SHALE

PREPARED BY :

WAEL EL ESSAWY
August , 1996

SHALE
1. what drives shale reactio ns

ome wellbor e failures in shales can be put dow n to

purely mech a ni c al origins such as high tectonic
stres s e s or overpr e s s u r e d form a tio n . If geological and
drilling conditions allow, thes e situatio ns can be man a g e d
by using an appro pri a t ely high mud weig ht. The BP wellbor e
stability guidelin e s of Addis, Mclean and Rob ert s discus the
mec h a ni c al aspe ct s of shale instability.
Wher e ther e are che mi c al (or linked che mic al -- mech a ni c al)
proc es s e s involved it is often not possible to give a simple,
clear reaction mech a ni s m that explains the proces s e s that
take place in the wellbor e. Ther e is still consid er a b l e deb at e
on how shales react (particularly with wate r bas e d mud).
It is vary obvious that first step in the reactio n betw e e n
shales and WBM is that wate r pen et r a t e s the rock once it is
expos e d
during
drilling.
Althou g h
well
sorte d
and
comp a c t e d shales have very low per m e a b iliti es , wate r is
able to invad e and promo t e the reaction s that caus e
swelling, stres s build- up and /or softe ni n g .
2. How does water get into shale ?
The classical explan a ti o n for how wate r mov es from the mud
into the shale is that osmosis occurs . (Osmosis is the
spont a n e o u s move m e n t of water from a low conce n t r a ti o n
salt solution to a more conce n t r a t e d one throu g h a semiper m e a b l e mem b r a n e . ) This require s that the shale, or the
interf a c e betw e e n the drilling fluid and bulk form a ti o n , acts
as a mem b r a n e throug h which water can pass but not
anions or cations . If the salt conc e n t r a ti o n s (or more
corre ctly the wate r activities ) of the mud aque o u s phas e
and form a ti o n fluids differ, wate r molecul e s will move from
the low wate r activities are balanc e d . Since shale pore fluids
are often more saline than the drilling fluid, water is
there f o r e draw n into the shale and this can caus e
insta bility.
The conc e p t of osmosis has, for many years , given rise to
the sugg e s t e d use of balanc e d activity mud (e.g. wher e the
activities of the mud aqueo u s phas e and form a ti o n fluids
are match e d ) which will prev e n t this reaction taking place.
Howev e r , an argu m e n t agains t osmosis being an import a n t
mec h a ni s m is support e d for the following reas o n s :

Sever al rece n t piece s of labora t o r y work disprov e the

occurr e n c e of osmosis in WBM. In BP Sunb u r n s experi m e n t s
using shales with pore fluid compo si tions close to fres h
wate r, the addition of 30 ppb NACL or KCL still caus e s
swelling. If osmotic proce s s e s were opera ti n g thes e shales
should shrink.
A study of water trans p o r t in shales carried out by AEA
techn olo g y in Dorset show e d that diffusion is not affec t e d
by salinity. This work also show e d that anions and cations
diffus e throug h the shale at simpler rates to water
molec ul e s . If osmosis was occurrin g , thes e ions should be
exclud e d from the shale and water diffusion rates should be
affec t e d by salinity chang e s .
Wate r diffusion and fluid pene tr a ti o n studies by shell
suppo rt the AEA work.
If the osmosis was import a n t , the use of WBM contai nin g
low (i.e. 10 ppb) conce n t r a ti o n s of KCL should be more
effec ti v e than high conce n t r a ti o n s for drilling shallow
Tertia ry shales (which tend to have low pore wate r salinity).
Furth e r m o r e , too high a KCL level should caus e thes e shales
to shrink
and
henc e
possibly
dest a bilis e.
No welldocu m e n t e d eviden c e exists to support this and, in fact,
wides p r e a d industry experi e n c e show s that mud with
salinity s much higher than thos e of the pore fluids are
gen er ally the more succe s s f ul.
While osmosis does not occur in WBM, it is a key mech a ni s m
in OBM wher e labora t o r y experi m e n t s have show n that
shale can be mad e to swell or shrink simply by changi n g the
activity of the emulsified brine phas e. Work at BP Sunb ur n
has show n that the combin a ti o n of surfac t a n t s and oil in the
OBM combin e to form a true semi- per m e a b l e mem b r a n e on
the shale surfac e .
If osmosis is not a valid mech a ni s m for explaining the
trans p o r t of wate r into shales , how does shales hydrat e in
WBM?
Wate r will diffus e betw e e n the shale and the mud and
grad u al mixing of the two fluids will there f o r e take place. If
the che mic al composition and/or conce n t r a ti o n of the two
fluids is significa n tly differ e n t , shale reactions can occur,
resulting in a chan g e in the physical prope r ti e s of the rock.
Diffusion rates for water in shales will depe n d on the
per m e a b ility.

Perm e a b iliti es for sever al shales have been meas u r e d

AEA tech nolog y (table1 ).
SHALE RATE
LONDON
CLAY
OXFORD
CLAY

PROSITY
%

by

DIFFUSION
WATER, M/S

PERMEABILITY
NANODARCIES

46.0

1.70

---------------

35.0

1.90

500

3. SHALE TYPES AND TYPICAL DRILLING PROBLEMS

Attempts have been made to classify shales to reflect the way they
behave during drilling. None of these classifications are perfect
since there are too many variables to allow an unambiguous
description of behaviour. Many schemes draw on local experiences
and make interpretations that indicate a poor understanding of
shale reactions and mud chemistry.
Although it is impossible to force shale into a particular group and
then expect them to behave in a way identical to a classic member
of the group, the use of a system forms a good starting point in the
early stages of the well planing and mud selection. A detailed study
using shale samples, offset well data and focused laboratory work
will then provide the detail to make the necessary refinements. The
best mud type and drilling practices will be strongly influenced by
the expected type of shale.
A classification of mudrock types is given in table 2. Note this
scheme uses shale hardness as the main classification criterion.
This is a convenient approach since it also offers some correlation
with burial depth and compacting and swelling clay contents.
CLASS

TEXTURE

MBT

WATER
CONTENT

CLAYS

SOFT

20-40

25-70

FIRM

10-20

15-25

FIRM

10-20

2-10

smectite +
illite
illite +
mixed layer
illite +

WT
DENSIT
%
Y
CLAY
20-30 1.2-1.5
20-30 1.5-2.2
20-30 2.3-2.7

mixed layer
D
3-10
5-15
illite +
20-30 2.2-2.5
poss. smect.
E
BRITTLE
0-3
2-5
illite
5-30
2.5-2.7
kaolinite,
chlorite
Using the table 2 classification scheme, some statements can be
made about likely wellbore problems in each shale type and the
implications for design of the drilling and drilling and mud
programmes.
HARD
HARD

I. Class A shales : Soft,

conte n t , low density .

high

wate r

cont e n t ,

high

clay

These shales are typically young, rapidly deposited and not deeply
buried. Examples include many of the tertiary shales of the North
Sea and Gulf of Mexico. These shales do not always contain high
amount of swelling clay and those which is present can be
smectites and/ or mixed layer.
Because of the variable clay mineralogy, this shales can range from
highly swelling to non-swelling. The clay composition will be that
which was transported into the sedimentary basin since burial
temperatures will rarely be high enough to promote mineral
transformations (diagnosis). Because of the rapid deposition of
many of these sediments, the formations may be poorly sorted and
therefore will be appreciably silty, giving permeabilities significantly
higher than usually expected.
Drilling probl e m s that can occur in clas s A shale s are:
Hole closure.
Frequent and often lengthy sections of tight hole are encountered
when tripping out of the hole and when making connections.
Significant time can be spent working and reaming the string that
can become mechanically stuck if care is not taken. Pumping out of
the hole will generally make tripe easier.
Hole enlargement.
Because these shales are soft and easily eroded, large washout can
develop which can make the hole cleaning, directional control and
effective cement jobs difficult. If the washouts become sever, hole
collapse is possible and if the shale is dispersive, cuttings will break
down in the mud causing an increase in viscosity. Excessive
dispersion will increase mud maintenance costs.
If more competent formations are interbedded with the shales,
ledges will form to give problems while tripping, logging and
running casing.

sticky cuttings
The wet, often plastic nature of these shales gives them the
potential to cue's problems such as bit balling, poor hole cleaning,
mud rings and blocked flow lines.
II. Class B shales : firm, mode r a t e/ high water cont e n t , high
clay cont e n t .
These are often just deeper-buried versions of the class A shales
but their different behaviour merits placing them in a different
group. The burial depth increases, water is squeezed out to form a
more consolidated material. Temperature also increase with depth
and as it reaches 60 - 100 c. Smectites gradually transform into
non-swelling illites, however, since this transition is not abrupt, it is
common to find an appreciable amount of swelling mixed layered
illite/smectite at depths to 3 km.
Therefore with depth, the class A shales are gradually transformed
into the firmer class B formations and, if smectite was present in
the original sediment, this is slowly converted to mixed layer clays
and ultimately illite.
There do, however, appear to be a number of exceptions to the
smectite to illite transformation that means that the occurrence of
more or less pure smectite at depths greater than 2 km should not
be ruled out. A typical example is the smectite rich balder clay
formation, found extensively in the North Sea at depths in excess of
2.5 km.
Drilling probl e m s that can occur in clas s B shale s are :
Hole closure.
Problems will be similar to class A except that the increased
hardness of the formation makes the shale less prone to plastic
flow.
Hole enlargement.
Reaction with WBM can soften the shale to the extent where it is
easily washed out, although this can be limited by use of the
correct mud formulation. The shale also be competent enough to
swell and stress the wellbore to the extent where cavings will be
produced. With the wrong mud system, instability can be observed
even in shales with low (5 %) amounts of swelling minerals.
Bit balling.
Sever bit balling can be experienced in the class B shales and
appears to depend on moisture content, mineralogy, mud type,
hydraulics and bit type. There are also suggestions that the ion
exchange form of the swelling minerals in the shale can have a
large influence. Calcium shales seem much more prone to balling
than sodium rich varieties.

III. Class C shales : firm- hard,

high clay conte n t .

low/mediu m

water

conte n t ,

The hardness of these shales combined with an appreciable

swelling clay content make them prone to caving although hole
closure (swelling without caving) IS known.
Drilling probl e m s that can occur in clas s c shale s are :
hole closure.
Problems are unlikely to be as sever as in class A and B shales.
Aggressive reaming and high tripping speeds through tight regions
may disturb the wellbore and produce caving.
cavings
Characteristic thin fragments with curved faces can be produced.
These may generally remain hard and so can be easily recognised
at the shale shakers. Excessive cavings can make hole cleaning
difficult and can, in the extreme, result in the hole packing off. The
subsequent hole enlargement can add to hole cleaning problems as
well as making logging, running casing and cementing difficult.
Caving (and cutting) from some class C shales can soften and
partially disperse in the mud en route to the surface, producing a
degree of rounding which can make caving events difficult to detect
at the shakers.
Dispersion
It is already noted, some shales may disperse into the mud as
cuttings often although problems are unlikely to be severe.
Similarly, mud rings will be rare in these shales. Bit balling may
occur but becomes less likely than with class A and B.
IV. Class D shales : hard, mode r a t e water conte n t , high clay
conte n t .
Shales in this category tend to contain predominantly illite or mixed
illite/smectite. For example the Jurassic Cambridge clay in the North
Sea and Cretaceous Pierre shale from Utah, USA. Drilling problems
will depend both physical factors (stress, pore pressure)and
compositional variations such as the presence and concentration of
smectite. With these more compacteated usually older shales, the
fabric (arrangement of minerals within the structure of the shale),
and the development of cementitious minerals (carbonates, quartz
overgrowths, authigenic clay minerals) will exert a much greater
influence on reactivity than in class A and B shales.

The high salinity of pore fluids within these rocks may contrast
sharply with that of the mud filtrate and that can be a major cause
of wellbore stability.
Drilling probl e m s that can occur in clas s D shale are :
cavings
These shales will produce characteristically hard, dry curved
cavings that are only slightly to moderately dispersive in any water
based mud. Drilling problems include the formation of cutting's
beds with the associated risk of packing off and the productions of
large amounts of hole fill on trips. Hole enlargement that results
from extensive caving can make hole cleaning, directional control
and cementing difficult.
V. Class E shales : brittle, low water cont e n t , low to high clay
conte n t .
hole collapse
small caving similar to those seen in class D shales can occur but
the mode of failure in these shales is more typically a sudden and
often catastrophic collapse which produces large blocky or angular
shale pieces. these events will generally occur without warning
some time (hours or days) after the unstable zone has been drilled
and can quickly pack off the drillpipe. hole cleaning, efficient
cementing and logging and casing problems will be common.