Gravity flow channel character and reservoir prediction of the Miocene Congo fan basin, West Africa

•Gravity flow channel are canyon, erosive channel, complex channel, migration channel, isolated channel.•Seismic data reveals the reservoir and architecture of gravity flow channel.•Reservoir is at the upper part of the composite and isolated channel, levees and lobes.

Determining the reservoir distribution of a gravity flow channel is a strongly researched topic that must be solved to address the difficulty of deep-water deposition. This paper takes the Miocene Congo Fan as an example for the analysis of lithological succession, seismic reflection feature and attribute map based on the core, logging, and 3D seismic data. Six primary reservoir depositions are identified: canyon, erosive channel, complex channel, migrated channel, isolated channel, and lobe. The seismic section geometric features and the seismic attributes are used to describe the different types of gravity flow channel structure characteristics and planar features. The GR analog acoustic impedance inversion clearly reveals the reservoir distribution and characteristics in different gravity flow channels; the results indicate that the sand-rich reservoir is at the upper part of the composite and isolated channel, levees and lobes. The reservoir types and distribution characteristics of a gravity flow channel in deep-water fan are important guides for identifying traps in exploration and production.