Ellison Miles Geotechnology Institute and Brookhaven College, the Society of Independent
Professional Earth Scientists–Dallas Chapter, the North Texas Energy Council, and the PTTC
Texas Region present the SIPES Dallas 2005 Symposium
New Technology Enabling New Plays
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Ellison Miles Geotechnology Institute
Brookhaven College, Farmers Branch, Dallas, Texas
Program Chairmen: Mark Mathisen and Jerry Watkins
Sponsors:
BJ Services
Five States Energy Company, L.L.C.
Foundation Energy Company
Geomap Company
Halliburton Energy Services
Kerr-McGee Oil and Gas
NuTech Energy Alliance
Weinman GeoScience
Abstracts and Speaker Biographies
Evaluating Shale Gas Plays using the Barnett Shale Model......................................................... 2
Barnett and Bossier: 3D Seismic Techniques in Barnett Shale and Bossier Sand Prospecting ... 5
Affordable 2D and 3D Seismic Acquisition for Independents ..................................................... 6
Determining a True Textural Permeability by Modeling Key NMR Outputs Using Only
Conventional Log Data................................................................................................................. 6
Sequence Stratigraphy and Depositional Systems Tract Analysis, Eastern Shelf and Basin
Margin—West Texas Basin, North-Central Texas....................................................................... 7
Underbalanced Drilling as a Reservoir Enhancement Approach for Mature Fields .................... 8
FiberFRAC: A Proppant Distribution Solution ............................................................................ 9
A Fresh Way to Treat Produced Water ...................................................................................... 10
SIPES Symposium, October 18, 2005
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Evaluating Shale Gas Plays using the Barnett Shale Model
Daniel M. Jarvie, Humble Geochemical Services
ABSTRACT
A conventional petroleum system would be described as a source to migration pathway to trap
construction, whereas an unconventional system would be self contained, i.e., all components
and processes (excluding overburden) present in a single rock unit. However, more typically,
exploration and production from source rocks is classified as an unconventional resource
primarily due to productive shale gas coming from very low permeability, low porosity shales.
Shales are also oil productive, but require a high degree of fracturing to obtain commercial oil
flow rates. However, source rocks are good resources for gas if they have an optimal organic
richness and thermal maturity to have converted both residual kerogen and any retained oil to
gas. Obviously, completion engineering is a critical component of extracting the gas from these
systems, but commercial rates will not be achieved if a minimum level of conversion or thermal
maturity has not been reached or exceeded.
While gas is generated in the oil window from all kerogen types (whether oil or gas prone), the
presence of black oil components will occlude the limited permeability of a tight shale system
resulting in low flow rates. Thus, gas shows may occur in the oil window, but this does not
necessarily indicate the likelihood of commercial shale gas. Gas window thermal maturity is a
critical component of producibility as the presence of higher molecular black oil components
will occlude the limited permeability of the shale and result in low gas flow rates. The
decomposition of both kerogen (organic matter) and black oil to gas and lighter liquid
hydrocarbons (condensate) is essential for high gas flow rates.
Thermal maturity may be assessed by both visual and chemical means. Visual methods, such as
vitrinite reflectance, are the most common means and are widely used. Often time, however, the
vitrinite data can be misleading or incorrect. These data should be complemented by other
techniques. Chemical techniques such as Rock-Eval Tmax, kerogen transformation ratio, gas
composition, carbon isotopes, and extract fingerprinting allow independent prediction of thermal
maturity and the nature of the products contained in the rock at that maturity. Gas risking plots
can then be constructed to ascertain if all data provides a consistent thermal maturity assessment.
Inconsistencies necessarily have to be more investigated.
Expulsion of hydrocarbons will occur when certain saturation thresholds are exceeded, but a
variable portion of the oil will be retained by adsorption in the organic and mineral matrix.
Expulsion efficiency increases with organic richness, but not necessarily with source thickness.
The most efficient system would be a very organic rich source rock and an adjacent highly
permeable reservoir system. Expulsion efficiency is not ideal characteristics for shale gas
systems as less efficient systems will retain and crack black oil components as well as residual
kerogen to gas. Thus, rather than having all black oil components expelled, they are cracked to
gas.
A comparison of geochemical characteristics of Mississippian and Devonian source rocks along
the Ouachita Thrust Front and also from Devonian systems in the Williston, Illinois, and
Appalachian basins demonstrate the variable geochemical characteristics ranging from TOC to
total generation potentials of these source rocks. Narrowing the geochemical characteristics to
known production areas such as the Barnett Shale provides a means of ascertaining whether a
leasehold area has shale gas prospectivity.
SIPES Symposium, October 18, 2005
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TOC (wt.%) [10]
Gas Dryness [100]
3%
85%
Ro(%) [2.2]
2%
1.20%
Suggested minimum and “gray
area” values for potential shale gas:
TOC:
2.00% - 3.00%
VRo:
1.00% - 1.20%
Tmax-VRo: 1.00% - 1.20%
TR:
80% - 85%
Gas Dryness: 80% - 85%
1.20%
Dark gray area represents oil
window; lines must be outside
green area to indicate potentially
productive shale gas based
strictly on the Barnett Shale gas
model from the Ft. Worth Basin.
Light gray area represents latest oil
window – earliest condensate-wet
gas window where commercial
gas production can be achieved
depending on hydrocarbon
composition and depth.
85%
TR (%) [100]
Tmax-based %VRo [2.2]
Figure 1a. Gas Risking Plot. TOC is good at 4.50%, but other values at or near minimum values
– a low flow rate (<500 mcfd, vertical) shale gas prospect.
SIPES Symposium, October 18, 2005
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TOC (wt.%) [10]
Gas Dryness [100]
3%
85%
Ro(%) [2.2]
2%
1.20%
Suggested minimum and “gray
area” values for potential shale gas:
TOC:
2.00% - 3.00%
VRo:
1.00% - 1.20%
Tmax-VRo: 1.00% - 1.20%
TR:
80% - 85%
Gas Dryness: 80% - 85%
1.20%
Dark gray area represents oil
window; lines must be outside
green area to indicate potentially
productive shale gas based
strictly on the Barnett Shale gas
model from the Ft. Worth Basin.
Light gray area represents latest oil
window – earliest condensate-wet
gas window where commercial
gas production can be achieved
depending on hydrocarbon
composition and depth.
85%
TR (%) [100]
Tmax-based %VRo [2.2]
Figure 1b. Gas Risking Plot. All minimum values exceeded –a good, high flow rate (>500-1000
mcfd, vertical) shale gas prospect.
Speaker Biography
Dan Jarvie is an analytical and interpretive organic geochemist. Areas of work and interest in
analytical chemistry include source rock kinetics and condensate and crude oil assessments
applying light hydrocarbon data. He is involved in numerous conventional petroleum systems
around the world particularly the Permian Basin, Williston Basin, Gulf of Mexico, Libya,
Algeria, and Nigeria. Dan is also heavily involved in unconventional gas exploration in fractured
shales especially Pennsylvanian, Mississippian, and Devonian systems along or near the
Ouachita Thrust Belt, but also prospective systems in the Rocky Mountains, Appalachian,
Illinois, and international possibilities such as the Devonian systems in Algeria and Poland. He
has assembled a worldwide collection of source rocks and crude oils that are used in both
conventional and unconventional petroleum systems assessments.
Dan has actively participated in presentations at national and international meetings of petroleum
geologists, organic geochemists, petroleum engineers, and well loggers with over 100
presentations or papers. The Jarvie et al. 2004 poster on the Barnett Shale won the best poster
award from the AAPG EMD and an oral presentation on the Ouachita Thrust Front shale gas
petroleum systems at the AAPG Southwest Section won the Leverson award for best oral paper.
SIPES Symposium, October 18, 2005
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He earned a B.S. from the University of Notre Dame (Go Irish !). He was mentored in
geochemistry by Don Baker of Rice University and Wallace Dow of formerly of DGSI. He is
president of Humble Geochemical Services, a division of Humble Instruments & Services, Inc.
and has been active in geochemistry since 1982. Dan is a member of American Association of
Petroleum Geologists, American Chemical Society Geochemistry Division, Society of Petroleum
Engineers, The Society for Organic Petrology, and European Association of Organic
Geochemists.
Barnett and Bossier: 3D Seismic Techniques in
Barnett Shale and Bossier Sand Prospecting
Barry Weinman, Alfred Berroteran and Galen Treadgold, Weinman Geoscience
ABSTRACT
As the exploration and development process steps into increasingly complex and subtle reservoir
packages, finding new approaches to squeeze value from 3D seismic surveys is critical. The talk
will focus on two case histories, a Barnett Shale Project and a Bossier Sand Project, looking at
how to improve well location selection and avoid dry holes through the use of advanced seismic
processing and analysis techniques.
The Barnett Shale project highlights basic interpretation techniques, visualization, horizon
attributes, seismic velocities, inversion and seis-facies techniques to target well locations. The
Bossier Sand project identifies potential reservoir trends using seismic interpretation, seis-strat
and seis-facies approaches.
Speaker Biography
Mr. Weinman received a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Maryland in 1973
and graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1975 with an MS in Geophysics. In 1975
he joined Mobil Oil Corporation as an interpretation geophysicist. He conducted various
exploration assignments for Mobil in domestic and international basins. In 1980 Barry joined
Hunt Oil Company working mid-continent, West Texas, Rocky Mountains, Gulf Coast and
International assignments. In 1983 Mr. Weinman founded Weinman GeoScience, a seismic
interpretation company that later expanded to include seismic processing, AVO analysis, and
depth migration studies world wide with offices in Houston and Dallas.
Mr. Weinman is past president of the Dallas Geophysical Society and was awarded a DGS Life
Membership in recognition of his many years of service to the geophysical community. Barry is
a member of Society Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) and American Association of Petroleum
Geologists (AAPG). Mr. Weinman has taught several courses on seismic interpretation and AVO
analysis, given poster papers, and lectured on depth migration at national conventions. Mr.
Weinman was Vice-General Chairman of the 1997 SEG Dallas International Convention and the
2003 SEG Sponsorship chairman.
SIPES Symposium, October 18, 2005
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Affordable 2D and 3D Seismic Acquisition for Independents
Keith G. Sprague, Basin Geophysical
ABSTRACT
Since the advent of seismic exploration, independents and majors have realized it as a powerful
exploration tool. However, the costs have many times been prohibitive to the independent with a
tight budget. This talk will detail areas an independent can cut costs concerning seismic
acquisition without jeopardizing data quality or prospect success.
Speaker Biography
Keith Graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1982 with a Bachelors of Science
degree in Geology and a minor in Marine Science. During his Masters degree work he was hired
by The Anschutz Corporation to head a Gravity & Magnetic Crew in Ohio. He left that position
in the summer of 1983 and headed to Houston to interview for a job when hurricane Alicia hit
Houston, he and his wife Pam stopped off in Dallas to wait out the storm…...they have never
left. Since 1983 Keith has been Chief Geologist for Walter Exploration. He is responsible for all
aspects of generating and drilling Oil & Gas prospects in the United States and Canada. From
1987 to 1992 he sat on the advisory board to the University of Texas Geological Information
Library.
In 1992, (with the help of two engineers) he built from scratch BASIN GEOPHYSICAL; a
subsidiary of WALTER EXPLORATION at the time. BASIN was designed to acquire 2D and
3D seismic data for the oil and gas industry. Keith continues to advise BASIN on day to day
operations.
Keith is currently the President elect of the Dallas Geological Society. He served as second vice
president to the Dallas Geological Society during 2001-2002, and then served three consecutive
terms (2003- 2005), as Society secretary. In 2004 he served as the AAPG National conventions
transportation chair. He is also an AAPG delegate, serving a Five-year term. He is a member of
the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Society of Exploration Geophysicists,
Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Dallas Geological Societies, West Texas Geological
Society and the Houston Geological Society.
Determining a True Textural Permeability by Modeling Key NMR Outputs Using
Only Conventional Log Data
Allen Howard, Nu Tech Energy
SIPES Symposium, October 18, 2005
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Sequence Stratigraphy and Depositional Systems Tract Analysis, Eastern Shelf
and Basin Margin—West Texas Basin, North-Central Texas
L. Frank Brown, Jr., Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences,
University of Texas at Austin
ABSTRACT
Sixteen depositional sequences (principally limestone transgressive and siliciclastic highstand
and lowstand systems tracts) record paleogeography during Late Pennsylvanian Virgilian and
Early Permian Wolfcampian Epochs (~275–296 Ma) on the Eastern Shelf and adjacent West
Texas Basin, northwest and north-central Texas. Composing 16 depositional sequences, strata
totaling 1,200 ft (365 m) on-shelf to more than 2,800 ft (853 m) within the eastern part of the
basin were deposited under the influence of waning regional foreland tectonic elements, diverse
source areas, variable subsidence, and glacio-eustaticsea-level variations.
To understand local sedimentary dynamics, regional tectonic events and sea-level cycles on the
depositional history of these strata, we analyzed genetic depositional systems and
chronostratigraphic sequence stratigraphy. Cross sections covering ~2,000 mi (3,200 km),
extensive outcrop, and >5,000 wireline logs permitted (1) delineation and mapping of highstand
and transgressive (TST/HST) packages; (2) documentation of sequential depositional history; (3)
delineation and mapping of depositional systems and paleogeography for each of 16 depositional
sequences; (4) analysis of depositional response to paleobathymetry and synsedimentary
tectonics; and (5) construction of a regional sequence (chronostratigraphic framework) relative to
sediment supply rates needed to understand relative changes of sea level.
Sedimentary cycles reflect interplay of differential subsidence and marginal uplifts, eustatic
(glacially driven) sea-level cycles, and inferred growth faulting.
The fundamental and practical purpose of these kinds of regional sequence-stratigraphic
frameworks is their application in searching large geographic areas for localized petroleum
prospective areas. Analogs for further discoveries become obvious when a basic depositional and
chronostratigraphic framework is available to explain the basis of currently producing fields.
Such frameworks help to focus expensive 3-D seismic acquisitions where all known parameters
indicate high odds for success on the basis of nearby successful wildcat discoveries within the
same hydrocarbon system.
Trap, reservoir, and migration pathways explaining producing fields, as well as dry holes, can be
inferred by sequence-stratigraphic criteria and then applied to stratigraphic analogs within the
same hydrocarbon system. Regional net sandstone axes (actually sediment-transport pathways)
do not precisely localize potential drill sites, but they provide the basis for reducing large
potential prospect areas into highly promising localized and testable acreage for more expensive
and detailed 3-D seismic acquisition. The chronostratigraphic framework integrates all available
data and eliminates wasting the drill on obviously negative stratigraphic areas.
Speaker Biography
L. Frank Brown, Jr., is a research professor at the Jackson School of Geosciences at The
University of Texas at Austin, where he has conducted research and held administrative positions
at the Bureau of Economic Geology for more than 40 years. He is well known in the geoscience
community for his many contributions to the field of sequence stratigraphy, a concept he helped
define through many lectures, short courses, and papers published in professional journals.
Brown has served as an International Distinguished Lecturer for the American Association of
SIPES Symposium, October 18, 2005
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Petroleum Geologists and done consulting work throughout the world. He earned his bachelor’s
degree at Baylor University and his master’s and doctorate at the University of Wisconsin.
Underbalanced Drilling as a Reservoir Enhancement Approach for Mature Fields
Patrick Brand and Ravi Krishnamurthy, Blade Energy Partners
ABSTRACT
Underbalanced drilling (UBD) is emerging as a crucial technology in enhancing the productivity
and recovery from mature fields. Traditionally, UBD has been used mainly as a “drilling
enabler” and conventional drilling problem-solving technology, to mitigate lost circulation and
differential sticking, and increase rate of penetration. Increasingly, its value creation potential is
being recognized. These benefits include productivity improvement, increase in ultimate
recovery, and real-time reservoir characterization while drilling.
UBD creates value because it reduces or eliminates much of the invasive damage caused by
conventional drilling and completion/workover. Because damage is minimized, reservoirs that
produced poorly tend to produce much more. In mature, low pressure reservoirs, this is a more
critical problem since the reservoir lacks the energy required to mobilize the damage, thus
rendering it permanent. Productivity improvement can be substantial- The benefit (in terms of
improvement in productivity index) can be between 2 X to as high as 40 X conventional wells.
However, results can also be poor, if candidates are not properly selected or UBD is not properly
implemented.
Per-well ultimate recovery improvement is another benefit of UBD. Since both absolute and
relative permeability are unaffected by the UBD process, coning is reduced, and drainage area
and sweep efficiency are improved. Reduced damage also means lower abandonment pressures.
This results in greater per-well recovery. History from UBD wells in fields tracked over a long
period (60 months) indicates that UBD wells have already recovered over 40% more than the
conventional wells over a similar period, and are still producing.
UBD also allows characterization of reservoirs, since hydrocarbons are produced during drilling.
If the mathematical problems associated with reservoir characterization during drilling can be
solved, it has potential to change the understanding of reservoirs that are thought to be "well
understood". Fracture identification, productivity evaluation, and permeability characterization
are some of the key values. We believe that this is the most valuable benefit of UBD, especially
for mature fields where characterization is the critical differentiator between successful and
unsuccessful reservoir exploitation.
The value creation potential of UBD has been largely untapped in the US- for several reasons,
including market nature, limited understanding, fear of risk, limited resources, and
fragmentation. There are several tight gas fields or depleted gas/oil fields in the US that have
been severely damaged by overbalanced drilling or misguided stimulation technologies. Indeed,
some of these wells are actually drilled underbalanced (ironically, for drilling enabling reasons),
but are then stimulated (hydraulically fractured). The irony here is that the production during
UBD was far greater than post-stimulation production in many cases. Fortunately, there has been
a recent increase in the appreciation of UBD among the US companies.
Our presentation will discuss the value of UBD as a technique uniquely suited to the further
exploitation of mature fields. We will present some of the recent advances, and some of the
SIPES Symposium, October 18, 2005
page 8 of 10
published and unpublished experiences with UBD in the world. We will discuss key
considerations in selection of appropriate candidates and proper implementation of UBD, and
their impact on success. We will present some of the tools and techniques we have developed in
recent times to value UBD, select appropriate candidates, and implement the technology
correctly.
Speaker Biography
Patrick Brand has over 25 years of professional experience in project management with
extensive experience with underbalanced drilling and managed pressure drilling projects,
including feasibility studies, detailed engineering and field implementation. Patrick Brand is
one of the founding partners of Blade Energy Partners, a high end engineering, project
management and implementation support company. He worked previously for Mobil for 20
years, including 10 years in Mobil’s drilling technical center. He is a registered professional
engineer for the State of Texas, past Chairman of the IADC Underbalanced Drilling Committee,
past Chairman for the SPE re-write committee for underbalanced drilling and a member of Chi
Epsilon Civil Engineering Honor Society. He has authored or co-authored 22 papers in the
industry, many relating to UBD design and implementation. Education credits include a BS
degree in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University.
FiberFRAC: A Proppant Distribution Solution
John Lassek, Schlumberger, Houston
ABSTRACT
Improved production in tight gas reservoirs being developed today is generally believed to be
dependent upon achieving longer, effective hydraulic fracture lengths which enable the operator
to drain the reservoir more efficiently.
Schlumberger FiberFRAC technology offers flexibility in fracture design by de-coupling
proppant transport from fluid viscosity. This allows the design engineer to achieve longer,
effective hydraulic fracture lengths by addressing excessive fracture height growth, polymer
damage to the proppant pack as well as achieving a more uniform proppant distribution.
Speaker Biography
John Lassek joined Schlumberger after attaining his BS in Petroleum Engineering from the
University of Alaska Fairbanks. His work experience includes international and domestic
familiarity in West Texas, Indonesia, MidContinent, North Texas, East Texas and the
Northeastern United States. Prior to taking his current position as Product Development
Manager, John was most recently Technical Projects Leader, USLand East Regional Technical
Manager and MidContinent Area Technical Manager.
SIPES Symposium, October 18, 2005
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A Fresh Way to Treat Produced Water
Daniel Smith, JLC Technologies
ABSTRACT
Over the past year, JLC Technologies has filed over 37 patents on a revolutionary type of water
purification technology, which is just now being brought to market. The system is based, in part,
upon the effects of cavitation, which helps to “transition” dissolved solids into a suspended solid
state. The system also has unparalleled filtration capabilities that enable removal of these, and
other suspended solids. The net effect is to be able to purify almost any type of produced water
to an EPA grade potable standard, if desired. The system is small, requires little maintenance,
and is extremely energy efficient. The opportunities for the system in conventional and coal bed
methane produced waters are almost as limitless as their respective volumes.
Speaker Biography
Daniel Smith has a degree in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University. He is also a
practicing Professional Engineer by examination in the field of Petroleum Engineering. Before
joining JLC in business development, he worked as a completions and operations engineer with
XTO Energy, joining them when the company first entered East Texas. He specialized in tight
gas operations, predominately in the East Texas Freestone Trend. He left an enjoyable career at
XTO to join JLC in the efforts to bring this much needed new technology to market. Prior to
XTO, he also worked with Sonat Exploration as a Drilling Engineer.
END
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