Characterisation of Fluvial Architectural Elements Using a Three Dimensional Outcrop Dataset – Escanilla Braided System

Braided fluvial reservoirs form some of the worlds giant oilfields and are found in many petroleum provinces. Braided fluvial architecture displays significant variability that has to be understood and quantified before it can be represented in reservoir models. In general the best constraint on 3-D geometry is provided by outcrops with irregular, highly indented topography, but in this kind of outcrop it is usually very problematic to record and interpret the spatial variability of architectural elements using traditional field methods. The recent emergence of of high resolution positioning equipment (differential GPS) and new digital survey technologies (e.g. satellite imagery, digital elevation models, airborne and terrestrial LiDAR acquisition) now allow the analysis of outcrop analogues in three dimensions. The combination of these technologies, together with conventional field work, allows both sedimentology and stratigraphy to be measureed and interpreted rapidly and precisely.