Structural controls on mechanical compaction within sandstones: An example from the Apsheron Peninsula, Azerbaijan

Mechanical compaction of sand-rich reservoirs usually occurs during shallow burial and involves the rearrangement of framework grains and the ductile deformation of soft lithoclasts. The reservoir quality (porosity and permeability) of some Neogene sandstones of the South Caspian Basin has, however, been dramatically reduced by mechanical compaction involving extensive grain-fracturing (i.e. porosity collapse). These sandstones were probably susceptible to pervasive grain-fracturing because they were buried rapidly and experienced compressional deformation prior to reaching 80 °C. Consequently, they did not undergo quartz cementation and were therefore exposed to high stresses while they were extremely weak. Grain-size and structural position are also important controls on the distribution of grain fracturing in the onshore analogue in the Apsheron Peninsula. Microstructural analysis confirms that susceptibility to distributed grain-fracturing increases with increasing grain-size. Structural position has also an important impact on the distribution of porosity collapse. In particular, sandstones within the hinges of folded sections have undergone much more extensive grain-fracturing than within the surrounding area; the increased stresses in this structural position have enhanced distributed grain-fracturing and subsequent deformation band development.