SPE

International

Society of Petroleum Engineers

SPE 98812

New Opportunity Identification in a Mature Basin: The Oguta North Prospect in

OML 20, Niger Delta
Ralf Esedo, SPE; Berti Ozumba, SPE; Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Copyright 2005, Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc.

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 29th Annual SPE International
Technical Conference and Exhibition in Abuja, Nigeria, August 1-3, 2005.
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Abstract
Prospectivity review of the northern part of OML
20 located in the oldest depobelt of the Niger Delta
(Northern Delta depobelt) was carried out following
the acquisition of 3D seismic data in this
predominantly 2D covered area. The only giant field in
the Northern Delta Depobelt is the Oguta field and was
drilled based on 2D seismic data in 1965. Acquisition
of 3D seismic data and its interpretation has changed
to the south the objective interval is about 2000-3000ft
with deposition in deltaic shoreface to shelf
environments. These sediments vary northwards to
more proximal environments at the Oguta North
prospect. Reservoir thicknesses from the correlating
intervals range from 30 –250 ft. The main risks
associated with this prospect include lack of amplitude
support in the main reservoirs, possible fault seal
failure and the lateral extent of some of the reservoirs.
Introduction
The Oguta North cluster of consists of three prospects.
Together these prospects form a material opportunity.
The Oguta North prospect is a large fault bounded
closure, within a NW-SE trending fault block, north of
the Akri-Oguta field (Fig. 1). The prospect is located in
SPDC East’s OML 20; it straddles ADDAX’s OPL118
and has an areal closure ranging from about 14 sq. km
at the shallowest objective level (D1.0) to about 15 sq.
km at depth
NIGER DELTA Depobelts
1

4
5

the structural understanding in this part of the delta 40

41
38
N
and has resulted in the identification of the Oguta West
34
39

30 20 Oguta North cluster

North prospect, which is a large fault bounded hanging 26
43
wall closure against a northwest to southeast trending East NO
42
21 RT
45 44 35 HE
16 RN
27 DE
fault block north of the Akri-Oguta field. The 81 17
LT
A

culmination of this prospect is against an oblique fault

28 22
31
79 11 UG
46 HEL
LI
that could not be defined on the previously sub- 32 23 CENTRAL
36 29 SWAMP
optimally acquired old 2D. 24
18
13 14

33 COASTAL SWAMP
25 19

74 72
50 km OFFSHORE
The prospect is a material opportunity of about 15 77
71
km2, with a vertical closure of about 2000 ft. The Study Area
objective interval ranges in age from Late Eocene to 2.0 Regional Geological Setting
Early Oligocene when the delta was essentially lobate
Figure 1: Map showing location of study area in
and presumably river dominated. At Oguta-Akri field the Niger delta
2 R. Esedo, B. Ozumba SPE 98812

The Oguta North Cluster of prospects are located in the

OKWUIBOME NORTH
Northern delta Depobelt (Fig. 2). Sedimentation within
AMESHI.S
the northern depobelt was mainly fluvial dominated and OKWUIBOME
the delta shape was arcute at that time (Short and OGUTANORTH
Stauble 1967). Deposition of the paralic facies (Agbada OKPAI
Forrmation, Evamy et al., 1978) took place from the IKPELE.S
upper Eocene times onwards. Delta development at this ODUGRI
stage differs from succeeding periods in that the O ML60 OGUTA
Abakaliki High separated the Niger Delta system from AKRI. W
OPL135
the cross-River delta system to the east. This 5KM
configuration controlled to a great extent the OML20
sedimentation in this deltaic system.
The Eocene paleoclimatologically started as an Figure 2: Location Map showing the prospect
extension of the warming trend of the Late Paleocene and surrounding fields (inserted in blue is the line of
with climatic zones expanding polewards. This correlation)
warming trend led to a great radiation inorganic level,
which later contributed to the very high organic content 4.0 Data availability
of most shales of Eocene age (Berggren, 1978). The
In the Northern Depobelt there is a carpet type 2D (Fig.
presumed sourcing of the hydrocarbons of the Niger
5) seismic data set of various vintages. The 3D data set
delta mainly from Eocene or older sediments therefore
consists of a 15 fold, 462 km sq. Oguta 3D seismic
do not come as a surprise (Petters and Ekweozor,
survey acquired by GECO/Prakla between 1993 and
1984).
1994. Standard acquisition parameters were used. The
The objective sequence within the prospect is of P480 data quality is fair-to-good, except below 1800ms
age as defined from well penetrations in the Oguta where it shows some variation in quality within some
block. Stratigraphic correlation between the Oguta field areas close to the Oguta North oblique fault being quite
and the Oguta North Cluster of prospects is based on a poor. The 3D data even though re-processed to PSI
jump correlation of seismic reflection packages across some years later shows little difference from the
the Oguta boundary fault. Based on this, the objective original time migrated section. Well data was available
interval in the prospect is considered to be ~3,000 ft for about 12 competitor wells from the Akri and Odugri
thick from 4,600 to about 7,600 ftss (Figs. 3&4). fields. A total of thirty-one wells have been drilled by
SPDC in the Oguta field. High-resolution
biostratigraphic data are available for a number of
3.0 Adjacent Fields these other neighbouring wells, as well as good quality
logs. Checkshot data exists for about nine of the wells
The main SPDC producing fields in OML 20 include used in the study.
Oguta (STOIIP 880 MMBBLS), Egbema, (204 OGUTAFIELDTYPE OGUTANORTH ANIEZEUADTYPE
MMBBLS) and Egbema West (345 MMBBLS) fields. LOG PROSPECT LOG

Both the Egbema and Egbema West fields lie in the

Greater Ughelli depobelt with Oguta field, standing out
as the giant field in the Northern Delta Depobelt The
nearest fields to this prospect include Oguta field,
discovered via Oguta –1 in 1965 and presently has over
O
30 wells with a STOIIP of close to a billion barrels. To BJ SE
ECQ
the West of the Oguta field is Agip’s Akri field, which TI UE
VEN
currently has .12 wells. To the west of Akri and about 5 TS
CE

km southwest of the prospect is Agip’s Odugri field, T

with more than 13 wells drilled within the HS

T

accumulation. Other fields include Agip’s Akri-West TS

T
~12km
field, the Okpai-Okwuibome unitised field, and the
Ossu and Izombe fields, both owned by ADDAX,
which lie about 5 km to the southeast of the prospect.
North of Oguta North prospect in OML 39 is the
Anieze UAD. Figure 3: North-South correlation panel form
Anieze UAD to the Oguta field
3 New Opportunity Identification in a Mature Basin
Figure 4: Seismic line showing the prospect and
mapped levels within the objective sequence (jump
correlation with Oguta field)
5.0 Methodology (interpretation, well-to-
seismic tie, depth conversion)
The seismic calibration is based on a synthetic
seismogram using sonic and density logs from Oguta-1
with checkshot from the same well Generally, the
seismic-to-well tie is good and has been achieved with
a –4 ms time shift. This tie formed the first step in
picking events, which correspond to the tops of the
sands for interpretation. Seismic- to- well ties done for
Oguta-4, Oguta-30 and Akri-9 also show good ties to
the seismic data, increasing the confidence in the
picked events.
Mapping of the seismic reflections was carried out
using a Landmark trace interpretation system. SOF and
SEMBLANCE data were generated over the area of
interest to enhance fault interpretation, as it helped
resolve the continuity of faults. A total of six events
corresponding to the tops of reservoir sands in Akri-
Oguta field were mapped.
Time to depth conversion of the mapped time events
was carried out using a velocity model based on the
Oguta 3D migration velocities calibrated using TZ from
Oguta-1, Oguta-30 and Akri-9.
SPE 98812
2 km
Figure 5: Map showing the 2D seismic based
interpretation of OML 20 area, the outline of the 3D
survey and the oblique fault not visible based on the
2D seismic data
6.0 Geological Uncertainties & Risk
The main geological risks and uncertainties
associated with this prospect include:
a) Reservoir continuity, thickness and net to
gross is the main uncertainty in this prospect
giving dominantly fluvial depositional model
in the Eocene delta
b) Trap integrity at depth given the three possible
leak points as a result of the complex faulting
configuration defining the prospect and the
poor seismic resolution along the oblique
fault.
To address these risks the underlying studies were
carried out.
6.1 Regional Geology
A sequence stratigraphic correlation panel was made
using wells from Akri and Oguta fields. The sequence
stratigrphic correlation was done using methods as
described by Vail et al, 1977, Galloway 1989a, and
Vail & Wornardt, 1991. Results are shown as Figures
6 and 7.
4 R. Esedo, B. Ozumba SPE 98812

The sequence shows a lot of thinning and thickening of

sections characteristic of fluvially dominated
depositional regime.

The first method was a review of the paleobathymetry

of the wells that penetrated the P480, which is the
OML56
stratigraphic interval of the prospective sequence. This ANIEZE AMESHI
was carried out by averaging the gross paleobathymetry
of the depths assigned to the P480 stratigraphic section OKWUIBOME
in each of the wells namely, Anieze-1, Okwuibome-1,
Egbema-1, Egbema West-1, Ugada-1, Ossui-1, OGUTANORTH
STUDYAREA
Awaizombe-1, and Ameshi-1, mostly in the Northern
and Greater Ughelli Depobelts. The average OGUTA OSU

paleobathymetry was plotted on the base map and AWAZOMBE

coloured (Fig. 6). The reservoir thickness is expected to
be high (ca 40%)as the prospect lies within the inner 5KM

neritic to middle neritic realm.

GREATERUGHELLI DEPOBELT EGBEMA
UGADA

CO:CONTINENTAL Figure 7: P480 thickness map for the study area

IN; INNERNERITIC
CO
CO MN:MIDNERITIC 6.2 Fault Seal Analysis
ANIEZE
ANIEZE AMESHI ON: OUTERNERITIC
BA; BATHYAL Fault seal trap integrity analysis has been carried out on
IN MN
IN-MN the faults linked as shown in the figure below (Fig. 8).
OKWUIBOME
The juxtaposition method described by Allan, 1989 has
OKWUIBOM OGUTANORTH
been used. The algorithm has been the shale gouge
OGUTA
MN
MN STUDYAREA ratio as described by Yielding et al., 1997. Shale gouge
OSU
ratio values indicate a fairly good sealing capacity at
OSU several levels within the prospect in addition to
MN AWAZOMB juxtaposition seals.
MN-OO
N
N OGUTA
OGUTA
AWAZOMBe

ON BA
ON-BA
G
GRR
EE
AA
TE
TREUR
GH
UEG
LH
LIE
DL
EL
PO
IBDEE
LP
TOBELT
GREATERUGHELLI DEPOBELT ON-BA 5kmEGBEM
Figure 6: P480 paleobathymetry map for the study
area

The second method involved plotting all the thickness

of the P480 sequences penetrated by the wells within
this regional trend. These thicknesses were mapped out
for each well from the region, plotted and contoured on
the base map (Fig 7). The prospective interval shows a
thickness trend with the range of 3000-4000ft
confirming the seismic interpretation. The average sand
thickness within the prospective sequence is 50% taken
from wire line gamma ray log readings integrated with
the sidewall sample description for each well. This is in
agreement with the paleobathymetric setting.
Footwall shale
Reservoir thicknesses range of between 30 and 280 ft Hangingwall shale Sands
typically seen in the downthrown Oguta fault block are
expected to thicken towards the prospect.
5 New Opportunity Identification in a Mature Basin SPE 98812

Figure 8: Juxtaposition diagram across the major
bounding fault, view from the north showing a lot of
sand (white)- on-shale (coloured) juxtaposition
7.0 Conclusion
The 3D seismic data re-interpretation of the study area
has led to the discovery of the Oguta North prospect
(Fig. 9), not evident on the 2D data, mainly due to
improved fault imaging. The Cluster of prospects have
appreciable volumes and the proximity to the Oguta
field facilities makes for good economics.
Integration of 2D and 3D data in a regional context will
help unravel prospectivity in some areas, especially
around the periphery of the delta
O G UTA N O R TH
M odelled fault
IKPELE SO U TH O G U TA N O R TH
IKPELE SO U TH
O G U TA FIELD
Ocean: Micropaleoontol., v. 24, no. 4, p. 337
- 370.
Evamy, B. D., Haremboure, J., W/kanerling P.,
Knaap, W.A., Lolloy F.A., and Rowlands, P. H.,
1978. Hydrocarbon habitat of the Tertiary Niger Delta.
Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bull.v. 62, p. 1-39.
Galloway, W. E., (1989a). Genetic Strategraphic
Sequences in Basin Analysis 1; Architecture and
Genesis of flooding surface bounded dpeositional units.
Am. Assoc. Pet. Geol. Bull., v. 73, p. 125 -142
Short, K. C., and A. J. Stauble, 1967. Outline of
geology of Niger delta; Amer. Assoc. Petrol. Geol.
Bull., v. 57; p. 761 - 779.
Vail, P. R., Mitchum, R.M. and S. Thompson, 1977.
Seismic stratigraphy and global changes of sea level
Part3; Relative changes of Sea Level from coastal
onlap. in Payton, C. E., ed., Seismic stratigraphy -
Applications to Hydrocarbon Exploration; American
Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 26, p. 83
- 97.
Vail, P. R and Wornardt W. W.,1991. An integrated
approach to exploration and development in the 90s:
Well log-seismic sequence stratigraphy analysis, Trans.
Of the 41st Annual convention of the Gulf Coast Assoc.
of Geol. Soc. Houston, Texas, Vol. XLI, Pp. 630 – 650

Petters, S. W. and C. M. Ekweozor, 1982. Origin of

Figure 9: Depth Map of the F300 level showing the some mid-Cretaceous black shales in the Benue
accumulation in the Akri-Oguta field and the Oguta Trough, Nigeria. Palaecol. v.40, p.311-320.
North prospect
Yielding, G. Freeman, B., and Needham, D.T., 1997.
Quantitative fault seal prediction, AAPG Bull., V.81,
pp. 897-917.

Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the various people in SPDC
who contributed to the finalisation of this work. Special
thanks go to the Exploration (BXE) leadership team for
permitting the publication of this work.

References
Allan, U.S., 1989, Model for hydrocarbon migration
and entrapment within faulted structures, AAPG Bull.
v. 73, pp. 803-811.

Berggren, W. A., 1978. Recent advances in Cenozoic

planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy,
biochronology and biogeography of the Atlantic