribution from b1, b2,
and b3 compared to the simulation response. This indicates the
formation/perforation damage in these poorly developed formations which have been perforated at 2 4 SPF.

1,342 m (4,387 4,403'), 1,345 1,366 m (4,413 4,435'), and

1,355 1,366 m (4,445 4,483') located in a variable quality of
pay, as shown in Figure 10a. The oil rate is 1,520 BOPD with THP
of 648 psi.

Field Example 3: Well YO-16

PLT vs. Simulated Flow Rates

Well Information
The well YO-16 was completed in the Third Sand Upper and
Third Sand Middle. The well has four sets of perforations: 1,299
1,301 m (4,262 4,270'), 1,305 1,319 m (4,282 4,328'), 1,321
1,322 m (4,335 4,370'), and 1,336 1,344 m (4,383 4,409')
located in a variable quality of pay, as shown in Figure 9a. The oil
rate is 325 BOPD with THP of 400 psi.
PLT vs. Simulated Flow Rates
PLT was carried out in YO-16. The result of PLT is displayed in
Figure 9b for every 0.61 m (2 ft) of formation thickness.
The individual contributions from different perforations are
given as under:
Perforation

Oil, BOPD

Simulated Oil
Rate

1,299 1,301 m (4,262 4,270')

0
4.6
1,305 1,319 m (4,282 4,328')
40
45.8
1,321 1,322 m (4,335 4,370')
0
142.1
1,336 1,344 m (4,383 4,409')
285
132.0
Figure 9c gives the simulated oil rate for every 0.61 m (2 ft) of
formation thickness.
Discussion
The PLT data shows that the perforation interval 1,321 1,332
m (4,335 4,370') does not contribute at all. This is situated in a
much better quality of pay and the simulation result shows an expected contribution of more than 140 BOPD. This zone appears to
be highly damaged or plugged. It may be observed that the interval
1,336.8 1,337.5 m (4,386 4,388') does not show any oil contribution in model but had some oil contribution based on PLT. A
closer look reveals that the interval has more than 10 ohm-m resistivity but more than 50% Vsh. This is due to the occurrence of hot
sands which were not identified during effective permeability and
porosity calculation.

Field Example 4: Well YO-47

Well Information
The well YO-47 was completed in the Third Sand Upper and
Third Sand Middle. The well has five sets of perforations: 1,317
1,320 m (4,322 4,330'), 1,329 1,334 m (4,361 4,378'), 1,337
July 2005, Volume 44, No. 7

PLT was carried out in YO-47. The results of PLT are displayed
in Figure 10b for every 0.61 m (2 ft) of formation thickness. The
individual contributions from different perforations are given as
under:

Perforation
1,317 1,320 m (4,322 4,330')
1,329 1,334 m (4,361 4,378')
1,337 1,342 m (4,387 4,403')
1,345 1,366 m (4,413 4,435')
1,355 1,366 m (4,445 4,483')

Oil, BOPD

Simulated Oil
Rate

0
40
0
320
1,160

4
24
64
514
914

Figure 10c gives the simulated oil rate for every 0.61 m (2 ft) of
formation thickness.
Discussion
The contribution from the best layers tend to dominate and the
poor quality of pay does not contribute as per the calculated rate
from the simulation. In this well, the top four sets of perforations
underproduce compared to their potential as established from the
simulation.
All the contributing and non-contributing parts of formations
were analyzed with respect to the well log parameters of resistivity,
neutron porosity, Vshale, effective porosity, and permeability. It
was concluded that the volume of shale is the most critical parameter for a formation to contribute. As given in Figure 11, more than
90% of the contributing part of formation has a shale volume lower
than 45%. Similarly, the non-contributing part has demonstrated
that its resistivity values are predominantly less than 9 ohm-m
(Figure 12). This indicates the susceptibility of these formations
of lesser than 9 ohm-m to perforation plugging and damage highlighting the need for effective well completion preferably underbalanced and at higher shot density with deep charges.

Conclusions
The PLT results when compared to the simulated performance with a detailed well model can give valuable information regarding the formation/perforation damage.
The well log data and their interpretation can be validated by
using PLT response.
25

 The assessment of net pay becomes more realistic in view of

the actual well test data.
In this case, artificial lift did not change the relative contribution from the different parts of perforation as long as the
combination of perforation intervals remains unchanged.
Resistivity and volume of shale are the most critical parameters for the formations to contribute to flow.
Cases of high volume of shale with high formation resistivity
need to be analyzed for the presence of hot sands and accounted for in formation evaluation. Similarly, the apparent
low resistivity due to the presence of pyrite also needs to be
corrected for the calculation of petrophysical parameters.

Acknowledgements
Our special thanks go to the Kuwait Oil Ministry and the Kuwait Oil Company for according permission to present this paper.
Our thanks are due to Hashem Hashem, Manager, Field Development, SEK, and Ibrahim A/Karim, Team Leader, Field Development, EK, for their constant support. Thanks are also due to Simon
Stonard and Vegesna Raju for valuable discussion.

REFERENCES
1. MOON, M., et. al., Application of Petrophysically Derived Flow Facies for Reservoir Characterization and Simulation: Wara Reservoir.
Greater Burgan Field; paper SPE 49217, SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, LA, September 27 30, 1998.
2. SNYDER, R.H., A Review of the Concepts and Methodology of Determining Net Pay; paper SPE 3609, Fall Meeting of the Society
of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, New Orleans, LA, October 3 6,
1971.
3. COBB, W.M., Net Pay Determination for Primary and Waterflood
Depletion Mechanisms; paper SPE 48952, SPE Annual Technical
Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, LA, September 27 30,
1998.
4. AMINIAN, K., et al, A New Approach for Reservoir Characterization; paper SPE 78710, SPE Eastern Regional Meeting, Lexington,
KY, October 23 26, 2002.
5. SINHA, S.P., ROE, S.E., and AL-QATTAN, R.A., Optimization of
Multi-Zone Development in a Matured Oil Field; CIPC 2003-197,
proceedings of Canadian International Petroleum Conference, June
10 12, 2003.
6. AL-SAEED, M.A., Probabilistic Pay Flags and Reservoir Quality in
the Greater Burgan Field; Departmental Presentation of SEK Greater
Burgan Studies Team, Kuwait, 2003.
7. SU, H. and AL-RASHEEDI, S., Field Examples to Bridge the Gap
Between Production Engineering and Reservoir Engineering; paper
SPE 71590, ATCE 2001, SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, LA, September 30 October 3, 2001.
ProvenanceOriginal Petroleum Society manuscript, Integrated Approach To Develop Shaly, Interbedded Sandstone Reservoirs in
Greater Burgan Field (2004-100TN), first presented at the 5th Canadian
International Petroleum Conference (the 55th Annual Technical Meeting
of the Petroleum Society), June 8 10, 2004, in Calgary, Alberta. Abstract submitted for review December 1, 2003; editorial comments sent
to the author(s) November 8, 2004; revised manuscript received April 12,
2005; paper approved for pre-press April 12, 2005; final approval June 30,
2005.

26

Authors Biographies
Satyendra Sinha graduated in petroleum engineering from the Indian School
of Mines, Dhanbad (India) in 1981. He
worked with the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, India from 1982 to 1998 in the
areas of reservoir simulation, field development plans and reservoir management.
Since 1998, he has been working with the
Kuwait Oil Company as a senior reservoir
engineer for the East Kuwait Asset Team.
He is responsible for day-to-day asset management including infill drilling, surveillance and monitoring, and asset optimization. He also mentors
young petroleum engineers on the team.
Raghad Al-Qattan graduated from Kuwait
University with a petroleum engineering
degree in 2001. She is working for the
Kuwait Oil Company. She has been coordinating pressure transient tests for the
East Kuwait Asset team in field development. She is involved in reservoir management for wells and gathering centers,
identifying and evaluating new well work
opportunities (infill wells and rig/rig-less
workover), and supporting well completion
and surveillance.
Stan Roe graduated from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh with a B.Sc.
in geology in 1977. He started as a petroleum geologist with Gulf Oil that year, and
continued his employment with Chevron
after the merger of the two companies in
1984. He has worked in the Middle East,
the United Kingdom, West Africa, Papua
New Guinea, and Indonesia during his career in both exploration and development.
His assignment with KOC lasted from 2000
2004 as an earth science mentor in the Greater Burgan area. He is
currently a project coordinator for ChevronTexacos Silopi acreage
in southeast Turkey.
John Crowe graduated from Columbia
University (BSci in geophysics) and from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (PhD
in oceanography). He began his career with
Chevron in 1980. From 1985 to 1995, he
worked on research related to petrophysics
at Chevron Oil Field Research Co, La
Habra, CA. John has worked overseas in
Spain, Nigeria, and Kuwait. Since 2004,
he has been working for ChevronTexaco
in Nigeria as a staff formation evaluation
specialist.

Journal of Canadian Petroleum Technology