Quartz Cementation In Sandstones

Quartz is the major porosity-reducing cement in many sandstonesequences. Therefore, Quartz cements represent a key source ofpetrographic and geochemical information about diagenetic history.They are also the major determinant of sandstone reservoirquality. While the ultimate goal of research in this area is to makerobust predictions about the amount and distribution of quartzcements in a wide variety of depositional and burial settings,there are nevertheless large areas of the subject that are poorlyunderstood and remain the subject of controversy. The aim of this Volume, which is based partly on paperssubmitted to a 1996 workshop in Belfast, and partly on invitedcontributions, is to bring together some of the main strands ofresearch into quartz cements and provide a focus for debate anddirection for future research. This book will be welcomed by sedimentologists, petrographersand geochemists involved in sandstone digenesis, as well as bypetroleum geologists seeking a deeper understanding of the factorsinfluencing reservoir porosity and permeability. Contributors from 11 countries and 4 continents. Represents the benchmark in quartz cement research. If you are a member of the International Association ofSedimentologists, for purchasing details, please see:http://www.iasnet.org/publications/details.asp?code=SP29

Quartz is the major porosity-reducing cement in many sandstone sequences. Therefore, Quartz cements represent a key source of petrographic and geochemical information about diagenetic history. They are also the major determinant of sandstone reservoir quality. While the ultimate goal of research in this area is to make robust predictions about the amount and distribution of quartz cements in a wide variety of depositional and burial settings, there are nevertheless large areas of the subject that are poorly understood and remain the subject of controversy. The aim of this Volume, which is based partly on papers submitted to a 1996 workshop in Belfast, and partly on invited contributions, is to bring together some of the main strands of research into quartz cements and provide a focus for debate and direction for future research. This book will be welcomed by sedimentologists, petrographers and geochemists involved in sandstone digenesis, as well as by petroleum geologists seeking a deeper understanding of the factors influencing reservoir porosity and permeability. Contributors from 11 countries and 4 continents. Represents the benchmark in quartz cement research. If you are a member of the International Association of Sedimentologists, for purchasing details, please see: http://www.iasnet.org/publications/details.asp?code=SP29

Diagenesis affects all sediments after their deposition andincludes a fundamental suite of physical, chemical and biologicalprocesses that control the texture, mineralogy and fluid-flowproperties of sedimentary rocks. Understanding the processes andproducts of diagenesis is thus a critical component in the analysisof the evolution of sedimentary basins, and has practicalimplications for subsurface porosity destruction, preservation andgeneration. This in turn is of great relevance to the petroleum andwater industries, as well as to the location and nature of someeconomic mineral deposits. Combines key papers in sandstone diagenesis published inSedimentology over the last 30 years. Records the development of diagenesis from the description ofgrain shapes through provenance, petrography and analyticalgeochemistry to predictive models of diagenetic process. Provides definitions and explanations of the terms and conceptsused in diagenesis. If you are a member of the International Association ofSedimentologists, for purchasing details, please see:http://www.iasnet.org/publications/details.asp?code=RP4

Clay minerals are one of the most important groups of minerals thatdestroy permeability in sandstones. However, they also react withdrilling and completion fluids and induce fines migration duringhydrocarbon production. They are a very complex family of mineralsthat are routinely intergrown with each other, contain a wide rangeof solid solutions and form by a variety of processes under a widerange temperatures and rock and fluid compositions. In this volume, clay minerals in sandstones are reviewed interms of their mineralogy and general occurrence, their stable andradiogenic isotope geochemistry, XRD quantification, their effectson the petrophysical properties of sandstones and theirrelationships to sequence stratigraphy and palaeoclimate. Thecontrols on various clay minerals are addressed and a variety ofgeochemical issues, including the importance of mass flux, links tocarbonate mineral diagenesis and linked clay mineral diagenesis ininterbedded mudstone-sandstone are explored. A number of casestudies are included for kaolin, illite and chlorite cements, andthe occurrence of smectite in sandstone is reviewed. Experimentalrate data for clay cements in sandstones are reviewed and there aretwo model-based case studies that address the rates of growth ofkaolinite and illite. The readership of this volume will include sedimentologists andpetrographers who deal with the occurrence, spatial and temporaldistribution patterns and importance of clay mineral cements insandstones, geochemists involved in unraveling the factors thatcontrol clay mineral cement formation in sandstones and petroleumgeoscientists involved in predicting clay mineral distribution insandstones. The book will also be of interest to geologistsinvolved in palaeoclimate studies basin analysis. Latest geochemical data on clays in sandstones Provides important information for geologists involved inbasin analysis, sandstone petrology and petroleum geology If you are a member of the International Association ofSedimentologists (IAS), for purchasing details, please see:http://www.iasnet.org/publications/details.asp?code=SP34

The topic of sediment diagenesis is of fundamental importance to industry in the evaluation of hydrocarbon and water reservoir rocks. Detailed knowledge of the diagenetic textures, fabrics, and minerals, and a prediction of the regional diagenetic response, partly controls hydrocarbon recovery programmes. In other words, knowledge of the diagenesis can aid (or even control) conservation policy. Similarly, facies and diagenetic trends w.ithin basins can influence exploration policy. This volume incorporates the majority of the principal contributions given to the NATO Advanced Study Institute held in the University of Reading, U.K., from July 12th-25th, 1981, at which the major themes of carbonate and terrigenous clastic sediments were treated sequentially from deposition to deep burial. Eighty selected scientists from twelve NATO and three other countries participated in the Institute. The keynote addresses which acted as the touchstones for discussion are presented here in the expectation that they will stimulate a still wider audience. We gratefully acknowledge the award of a grant from the Scientific Affairs Division of NATO to run the Institute, and also the cooperation of the University of Reading. Mrs. D. M. Powell helped in many ways with the organisation, and also retyped the entire manuscript of this book. A. Parker B. lv. Sellwood vii FACIES, SEQUENCES AND SAND-BODIES OF THE PRINCIPAL CLASTIC DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS T.Elliott Department of Geology University College of Swansea Singleton Park, Swansea SA 2 8PP Wales, U.K.