Discrete fracture network of the Latemar carbonate platform

The Latemar massif represents a good analogue of a carbonate fractured reservoir. Fractures are widely exposed all over the mountain and the stratigraphic relationships among carbonate platform units, such as the platform margin and slope, are very well preserved. Having escaped pervasive dolomitization, the Latemar is renowned for the study of Triassic stratigraphy and of the evolution of Triassic carbonate build-ups of Western Tethys. In this paper we present the results of fracture modelling performed at Latemar, by the construction of a discrete fracture network in the lower part of the stratigraphic sequence. The modelling methodology consists in using field data for generating fracture network models that can be used to represent the fracture density variability and to estimate permeability distribution on at a regional scale. These models can also be useful in the study of other petrophysical parameters, for instance generating synthetic seismic datasets for comparison with reservoirs in the subsurface.