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Sequence stratigraphy, structural framework and hydrocarbon migration of

Ariki Field, Nigeria

Article  in  Petroleum Exploration and Development · February 2016

DOI: 10.1016/S1876-3804(16)30009-X

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 PETROLEUM EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Volume 43, Issue 1, January 2016
Online English edition of the Chinese language journal

Cite this article as: PETROL. EXPLOR. DEVELOP., 2016, 43(1): 82–88. RESEARCH PAPER

Sequence stratigraphy, structural framework and

hydrocarbon migration of Ariki Field, Nigeria
AHANEKU C V1,*, OKORO A U1, ODOH B I1, ANOMNEZE D O2, CHIMA K I3, EJEKE C F1, OKOLI I N1
1. Department of Geological Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria;
2. Department of Subsurface and Engineering, Nubian Group, Lagos, Nigeria;
3. Department of Physics/Geology/Geophysics, Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Abstract: The structural framework and stratigraphy of the Ariki Field in the Western Shallow Offshore Depobelt, Niger Delta Basin,
Nigeria are interpreted using well logs and 3-D seismic data, and the control of rift on hydrocarbon accumulation is analyzed. Five max-
imum flooding surfaces and five sequence boundaries are identified in the major reservoir succession of Agbada Formation in the field;
and the structural framework of the field is controlled by the major growth faults, minor faults and rollover anticlines formed by
synsedimentary tectonic movements. There are a total of seven faults identified across the field, including three major faults and four mi-
nor faults. On the western flank of the field, graben and horst-like structures were bounded by minor faults. Fault throw analysis shows
that below 1800 ms, the major faults with large fault throws act as hydrocarbon migration pathways, while above 1 800 ms, faults with
small throws act as seals of hydrocarbon traps. There are four-way dip rollover anticlines and three-way downdip traps created by the
minor faults. Six other prospective traps (drilling targets) were identified, which have promising oil accumulation potential.

Key words: Niger Delta; Ariki Field; sequence stratigraphy; structural framework; hydrocarbon migration and accumulation; rollover
anticline; fault seal

Introduction complexity of structures, particularly faults, has been a major

The Niger Delta basin is situated on the continental margin
of the Gulf of Guinea in Equatorial West Africa between Lat-
itudes 30 N to 60 N and Longitudes 50 E to 80 E. Most traps in
the Niger Delta basin are structural, although stratigraphic
traps are not uncommon. The traps developed during syn-sedi-
mentary deformation of the Agbada paralic succession[12].
Structural complexity increases from the north to the south in
response to increasing instability of the under-compacted,
over-pressured shales of the Tertiary Akata Formation[3]. The
amount of throw and shale/clay smeared along a fault plane
ties directly into the fault’s sealing capacity. Faults can be
sealing if either its throw is less than 150 m (492ft) or the
amount of shale/clay along the fault plane is greater than
25%[45].
The Ariki Field, which is located in southwest of the Niger
Delta basin, exhibits one of the best examples of an old hy-
drocarbon producing field or brown field. Most of the identi-
fied structural closures within the field have been drilled and
produced. The discoveries are commercial but due to struc-
tural complexity, production has been on steady decline. The
issue in developing and exploring the remaining hydrocarbon
traps within the field. It is therefore very important to under-
stand and evaluate in detail the relationships between fault
networks and stratigraphy. The objectives of this study include
interpretation of the structural framework and stratigraphic
sequence, analysis of the control of faults on hydrocarbon
accumulation, and evaluation of the risks associated with the
structures through fault-seal analysis.
1. Geology of the study area
The study area is located in the Western Shallow Offshore
Depobelt of the Niger Delta basin, Nigeria (Fig. 1). It is ac-
cepted by most researchers [6-8] that the Niger Delta basin
originated from the opening of South Atlantic as a result of
the rifting and separation of the south American and African
Plates. The basin has been subsiding since the Paleocene, at
the re-entrant of Benue Rift. Sediment accumulation in the
basin is over 12 km in thickness[79].
The subsurface stratigraphy of the Niger Delta basin consist
of three major lithostratigraphic units which are the monoto-

Received date: 21 Jun. 2015; Revised date: 29 Nov. 2015.

* Corresponding author. E-mail: cv.ahaneku@unizik.edu.ng
Copyright © 2016, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina. Published by Elsevier BV. All rights reserved.
 AHANEKU C V et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2016, 43(1): 82–88
Fig. 1. Location of study area.
nous marine shales at the base (the Akata Formation); the
interbedded fluvio-deltaic sandstones, siltstones, and shales
which form the typical paralic portion of the delta (the Agbada
Formation); and the uppermost massive non-marine sands (the
Benin Formation). The units decrease in age basin-ward, re-
flecting the overall progradation of depositional environments
within the delta. In response to the rapid sediment influx and
growth faulting, a series of east-west trending depocenters
characterize the complex delta[3].
The Niger Delta basin contains only one identified petro-
leum system[2, 910]. It is referred to as the Tertiary Niger Delta
(Akata-Agbada) petroleum system. The wide range of hydro-
carbon distribution in the basin can be attributed to the timing
of trap formation relative to petroleum migration.
The marine shales of the Akata Formation and the Lower
Agbada Formation in the Niger Delta basin are characterized
with high content of organic carbon, located in the peak stage
of hydrocarbon generation window, are extremely favorable
potential source rocks.
Deltaic distributary channel and mouth bar sandstone of the
Agbada Formation and turbidite sandstone of the distal Akata
Formation (deep water) provide good reservoir facies. Sand-
stones of the Agbada Formation are well developed with lar-
ger thicknesses in single layers and poor consolidation, re-
sulting in high-porosities and high-permeabilities of the major
oil/gas reservoirs in the basin.
The seals include clay smears along faults, interbedded
sealing shales and sand-shale juxtaposition. Mudstone in the
top of Agbada Formation is widely distributed, and forms the
regional seal for upper sandstone of this formation. Intrafor-
mational shales inside the Agbada Formation are firmly dis-
tributed, and also act as a major seal. Besides these, mud-
stones interbedded within each reservoir with larger thickness
and wide distribution and mudstones in the flanks of delta can
also play the role of sealing to a certain degree.
Traps include structural (i.e. rollover anticlines and growth
fault blocks) and stratigraphic traps. The Niger delta basin is a
Cenozoic sedimentary basin with rapid deposition rate, where
under-compaction is common in the mudstones, and a series
 83 
of structures related to gravitational slumping are developed.
Growth faults and its associated rollover anticlines are the
major trap types for oil/gas accumulation onshore and in
neritic areas of the basin. Formation time of traps inside the
basin is well synchronized with time of oil/gas migration.
2. Database and methodology
The dataset for this study was made available by Chevron
Nigeria Limited. The data consists of a 55.38 km2 3-D seismic
volume; log suites for four wells, deviation data for two wells
and checkshot data for the four wells. Interpretation of the
well-logs and seismic data was done using Schlumberger’s
petrel “seismic-to-simulation” interpretation software. The
software was used to carry out a detailed well-log and seismic
data interpretation, generate synthetic seismogram, construct
maps & cross-sections, and several 2-D & 3-D graphic pres-
entations of the results.
Difference between seismic data and drilling data was
eliminated by synthetic seismogram and well-seismic calibra-
tion using time-depth conversion data. According to the data,
one lithological interval can form a single reflection. Sonic
and density logs of Well AB05 were used for generation of
acoustic impedance and reflection coefficient. The reflection
coefficient was gained by normal polarity zero phase wavelet
of SEG (Society of Exploration Geophysicists) during wavelet
extraction, to form the synthetic seismogram.
Proper interpretation of faults and horizons aided the
duilding of a conceptual model for the structure and stratigra-
phy of the hydrocarbon reservoirs and field development.
Signal-processing and edge detection attributes were applied
to the original seismic volume to aid visualization of the fault
networks and continuity of seismic reflectors. These attributes
provided an objective translation of the seismic data into a
geologically meaningful image. The structural smoothing and
median filter attributes significantly improved the sig-
nal-to-noise ratio thereby resolving areas with poor resolution,
and presenting improved reflector continuity needful for en-
hanced structural interpretation (Fig. 2).
 AHANEKU C V et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2016, 43(1): 82–88
Fig. 2. Original seismic profile and its processing results.
Fig. 3. Display of Variance edge attribute highlighting the faults
at Z-slice 2224 ms. Red arrows indicate fault planes.
Variance edge attribute imaged on time slices extracted
from the structural smoothing volume clearly showed the spa-
tial distribution of the critical faults across the study area (Fig.
3). Fault throw analysis was carried out to ascertain the poten-
tial of the interpreted faults to act as migration pathways or
traps for hydrocarbon accumulations.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Stratigraphic sequence division and correlation
A baseline of 60 API was chosen for the purpose of litho-
logic discrimination. Results show lithostratigraphic units
predominantly composed of sandstones, and paralic
sand-shale intercalations; these constitute the Benin Forma-
tion and Agbada Formation respectively. The upper section
with uniformly blocky thick sand bodies and very thin shale
interbeds constitute the Benin Formation. The lower section
consisting of alternating sands and shales constitute the Ag-
bada Formation. The Agbada Formation was subdivided into
the Upper and Lower Agbada, with the upper part exhibiting
thicker sandstone intervals while the lower part show thicker
shale intervals. The vertical and lateral facies changes are
largely a function of the variability in the sand and shale
thicknesses.
The well-to-well stratigraphic correlations have been car-
ried out based on the results of sequence stratigraphic
sub-divisions (Fig. 4). A total of eleven stratigraphic tops,
which includes five Maximum Flooding Surfaces (MFS), five
 84 
Sequence Boundaries (SB) and Top of Agbada Formation
were identified using well AB05. The result was correlated
across wells AB01 and AB07 along depositional dip to ensure
lateral continuity. Well-to-well correlation result shows that
the wells were drilled in the same fault block as no fault-cut
was detected in the correlation panel (Fig. 4).
The synthetic seismogram showed a perfect tie between the
generated synthetics and the original seismic traces with the
confidence limit over 98%.
3.2. Structural framework
The structural framework of the Ariki Field consists of
seven faults labeled DLF 1, DLF 2, DLF 3, ANF 1, ANF 2,
ANF 3, and SNF 1 (Fig. 5). The faults are grouped into first
order and second order faults. The first order faults represent
the major faults and are annotated DLF 1 to 3. The second
order faults represent the minor faults and are annotated ANF
1 to 3 and SNF 1. DLF 1 to 3 are interpreted to be
down-to-basin normal faults (Fig. 5). They dip southwards
towards the basin, subdividing the field into four blocks (A, B,
C & D) trending in the east-west direction and downthrown in
the southwestwards direction (Fig. 6). These faults extend
through the entire stratigraphic interval creating large vertical
displacement of the strata. The second order faults are inter-
preted to be antithetic and synthetic normal faults that created
graben and horst-like structures within the western flank of
the study area. They have less vertical extent and displace-
ment.
The fault blocks were created synchronously with sedi-
mentation as can be observed from the relative thickening of
the stratigraphic sequences on the downthrown sides of the
major faults in the Basin-ward direction. General interpreta-
tion and 3D perspective visualization of the structural frame-
work show that the area was subjected to sea-ward tensional
stress accommodated by landward dipping normal faults in
the western flank of the field. The various structural styles
evidently show that the sequence architecture was dominantly
controlled by extensional tectonics.
3.3. Fault throw analysis
The major faults (DLF 1 to 3) show significant displacement
 AHANEKU C V et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2016, 43(1): 82–88

Fig. 4. Well correlation panel across Well AB05-AB01-AB07 in the study area.

Fig. 5. Seismic profiles and faults interpretation results (See Fig. 1 for the location of the profile).

 85 
 AHANEKU C V et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2016, 43(1): 82–88

Fig. 6. Time structural map of MFS 5 in the study area.

source, reservoir and seal units. This study presents the major
trapping mechanisms in the Ariki Field to include four-way
dip closures of the rollover anticlines at the downthrown
block of the major faults, offset of strata by the major faults
(at shallower depths) and minor faults which created
three-way closures (fault assisted closures).
A conceptual model of the hydrocarbon traps is presented
in Fig. 8. The major faults (DLF 1 to 3) offsetting strata below
1800 ms serve as migration pathways recharging shallower
reservoirs within the rollover anticlines (at deeper depths).
Hydrocarbon traps below 1800 ms exists as rollover anticlines.
Offset of strata by the minor faults which created fault as-
sisted traps (three-way closures). Above 1800 ms, the major
faults serve as hydrocarbon traps as a result of their sealing
capacity. Exploration of the three-way closures presents
higher exploration risks when compared to the four-way dip
closures (Fig. 8). Adequate fault-seal analysis will help miti-
gate the risks of drilling dry holes.

Table 1. Fault throw analysis of DLF 1 and DLF 2 faults

Stratigraphic Average DLF1 DLF2
Fig. 7. Fault throw analysis of DLF 1 and DLF 2 faults. tops TWT/ms Throw/m Throw/m

of the interpreted horizons (Fig. 7). The result of the fault throw Top Agbada 1 595.23 62.52 76.97
analysis is presented in Table 1. A fault may act as migration MFS 5 1 726.38 82.93 103.40
pathway or trap for hydrocarbons. The result shows that be- MFS 4 2 186.78 155.39 180.72
low 1800 ms, the major faults act as hydrocarbon migration MFS 3 2 524.05 186.62 204.41
pathways while above 1800 ms, they act as hydrocarbon traps.
MFS 2 2 739.43 195.73 215.25
3.4. Structural implications for hydrocarbon migration MFS 1 2 860.04 206.87
and trapping
Note: Average throws for DLF 1: 148.34 m; Average throws for DLF
A proven feature in the study area is the co-existence of the 2: 156.15 m.
 86 
 AHANEKU C V et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2016, 43(1): 82–88

Fig. 8. Conceptual structural framework model of Ariki field.

anticlines within fault block B & D and three-way closures

4. Conclusion
This study has presented the value of combining both 3-D
seismic and well-log data in interpreting the structural
framework and stratigraphy of any field using Ariki field as
case study. Well log interpretation shows that five Maximum
Flooding Surfaces and five Sequence Boundaries have been
identified to constitute the stratigraphy of the Agbada interval
drilled within the Ariki Field. The structural framework was
controlled by extensional tectonics characterized by three
major (down-to-basin) and four minor (antithetic and syn-
thetic) normal faults, and rollover anticlines. The faulting
system principally controlled the sequence architecture. The
major faults subdivided the field into four fault blocks at the
northeastern flank and created three fault blocks at the west-
ern flank. The conceptual structural model from fault-seal
analysis shows that the major faults serve as hydrocarbon
migration pathways below 1800 ms and hydrocarbon traps
above 1800 ms. The minor faults constitute hydrocarbon traps
that may present high exploration risks if adequate fault-seal
analysis was not carried out before drilling for the accumula-
tions. The presence of prospective structures such as rollover
 87 
created by the minor faults as shown in the conceptual struc-
tural model together with the tested accumulations within
fault block C emphasize the field scale potential of petroleum
plays in the study area. The potential drilling targets identified
within fault blocks B and D offers completely new contribu-
tion in development strategies for the Ariki Field.
Acknowledgement
The authors are grateful to Chevron Nigeria Limited for the
release of the data with which this research was accomplished.
We are also grateful to Schlumberger and ExxonMobil for the
provision of the Petrel Software and Workstations respec-
tively.
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