Sedimentology, petrography, and reservoir quality of the Zarga and Ghazal formations in the Keyi oilfield, Muglad Basin, Sudan

The Zarga and Ghazal formations constitute important reservoirs across the Muglad Basin, Sudan. Nevertheless, the sedimentology and diagenesis of these reservoir intervals have hitherto received insignificant research attention. Detailed understanding of sedimentary facies and diagenesis could enhance geological and geophysical data for better exploration and production and minimize risks. In this study, subsurface reservoir cores representing the Zarga formation (1114.70–1118.50 m and 1118.50–1125.30 m), and the Ghazal formation (91,403.30–1406.83 m) were subjected to sedimentological (lithofacies and grain size), petrographic/mineralogic (thin section, XRD, SEM), and petrophysical (porosity and permeability) analyses to describe their reservoir quality, provenance, and depositional environments. Eight (8) different lithofacies, texturally characterized as moderately to well-sorted, and medium to coarse-grained, sub-feldspathic to feldspathic arenite were distinguished in the cored intervals. Mono-crystalline quartz (19.3–26.2%) predominated over polycrystalline quartz (2.6–13.8%), feldspar (6.6–10.3%), and mica (1.4–7.6%) being the most prominent constituent of the reservoir rocks. Provenance plot indicated the sediments were from a transitional continental provenance setting. The overall vertical sequence, composition, and internal sedimentary structures of the lithofacies suggest a fluvial-to-deltaic depositional environment for the Ghazal formation, while the Zarga formation indicated a dominant deltaic setting. Kaolinite occurs mainly as authigenic mineral, while carbonates quantitatively fluctuate with an insignificant amount of quartz overgrowths in most of the analyzed cores. Integration of XRD, SEM, and thin section analysis highlights that kaolinite, chlorite, illite, and smectite are present as authigenic minerals. Pore-destroying diagenetic processes (e.g. precipitation, cementation, and compaction etc.) generally prevailed over pore-enhancing processes (e.g. dissolution). Point-counted datasets indicate a better reservoir quality for the Ghazal formation (ɸ = 27.7% to 30.7%; K = 9.65 mD to 1196.71 mD) than the Zarga formation (17.9% to 24.5%; K = 1051.09 mD to 1090.45 mD).