Integrated reservoir characterization study of the McKee formation, Onshore Taranaki Basin, New Zealand

Abstract

The Late Eocene onshore McKee Formation is a producing reservoir rock in Taranaki Basin, New Zealand. An integrated petrophysical, sedimentological, and petrographical study was conducted to evaluate the reservoir characteristics of the McKee sandstone. A petrographic study of the McKee Formation classified the sandstone as arkose based on the Pettijohn classification. Porosity analysis showed predominantly intergranular porosity, as elucidated by the thin section photomicrographs. The good reservoir quality of McKee sandstone was suggested to be the result of the presence of secondary dissolution pores interconnected with the primary intergranular network. Mineral dissolution was found to be the main process that enhanced porosity in all the studied wells. On the other hand, the presence of clay minerals, cementation, and compaction were identified as the main porosity-reducing agents. These features, however, were observed to occur only locally, thus having no major impact on the overall reservoir quality of the McKee Formation. For a more detailed reservoir characterization, well log analysis was also applied in the evaluation of the McKee Formation. The result of the well log analysis showed that the average porosity ranged from 11.8% to 15.9%, with high hydrocarbon saturation ranging from 61.8% to 89.9% and clay volume content ranging from 14.9 to its highest value of 34.5%. Based on the well log analysis, the derived petrophysical and reservoir parameters exhibited good porosity, low clay content, and high hydrocarbon saturation, which indicates that the McKee Formation is a promising reservoir.