The Impact of Faults on Fluid Flow in Travertine

Understanding continental carbonate deposits is of increasing importance due to their great hydrocarbon reservoir potential, particularly with the development of continental carbonate plays within the ‘pre-salt’ of the South Atlantic ( Carminatti et al., 2008 ). However, these deposits possess significant heterogeneities related to complex depositional and diagenetic processes ( Delle Piane et al., 2017 ). The nature of faulting within continental-type carbonates and its impact on fluid flow is crucial when considering reservoir characterisation and quality. Unlike established concepts of fault and fluid flow models within clastic rocks ( Knipe 1992 ; Yeilding et al., 1997 ; Fisher & Knipe, 1998 ), the heterogeneous nature of carbonates means that faulting within these deposits is difficult to model and predict (Michie et al., 2017) . To this end, we have carried out an integrated petrophysical and geomechanical study of shallowly buried travertine samples from Italy. The study aims to characterise heterogeneities, examining their control on fault chracteristics and, ultimately, the impact on fluid flow.