What is it about?
This study looks at how tar (a very heavy type of oil) affects the rocks and cracks in the Asmari reservoir in Iran. Oil companies want to understand how fluids move through the rocks, but tar can fill up the small spaces and fractures that normally let oil and gas flow. Using advanced imaging logs and petrophysical data, this research shows how tar changes the way fractures appear and reduces the actual ability of the rock to let fluids pass through. Even when rocks look like they should produce well because of their porosity, tar blocks the flow. The results give a clearer picture of how tar changes reservoir quality and help improve production planning in similar oil fields.
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Why is it important?
This work is important because many oil reservoirs worldwide face problems with heavy oil and tar. Standard logging and core data often overestimate how much oil can actually be produced in these reservoirs. By combining detailed fracture imaging with petrophysical analysis, this study provides a more accurate way to assess reservoir performance. These insights can prevent costly overestimation of reserves, improve field development strategies, and support more realistic production forecasts in tar-affected reservoirs.
Perspectives
From my perspective as a geoscientist, this research highlights the importance of not relying only on conventional reservoir evaluation methods when heavy oil or tar is present. Integrating imaging logs with petrophysical data provides a much more reliable understanding of how fractures behave in real conditions. I believe this approach can be applied not only in the Asmari Formation but also in many other carbonate reservoirs around the world that suffer from similar tar-related challenges. This work is part of my long-term effort to connect detailed structural geology with practical reservoir engineering solutions.
Dr Zohreh Movahed
zmovahed@gmail.com
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Impact of Tar Saturation on Fracture Networks and Reservoir Quality: Integrated Structural and Petrophysical Analysis of the Asmari Formation, Asian Science Bulletin, September 2025, Science Alert,
DOI: 10.3923/asb.2025.224.253.
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