SPE

SPE7445 LOGANALYSIS OF GAS-BEARING FRACTURE SHALES INTiiE SAINT LAWRENCE LOWLANDS OF QUEBEC
by Roberto Aguilera, Member SPE-AIME, SOQUIP

?Copyright 1978. American Instdute of Mining. Metallurgical and Petroleum Engmeara. Inc This paper was presented at the 53rd Annual Fall Technical Conference and Exhibition of the Soc!elyol PeIroleum Engineers of Al ME. held m Houston. Texas. Ocl 1.3,1978 The material IS subjecIto correction by the aulhor Permission to COPYia restricted to an abstracl of not more than 300 words WrNe 6200 N Central EXPY. Oallas. Texas 7S206

INTRODWJ?I~ Blackandbrownshales arewidely distributed all overthewxld (Rmth and SouthAmerica, Africaand and Europe) . Mxt of themfozmpartof latedevonian earlyMississipisn ages. In Quebec, blackskies are found nnstlyin theexternal zoneof the Sainthwrence Lowlands forming * of theUticaGroup(0n30vicianage). In normal. stratigraphic sections, * Utie blackcalcareous shalehasan average thickness of 1000feet. similar opp2site manner. The log-log cross-plot of sonic res~nse versus resistivity pmnittedreasonable estimates of watersaturation witlmut previous kncwledgeof thewaterresistivity, R , and thesystm as pxosity expment,m. Thiswas v&y significant the valueof tiehxizon of interest was mx known. The c ?% ss-plot revealed tit m had a relatively low valueof 1.54. Objective 2 was accomplished withthe indicates useof sonicand neubzm logs. qriace that,h general, thiscombination is rut veryuseful Whenthisstudy. was initiated, a literature sur- fersble volum analysis kecause bothlogsare affecvey indicated thatverylittle had bem published on ted in a similar fashion by shales.Fbr theQuekec the subject of evaluating gas-king frac122re shales consolidated gas-bearing fracture shales f hxevert fromlogs Therefore, an effort wasmadeto finda thiscanbination proved to ke vezyvaluab.e. C#2jecneansof evaluating Cguali-tively and quantititi.vely tive3 was acccnplished withtheuseof sibilation, the fractured shales of CL&SC. Theobjective? of t=peratwe and dipnster logs. Quantitative estimates this@IAIUStiCXl progxam fzmmlegswereas follrJWS: of fractures pxosity (Cbjective 4) wre obM.nedas a function of @tal porosi~,the systen porosity ex1. Mterndnation of watersaturati~n ponemt discussed previously, and theporosity expxmnt 2. EWaluition of pxosityand shalemlof themtrix. Cksjective 5 was acccq+is~ by assu3. Identification of fractured zones mingthatthe fractures couldbe represented by a bun4. Qusntititive estimates of fracture pmxity dleof tukes. Objective 6 was achieved withtheuse of sonicand resistivity logswhichgavean indica5. Wsntitative estimates of watersaturation i.n eachmatrix and fractures. tionof over-pressured zones. Rx the fractured sha6. Differentiation betmen zones whichweregas lesof QU&ec, it was foundthatalmorml. subsurface bearing, buthadarounts of gasWch -e ialrepressures were indicative of smll nonccmmerc ML. comwcial or noncomerc Servoizs.Objective 7 was accunplished withthe use 7. Estimates of fozmstion strength parameters of legs,pressure surveys, and datafromstinuilation forproper design of stimulation jobs. jobs.It was foundthatPoissons ratios and fracture gradients wereunusually highas anticipated by tluust It ws obtious thatit was impxsibleto warrant tec~..ics of thearea. exactitude whentrying to calculate theprevious wrameters.Hcma?ver, it was foundthatthere+ts lb datethreewellshavekeendrilled and 150 correlated verywellwithlakorabxy c%*, pressure sqosre mileshavebeenmapped frcxn seismic.The findsurveys, andactualstimulation and production infor- ingspresmtedin th~spaperhaveId to a cautious mation. optimism withregard ti thega. Wtentialof the frac-e shales of Quebec. Objective 1 wasaccomplished withtheCxmbimaticm sonic-resistivity, whichpmvd b k thexmsteffi= PFKHIR- FOR ?W4LWJXNGGAS BEARING ~ cientfordirect calculation of watersaturaticm due ~i7uES-smmoFTHEARr b the factthatshales affected kothlogsin a Ck31y a few*lmiques hwe * published on the subject of evaluating fra~ed slmles frcmlogs. P.mbsblythe safest way m determine gas entrance intemals in low deliverability wellsis @ run _ References and illustrations at erdof paper.

~ ~

Figure4 shcws an axa@e of an Ohio*11 ccunpleted basedon information provided by Kemgen anaExperience is devonian shales indicates thatso- lysis. Thewellwas perforated at depthsindicated ne anomliesoccurin gamnay-ray, -sity, and imluct- by thearrows in track3. ionlogs. 1 It haskeenfoundthatusually in fractured zones, theganm-rayand resistivity increase while Followhga fracturing job,a teapexature logWEE &msity decreases. The increa=h thegamma-ray in- run b determine zones of gas entry. he results are tawity is attributed to zunesrichin organic matter. presented in track3. Noticethattheresults correThe increase h resistivity is attributed to gas-fil- laterather wellwithgas zonesindicated by theKeled :factures and/orbreezed kercge~ cmntent.The rog~si analysis.Thiswellrepresented a technical sucdecrease in bilkdami~ is attributed to an increase cessfxm thepaintof viewof loganalysis, although in porosity due b thepres~e of fractures and/or thegasrates~e~lowti makethewllanecOmb 1density of keroga. mic success. *91 Prop* a equation tit dined the ~tion, k@k density, and resistivity as follows: Production Index- G + R
1 B

rature ard sibilation lcgslin _

lmle.

ILXM?ICN AND GECLOGY The Sedimentary kasinof the lowlands of Quebec is lcwatad between htmtr~ andQuebec city (Figure 5). It ks an approximate kqth of 200miles (321.3 Ian)j an a~roximate widthof 50 miles (80.45 km) and an areaof akout10,000 square miles(2590 000ha) . Figuxe6 slmwsa generalized stratigraphic sectionof thearea. Thispa= willcmcmtrate on evaluation of theUticaGroup(Ortivician) whichis charac~ized litblogically by blackshales.This shaletis a thidmessof up to 1200ft (365.76 m) and it is charact~izsd for itsodorof @roleum when freshly broken. Figures 7 arxl 8 slxw the tedmnic zones of the Precambrian shield, platQuelXwlowlands, i.e.,tlx? form,external zone,internal zoneand rappezone. Theplatform is characterized by norml faulting. In somecasesthrows of up to 3000are known.
The external zoneis characterized ky thrusting in tk UtiCdandhXIXulE GrOUPS . The 10- partsof the litblogical oclunm hve not * disturbed. The blackshales considered in thisp@er are located in thiszone (Figure 9),Z@ havebeenreached in *1s Villeroy 1, Villeroy 2 and Ste-Fran~ise Rx@ne. The areaof theextarnd zoneis abut 900square miles (233100lxa) . The internal zoneis characterized by thrusting in all the se&hnsntary seqwmce,inchdingtheOrdoviciancarbonates and Cambrian sands.

vhere G ~. API

unitsfromcram-raylog average API unitsof shale R = Resistivi ty frani.rduction log average resxstivity of shale f~ = Bulk dmsity frana density leg.

Theaverage resistivity andAPI unitsof shale met be established basedon 1conditions. AS an -let =1= of 20 S1-m md 200 API unitshavekeen usedin SXXEcasesfordevonian shales. Figure 1 show a plotof pmiuctionindexfora @st Virginia fr@CtUr@3 well. Interval 3406-3656 ft. (1038.15-1114. 35 m) whichsbws a highproduction in*, was proved to ke highly fracturefi by otherrneaIE. 1 Kercqen analysis is anotkc rethd proposed for waluation of devonian slxales. 2 The idesbehind this yocedureJs b account forthevolume of Kemg@I presentin, the %rmation,ti caneoutwith~lgr ~t ~rereallstic ~nslties. The logging program leading tok~~ analysis is rather ~ive and consists >f:2 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. GannaRay FEC density CNL (onSNP)Neutron BHc sonic Duallaterolcg on Dual-Inducticm laterolog

by inbricatioris The mppe zoneis characterized Of CS&OIISteS and Si3tidS. In this zone ,duea upkaval andcanpression of theplaffozm associated sulxluction zone, gravity sliding and thrusting at thebeginning orogeny kwe carried deepbasinal sediWiththevalues of Table1, it is pssible b ge- of this!&Cony southeast overthepreviously descrilerate various cross-plots as shcwnin Figures 2 and 3. mentsfrcin4the bed zones . All fourtectonic regions havesanehydroThis~~ dealsonlywithgas popatemtial. Volumes of Kerogen an? de~ined fran these cros:carbon tential in theblackshales of theexternal zone. plots by dividing thedis-ce be= thedatapint (x)and the silt-clay 1* by thetitaldistance from ~RPHISM me Kerogen pointto the siltclayline. Metamxphism canoccurin sedimentary rocksor As different Kexogen values may ke obtained from rinks. M&nxphism is theresult xoss-plots similar to theonespre~ltedin Figures 2 othermstemxphic of highlevels of hsatandpressure.Various studies md 3, it is reccmmnded to select the lcxerof the on the SaintLawrence I owlands o f @ebec haveirdicam Kerogen values. Thedata@nt can * he shifted ted thattheblackshales of the external nne are m the silt-clay linealongthe lineconnecthqthe Woc&n ~fit and the silt-c&yline,to obtain Kezu- matureto gas. p-frse datathatcan be themsnalyzed ky Ccalnsrcially Figure 10 shx%s plotsof crystallinity of the nmilable computer programs. 3

Ebr evaluation, matrix characteristics of kero;en,silt,andclaymustbe knownor assmed basedon values usedin ~ience in thearea. Scm typical -en ~Ysis =e pre=ked in TableL

DR IAAK
..U
,-2T-

.-.-.

ufmu.wrn afmn.mm
..-. -

illite and reflectmmtry of bim Villeroy #L

vs depthforwell

!Lk crystallinity of the illite reflects the level of mtemrphism of a rock. Rnpirically it ks hen fouxdthatthereare no possibilities of hydroFigure12 shows a log-log cross-plot of RLL8 carbons presence whenthe* is in theanchizoneo VS (At-B). Thevalueof B forequation 4 ws found Figure 10 showsthatthecrystallinity of Illite in to k 52 on a tiialand errorbasis. In fact,a loge theUticaGxoup&s rmt reachthe anchizone, and pla- logplotof R ~sus ( At - B) ~s~&d ces&w Groupin a zonepotentially matureto gas. Jh=l*%p:s~=~yywy; -=:Pvalueof s .(for Usinga Studies of reflec-q -x of bitumen ard/ Bwdifferent fzcm52 did not ga=ate a straight or vitrinite, indicate the following maturity levels line,but curves as slxwnin Figure 13. forhydmcarhon presence: Immature 0.1-0. 5%,mture to oil 0.5- 1. 35%,mature tc gas 1.35-3%.Figure 10 l&IL-$was selected forresistivity because shcwsthatthaUticaGroupfallsin a reflec~try it has a ketter vertical definition thandeepinducnsequently places tion ~betW@@n SbOUtl Snd2, and co logsin laminated systems. The slopeof the 100% thisgroupin a zonemture ti gas. mkaring trendms foundto be 1.54. Thiglow value of m indicated the presence of fracturesin The various mtamrphism studies in the Saint theUticaformation, sincetheporosi~ ~nmt of Lawrence Icwlancls comelatewithvarious studies in thematrixalone, ~, was probably 2 or higher. Ehstexn US (Appalachian) whichindicate an increase in me@mphism t~ = eastin the&eetion of mre One of theiwinadvantages of thiscross-plot9 intense Ctiastmphism. ttigmethodis thatthewatersaturation can ke calCulatd without having previous knowledge of porosiXn conchsicm, me-rphia studies indicate ty andwaterresistivity, withtheuseof theaqua=t skies of theSaintIawrence Iowlands are lccated tion: in a zonemsture to gas. sw . * l/n. ~ -l/n (5) ~ IwrAL WATERSATURMICN
vill~y.

resultin a straight linewith v=sus ( At - B) should a S1OW of -m for zones withconstant A,B,aR and 1. Theprevious equation was usedto evaluate W Utica shaleof

bell

The @ues of R $re the re$istivities readall the straigh? linethatrepresents the 100% Archies equations can h ccmtinad intoa single throughout mx-kearing trend. Thevalues of R are the resisequation to yield: 6 tivities of eachzone in thecmss-p~ot. Thewatersa log Rt = -mlog Jl *log (aRJ+ Iogx (1)turation expanent, n, is assured b be equalto the porosity expmsnt,m. The akoveequation indicates thata log-log plotof R versus p nustresult in a straight line Easedon equation 5, straight linesthatrepres >:Ati a sl &-m for -es of ~nstant and constant watersaturations Wexegenerated as slmw 1. lb insert a valueof JJ in theprevius equation is ated various 3 having previous knowledge of rather difficult forVilleroy, sincethe fornwcion is in Figure12,without porosity.Thesewaretot ,.i~ values thatincluded the a fractured shale, and theconstants of thepxusity uatersaturations in bothmtrix and fractures. The tuolres&msesare rmt knownwitha degree of resulting values of tow S forperforated interval xmfidmce. 6230-6300 ft (1898.9 - 1920~2 m) are presented in Ta7 indicited in theiroriginal study ble 2. Wyllie et al. tit the sonic bg tich fitstheequation PORXITYAND SHAIXVOLUME (2) ~- At- Ah AQ - Atm Figure 11 sinwsganma-ray? r@SiStiVity, sonic, -at~e, * sfiilation logsfortheUticaGroup seesonlyntrix porosity and @psses vuggyand frac- of Villeroy 2. In addition, a CNLws run.Figure 14 tureForosities. However, ex@rienceindicates that slxwsa cross-plot of A t vs. JJ in cartesian -P thetotilJJ of a double-poro ity system can be calcu- dinates forvarious ~forated &Ynon-p3zforated zo8 Lated fruntherelationship.! nes. Figure 15 simwsestinmted pmsity and shalevolumesbasedon thedata~ints of Figure 14. _ien~- At-B (3) ce indicates that,in general, thiscombination is not for shale voltanalysis kecause both whereA andAB-~ long= correspxxl to thewallknown veryuseful in a similar fashion by shies. *fluid andmtrix transit times, but are values witlmut logsare affected Figure 15 slmwsclearly thatfor theconsolidanuchphysical maning~ whichti~er -fit ~ esti- wever, tedgas-bearing fractured shales of Quebec, the sonicmatesof to~l fl in *uble-pxmsitysystems. neutron ccmtxhation provided a valuable formation evaluation toolforestimating porosity and shale voInserting equation 3 in 1 results in: hlnes. IogRt = -m log ( At - B)+m log (A-B)*log (4) (aRJ+l~I Table2 skinsA t - ~~ daa of a ~?forated interval and t& cak~ted @zmsitiesand shalevoluEquation 4 indicates t hata log-log plotof Rt . . ms. .,.

of logspresented in Figure11 has of timl Wsaturaestimates Lionin tkeblackfractured shales of @ebec.

I%e suite
used to obtain

as For thisevaluation thiswas veryinportant th=e -e no esthtes of RwfortheUticaGroup.

[1

UIGANALYSIS OF GAS-BEARING FRW3URE ~INTHII

sAINTIAWRmCEICwfAm6m C41mEC _.

~~ . 7445 . ..-

Ilkerval 5230- 6300ft (1898.9 -1920.2m) Another setof porosity values was calculated frcm the snniclogalonewiththe useof ~tion 3 and Thisinterval was perforated on February I.1, 1976 thebasicperamet=$ A = 189and B = 52.Agreemntwas withone slmtper foot. The intend W acidized goodas shownin Table2. with25,000 gallons(94. 64 m3) of 28%HCLmixedwith presauxes mrained at 5,500 IDENTIFICATION OF FRACXWEDZCN_@ 50%nk?thaml.Injection psi (37921. 16 KPa)whileinjecting acidat an average rat=of 6 bbl~ (O. 95 In3@in).Thishighvolume aTa@rature and sibilation logs-e run in an cid treatnrmt =s successful, as 90%of thetreating attenpt to locate gas =Wy intothewsN.bore. Fxm wereflowed backb surface and a steady prothe logsof Figure 11, it can be seenthatthetenpe- fluids duction of 30014SCFD (8500 m3/dJwasobtained through rature lcwgavea kicktiward lower values of tmperature at 6270-80 ft (1911.1 - 1914.1 m). The sibi- a $ choke. lation survey alsodetected gas in thiszone frun * A qualitative irdicettin of thepresence of gas 6220b I 6320ft (1895.9 -1926.3m). In addition, it was givem~ the ~ture ard sibilation lcqs, as indicated thepresemce of gas fran6700b 6800ft Sonic-resistivi@ shownin Figure11. Tk combination m) and 6800b 6890ft (2087.9 (2042.2 - 2072.6 ti tie an ordec+f -magnittie quantitati2100.1 m).These indications of gas entrance wre con- logsallow2d ve evaluation of S as sti in hble2. TheWforasidered asindicative of possible fractured intervals. ted in~ 6230~ 6300ft (1898.9 - 1920.2 m) is reFicjure 16 showssibilation and dip-inter logs presmtedbyzones 50t074 in Table2. It canbe is ~ellat noticed thatthevalues of tital~msities are ketforthe UticaGroup. The correlation , lmever, is focused 5 and 9%. our interest indicating thatthedip-reter 1~ is an additional ~ porosities, whichrangeheti valuable toolforindicating potential fractured zu- ndnly in fracture 0.7and 4.2%,withan averageof about 1.4%. Gas nes. saturation withinthe fractured system is ***ted at 100%,sinceno waterprciluction was c~zed from ~TfMATESOF MATRIx AND FNCCURE FCR3SIlTEs thisinterval. Matrix pxositieswerefoundfranfigure 17 as tion~ture - sibiIn conclusion, thecanlma a function of m = 1.54,titalporosities, and tlemawhichwas assured to be d= lation, and sonic-resistivity provided lwanstoewr trtie~nent, *, qualitatively * quantitatively thisgas-beaFracture porosities weretakenas thedifferen- luate XX Thecalcula- tingintervaL ce betm titi andmtiix p3rosities. tedvdlues of matrix and fracture prositiesaxe takuInterval 6710-6800 ft (2045.2 -2072.6ml latedti Table2, fora zoneperforated in tk Utica Group. Thisinterval was &erforated on February 1. 1976 gas prcducESTIMATES OF WATERsAmTra IN &IATlux AND FR4CIURES with1 stitper fcot,fora zem initial tio1. ThisintsXllwas indicated m be gaa-kearing by the sibilation survey.I% t~ature logd-id Production of gas franthe fracture systsm of not giveany idicationof gas. TheccnbinatiOn sOVilleroy # 2 has * waterclean,indicating that nic-reaistivity indicated attractive values of porothewatersaturation within the fracture system is Hcmaver, an attenpt m nearly zero. Thisis resonable, as due tocapill.a- sityad vie- saturation. rity,watertmds to occu~ the finerspaces(inter- acid-frac tk titerval failed, as the formtiondid granular pxosity)of the reck,leaving thecoarse rmt takeany acidat surface pressures as highas pmsity (fractures) to hydrocarbons. 5000psi (34473. 79 KPa).Thisresult wee verydifficultto explain at firstglance.-v=, a 109-109 crossplotof ( At - B ) vs. % (m) for htervals Thewat= saturation in thematrix(Sti) can 6230-67-0 ft (1898.9 -1920.2m) and 6710-6800 be estimtedfranthe~tion: 1 - 2072.6 m) slrmed distinctive Wttems ft (2045.2 Sw -v Sti (6) foreachintenwal (figure 18),separated by a cut*ff Wb = (1- v) resistivity in theorderof 1450 -m. Thisildicated thatresistitity couldbe usedas a ~t-off critericn where for selecting potential gas-bearing intervals. v= XtiO*g coefficient. 9- ~~ P (1- pb) ~xl 6840-6890 ft (2084.8 -2100.1m) uatersaturation in tie Wf = fractures. rhis interval was ~forated on January 10,1976 with2 shts per foot. The interval was acidized Thevalues of v and Sti camputed fmn theab68 m3) of 15%Ha, @ XUTable2 fora perfora- with1,500gallons(5. ve equations are slmwnin cedat an average rated476 ESCTD(13480 m3/d). Prested interval. suresurveys, kwwer, showed thatthe intsmalwas understrong depletion, indicating thusa verysmall ~ FIKWl m<C@ER2.IAL GAS DISTINGUISHING reservoti. lb cordmrate thisfinding, 2 7/8 R13SEIW0ZRS (7.3 cm) tubing andpacker we set in * 51 (13 97 cm)casing of thewallat 6651ft (2027.2 m).A wellVillmy # 2 ms drilled withair fran eliding sleeve(open) was placed in thetubing at 3900to 7200ft (1188.7 -2194.6m). ~ significant 6302ft (1920.9 m). Next, Continwusfl- meter? gaselmtswsrereported tile drilling with* the tqature and caliper logs-e run pastthe slidUwrainsardl UticaGroups.

ing sleeve.The lmtti kle pressuxe on the top zone has 3JOOpsi (20684.3 SCPa), and on thekottxxn ZOne409 psi (2819.96 KPa). Several weeksbefore, thewellheadpressure was 500psi (3447.38 RPa),and at the tim of loggtig, themllhead pressure was 1145psi (7894.5 KPa). Thisindicated thatthe gas fromthe tip zonewas charging up the bottomzone. The temperature logalsoverified thisfinding by thecooling effect abve the sliding sleeve(figure 19).The anmnt of flowfnxnthe ~p m thebottixn zoneas indicated by the flw meterwas 398kSCFD (11270 m3) or 29800CT (844 m3) at dcwnble conditions.

Thisinterval was indicated to be gas-bearing ky the sibilation survey(figure 11)although the temperature logdid not slmwany gas. Thiswas veryvaluable kecause it indicated thatgasWS mt entering the lmleas suggested by the tawperature log,tit ra- 38mm3 OF GAS-IW-PLACE therthatit was nearthewellkore as suggested by sonic-resisthe, sibilation survey.Thecombination Gss-in-place forUticainterval 6230-6300 ft tivlty indicated attractive values of tital watersa- (1898.9 - 192Q.2 m) has * estimatdat 5.oBSCF turation varying between 37 and 68%. Fractured pfromthe relationship: (0.17 x 109 m~) ~ section rosities varied ketwaen 0.8and 2.6%,and thegas saturation within the fractured system was estimated GIPf= 43560xAxhxj3fx(l-Sti) at 100%,sincethere was no waterproduction fmm the Bgi , intawal . uhere II-E problem herewas b try b detme frcmW& GIPf= gas in the fractursd system. SCF legs, tiena certain zonewoulddeplete rapidly due b reservoir areatakenas one section A= smallsizeof thereservoir. It was foundthatsmall = 640acres reservoirs areassociated withabnormal pressures in formation Wy = 70 ft h= the Uticaformsticn of theVill=oy area. Figure 20 showsresistivity and soniclogsof Villezoy # 2. A pxosity . 1.4% ~f = fracture cleartrend of incr-singresistivity is skwn frcm watersaturation in the fractures = O% the tipof theUticaformtiondownb abut 6530ft, Wf = tiarea drastic reduction of resistivity occursin.!3ai 7 0.00461 CF/SCF(atBHT = 575R, dicating * topof a pro%bleover-pressureil zone. BHP = 3000 psi,and Z = 0.85) Intend 6840- 6890ft (2084.8 -2100.1m) ialls Thisestimate iL, prokbly@nservativeforthe trmd is alsodelineated in thisregion;A linear whole Uti= Group, sincebasedon thisanalysis, theby the soniclog frcmthe topof the Jticadownto m) of mcential additional PSY 6530 fwhere a drastic incr~seof At occurs. _lhis reare 245 ft (74.68 abve the tipof theabnormal pressure zonethats&n< alsotendstm corroborate thepresence of en abnorgocdchance of bsinggas-bearing, spciallyif the ti pressure zonebelow6570ft (2002.5 m). IL-8resistivity is larger thanthecut-off value 145$-&m.Thismximunl ptemtielhasnot * pmvei, Corprison of performance of theprforatedinand it mat be consid~d onlyas ~ssible,as sibi~cial tervals seas to indicate thatsmall non lation logdid not giveany indication of gas,and reservoirs areassociated withakmormal pressures i the temperature logdid not showany kicktxxerd lothe fractured shales of Quebec. wervalues of ~ture. FmMATIm SmENTGH PARAmrmS If thisadditional ptcmtialWY proves to be gas~uld increase t o as much bearing, thegas-in-place Hubkert andWillisLL haveindicated &t in reas 26.:5BE@ (0.75 x 10~ ) per section. gionswherethereis normalfaulting, thegreater stiess should be approximately vertical and qual m Thereis alsogas in themtrix, as thereis a mathe effective pressure of theoverburden, and the trix@rosity end mstrix gas saturation. H~ver, leaststress skmild be horizontal ranging btwm one thisgas is not considered in theestinate of gas-in halfandone third of theoverburden. placeas it is verylikelytit evenif thegas is prf is not prcilucible due b lackof f2ra- sent,it probably The equation relating stresses ail EW.sson permeability in the shale(matrix) s ystem. tio forrecksin compression can be writba as:
.

11 Hubkert and Willis further indicated thatin regions of thrust faulting, the leaststress shwld be ~ertical and eqml to thenetoverburden pressure, tile thegreatest stress should be horizontal and ~pproximately between tvmand threetimesto overburdenpressure. Solution of equation 7 indicates that Ebissons ratio, p, couldbe approximately between 0.67 A 0.75forregions wherethrust faulting occurs. Se@Itl to holdin ~ ~ MS ~ti-1 findings ofSaintLawrence Lowland of (2uekec, characterized by thrusting tectinics in the UticaGroup. In scmeinstances, it has beenpssible @ carryout stimulations withpressure gradients of abut 1 psi/f t (2. 26 KPa/m) [nothercasesit has beenim@ssibleto stinnilate =n zones withpressure gradiatsgreater thsn1.5 ~i/ft (3.39 KPafi).

fsx=u

l~v

CTz

(7)

Awl) R2CNCMIcs ESTIIWIE OF mXoVDW3LE RESERVES Recoverable reserves havekm estimated by assumingan abandonment pressure of 100psi P 1000ft of depthor 625psi (4309.22 KPa). A plotof P/Zvs. cumulative gas productionblicatesa recovery af akout4.7B8CF (0.13 x 10$n3) per section frm the interval tested, and a ~ssible recovery of 21.4(0.61 x 10h3) additional wtmtial intezvals not w

whereoSare stresses alongthe X, andY axes,andM is Poissons ratio. Solution of theprevious equationindicates thatfornormalfaulting thevalue of M should be Mmeen 0.25and 0.33. Thisrenge lus * proved to veryrealistic in theGulfCoast.

-SSS

sHuESm OF @S-BEAltCNG FRM2TURE

THEsAml!

uwmtw231,/MAN30F

QuEE@2

SPE 7445

forated as yet proveto be gas-bearing. !B3 date,threewellshavebem drilled and 150 square miles (38850ha) of @ential gas-bearing for shales tivebeenmapgedfromseismic.Prmjects the nearfuture callforthedrilling of + wellsto quanticorroborate presence of gas in commercial ties. If thisis confirmed, a 90 wll project would follw whichis -ted to recover 225BSCF (6.37 x 109m3) of gas in 20 years.

3.

Pcm&on, A., Hoyle, W. R.,andSchmidt, A. W.: * Analysis in ~ormations withCcx@ex IA~I~~s ,1) SpEpaper2925Pres-tadat Me 45thAnnual FallMeeting of SPEof AIME (Wt. 1970) . Beiers, R. J.: Vast Sedhentiry Easinof @s& -lands MajorIn*est to Socjuip, The Oil and (3ss J. (January 26,1976).

4.

K. K.: Petrolew-logy JohnWiley 5. Landes, and Sons,Inc.,New York,8eo& EditiOn(1959). Due to lowproductivity characteristics of fracturedshales, theassumption of lowdeliverabilities -s rode. The averCt3e Villeroy wellis epected ti G. R.: Pattern Remgnition as a Means 6. Pickett, produce initially a!. about500NECETl (14158 m3/d). of Fbrmstion EValua Lion, pawr Presentiat After20 yesrsof production theaverae wellis exthe14thAnnual Iagging Syi&sitiof SPWIA(Nay mted to produce at 296MSCFD(8382 m1/d)and it 6-9,1973) . willhaveprobably accumulated 2.5BSCF (70079 x 109 m3). 7. Wyllie, M.R. J., Gregory, A. R.,and &rdner, J.W. : Elastic WaveVelocities h Heterogeneous Gas-in-place forthe 150sections ms~ so far Porous U, &physics (Jan, 1956)~, 1,41. is estinated at 885~ (25.06 x 109m3).Consewtly, the 90 initial dwelopnmtwellsare ex8. M terpretation Principles, Schhkerger, pec~ to recover 25. 5? of theoriginal gas-in-plachap~r 7 (1972) 39. ce in a 20 yesrperird. * of Naturally Frac9C 2&@lera,It&rto: Analysis mmmics of thispartial developwmt protuxedResenmtisfrunOxwsntional wellIsqs, jectare soundas shwn in Figure 21. J. Pet.kch.(July, 1976)764-772. 10. Hilchie, D. W., and Ptison, S. J.: Water Cut Determination frumWellIogsin Fractured and VuggyFormations, Trans., S&WI.& Dallas, Texas (1961) . 11.H-, M. K., andWillis, D. G.: l@c&nics of Hydraulic Fracturing, Trans., AI~ (1957) 210,153-166. 12.Craft, B. C., Holden, W. R.,and Graves E.D.: Wll Desi gn: Drilling and Production, Prentice Haii Inc.,~glti Cliffs, Nsw Jersey(1962) 485.

it is okwicus thatit is inpxAble ti warrant exactitide k. trying m evaluamgas-bearing fracturedshales frcmlogs. =vec, experience to date indicates thatlogsare valuable evaluation @ls in Quebec as proved by actual production findings.

The procedures discussed in thispaperaregeneralh nature and consequently may provevaluable in otherfractured shales of theworld. Fbr~ pie,thisty@ of analysis mightfindstrong applicationin theAppalachian basin.

1.

J&ung, J.I. : Fracture Investigation of theDewmian ShaleUsingGeophysical wellLogging of theSemth Ap@aTeclmiques. Proceeding chianPetrolewn ~logy Symposiun heldat Mxgantown, W.Va (Nhrch 1-4,1976). Hilton, Jon.:Wireline Evaluation of thek vonian Shale: A Progress Report, First~stern&s SkiLes S~siu4n, MmganEnergy wsearchCenter, (Oct. 17-19,1977). 1 ABLE
TYPIGL MATRIX ~iWS

I thankMr.Mrio Sanchez, Production and ~tionsManager of *i6t6 Qw5kcoised Initiatives P6txoli~es(~~), forpmnissionm @lish thispaper.

2.

1
USED 3N I@ROGEN ?UWUiYSIS2

Sxlic(pSec/ft) Density(gr/cc) SNP (Ire) CNL (m)

55.5 2.68 - 0.02 0.14

85 ~ 2.82 0.27 0.315

174 1.10 0.67 0.67

---

..
TABLE 2 2WF=VAL 6230 ~B (4 v* (%) -6300 !J~ ~ Of v ..

202 -S2S KN?lm (ft)

OF PEW0AW51 s

%s ( 11-nl)

&/ft)

i)

gl:

8*

6232-38 6238-40 6240-41 624142 6242-44 6244-46 6248-50 6250-54 6254-56 6256-60 6263-64 :: 6264-66 61 63A 6266-68 6268-71 62 63 64 65 66 67 60 69 70 71 230 72 73 74 6298-6300 %: 50 51 52 5: 54 55 56 57 58

62 61 62 61 62 59.5 63 59 59 62 63 61,5 73 54 63 62 64 :: 61 62.5 59.5 64 60 59 59 mm. ,.,

,,,,, 4

10
1: 1:

7.5 11 7 1: u 9.5 21 1: 10
12 8

10.0 9.0 10.0 1?:: 8 8 9 10 : 8.5 7:5

.47 .49 .49 .48 .49 .64 .43 .61 .56 .43 .37 .45 .22

6.4 6!4 5.8 6.8 4 7 4.3 4.3 6.4 87 7.1 15

37 34 37 36 ?3 38 37 37 ;; 28 0 23 22 31 18 14 22 24
20 12 22 21 18

9 1:.5 7.5 32 8 7 7

,42 8.7 .44 8 .47 8.5 .66 7 .50 .52 7:2 ,51 .59 6:5 .40 10.4 ,49 6,8 .58 .58 6:4
w, ,. hens 5

.073 .066 .073 .066 .073 .055 .080 .051 .051 .073 .080 .069 .15 .108 .015 ,062 m: .088 .058 .066 .066 .077 .055 .088 .058 ;(77:
.057 .068 .047 .052 .052 .060 .044 .068 .047 .042 .042

.045 .018 .016

.23 .22 .23 ,22 .23 .21 .24 .18 .18 .23 .24 .24 .33 .24 .23 .24 .20 .22 .22 .23 .21 .24 .20 .18 ,18

. 6.\ .::

.f.lz .64 ,81 .57 .75 .69 .56 .49 .60 .40 .55 .57 .62 .82 .64 .67 .67 .75 .53 .61 .71 .71

.009 .009

8;$,.,,.

,,

I-1-#m7
od

,00.

,00

W,r,<

FIG, 1 - EXAMPLE OF PRODUCTION INPEX WELL, (AFTER MYUNG1), WE8T VIRGINIA

LOG IN A FRACTURED

,0 L
Re,o*e i? -

,4 -

18 .

!8 : ~

,0
22 -

<
24 -

2s -

? 80

,,,.s.. m

t!.. eat. &o $c:[LII

~
30 90

AI .MIcIOS@c/11 NEUTRON-DEN81TY FIG,

FIG,

2- A

TYPICAL ! ),

3- A TYPICAL
IN ! HILTON ),

80NJC-DEN81TY SHALE,

CROSSPLOT (AFTER

IN

EROGEN-BEAR I NG SHALE*

CROSSPLOT (AFTER

EROGEN-BEARING

HILTON

1,

$ --b I
,(

,., 1
. ,

I
I

4 -

I Id>l I .%. I \] d COMPUTED LOG SHOWING uSE OF KEROGEN ANALYSIS

IN GUIDING

COMPLETION,

.-

--

rER HILTONL), .

,/ ,,/ /; .

!2? /

l:&T.2..-.-.-7

LiGENDE

+y:
2LNNXKSS ~.
r. SLa

ye.:--:,-,.

G, Ft

5,GEOLOGIC

*1
----

. --. . -+ . -------

.-_ -.. -----

+..
y.&\

--1

SW80Lt

S GiOL0080UtS ,imcrwt ,, M ,..,,8..,

CO.,U, ++ -. T T

.Im,..lt,t.a, r,i,, [ m,,, !,!,,, <..[.s!

j::

,,6[,,1

[.

MuIS

0-

MAP,

SAINT

LAWERENCE LOWLANDS OF QUEBEC,

*. .,mo.. i! 1U,c..,..ma.a. ,0.,.,..

t-

- . -,.,0...;. .!., ,.!!,,., .

[ ,.

.,,

,.

...,,

-- ~

FIG,

7-

TECTONIC

ZONES, SAINT OF QUEBEC,

LAWERENCE LowLANDs

Nw
PLATFORM PRECAMBRIAN ,
Q. Y
4.

ExTERf4AL Zofffi

(20.40 mll*s)

(s-to m,l,e)

INTERNAL ZONE I5-10 mms)

NAPPE ZONE {*S-20 111,1*+)

SE

e. #!O. : ,? .

~ ,: :. 20 22 2, 28

FIG,

8 - SCHEMATIC

\
CROSS SECTION OF THE SAINT lJiWERENCE LOWLANDS OF QUEBEC

FIG, SAINT

Y - WELLS DRf LLED LAWERENCE

lN EXTERNAL

ZONE,

LOWLANDS OF QUEBEC,

Illtl.

CIY.

I.ll.

--l
LI

REFLECT or

OMETRV BITUMEN

POWER

FIG,10THAT THE

lLLITE UTICA

CRYSTALLINITY

AND REFLECTOMETRY

POWER OF BITUMEN

INDICATE

GROUP IS MATURE TO GAS,

GAMMA 10
. 60 90 1

RESIST IVITY
10 -. iOO -

SON I C

TEMPERATURE

SIBILATION

6.20(

6.30(

6.40<

6.50(

6.60(

8.700

6800

2-I
4

68001

6
c

e Qoc

69.30

7.000

7.0001

?.100

7.*OO

. .-P
z I 3? II e

------<----E+%+%

, Fig. 11Logs of Villeroy #2.

vl LLEROY No.2 UTICA QROUP

100

: . 2

10

,1,:.,,..:1
R,
ILL8)

FIG,

12- SON IC-R~SISTIVITY CROSSPLOT, VILLOROY #2,

VI LLEROY UTICA DETERMINATION OF

N0,2 GROUP THE CONSTANT B .

10
ft.

I
100 [LL8)

\
ESTIMATING CORRECT VALUE

& t(

FIG,13-

SONIC-RESISTIVITY

CROSS PLOT PERMITS

OF B.

VI LLEROY No.2 UTiC& QROUP -----------A ml

$.,...,, ezw. ,,,0.,,.. ewo [G,,

G ,W, G,.* ,

@mt*..,n
UU*W.I

[110 a,, [sm.,!

*#aO.*mO

m, n,,,..,,,,

G G G

G
9


G

o G G ** G * G

G.

* G G

3?

G G G

4:

CNL

(Llmostone

Poroslly)

FIG,14 -

SONIC-NEUTRON

CROSS PLOT,

VI LLEROY #2,

VI LLEROY No.2 UTICA GROUP I I, / / > /

00

0s -

so -

Q
45 ;

2
,?, 6 !0
!5 Pomwty) 20

CNL (Limeslorm

FIG,15BEARING

SONIC-NEUTRON FORMATIONS,

CROSSPLOT

PERM17s

Estimating

POROSITY

AND SHALE VOLUME

IN CONSOLIDATED

GAS-

I
/
2.2

2.1

2.0

19

!.8

0 1

El

1.7

E
16 VI LLE~LIY lb 2

E?J
El

1.4

13

1.?

11

FIG,

16- SIBILATION

9.0

AND DIP-METER ZONES ,

LOGS

10

15

20

25

SHOW GAS-BEARING

FRACTURED

Metrtx

Porosity

(%1

Ob
(AFTER IkuJl LERA9) I

FIG ,

17 -

CHART USED TO EVALUATE

DOUBLE-POROSITY

SYSTEMS,

-1
G
A ,.,,... ,.,,...s s 6830.6300 4,,0.6800 (03.. (0,,1 V... )

VI LLEROY NO.? UTICA GRf3uP

\\

,,

:\\. \ . . -. . .

1.

.,

\, .
\.

? \

!00

I 1000

R.

(L18)

FIG,

18- SON IC-RESI

ST IVITY

CROSSPLOT

FOR

~RY

AND

GAS-BEARING

INTERVALS,

VILLEROY
I
I CALlPER ,+ I I 1 FLOWMETER I I I 1 I SPINNER I I 10 SPEED IN RPS 2.5 TEMPERATURE INCREASE

No.2

RUNS

TEMP. RUN
NO

LOG
I +

I+TEMP. I RUN I I ; I ;

LOG N02

20 1

I i I I \ \

I I i I I I I I I I I
I

I
I I I

INTERVAL

I , / / ; I / I I 11 / LOGGED 1+ DOWN 1; ~ LOGGEO ,+ I up I /4

I I I I \ I \ I I I I I I I

I II
II II l= \ I I \ \ -.

II I ! I I I I I I I

I I I I I I 1 \ \

, i I 6

Fig.

19 - Temperature

and flowmeter

surveys.

RESIST IVIi Y TOP UTICA ~ioo:

SONIC 90

~ 6,200

6,300

6,400

6,500

F.600

6,700

6,800

6,900

7,000

TOPTRCNTON

Resistivity Fig. 20below 6550 ft.

and sonic

logs

indicate

the presence

of over-pressed

zones

+100

25

% SUCC5EJS 8

?5

100 /

25

/0 / /
/ / /
,3 0 15 .? s

20

,0

/ 4
/ /

/
BREAK-EVEN OCCUR 44 WITH WOULD 5 SUCCESSFUL WELLS

-60

INVESTMENT S9>.000,000

-60

loo~

* 0 NUMBER

20 OF

I 40 SUCCESSFUL

, 60 WELLS

, 80

1 90

F~g. 21 - Economics ff

drilling

90 Development

wells.