Quantitative multiparameter prediction of fault-related fractures: a case study of the second member of the Funing Formation in the Jinhu Sag, Subei Basin

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, the analysis of faults with different scales and orientations reveals that the distribution of fractures always develops toward a higher degree of similarity with faults, and a method for calculating the multiscale areal fracture density is proposed using fault-fracture self-similarity theory. Based on the fracture parameters observed in cores and thin sections, the initial apertures of multiscale fractures are determined using the constraint method with a skewed distribution. Through calculations and statistical analyses of in situ stresses in combination with physical experiments on rocks, a numerical geomechanical model of the in situ stress field is established. The fracture opening ability under the in situ stress field is subsequently analyzed. Combining the fracture aperture data and areal fracture density at different scales, a calculation model is proposed for the prediction of multiscale and multiperiod fracture parameters, including the fracture porosity, the magnitude and direction of maximum permeability and the flow conductivity. Finally, based on the relationships among fracture aperture, density, and the relative values of fracture porosity and permeability, a fracture development pattern is determined.

Keywords

• Fault-related fracture
• Quantitative prediction
• Development pattern
• Multiscale fracture
• Numerical simulation
• Jinhu Sag