The influence of subseismic-scale fracture interconnectivity on fluid flow in fracture corridors of the Brejões carbonate karst system, Brazil

The present study used a multitool approach to characterize fractures of several orders of magnitude in large fracture corridors, caves, and canyons to investigate their impact on fluid flow in carbonate units. The study area is the Brejões carbonate karst system that is located in the Neoproterozoic Salitre Formation in the Irecê Basin, São...

Silicification, flow pathways, and deep-seated hypogene dissolution controlled by structural and stratigraphic variability in a carbonate-siliciclastic sequence (Brazil)

Fractured and karstified carbonate units are key exploration targets for the hydrocarbon industry as they represent important reservoirs. Furthermore, large water reserves and geothermal systems are hosted in carbonate aquifers. This paper documents the relationships between stratigraphy, structural patterns, silicification, and the spatial...

Hydrothermal activity along a strike-slip fault zone and host units in the São Francisco Craton, Brazil – Implications for fluid flow in sedimentary basins

This study combines multiscale analyses of geological, fault, fracture, and stable isotope data to investigate strike-slip deformation and channeling of hydrothermal fluids along the Cafarnaum fault and calcite veins at different distances from the fault, which is a structure in the São Francisco Craton, northeastern Brazil. Meteoric fluids...

Postrift stress field inversion in the Potiguar Basin, Brazil – Implications for petroleum systems and evolution of the equatorial margin of South America

Rifting and related normal stress regime in the equatorial continental margin of Brazil ceased during the Late Cretaceous, when the stress regimes in eastern South America and West Africa changed to induce strike-slip or reverse motion. In this study, we explore the postrift tectonic, geomorphic, magmatic, and sedimentary responses to stress...

Inter-well scale natural fracture geometry and permeability variations in low-deformation carbonate rocks

Regional natural fracture networks often show variations on a scale below that captured by seismic reflection data. This variability is not considered in most reservoir models, but likely impacts uncertainties in permeability. We quantify this uncertainty using a database of 13,000 fractures in nine outcrops digitised in the carbonate...

Dissolution along fracture systems in Turonian-Campanian carbonates in Brazil