Identification of flow units using methods of Testerman statistical zonation, flow zone index, and cluster analysis in Tabnaak gas field

Abstract

The relation between porosity and permeability parameters in carbonated rocks is complicated and indistinct. Flow units are defined with aim of better understanding reservoir unit flow behavior and relation between porosity and permeability. Flow units reflect a group of rocks with same geological and physical properties which affect fluid flow, but they do not necessarily coincide with boundary of facies. In each flow unit homogeneity of data is preserved and this homogeneity fades in the boundaries. Here, in this study, three methods are used for identification of flow units and estimation of average porosity and permeability in three wells of Tabnaak gas field located in south of Iran. These methods include Testerman statistical zonation, flow zone index (FZI), and cluster analysis. To identify these units, compilation of core porosity and permeability are used. After comparing results of flow units developed by these three methods, a good accordance in permeable zones was obtained for them, but for general evaluation of flow units in field scale, the methods of FZI and cluster analysis are more relevant than Testerman statistical zonation.