Sedimentology and reservoir modelling of the Ormen Lange field, mid Norway

Reservoir in the Ormen Lange field, offshore Norway, is provided by Upper Cretaceous and Lower Paleocene turbidite sandstones deposited in a sand-rich submarine fan. Systematic vertical and down-fan changes in facies and section properties (thickness, percentage sand and percentage amalgamation) are documented. Bulk sediment accumulation rates are very low suggesting that the system was not directly delta-fed. Paucity of mud in the supply mix prevented the development of channel-overbank systems with strong segregation of sands in channel-fills and muds in overbank areas. The resultant architecture is externally tabular with internally varying degrees of erosional amalgamation between beds. A novel approach to 3D quantitative reservoir modelling has been taken. At a regional-scale (475×180×3 km 3), 3D models integrate all well and structural information and provide a context for field-scale models. Nested within the regional models, high-resolution hierarchical reservoir models of the field have been generated. Models combine detailed sedimentological observations in core with petrophysical, pressure, seismic amplitude and structural data. Modelling rules are derived from partial analogues and a forward geometric model that addresses the nature of distal and lateral sandstone body terminations.