Dolomitization, microfacies and their impact on reservoir quality of the Upper Dalan Formation in South Pars Gas Field

Investigating of dolomitization and its effects on reservoir quality of the Upper Dalan Formation with Permian-Triassic in age is the aim of this study. In this section, the Upper Dalan Formation consists of carbonates and evaporite rocks with a thickness of 265m. Eleven carbonate- evaporate microfacies have been distinguished on the basis of depositional textures, petrographic analysis and present fauna. These microfacies were deposited in three facies belts including tidal flat, lagoon and carbonate shoal. Absents of turbidite (calciturbidite) and tempesties deposits, slump structures, large barrier reef, widespread tidal flat and lagoonal facies with aboundent of mud matrix indicated that depositional setting of this interval was a homoclinal carbonate ramp. Based on petrographic studies, 4 types of dolomite including dolomicrite, dolomicrosparite, dolosparite and dolomite cement are recognized. Porosity and permeability data in varies dolomites reveals that in most dolomite the amount of permeability is not directly related to whole porosity, but depends mainly on the amount of connected porosities through bottleneck holes and is associated with increasing in dolomite crystal sizes. Therefore, from the early stage of dolomitization in the form of dolomicrite toward increasing in the rate of dolomitization with larger crystal size and with the form of subhedral and euhedral crystals, the reservoir properties had a high visible improvement. Ultimately, by persisting of dolomitization and growth of dolomite crystals toward each other and disappearance of bottleneck holes and creation of dolomite cements, reservoir properties destroyed. Dolomitization increased reservoir quality in grain dominated dolo-packstones with planner crystal texture.