An integrated approach to reservoir characterization in the Illinois Basin

The Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) possesses reservoir characterization capabilities that derive from the use of geological and engineering data and techniques including: porosity and permeability measurements, core-flow experimentation, petrography, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray, x-ray diffraction, workstations and computer modeling of geological, geochemical and engineering data. Additionally, a large core and sample library is maintained. Our approach has been to define several areas of scientific inquiry, select two target reservoirs, and plan a short- to long-term research agenda. The multidisciplinary tasks necessary to implement such a program are illustrated. This paper briefly illustrates three facets of the current project: first, a field where there are severe limitations on the available data; second, an improved methodology for local use of old electric logs that make up much of our data base; and third, a field with a relatively large amount of data. -from Authors