There are 2 basic types of natural fractures that need to be studied when characterising naturally fractured reservoirs - whether it be a geothermal or hydrocarbon reservoir. These are extension and shear fractures.
This blog provides some examples of partially open fractures and points out that a small amount of cementation may actually be beneficial as can keep the fracture open and therefore preserve permeability.
Faults often have more than 1 slip surface. In this blog, we present a major fault with multiple surfaces which juxtaposes the Upper Devonian Sediments (at arbroath) against the Lower Devonian Sediments.
Relay ramps can create communication between fault blocks during an oil field development. Here we look at some examples and other types of segmentation which occur in weaker rocks.
Here, we have a look at some naturally fractured sandstone outcrops in Caithness Scotland which are an analogue for the giant Clair Field, West of Shetland.
Here we present an integrated characterisation of a fault zone in mudstones (from the Valhall Field, Central N Sea) using log and core data from a single well.
Pink (Devonian age) mudstones on the bank of the River Tay (Perthshire, UK) are intensively fractured - including joints and larger through going fractures Here we look at some of their characteristics including some splaying geometries.
These conjugate normal faults are found in the Permo-Trias Hopeman Sandstone, Inner Moray Firth, UK. Here we look at these within the context of Anderson’s model and what it means when for example interpreting seismic data.