Chapter 07

SUBSURFACE MAPPING
AND CROSS SECTION

HCMUT-2021
7.1 SUBSURFACE MAPPING 7.2 CROSS SECTION
• INTRODUCTION • INTRODUCTION
• LATERAL CORRELATION OF LOGGED • THE ELEMENTS OF A CROSS SECTION
DATA –INPUT DATA
– DEFINING SURFACE –LINE OF SECTION
–SCALE
– USING SURFACES TO DELIMIT
UNITS –DATUM
• THE CONSTRUCTION OF 2-DIMENSIONAL
– CONTOUR MAPPING
CROSS SECTIONS
– MECHANICAL & INTERPRETIVE –STRUCTURAL CROSS SECTIONS
CONTOURING –STRATIGRAPHIC CROSS SECTIONS
• STRUCTURAL CONTOUR MAP –CORRELATION AND GEOLOGICAL
• ISOPACH AND OTHER SUBSURFACE INTERPRETATION
MAPS –COMPLETING THE CROSS SECTION
• CROSS-SECTION DIAGRAMS IN 3
DIMENSIONS
–FENCE DIAGRAMS
–BLOCK DIAGRAMS
• COMPUTER-DRAWN CROSS SECTIONs
 7.1 SUBSURFACE MAPPING
• INTRODUCTION
• LATERAL CORRELATION OF LOGGED DATA
– DEFINING SURFACE
– USING SURFACES TO DELIMIT UNITS
– CONTOUR MAPPING
– MECHANICAL & INTERPRETIVE CONTOURING
• STRUCTURAL CONTOUR MAP
• ISOPACH AND OTHER SUBSURFACE MAPS
• RESERVOIR MAPS
 THE BASIC SUBSURFACE MAPPING
PHILOSOPHY
One essential requirement is a good understanding
of the basic principles of structural geology,
petroleum geology, stratigraphy, and other related
disciplines
Accurate correlations (well log and seismic) are very
important for reliable geologic interpretation.
All of the subsurface data must be used to develop a
resonable and accurate subsurface interpretation.
Interpretive contouring is the most acceptable
method of contouring subsurface structural maps.
Sufficient time must be allotted to conduct a detailed
subsurface mapping study.
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CAUSIONS TO THE
MAKERS AND
USERS OF MAPS

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MAPPING CONCEPTUAL WOKFLOW
BASIC KNOWLEDGE FOR RESERVOIR
CORRELATION & MAPPING
FLOW UNIT
FLUID CONTACT
RESERVOIR CORRELATION
 Contour Mapping
The time-consuming task of gathering
subsurface information and interpreting it leads
to the contour map, the subsurface geologist's
most valuable tool.
It is more than a device for displaying and
relating borehole information in plan; it is a
vehicle by which knowledge is extended
beyond and below control wells. Subsurface
contour mapping is exploring.

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 I.2.Structural Contour Maps
• The great bulk of subsurface mapping is
structural contouring, in which the configuration
of a marker surface (which may or may not be a
time-rock surface) is expressed in terms of
elevation with respect to a horizontal surface,
normally sea level.
• First the marker is identified in each well log.

• Next the effect of topographic altitude is

removed by subtracting the elevation of the
derrick floor (D.F.) or the Kelly bushing (K.B.)-
the usual zero points of well logs-from the
logged depth of the marker ( Figure ).
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Adequacy of Contours for Depicting Structure
•Structural contour maps alone are sufficient
to depict the structure of many petroleum
provinces.
Except for its salt domes and diapiric shale
plugs, the Gulf coastal plain has relatively
simple structure, with low-relief folds associated
with oblique normal faults.
•The successive stages of folding in the Tom

O'Connor field and their influence on oil

accumulation are adequately depicted without
resorting to cross sections (Figure),
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A rule of thumb is that geological regions in which subsidence
is the predominant motion of the basement can usually be
described by contour mapping alone.

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•On the other hand, regions in which basement
blocks have been differentially uplifted may
contain structure so intense or complex that
profiles together with maps are necessary to
depict it bellow Fig .
• Map alone is not a sufficient description of the
trapping of petroleum in the Brentwood field,
California

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•It must be supplemented by a cross section,
which illuminates the high-angle faulting and the
truncation and sealing of the Martinez producing
sand by a channel subsequently filled with
Meganos Shale.
In belts of low-angle overthrusts, structural
•

contours are wholly inadequate to describe the

structure of a marker, except in local spots such
as the Painter Reservoir field proper (Figure ),
southwestern Wyoming.

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41
Isopachs of Rock (Lithologic) Units

Addition to representing time-rock units,

thickness maps also lend themselves to the
depiction of the volume of productive reservoirs
(Figure ) or of simply-shaped masses of
relatively uniform lithology.

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55
Figure …and Figure … illustrate a productive deltaic sand body in the
Marchand trend of the Anadarko basin of western Oklahoma. Here the delta
front sand body depicted by the isopach map is virtually coexistent with the oil
reservoir.
Figure … shows the thickness of the "reef" limestone facies of the Permian Horseshoe
atoll in west Texas
 Isolith Maps

Commonly important in the case stratigraphic

traps consist of multiple thin bodies of a
particular rock type, and it is desirable to
illustrate, in map form, the trends and areas of
such composite fields.
Figure .. shows typical logged sequences of
potentially productive granite wash beds in the
Palo Duro basin, Texas Panhandle. It is a true
isopach map.

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57
 Figure … (Source area was Precambrian basement exposed in Matador arch
fault block) shows the thickness and extent of a single productive granite
wash lobe

Figure shows the thickness and extent of a single productive

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granite wash lobe.
Isopach maps vs isochore maps

Thickness maps are a fundamental tool in

structural geology. They represent thickness
variations and thickness trends of a given unit.
Isochore and isopach maps are two different
types of thickness map. To make it clear from the
beginning:
An isopach is a line that connects points of
equal true thickness (i.e. measured
perpendicular to bedding), whereas
•An isochore is a line that connects points of
equal vertical thickness.
Isopach maps vs isochore maps (cont.)

Figure 1 depicts a perfect cilindrical fold, where the western flank dips
more than the eastern flank. Well 1 cuts the yellow bed at a higher angle
than well 3, and therefore, the vertical thickness found in well 1 is larger
than in well 3. Well 2 cuts the bed where is horizontal, and therefore the
vertical thickness equals the real thickness. The real thickness of the
yellow bed is constant: 500 m.

If we would do an isopach map of

the yellow unit, it would show a
constant value of 500 m, because
this unit doesn't show any
thickness (true) variation... It would
be a pretty boring map :-). But it
would be telling us quite a lot
already; for starting, we could think
Fig…A constant thickness layer is
we are dealing with a parallel fold drilled at different angles by three
formed by flexural flow (for wells
example).
 Compound Maps

Figure illustrates, by contours and areal

patterns, the changes in thickness and in the
ratio of sand to shale (NTG) across the Rocky
Mountains region during the deposition of
Upper Cretaceous rocks.

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60
 Subcrop Maps

Subcrop maps are important in depicting

large fields associated with unconformities.
Figure .. shows the giant Oklahoma City field
with its pattern of truncated productive pre-
Pennsylvanian units visible directly beneath
the basal Pennsylvanian unconformity.

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62
In Algeria, there is long-range migration of
oil from subcropping Silurian source
shales to Cambro-Ordovician fields
beneath the unconformity, such as the
super-giant filed, Hassi Messaoud (Figure ...)

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64
Miscellaneous Maps

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 METHODS OF CONTOURING
Mechanical Contouring
-One may assume that the slope of the surface being
contoured is uniform between points of control.
Parallel Contouring
-The contour lines are drawn parallel or nearly
parallel to each other.
Equa-spaced Contouring
-The method assumes uniform slop over an entire
area.
Interpretive Contouring
-The method has extreme geologic licence to
prepare a map to reflect the best interpretation of the
study area.
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 RULER OF CONTOURING
• A contour line cannot cross itself or any other
contour.
• A contour line must pass between points whose
values are lower and higher than it own value.
• A contour line on a continuous surface must close
within the mapped area or end at the edge map.
• The contour interval on a map should be constant.
• All maps should include a graphic scale.
• All contour maps should have a chosen reference
to which the contour values are compared.

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 Contour Mapping
 Petrel Mapping Module by Petrosys
 Petrel Mapping Module by Petrosys extends existing Petrel E&P
software platform mapping capabilities, enabling the editing and
creation of high quality maps. The Petrosys mapping window in the
Petrel platform produces high quality mapping output for printing,
PDFs, or images for reports, and re-projection of 2D surfaces, 3D
grid horizons, and seismic interpretation in any coordinate reference
system.
Features
• Flexible map legend, templates customized to meet organization
standards
• Sophisticated overposting control Contour editing and clean-up
• Contouring up to faults together with fault direction indicators
• Fine control of fonts, color and line styles for all mapping elements
• Thematic mapping of culture data.
The Petrel Mapping Module by Petrosys map window is
template driven, allowing for use of standard templates for
company layouts.
PDF outputs preserve the map layers from the original.
The user scan turn on and off different layers directly
from the PDF viewer.
RESERVOIR MAPS
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7.2. CROSS SECTION
INTRODUCTION
THE ELEMENTS OF A CROSS SECTION
INPUT DATA
LINE OF SECTION
SCALE
DATUM
THE CONSTRUCTION OF 2-DIMENSIONAL CROSS
SECTIONS
STRUCTURAL CROSS SECTIONS
STRATIGRAPHIC CROSS SECTIONS
CORRELATION AND GEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION
COMPLETING THE CROSS SECTION
CROSS-SECTION DIAGRAMS IN 3 DIMENSIONS
FENCE DIAGRAMS
BLOCK DIAGRAMS
COMPUTER-DRAWN CROSS SECTIONs
INTRODUCTION
Definition: A cross section is a profile showing
geological features in a vertical plane through the
earth.

There are two categories of cross sections:

structural and stratigraphic.
Structural cross sections illustrate present-
day structural features such as dips, folds, and faults.
Stratigraphic cross sections show
characteristics such as formation thicknesses,
lithologic sequences, stratigraphic correlations, facies
changes, unconformities, fossil zones, and ages.
Cross sections are also useful for display purposes.
Diagrammatic cross sections show broad relationships
and serve to orient the audience to the general geology
of a region (Fig: 06)
Fig : 06
THE ELEMENTS OF A CROSS SECTION

1. INPUT DATA
2. LINE OF SECTION
3. SCALE
4. DATUM
 Input Data
Different types of data can be used in developing a cross
section.
The diagram may be based on outcrop information, or
on subsurface data derived from wells and geophysical
surveys, or it may use both outcrop and subsurface
data.
 Outcrop information are particularly useful in frontier
areas of petroleum exploration, where subsurface
information is often sparse or unavailable.
 Many geological cross sections made for petroleum
exploration rely on subsurface data.
 The geologist should recorrelate all logs to ensure
accuracy and consistency.
Fig : 07

Distortion of true thickness (t) and true dip (d) measurements

due to borehole deviation; tA= apparent thickness and dA=
apparent dip.
 Fig : 08

Segments of the borehole which do not lie in the plane of section

are dashed onto the cross sections. Due to foreshortening, the
dashed segments show only apparent deviation. This can be
seen by comparison with the inset plan view
 Line of Section
After gathering available data, the next in cross section
development step is to choose the line of section, i.e.,
the line along which the cross section would intersect
the surface of the earth (Fig 08)
Cross sections may trend perpendicular to strike,
oblique to strike, or parallel to strike (Fig 09)
Fence Diagrams

In petroleum exploration, the development of a

prospect is a three-dimensional problem. One of
the drawbacks of cross sections is that they are
limited to two dimensions. How can we illustrate the
three-dimensional geology of an area?
The most common type of diagram showing
geological relationships in three dimensions is a fence
diagram (Figure 1). Fence diagrams consist of a three-
dimensional network of geological cross sections
drawn in two dimensions. The diagram is built on a
map base which is seen in plan view.
Figure 01
Block Diagrams

 Along with the fence diagram, another type of diagram

illustrating three- dimensional geological relationships
is a block diagram (Figure 5).
 This type of figure is a two-dimensional representation
of a rectangular block. Two intersecting cross sections
often form the sides of the block; the top of the block
shows either a mapped surface or relief on the
uppermost geological boundary shown in the cross
sections. The block may be rotated to achieve the most
effective viewing angle, and it may be drawn with or
without the use of perspective.
Figure 05
Block Diagrams
 Isometric block diagrams
do not employ perspective.
opposite sides of the block
remain parallel, making
the distant end of the
diagram appear to be larger
(Figure 6 , Figure 7, and
Figure 8).
The top of this type of
block diagram may be
given any degree of tilt
toward the viewer.
Figure 06
Figure 07

Figure 08
Based on one basic completed map and X section, please
explain the geological evolution processes of this area
The end