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Proyecto Shale Gas/Oil: Asimilación y desarrollo de tecnología en diseño, adquisición, procesado e interpretación de datos sísmicos 3D con enfoque a plays de shale gas/oil en México 1

Shales characterization for hydrocarbon production

Dr. Vinicio Suro Pérez November 21, 2013


• Project scope • Sweet-spots characterization • Importance of elastic parameters and stress fields • Seismic acquisition in Limonaria and Galaxia areas • Final remarks

Outline


Non conventional hydrocarbons production is a game changer

*Source: Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas, World Energy Outlook Special Report on Unconventional Gas, International Energy Agency, 2012

• A growing of 50% in the worldwide gas demand is expected between 2010 and 2035

• The gas rate participation at the energy market will reach 25% for 2035, just a single position below crude-oil, in percentage

• IEA has an estimated shale- gas resource of 671 trillions of cubic feet (tcf). Fourth place worldwide

• In a suitable scenario, the total production of gas in Mexico could rise from 1766 to 3178 billions of cubic feet of gas (bcm) for 2035, 37% of such volume is estimated from unconventional (shale gas/tight gas)

• Previous points require an specific technological strategy that should be developed and performed in order to maximize the return of investment in exploitation of unconventional reservoirs


The ultimate scope is to reduce uncertainty to achieve better production

• To reduce uncertainty on the volumetric evaluation of shale gas/oil unconventional reservoirs, using cutting-edge seismic information (sweet spots identification)

• To characterize with detail the prospective resources in studied areas, performing the integration of geophysical, geological and geochemical information

• To design the conceptual engineering for the drilling and completion of two horizontal wells devoted to confirm the prospective resources

• To develop social and environmental research activities that comply standards and regulations for shale oil & gas exploration


Sweet spots characterization

• The integral strategy proposed in the project will reduce the

uncertainty on the sweet spots characterization, this is fundamental in the decision taking process

• Reducing the uncertainty on the sweet spots determination, will be translated into less drilling wells and more successful wells

• More successful wells means optimization of investment costs, production growing and reduction of environmental impact

• Integral scope (industry complete-cycle) for better practices


Geophysical Well Logs

Brittleness with density of fractures

Geomechanics

Areas with major maturity of Type II

Organic Matter

Best TOC (Total Organic Carbon) areas

Sweet Spot

Integration of information is a key element to succeed

Sweet spots: The term refers to high density fractured areas with favorable conditions for hydrocarbons accumulation and best conditions to perform hydro-fracturing


Geological Modeling will allow the calibration and validation of seismic data with the aim of delineating sweet-spots

Petrography

350 µm

Electronic Sweep Microscope

325 µm

Chanel samples

1.75 cm

Coring

10 cm

Direct geological methods


• Zones of mineralogical distribution and porosity

• To identify zones of mineralogical distribution

• To identify and map the distribution zones of porosity kinds

• Inorganic chemistry: • Elemental, mineral and isotopic

composition • SEM techniques, microprobe, X-ray

diffraction and isotopes

• Petrophysics: • Calibration of logs and scaling • Analysis of shale-log

Slatt (2011)

The mineralogical distribution of the shales allow the documentation of their fragility to direct the hydrofracing at the interest units


Porous system characterization

• Analysis of the porous system: • Size, abundance, distribution and images • Techniques of electronic microscope, cathode

and fluorescence

• Petrography: • Identification and quantification of porosity

and mineralogy

• Digenesis: • In shaly rocks and siliciclastics; compaction

analysis, cementation and fracturing • Techniques of optic petrography, diffraction of

X-rays, scanning electron microscope (SEM)

Imagen MEB de arcillas en Fm. Pimienta (Jurásico)

The objective of porous system characterization is to determine the origin and quantify kinds of porosities in the units of interest

Loucks (2010) Poros dentro de partículas

Poros entre partículas


¿How to minimize the impacts associated to unconventional HC exploitation?

(1) Well head and "christmas tree", (2) flow line (for flowback and testing), (3) sand, (4) tanks for flowback, (5) line heaters, (6) burner, (7) pumping trucks, (8) sand deposits, (9) trucks for the transport of sand, (10) trucks for the transport of acid, (11) trucks for chemical additives, (12) mixer, (13) Center of monitoring and control of fracture, (14) reservoir of fresh water, (15) main supply of fresh water, (16) extra tanks, (17) online heaters, (18) sliding separator, (19) production collector. Source: Shale gas: a provisional assessment of climate change and environmental impacts. Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.

The growing exploitation of shale gas/oil worldwide has generated the need to assess with greater certainty the magnitude of environmental and social impacts, which could call into question the social and environmental viability of these developments. .

http://www.opsur.org.ar/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/despliegue-territorial.jpg


The risks need to be managed through the use of best practices

Water usage for hydrofrac

Risks of explotions

Drilling operation errors

Risk to human health

Social impact

Soil and water pollution due to fracking fluids

Soil, subsoil, surface water or groundwater pollution by spills, leaks or runoffs

Polluting emissions to the atmosphere

Soil compaction and erosion

Habitat fragmentation and loss

Fractured area

Fracking fluids flowback tanks

COVs emissions Methane leakage

Methane infiltration?

Improbable pollution of shallow acquifers

Improbable fracking fluid leakage from the fractured

zone

Shale

2 km

http://otegogas.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=27523118

http://otegogas.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=27670849


The dynamics of seismic data give information of the elastic wave propagation in the shale

Velocities and times give depths of the horizons

The coherent arrivals of seismic waves give information about subsurface layers. This is the objective of seismic exploration. The consecution of such amplitudes gives a seismic image.

Smoothed Amplitude Spectra

Hz


Elastic parameters distinguishing areas more susceptible to be fractured from others more difficult

Wave propagation velocities

Computation of Elastic Moduli


These techniques allow to study the birefringence phenomenon of S-waves associated with fracturing. Research will be executed for Wavelet upscaling

3D-3C Seismic Acquisition • Frecs. 2Hz-100Hz • Velocities P and S • Elastic moduli calculation

Rock physics (P and S waves) • Frecs. 200KHz-1Mhz • Vp and Vs Tensors • Geomechanics

Dipolar logging • Frecs. 2kHZ – 20Khz • Advanced suite of records • Velocity P and S-indirectly • Petrophysical properties

3D-VSP´s • Frecs. 60Hz-120Hz • Walkaway-3C • Calibration of the

seismic data

• Selection of 2 sub-volumes of 100 Km2 where elastic parameters based on P- and S-wave velocities will be investigated

• Results will offer quantitatively estimations of the Young´s modulus and Poisson´s ratio

Multi component detailed studies

The use of multicomponent seismic should help to reduce uncertainty and to calibrate a target area


The stress field estimation data for actual location and orientation of producers

• Special processing : Elastic inversion (FracFactor, Lambda Rho, Mu Rho, Poisson´s ratio, Young´s modulus, TOC estimation) calibration with microseismic

Brittle

Ductile Subsurface Poisson’s ratio map (red= high; blue= low)


Vertical Well for shale definition

Total Gas

Lithology from cuttings

Vertical Well, to control Shale-gas formation

Total Gas

Lithological definition from core samples

Vertical well

Fractured horizontal well

Fractured vertical

well

Microseismic data: •Hydrofracture monitoring • In-situ stress estimation

Fracture detail

The goal is to design an optimized horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracture


The challenge is to infer saturation from an integral approach

6

BR

ITTLE D

UC

TILE

• Identify rocks with organic richness • Susceptible rocks to be fractured

Petrophysical evaluation of gas shales with geophysical well logs

Laboratory analyses to define: • COT, Maturity, Porosity • Free Gas and Adsorbed Gas • Mechanical properties


Shales characterization demands proper well logs and a proper interpretation

Triple Combo Log

• Gamma ray activity >150 gAPI • May not be valid for Mesozoic and Tertiary

shales. May not be valid for lacustrine shales • Resistivity > 15 ohm-m

• Thermal maturity, swelling clays • Density porosity > 8 pu (Ls matrix)

• Bulk density < 2.57 g/cm3

• Presence of kerogen and/or porosity • Neutron reflects clay content, type

• NPHI < 35 pu (Ls)

Gas Shale “Typical Shale”


Limonaria 3D

Tres Hermanos

Norte

Limonaria 3D Finished

20 km

Limonaria 3D-3C, Prospected Area (1200 Km2)

Objective Pimienta Formation: - 10-200 m thickness - 1400 - 3000 m (depth EIA, 2011).

Seismic surveys localization and geological objectives Galaxia 3D-3C, Prospected Area (1500 Km2)

Objective Agua Nueva (Eagle Ford) Formation: - 100-300 m thickness - 1000 - 5000 m (depth EIA, 2011).


● Topograf ía 53.95%● Perforac ión 62.83%● Carga pozos 40.33%● Observac ión 29.96%

● Permisos Obtenidos 91.14%● Permisos Negados● Permisos Condic ionados● Permisos Abandonados● Permisos s in Afec tac ión● Reserva Cinagét ica● Ac t iv idad de Cacería

IMP began acquiring 3D seismic information in Limonaria, North of Veracruz State

96.04% Topografía 64.71 % Perforación 74.06 % Carga pozos 49.87 % Observación 38.21 %

Obtained permitting Rejected permitting Conditioned permitting Abandon No affectation Cinegetic reserve Hunting activity

Topography 64.71% Perforation 74.06% Charged wells 49.87% Observed 38.21%


Actual state of source points

Observed Charged Perforated Preplotted To be perforated To be vibrated

Proyecto Shale Gas/Oil: Asimilación y desarrollo de tecnología en diseño, adquisición, procesado e interpretación de datos sísmicos 3D con enfoque a plays de shale gas/oil en México 22 Sub proyecto “C”: Asimilación y desarrollo de tecnología en diseño, adquisición, procesado e interpretación de datos

sísmicos 3D con enfoque a plays de shale gas/oil en México

Raw data, brute stack in Limonaria

22

Pimienta seismic response

• The directly recorded seismic information from Limonaria survey provide subsurface acoustic images useful to map, in 3D, economic geological objectives such as the shales of Pimienta Formation


Surface Geology (Alluvial deposits) Detonation testing; depth = 20 m. Charge = 2Kg.

Amplitude Spectra

Amplitude preservation Depth and charge tests for sources

At some parts of the survey area alluvial deposits are located. This geological surface characteristic attenuates the seismic energy.

In the areas with alluvial deposits, detonation test are performed in order to minimize the energy loss of seismic amplitudes and preserve the frequency content.


Time: 1074 ms Velocity: 2950 m/s

Results of preliminary processing, Zippers 1 - 2

Pre-processed data for Zippers 1-2

The preliminary velocity analysis computed in the field, offers the firsts set of results useful in the Velocity Model that is fundamental to perform Depth Migration.

Stacking velocities are given for all time common mid point gathers


XL 3125

IL 3096

Results of preliminary processing, Zippers 1 - 2

a. Reference Map for the In-Line and Cross-Line seismic sections of Limonaria survey. b. Preliminary processed results in the Limonaria Zippers 2 – 3 for the In-line, IL 3096

seismic section displayed in Fig a). It is easily seen two principal features in the seismic section of Fig b); 1) The strong basement response at the bottom including one coherent inclined horizon and 2) The intermediate Pimienta Formation seismic response cuasi-horizontal with high amplitude.

LUTITAARENISCA

ALUVION

XL3125XL2917

LIMITE DEL ZIPPER 2 Y 3

ZIPPER 2ZIPPER 3

1

2

Basement


CDP gather without Interpolation CDP gather with Interpolation SW NE

Seismic line (zipper-1), with 5D interpolation and PSMT

5-D interpolation to get better information

a) Original CDP data. b) 5D interpolation results

improving seismic resolution.

Results of post-stack time migration (PSTM) after 5D interpolation. It can be seen the good seismic response of Pimienta Formation.

Pimienta

a) b)


Existent wells to calibrate seismic data and improve interference


Seismic exploration in Galaxia 3D-3C

North: Piedras Negras, Coahuila South: Nuevo León state East: Mexico-USA border (Rio Bravo) West: Villa Union, Coahuila

Survey center is located 160 Km NW of Nuevo Laredo, 90 Km SE of Acuña, 111 Km NE of Sabinas, Coahuila


Advances of infrastructure

Base camp is located at Km. 111 of the federal highway Piedras-Negras-Nuevo Laredo. Earth Coordinates Latitude: 28°13’14.29’’ Longitude: 100°13’37.60’’


Advances in Topography Galaxia 3D-3C

EL BARKO Advance of Topography

18.48%


Survey program and relevant stages, Galaxia 3D-3C

Hito 1

Hito 2

Hito 3


Final Remarks

• The exploration is designed to identify accurately the areas with most hydrocarbon accumulation and the better conditions for fracking.

• Limonaria exploration activities are performed as planned. Just some recoverable delays on recordings have been reported due to tropical storms of September and October.

• Galaxia exploration activities report excellent advances on Permitting, Topography and feasibility studies. Just hunting season must be avoided for the seismic observation stage.

• The seismic recording in Galaxia will start in February 2014.

• Processing results of first obtained seismic images offer high definition and enhanced resolution to perform sweet- spots investigation.


Fracture direction

Shear-wave splitting will be investigated using four geophysical scales in the project.

S-wave Birefringence phenomenon

This phenomenon provides a more precise characterization of fracture density and orientation.

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Cheng & Tang, 1982

shales characterization for hydrocarbon production - platts · proyecto shale gas/oil: ......

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