The Geomechanics Of A Shale Play: What Makes A Shale Prospective

摘要: Many shale plays are being successfully developed throughout North America. These evaluated based on a number of criteria, but primarily through typical unconventional and tight formation gas reservoir characteristics. Prospective share several interesting characteristics such as mineralogy, rock mechanics, geomechanics. It is the intent this paper to highlight demonstrate interrelationship these characteristics, show their importance completion stimulation design more importantly very prospectivity an play. This will first show, analysis that made up mostly silica carbonate material have few clay constituents. In other words, prospective shales actually fine-grained clastics not shale!Second, tend be brittle, with static Young’s Modulus generally in excess 3.5 x 10 6 psi. Of course, brittleness related lack constituents make rocks. addition, satisfy clastic correlations dynamic Modulus. They do behave like shales, finegrained isotropic (on core scale) clastics! Finally, can flow induced fractures or natural fissures under effective stress conditions plays. As result, water-frac treatments choice! However, proppant still necessary at least near wellbore vicinity provide conductive pathway wellbore.This focuses three key elements (mineralogy, geomechanics) benefits petroleum industry by: 1. Integrating laboratory work multi-disciplinary data develop evaluation tool, 2. Illustrating how dataset influences design, execution, well performance, 3. Demonstrating multi-discipline used identify mitigate risks reservoirs.