MULTISCALE FRACTAL CHARACTERIZATION OF HIERARCHICAL HETEROGENEITY IN SANDSTONE RESERVOIRS

Heterogeneities affecting reservoirs often develop at different scales. Previous studies have described these heterogeneities using different parameters depending on their size, and there is no one comprehensive method of reservoir evaluation that considers every scale. This paper introduces a multiscale fractal approach to quantify consistently the hierarchical heterogeneities of sandstone reservoirs. Materials taken from typical depositional pattern and aerial photography are used to represent three main types of sandstone reservoir: turbidite, braided, and meandering river system. Subsequent multiscale fractal dimension analysis using the Bouligand–Minkowski method characterizes well the hierarchical heterogeneity of the sandstone reservoirs. The multiscale fractal dimension provides a curve function that describes the heterogeneity at different scales. The heterogeneity of a reservoir’s internal structure decreases as the observational scale increases. The shape of a deposit’s facies is vital for quan...