3D morphometry of the Late Jurassic stromatoporoid/coral facies and their subsurface static connectivity implication: An insight from the Hanifa reservoir outcrop analog, Saudi Arabia

The 3D meter-scale morphological architecture of high porosity-high permeability Late Jurassic stromatoporoid/coral facies that characterize many giants and supergiants Late Jurassic carbonate reservoirs in the Middle East is poorly understood due to the limited resolution of subsurface data. This study performs a three-dimensional outcrop investigation using an integrated drone-based digital outcrop model (DOM), measured sections, and near-surface geophysics in the Hanifa reservoir analog outcropped in Wadi Birk, Saudi Arabia. We observe three levels of scaling hierarchy of the buildups that evolve from circular to pseudo-ellipsoid with a strong preferential orientation towards northwest-southeast with asymmetric flank development towards the northwest. Static connectivity assessments demonstrate that the best five vertical wells scenario at ~1 km spacing can only access 12% of these facies' total Gross Rock Volume due to extreme spatial heterogeneity.