N267 Petrophysics for Shale Gas Reservoirs
N267 Petrophysics for Shale Gas Reservoirs
The petrophysical evaluation of mudstones presents challenges because of complex mineralogy, high organic content, proportion of adsorbed versus free gas and very low permeabilities. This course explores how the physical and chemical nature of shale gas constrain our petrophysical approach and how core measurements integrated with log analysis can help develop an appropriate petrophysical model. The course focuses on shale gas, although liquids are briefly considered.
A three-day seminar-style course in the classroom comprising of a mixture of lectures, discussions, break-out groups, and short exercises using calculators and Excel.
Participants will learn to:
Shale gas reservoirs present a significant petrophysical challenge compared to conventional oil and gas reservoirs. The basis of petrophysical evaluation in conventional reservoirs involves the simple separation of solids and fluids but is problematic when considering fine grained successions of mudstones, or shale gas plays. Core analyses must be adapted for these low permeability formations, while traditional logs are best supplemented by more recently developed measurements.
This seminar-style course will present an overview of mudstones, and how in shale gas plays the physical and chemical properties are central to any petrophysical evaluation. The course starts from the conventional petrophysics viewpoint, considers the nature of mudstone systems, and then uses a variety of approaches appropriate for evaluating shale gas using core and log data within a geological framework.
The course will cover the following items:
Day 1: Introduction to shale gas reservoirs and petrophysical models for shale gas; case study 1.
Day 2: Review of petrophysics and introduction to shale gas core analysis.
Day 3: Shale gas log analysis, petrophysical models revisited, geomechanical properties, and an integrated workflow.
Anyone involved in shale gas petrophysics, including geologists, geophysicists, petrophysicists and engineers. The course aims to review shale gas petrophysics and provide an awareness of the complexities faced in developing appropriate shale gas petrophysical models.
Prerequisites – Participants should have a basic understanding of petrophysical evaluation, as presented in Basic level N083 (Petrophysics and Formation Evaluation: Principles and Practice) or N121 (Modern Petrophysical Well Log Interpretation), as well as practical experience working with well logs.
Linking Skilled level petrophysics courses include N054 (Intermediate Petrophysics for Conventional Reservoirs), N187 (Low Resistivity Low Contrast Pay) and the field course N030 (Rocks and Fluids: Practical Petrophysics, Isle of Wight, UK).
Linking Unconventional Resource Basic level classes include N313 (Evaluating Resource Plays) and N259 (From Outcrop to Subsurface: Understanding and Evaluating Shale Resource Plays, Alberta, Canada); at a Skilled level consider N364 (Fracture Architecture, Sedimentology and Diagenesis of Organic-rich Mudstones of Ancient Upwelling Zones with Application to Naturally Fractured Reservoirs (California, USA) and N250 (Evaluation Methods for Shale Reservoirs).
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Background
Mike’s research has focused on the physical properties of rocks and their interdependence, utilizing both laboratory measurements on core and downhole measurements in assessing reservoir and repository properties, as well as investigating novel applications of electrical and acoustic measurements. Current petrophysics projects are funded by government, charities and industry, and include both conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs (hydrates, coalbed methane, and shale gas). Mike’s research spans both industry and academia. Mike is a former Vice President of SPWLA, SPWLA Distinguished Speaker, and SPWLA Distinguished Service Award holder. He has been chair of the Scientific Technology Panel for the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, is a member of the Natural Environment Research Council’s Science Advisory Panel on ocean drilling, and is currently Vice President of the SPWLA Foundation. In addition he chairs the Committee of Heads of University Geoscience Departments in the UK, and is an editorial board member for Petroleum Geoscience and for Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A. Mike has edited 7 books and published over 150 papers.
Mike teaches undergraduate university classes with emphasis on physical properties of rocks at different scales, and includes Reservoir Geoscience, and Petroleum Reservoir Petrophysics. He also teaches both classroom based and field based petrophysics courses for industry.
Affiliations and Accreditation
PhD Physical Properties of Marine Sediments
MSc Wales - Marine Geotechnics
BSc Readings- Geological Geophysics with Mathematics
Courses Taught
N083: Petrophysics: principles & practice
N030: Rocks and Fluids: Practical Petrophysics
N267: Petrophysics for Shale Gas Reservoirs
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