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1 Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2E3; george.pemberton{at}ualberta.ca
2 Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2E3; mgingras{at}ualberta.ca
S. George Pemberton is a professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and holds a Canada Research Chair in Petroleum Geology (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council). George's field of research and expertise are in the field of ichnology, the investigation of animal-sediment interactions in both recent and ancient environments. Current research activities include the application of trace-fossil studies in sequence stratigraphy and the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons. Recent research activities involve emphasis on the Cardium and Viking formations, the Athabasca and the Cold Lake oil sands of Alberta, as well as the offshore Hibernia, Ben Nevis, Terra Nova, and Venture fields.Murray Gingras received his diploma in mechanical engineering technology from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in 1987, his B.Sc. degree from the University of Alberta in 1995, and his Ph.D. from the University of Alberta in 1999. Gingras has worked professionally in the hydrocarbon industry at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and as an assistant professor at the University of New Brunswick. His research focuses on applying sedimentology and ichnology to sedimentary rock successions, as a paleoecological tool, a reservoir-development tool, and in process-driven sedimentology.
Recent research shows that ichnology has significant application to production geology. As such, permeability enhancement in bioturbated media has been recognized in five interrelated scenarios: (1) surface-constrained textural heterogeneities; (2) nonconstrained textural heterogeneities; (3) weakly defined textural heterogeneities; (4) diagenetic textural heterogeneities; and (5) cryptic bioturbation.
Our data demonstrate that substrate-controlled ichnofossil assemblages can enhance the permeability and vertical transmissivity of an otherwise relatively impermeable matrix. Permeability enhancement develops when burrows excavated into a firm ground are filled with a contrasting sediment from the overlying strata. Fill contrasting with the encasing firm-ground substrate leads to anisotropic porosity and permeability. The same concept can be applied to carbonate reservoirs, where burrow fills are subjected to different diagenetic phases. This may also lead to anisotropic porosity and permeability that can have dramatic effects on reserve calculations.
If the burrow fills have enhanced permeability but burrow effects are not recognized, reserve calculations will be too low. Likewise, if the burrow fills have reduced permeability, the reserve calculations may be too high. Understanding the flow dynamics of the resulting anisotropic permeability provides a potentially powerful reservoir-development tool. The implications are far reaching, particularly pertaining to calculations of reserves and their deliverability.
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  K. J. Cunningham, M. C. Sukop, H. Huang, P. F. Alvarez, H. A. Curran, R. A. Renken, and J. F. Dixon Prominence of ichnologically influenced macroporosity in the karst Biscayne aquifer: Stratiform 'super-K' zones Geological Society of America Bulletin, January 1, 2009; 121(1-2): 164 - 180. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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