Formation Evaluation of an Unconventional Shale Reservoir: Application to the North Slope Alaska
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Organic-rich shale (ORS) has become an increasingly important hydrocarbon resource around the globe due to rapid depletion of conventional reservoirs. Successful exploration and production schemes for ORS should base on reliable identification of major organic components (kerogen in particular) and their hydrocarbon-generating potential. There is a growing need to identify organic content in terms of quantity (Total Organic Carbon TOC) and quality (kerogen type, thermal maturity) in promising shale formations through indirect seismic data, which is usually the only available source of information in most exploration phases. The objective of this study is to delineate different seismic lithofacies in North Slope Alaska (NSA) region in terms of elastic/seismic and petrophysical properties based on core and logging data. A seismic lithofacies is not necessarily a single rock or formation but rather a collection of geologically similar rocks that span a comparable range of petrophysical and seismic properties (Avseth et al., 2005). A seismic lithofacies shares characteristic sedimentologic and rock physics properties, thus serving as a major force in controlling reservoir geometry and porosity distribution (Avseth et al., 2005). In this study, background geology, standard triple combo logging suites, petrophysical and geochemical analysis of core plugs are basic inputs to obtain facies definition, which is the very first step of a more comprehensive statistical rock physics evaluation workflow. Key wells with the most complete dataset in the area of interest are two vertical wells drilled by Great Bear Petroleum LLC, Merak-1 and Alcor-1. Rock physics templates (RPTs) of seismic parameters (Acoustic Impedance AI versus P-wave over S-wave ratio Vp/Vs) are constructed for each facies to facilitate assessments of pore fluid distribution and lithology variation. Another goal is to create useful correlations between source rock attributes (TOC, Hydrogen Index HI) and petrophysical properties (bulk density/porosity, GR, sonic velocities) of major NSA lithofacies. A petrophysical model proposed by Alfred and Vernik in 2012, which has been successfully tested in Bakken shale, will be tested in the area of interest to take into account kerogen porosity. These correlations, together with facies-specific RPTs, assist in mapping organic richness and reservoir properties from seismic-derived attributes. The third goal is to explore elastic anisotropy of NSA shale in both core plugs and logging measurements. This provides a preliminary insight into possible sources of shale anisotropy in NSA, thus enhancing the prospect of applying seismic anisotropy attributes (Amplitude-versus-Offset data for example) to explore source rock potentials in NSA.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | June 2014 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Tran, Minh |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Mukerji, Tapan |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Department of Energy Resources Engineering |
Subjects
| Subject | School of Earth Energy & Environmental Sciences |
|---|---|
| Genre | Thesis |
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Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Tran, Minh. (2014). Formation Evaluation of an Unconventional Shale Reservoir: Application to the North Slope Alaska. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/sb552xd6993
Collection
Master's Theses, Doerr School of Sustainability
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