Geological Modeling of a Turbidite Reservoir, Forties Field, North Sea

Turbidite reservoirs are an important source of production in the U.K. sector of the North Sea, comprising approximately 25% of total recoverable oil and gas reserves (excluding the Southern Gas Basin). Geological modeling of these complex reservoirs plays a crucial role in the efficient recovery of hydrocarbons initially in place. This chapter demonstrates that a depositional model based on chronostratigraphic interpretation helps in the understanding of fluid-flow parameters such as sandstone distribution, internal architecture, vertical transmissibility barriers, and lateral discontinuities. Such a model was used to develop a new reservoir zonation scheme for Forties Field, a scheme which provided the basis for reservoir simulation and economic evaluation.