Alan Wood

Postgraduate Student

Telephone number: +44(0) 113 34 35203
Email address: ee08amw@leeds.ac.uk
Room: 7.131 SCR

Link to personal page

Biography

Project details

Project Title: Impact of mechanical behaviour of sediments upon fault linkage: Implications for reservoir model uncertainties.

Supervisors: Dr Richard Collier, Dr Douglas Paton and Dr Simon Price (Shell)

Funding: NERC, Shell

Start date:October 2009

Project Outline

My current research uses a combination of field based data collection and three dimensional geological modelling to constrain fault relay geometries in syn-rift settings. Seismic data quality is often limited by diffractions off steeply dipping reflectors such as fault planes, hence limiting imaging around fault relay zones. This leads to uncertainty in throw estimates and therefore in cross fault juxtapositions, fault seal calculations and trap integrity. Additionally, characterising the degree of 'seismic' relative to 'normal' drag adjacent to fault planes is critical when quantifying the effect of faults, both in terms of fault support and in terms of reservoir compartmentalisation. With my research I aim to address these issues by developing analogue based protocols for modelling relay zone geometries and cross fault juxtapositions where seismic resolution does not allow sufficient constraint.

The onshore Gulf of Corinth in Greece provides an excellent field area for the study of normal faults. Extension is accommodated by E-W trending fault sets composed of individual segments which are linked together in a variety of geometries. The faults propagate through a 'basement' carbonate succession before encountering a mechanical contrast with overlying syn-rift alluvial fan deposits. It is this contrast in mechanical properties which may influence fault relay geometries and determine at what stages of a faults evolution soft linked relays become breached. Fault relay geometries mapped in the field are integrated with digital elevation maps, structural and sedimentological data, and mechanical property data within 3D modelling software (Petrel). Future stages of the research will involve applying the findings of the fieldwork and associated modelling to an analogous 3D seismic dataset, potentially using dynamic modelling to investigate the effects on production rates.

Qualifications

• MESci Geology, University of Liverpool 2007.
• MSc, Structural Geology with Geophysics, University of Leeds, 2009.