A - EIA - ARI - 2013 World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment

EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and
Shale Oil Resource Assessment

Technically Recoverable Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resources:
An Assessment of 137 Shale Formations in 41 Countries
Outside the United States
Prepared for:
U.S. Energy Information Administration

U.S. Department of Energy
Prepared by:
Advanced Resources International, Inc.

4501 Fairfax Drive, Suite 910, Arlington, VA 22203 USA
P: 703.528.8420 | W: www.adv-res.com
June 2013
EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND STUDY RESULTS .................................................................................................... 1-1
STUDY METHODOLOGY.......................................................................................................................................... 2-1
I.
CANADA ....................................................................................................................................................... I-1
II.
MEXICO....................................................................................................................................................... II-1
III.
AUSTRALIA ................................................................................................................................................ III-1
IV.
N. SOUTH AMERICA ................................................................................................................................ IV-1
V.
ARGENTINA ................................................................................................................................................ V-1
VI.
BRAZIL ....................................................................................................................................................... VI-1
VII.
OTHER S. SOUTH AMERICA ................................................................................................................... VII-1
VIII.
POLAND (Including Lithuania and Kaliningrad) ........................................................................................ VIII-1
IX.
RUSSIA ...................................................................................................................................................... IX-1
X.
EASTERN EUROPE (Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine)..................................................................................... X-1
XI.
UNITED KINGDOM .................................................................................................................................... XI-1
XII.
SPAIN ........................................................................................................................................................ XII-1
XIII.
NORTHERN AND WESTERN EUROPE .................................................................................................. XIII-1
XIV.
MOROCCO (Including Western Sahara and Mauritania) ........................................................................ XIV-1
XV.
ALGERIA ................................................................................................................................................... XV-1
XVI.
TUNISIA.................................................................................................................................................... XVI-1
XVII.
LIBYA....................................................................................................................................................... XVII-1
XVIII.
EGYPT.................................................................................................................................................... XVIII-1
XIX.
SOUTH AFRICA ....................................................................................................................................... XIX-1
XX.
CHINA........................................................................................................................................................ XX-1
XXI.
MONGOLIA .............................................................................................................................................. XXI-1
XXII.
THAILAND ............................................................................................................................................... XXII-1
XXIII.
INDONESIA ............................................................................................................................................ XXIII-1
XXIV.
INDIA/PAKISTAN .................................................................................................................................. XXIV-1
XXV.
JORDAN ................................................................................................................................................. XXV-1
XXVI.
TURKEY ................................................................................................................................................ XXVI-1
June, 2013
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND STUDY RESULTS
The World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment, conducted by Advanced
Resources International, Inc. (ARI) for the U.S. DOEs Energy Information Administration (EIA),
evaluates the shale gas and shale oil resource in 26 regions, containing 41 individual countries,
Figure 1. The assessment did not include the United States, but for completeness we have
included in the Executive Summary our internal estimates of shale gas and shale oil resources
for the U.S., extracted from ARIs proprietary shale resource data base.
The information provided in this report should be viewed as the second step on a
continuing pathway toward a more rigorous understanding and a more comprehensive
assessment of the shale gas and shale oil resources of the world. This report captures our
latest view of the in-place and technically recoverable shale gas and shale oil in the 95 shale
basins and 137 shale formations addressed by the study.
Figure 1. Assessed Shale Gas and Shale Oil Basins of the World
June, 2013
The twenty-six chapters of the report discuss our current understanding of the quantity
and quality of shale gas and shale oil resources in the 41 assessed countries, Table 1. Initial
shale exploration is underway in many of these countries. New geologic and reservoir data
collected by these industry and research drilling programs will enable future assessments of
shale gas and shale oil resources to progressively become more rigorous.
Table 1. Scope of EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment
Continent
North
America
Australia
South
America
Eastern
Europe
Western
Europe
Europe
Africa
Asia
Region
I. Canada
II. Mexico
Subtotal
III. Australia
IV. N. South America
V. Argentina
VI. Brazil
VII. Other S. South America
Subtotal
VIII. Poland*
IX. Russia
X. Other Eastern Europe
Subtotal
XI. UK
XII. Spain
XIII. Other Western Europe
Subtotal
Total
XIV. Morocco**
XV. Algeria
XVI. Tunisia
XVII. Libya
XVIII. Egypt
XIX. South Africa
Subtotal
XX. China
XXI. Mongolia
XXII. Thailand
XXIII. Indonesia
XXIV. India/Pakistan
XXV. Jordan
XXVI. Turkey
Subtotal
Total
Number of
Countries
Number of
Basins
Number of
Shale
Formations
1
1
2
1
2
1
1
4
8
3
1
3
7
1
1
5
7
14
3
1
1
1
1
1
8
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
8
12
5
17
6
3
4
3
3
13
5
1
3
9
2
1
5
8
17
2
7
1
3
4
1
18
7
2
1
5
5
2
2
24
13
8
21
11
3
6
3
4
16
5
2
4
11
2
1
10
13
24
2
11
2
5
4
3
27
18
2
1
7
6
2
2
38
41
95
137
*Includes Lithuania and Kaliningrad. **Includes Western Sahara & Mauritania
June, 2013
When reviewing the shale gas and shale oil resource assessments presented in this
report, it is important to consider these three points:
First, the resource assessments in the individual regional and country chapters are
only for the higher quality, prospective areas of each shale gas and shale oil basin.
The lower quality and less defined areas in these basins, which likely hold additional
shale resources, are not included in the quantitatively assessed and reported values.
Second, the in-place and technically recoverable resource values for each shale gas
and shale oil basin have been risked to incorporate: (1) the probability that the shale
play will (or will not) have sufficiently attractive flow rates to become developed; and
(2) an expectation of how much of the prospective area set forth for each shale basin
and formation will eventually be developed. (Attachment C provides a listing of the
risk factors used in this shale resource assessment study.)
We benefited greatly from the major new efforts on assessing and pursuing shale
gas and shale oil resources, stimulated in part by the 2011 EIA/ARI study in
countries such as Algeria, Argentina and Mexico, among many others.
No doubt, future exploration will lead to changes in our understanding and assessments
of the ultimate size and recoverability of international shale gas and shale oil resources. We
would encourage the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which commissioned this unique,
cutting edge shale gas and shale oil resource assessment, to incorporate the new exploration
and resource information that will become available during the coming years, helping keep this
world shale resource assessment evergreen.
STUDY AUTHORS
Three individuals, each a long-term member of Advanced Resources International, Inc.,
are the authors of this International Shale Gas Resource Assessment, namely: Vello A.
Kuuskraa, President; Scott H. Stevens, Sr. Vice President; and Keith Moodhe, Sr. Consultant.
Messrs. Kuuskraa, Stevens and Moodhe (plus Tyler Van Leeuwen) were the primary authors of
the previous (April, 2011) version of the world shale gas resource assessment. Attachment A
provides brief background information on each of the study authors.
June, 2013
In addition, Mr. Aloulou Fawzi, EIAs Project Manager for this study, provided highly
valuable review and comments, as did numerous EIA, DOE, DOI, USGS and State Department
officials. We are appreciative of their thoughtful input.
SUMMARY OF STUDY FINDINGS

Although the exact in-place and technically recovered resource numbers will change
with time, our work to date shows that the world shale gas and shale oil resource is vast.
Shale Gas Resources. Overall, for the 41 countries assessed in the EIA/ARI study,
we identified a total risked shale gas in-place of 31,138 Tcf.
Of this total,
approximately 6,634 Tcf is considered the risked, technically recoverable shale gas
resource, not including the U.S., Table 2A. Adding the U.S. shale gas resource
increases the assessed shale gas in-place and technically recoverable shale gas
resources of the world to 35,782 Tcf and 7,795 Tcf, respectively.
Shale Oil Resources.
The previous EIA/ARI study did not assess shale oil
resources, thus the 2013 report represents a major new expansion of scope. In this
EIA/ARI assessment, we identified a total risked shale oil in-place of 5,799 billion
barrels, with 286.9 billion barrels as the risked, technically recoverable shale oil
resource, not including the U.S., Table 2B.
Adding the U.S. shale oil resource
increases the assessed shale oil in-place and technically recoverable shale oil
resources of the world to 6,753 billion barrels and 335 billion barrels, respectively.
Two-thirds of the assessed, technically recoverable shale gas resource is concentrated
in six countries - - U.S., China, Argentina, Algeria, Canada and Mexico. As shown on Figure 2,
the top ten countries account for over 80% of the currently assessed, technically recoverable
shale gas resources of the world.
Similarly, two-thirds of the assessed, technically recoverable shale oil resource is
concentrated in six countries - - Russia, U.S., China, Argentina, Libya and Venezuela. The top
ten countries, listed on Figure 2, account for about three-quarters of the currently assessed,
technically recoverable shale oil resources of the world.
Importantly, much of this shale resource exists in countries with limited endowments of
conventional oil and gas supplies such as South Africa, Jordan and Chile or resides in countries
where conventional hydrocarbon resources have largely been depleted, such as Europe.
June, 2013
4
Table 2A. Risked Shale Gas In-Place and Technically Recoverable: Seven Continents
Continent
Risked
Gas In-Place
(Tcf)
Risked Technically
Recoverable
(Tcf)
North America (Ex. U.S.)
4,647
1,118
Australia
2,046
437
South America
6,390
1,431
Europe
4,895
883
Africa
6,664
1,361
Asia
6,495
1,403
Sub-Total
31,138
6,634
U.S.
4,644
1,161
TOTAL
35,782
7,795
Table 2B. Risked Shale Oil In-Place and Technically Recoverable: Seven Continents
Continent
Risked
Oil In-Place
(B bbl)
Risked Technically
Recoverable
(B bbl)
437
21.9
Australia
403
17.5
South America
1,152
59.7
Europe
1,551
88.6
Africa
882
38.1
Asia
1,375
61.1
Sub-Total
5,799
286.9
U.S.
954
47.7
TOTAL
6,753
334.6
The tabulation of shale resources at the country-level (excluding the U.S.) is provided in
Table 3. More detailed information on the size of the shale gas and shale oil resource, at the
basin- and formation-level, is provided in Attachment B.
Significant additional shale gas and shale oil resources exist in the Middle East, Central
Africa and other countries not yet included in our study. Hopefully, future editions of this report
will address these important potential shale resource areas.
June, 2013
Figure 2. Assessed World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resources (42 Countries, including U.S.)
Technically Recoverable
Shale Gas Resources
(T cf)
Technically Recoverable
Shale Oil Resources
(Billion Barrels)
1. U.S.
1,161 1. Russia
75
2. China
1,115 2. U.S.
48
3. Argentina
802 3. China
32
4. Algeria
707 4. Argentina
27
5. Canada
573 5. Libya
26
6. Mexico
545 6. Australia
18
7. Australia
437 7. Venezuela
13
8. South Africa
390 8. Mexico
13
9. Russia
285 9. Pakistan
10. Brazil
245 10. Canada
11. Others
1,535 11. Others
TOTAL
7,795 TOTAL
June, 2013
65
335
Table 3. Risked Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resources In-Place and Technically Recoverable,
41 Countries Assessed in the EIA/ARI Study
Continent
Region
Country
Technically
Recoverable
(Billion bbl)
North
America
I. Canada
II. Mexico
Total
2,413
2,233
4,647
573
545
1,118
162
275
437
8.8
13.1
21.9
Australia
III. Australia
2,046
437
403
17.5
308
815
1,123
3,244
1,279
154
228
350
13
744
6,390
55
167
222
802
245
36
48
75
2
162
1,431
120
269
389
480
134
11
47
77
14
150
1,152
6.8
13.4
20.2
27.0
5.3
0.6
2.3
3.7
0.6
7.2
59.7
Subtotal
Total
763
4
20
1,921
66
233
572
872
134
42
727
80
151
159
49
1,165
4,895
148
0
2
285
17
51
128
195
26
8
137
17
26
32
10
221
883
65
5
24
1,243
4
6
23
33
17
3
118
14
59
0
0
190
1,551
3.3
0.3
1.2
74.6
0.2
0.3
1.1
1.6
0.7
0.1
4.7
0.7
2.9
0.0
0.0
8.3
88.6
XIV. Morocco*
XV. Algeria
XVI. Tunisia
XVII. Libya
XVIII. Egypt
XIX. South Africa
Total
95
3,419
114
942
535
1,559
6,664
20
707
23
122
100
390
1,361
5
121
29
613
114
0
882
0.2
5.7
1.5
26.1
4.6
0.0
38.1
XX. China
XXI. Mongolia
XXII. Thailand
XXIII. Indonesia
4,746
55
22
303
584
586
35
163
6,495
1,115
4
5
46
96
105
7
24
1,403
644
85
0
234
87
227
4
94
1,375
32.2
3.4
0.0
7.9
3.8
9.1
0.1
4.7
61.1
31,138
6,634
5,799
286.9
IV. N. South America
Colombia
Venezuela
Subtotal
V. Argentina
VI. Brazil
South
America
VII. Other S. South America
Bolivia
Chile
Paraguay
Uruguay
Subtotal
Total
VIII. Poland
Eastern
Europe
Poland
Lithuania
Kaliningrad
IX. Russia
X. Other Eastern Europe
Bulgaria
Romania
Ukraine
Subtotal
XI. UK
XII. Spain
Western
Europe
XIII. Other Western Europe
Europe
Africa
Asia
France
Germany
Netherlands
Denmark
Sweden
India
Pakistan
XXV. Jordan
XXVI. Turkey
Total
Grand Total
*Includes Western Sahara & Mauritania
June, 2013
Risked Gas Technically Risked Oil

In-Place Recoverable In-Place
(Tcf)
(Tcf)
(Billion bbl)
COMPARISON OF STUDY FINDINGS

Since the publication of the first EIA/ARI shale gas resource assessment in 2011,
considerable new information has become available, helping provide a more rigorous resource
assessment. New basins and countries have been added to the list. Data from more recently
drilled exploration wells have helped constrain the resource size and quality - - sometimes
increasing and sometimes reducing the resource estimates. With new information, some areas
of prospective shale basins previously placed in the gas window are now classified as wet
gas/condensate. In addition, associated gas from shale oil plays has been incorporated into the
shale gas resource estimate.
Table 4 provides a comparison of the world shale gas resources included in the current
(year 2013) EIA/ARI assessment with the initial EIA/ARI shale gas resource assessment
published in 2011.
Table 5 provides a more detailed comparison and discussion of the differences between
the 2011 and the current (2013) EIA/ARI estimates of risked, technically recoverable shale gas
resources for 16 selected countries.
Table 4. Comparison of 2011 EIA/ARI Study and

Current EIA/ARI Study of Assessed World Shale Gas Resources
2011
2013
Continent
Risked
Recoverable
(Tcf)
Risked
Recoverable
(Tcf)
1,069
1,118
Australia
396
437
South America
1,225
1,431
Europe
624
883
Africa
1,042
1,361
Asia
1,404
1,403
Total
5,760
6,634
June, 2013
Table 5. Selected Comparison of 2011 and Current EIA/ARI Estimates

of World Shale Gas Resources
Risked, Technically Recoverable
Shale Gas Resources (Tcf)
April 2011 Report
May 2013 Report
Discussion
1. North America
Canada
388
573
7 basins vs. 12 basins.
Mexico
681
545
Better data on areal extent.
2. South America
Argentina
774
802
Improved dry and wet gas areal

definitions.
Brazil
226
245
New dedicated chapter.
Venezuela
11
167
Included associated gas; better

data.
3. Europe
Poland
187
148
Higher TOC criterion, better data

on Ro.
France
180
137
Better data on SE Basin in France.
Norway
83
Eliminated speculative area for

Alum Shale.
Ukraine
42
128
Added major basin in Ukraine.
Russia
285
4. Africa
Algeria
230
707
1 basin vs. 7 basins.
Libya
290
122
Higher TOC criterion; moved area

to oil.
South Africa
485
390
Reduced area due to igneous

intrusions.
Egypt
100
1,225
1,115
114
201
5. Asia
China
India/Pakistan
June, 2013
Better data; higher TOC criterion.

Expanded assessment for
Pakistan.
Beyond the resource numbers, the current EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil
Resource Assessment represents a major step-forward in terms of the depth and hard data of
the resource information assembled for 137 distinct shale formations and 95 shale basins in 41
countries. In Table 6, we strive to more fully convey the magnitude of differences in these two
shale resource assessments.
Table 6. Comparison of Scope and Coverage,

EIA/ARI 2011 and 2013 World Shale Gas Resource Assessments
EIA/ARI 2011 Report
EIA/ARI 2013 Report
No. of Regions (Chapters)
14
26
No. of Countries
32
41
No. of Basins
48
95
No. of Formations
69
137
Resource Coverage
Shale Gas
Shale Oil
Not requested
No. of Pages
355
~700
No. of Original Maps
~70
~200
June, 2013
10
Attachment A
Authors of World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment
Vello A. Kuuskraa, President of Advanced Resources International, Inc. (ARI), has over 40
years of experience assessing unconventional oil and gas resources. Mr. Kuuskraa headed
the team that prepared the 1978, three volume report entitled Enhanced Recovery of
Unconventional Gas for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that helped guide
unconventional gas R&D and technology development efforts during the formative period
1978-2000. He is a member of the Potential Gas Committee and has authored over 100
technical papers on energy resources. Mr. Kuuskraa is a 2001 recipient of the Ellis Island
Medal of Honor that recognizes individuals for exceptional professional contributions by
America's diverse cultural ancestry. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of
Southwestern Energy Company (SWN), on the Board of Directors for Research Partnership to
Secure Energy for America (RPSEA) and on the National Petroleum Council. Mr. Kuuskraa
holds a M.B.A., Highest Distinction from The Wharton Graduate School and a B.S., Applied
Mathematics/ Economics; from North Carolina State University.
Scott H. Stevens, Sr. Vice President of Advanced Resources International, Inc. (ARI), has 30
years of experience in unconventional gas and oil resources. Mr. Stevens advises Major oil
companies, governments, and financial industry clients on shale gas/oil and coalbed methane
investments in North America and abroad. After starting his career with Getty and Texaco in
1983 working the liquids-rich Monterey shale deposit in California, Stevens joined ARI in 1991.
He has initiated or evaluated hundreds of unconventional oil & gas drilling projects in the USA,
Australia, Chile, China, Indonesia, Poland, and other countries. Mr. Stevens holds a B.A. in
Geology (Distinction) from Pomona College, an M.S. in Geological Science from Scripps
Institution of Oceanography, and an A.M. in Regional Studies East Asia (Economics and
Chinese) from Harvard University.
Keith Moodhe, Sr. Consultant with Advanced Resources International, Inc. (ARI ), has eight
years of experience with unconventional resources in the U.S. and globally. He is an expert in
geographic information system (GIS) mapping and analysis of shale gas/oil and coalbed
methane geologic and reservoir properties. During his career he has constructed a geologic
data base of shale properties in China; assessed the shale and CBM resource potential of
major basins in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Australia, and South America; and conducted
geologic and GIS analysis of domestic and global shale resources for the U.S. Energy
Information Administration (EIA) and various industry and investment firms. Mr. Moodhe holds
a B.S. in Geology with a minor in Economics from the College of William & Mary.
June, 2013
Attachment B
Estimates of U.S. Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resources Extracted from
Advanced Resources Internationals Proprietary Shale Resource Data Base
June, 2013
Estimates of U.S. Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resources Extracted from
Advanced Resources Internationals Proprietary Shale Resource Data Base
BACKGROUND
While not within the scope of work of the EIA/ARI study of world shale gas and shale oil
resources, for purposes of completeness we have provided information from Advanced
Resources Internationals (ARI) proprietary shale resource data base on U.S. shale gas and
shale oil resources.
The overall estimate of 1,161 Tcf of risked, technically recoverable wet and dry shale
gas for the U.S. represents an aggregation of information from 15 shale basins and 70 distinct
and individually addressed plays, Table B-1. For example, the resource estimate for the major
Marcellus Shale play in the Appalachian Basin is the sum of eight individually assessed plays,
where each play has been partitioned to capture differences in geologic and reservoir conditions
and in projected well performance across this vast basin. (We used an average shale gas
recovery factor of 25% to estimate the U.S. shale gas resource in-place.)
The overall estimate of 47.7 billion barrels of risked, technically recoverable shale oil and
condensate for the U.S. represents an aggregation of information from 8 shale basins and 35
distinct and individually assessed plays, Table B-1. (We used an average shale oil recovery
factor of 5% to estimate the U.S. shale oil resource in-place.)
For completeness, the U.S. has already produced 37 Tcf of shale gas plus modest
volumes of shale oil/condensate, from major shale plays such as the Barnett, Fayetteville and
Bakken, among others. These volumes of past shale gas and shale oil production are not
included in the above remaining reserve and undeveloped shale resource values.
Advanced Resources has plans for performing a major update of its shale gas and shale
oil resource base this year, incorporating emerging shale resource plays such as the
Tuscaloosa Marine Shale in Louisiana, the Eaglebrine (Woodbine/Eagle Ford) in East Texas,
and the Mancos Shale in the San Juan Basin.
June, 2013
Table B-1. U.S. Remaining Shale Gas Reserves and Undeveloped Resources
Shale Gas
Resources
Remaining
Reserves and
Distinct
Undeveloped
Plays
Resources
(#)
(Tcf)
1. Northeast
Marcellus
Utica
Other
2. Southeast
Haynesville
Bossier
Fayetteville
3. Mid-Continent
Woodford*
Antrim
New Albany
4. Texas
Eagle Ford
Barnett**
Permian***
5. Rockies/Great Plains
Niobrara****
Lewis
Bakken/Three Forks
TOTAL
Shale Oil
Resources
Remaining
Reserves and
Distinct
Undeveloped
Plays
Resources
(#)
(Billion Barrels)
8
3
3
369
111
29
2
2
-
0.8
2.5
-
4
2
4
161
57
48
9
1
1
77
5
2
5
-
1.9
-
6
5
9
119
72
34
4
2
9
13.6
0.4
9.7
8
1
6
57
1
19
6
5
4.1
14.7
70
1161
35
47.7
*Woodford includes Ardmore, Arkoma and Anadarko (Cana) basins.

**Barnett includes the Barnett Combo.
***Permian includes Avalon, Cline and Wolfcamp shales in the Delaware and Midland sub-basins.
****Niobrara Shale play includes Denver, Piceance and Powder River basins.
June, 2013
Attachment C
Size of Assessed Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resources,
at Basin- and Formation-Levels
June, 2013
Attachment C
Size of Assessed Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resources, at Basin- and Formation-Levels
Continent
Region
Basin
Horn River
Canada
North America
Cordova
Liard
Deep Basin
Alberta Basin
East and West Shale Basin
Deep Basin
NW Alberta Area
Southern Alberta Basin
Williston Basin
Appalachian Fold Belt
Windsor Basin
Burgos
Sabinas
Mexico
Tampico
Tuxpan
Veracruz
Cooper
Maryborough
Australia
Australia
Perth
Canning
Georgina
Beetaloo
June, 2013
Formation
Risked Gas Technically

Recoverable
In-Place
(Tcf)
(Tcf)
Risked Oil Technically

In-Place Recoverable
(Billion bbl) (Billion bbl)
Muskwa/Otter Park
Evie/Klua
Muskwa/Otter Park
Lower Besa River
Doig Phosphate
Banff/Exshaw
Duvernay
North Nordegg
Muskwa
Colorado Group
Bakken
Utica
Horton Bluff
Eagle Ford Shale
Tithonian Shales
Eagle Ford Shale
Tithonian La Casita
Pimienta
Tamaulipas
Pimienta
Maltrata
376
154
81
526
101
5
483
72
142
286
16
155
17
1,222
202
501
118
151
9
10
21
94
39
20
158
25
0
113
13
31
43
2
31
3
343
50
100
24
23
1
1
3
0
0
0
0
0
11
67
20
42
0
22
0
0
106
0
0
0
138
13
12
7
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.3
4.0
0.8
2.1
0.0
1.6
0.0
0.0
6.3
0.0
0.0
0.0
5.5
0.5
0.5
0.3
Roseneath-Epsilon-Murteree (Nappamerri)
Roseneath-Epsilon-Murteree (Patchawarra)
Roseneath-Epsilon-Murteree (Tenappera)
Goodwood/Cherwell Mudstone
Carynginia
Kockatea
Goldwyer
L. Arthur Shale (Dulcie Trough)
L. Arthur Shale (Toko Trough)
M. Velkerri Shale
L. Kyalla Shale
307
17
1
64
124
44
1,227
41
27
94
100
89
4
0
19
25
8
235
8
5
22
22
17
9
3
0
0
14
244
3
22
28
65
1.0
0.4
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.5
9.7
0.1
0.9
1.4
3.3
Attachment C-1
Attachment C
Continent
Region
Colombia
Colombia/Venezuela
South America
Brazil
Paraguay
Uruguay
Paraguay/Bolivia
Chile
Poland
Lithuania/Kaliningrad
Eastern Europe
Russia
Ukraine
Ukraine/Romania
Romania/Bulgaria
UK
Spain
France
Middle Magdalena Valley

Llanos
Maracaibo Basin
La Luna/Tablazo
Gacheta
La Luna/Capacho
Los Molles
Vaca Muerta
Aguada Bandera
Pozo D-129
L. Inoceramus-Magnas Verdes
Ponta Grossa
Ponta Grossa
Jandiatuba
Barreirinha
Ponta Grossa
Cordobes
Los Monos
Estratos con Favrella
135
18
970
982
1,202
254
184
605
16
450
323
507
46
13
457
228
18
2
202
275
308
51
35
129
3
80
65
100
8
2
103
48
79
13
297
61
270
0
17
131
0
107
7
19
14
14
75
47
4.8
0.6
14.8
3.7
16.2
0.0
0.5
6.6
0.0
4.3
0.3
0.8
0.5
0.6
3.8
2.3
Llandovery
Llandovery
Llandovery
Carboniferous
Llandovery
Bazhenov Central
Bazhenov North
L. Silurian
L. Carboniferous
L. Silurian
Etropole
532
46
54
107
24
1,196
725
362
312
48
148
105
9
10
21
2
144
141
72
76
10
37
25
0
12
0
29
965
278
0
23
2
8
1.2
0.0
0.6
0.0
1.4
57.9
16.7
0.0
1.1
0.1
0.4
Carboniferous Shale
Lias Shale
Jurassic
Lias Shale
Permian-Carboniferous
Lias Shale
Posidonia
Wealden
Epen
Geverik Member
Posidonia
Alum Shale - Sweden
Alum Shale - Denmark
126
8
42
24
666
37
78
2
94
51
7
49
159
25
1
8
2
127
7
17
0
15
10
1
10
32
0
17
3
38
79
0
11
3
47
6
5
0
0
0.0
0.7
0.1
1.5
3.2
0.0
0.5
0.1
2.4
0.3
0.3
0.0
0.0
San Jorge Basin

Austral-Magallanes Basin
Parana Basin
Parana Basin
Solimoes Basin
Amazonas Basin
Parana Basin
Chaco Basin
Baltic Basin/Warsaw Trough
Lublin
Podlasie
Fore Sudetic
Baltic Basin
West Siberian Central
West Siberian North
Carpathian Foreland Basin
Dniepr-Donets
Moesian Platform
N. UK Carboniferous Shale Region
S. UK Jurassic Shale Region
Cantabrian
Paris Basin
Southeast Basin
Western Europe
June, 2013

Formation
Neuquen
Argentina

In-Place
Recoverable
(Tcf)
(Tcf)
Basin
Germany
Lower Saxony
Netherlands
West Netherlands Basin
Sweden
Denmark
Scandinavia Region
Attachment C-2
Attachment C
Continent
Region
Basin
Formation
Morocco
Tindouf
Tadla
L. Silurian
L. Silurian
Frasnian
Tannezuft
Tannezuft
Tannezuft
Frasnian
Tannezuft
Frasnian
Tannezuft
Frasnian
Tannezuft
Tannezuft
Tannezuft
Frasnian
Tannezuft
Frasnian
Sirte/Rachmat Fms
Etel Fm
Tannezuft
Khatatba
Khatatba
Khatatba
Khatatba
Prince Albert
Whitehill
Collingham
Ghadames/Berkine
Illizi
Mouydir
Algeria
Ahnet
Timimoun
Reggane
Tindouf
Africa
Tunisia
Ghadames
Ghadames
Libya
Egypt
South Africa
June, 2013
Sirte
Murzuq
Shoushan/Matruh
Abu Gharadig
Alamein
Natrun
Karoo Basin
Attachment C-3

In-Place
Recoverable
(Tcf)
(Tcf)
75
20
496
731
304
48
50
256
467
295
94
542
135
45
69
240
36
350
298
19
151
326
17
42
385
845
328
17
3
106
176
56
10
9
51
93
59
16
105
26
11
12
42
5
28
45
2
30
65
1
3
96
211
82

5
0
78
9
13
0
5
0
0
0
6
8
2
1
28
104
26
406
51
27
17
47
14
36
0
0
0
0.2
0.0
3.9
0.5
0.5
0.0
0.2
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.2
0.3
0.1
0.0
1.4
5.2
1.3
16.2
2.0
1.3
0.7
1.9
0.6
1.4
0.0
0.0
0.0
Attachment C
Continent
Region
Basin
Sichuan Basin
Yangtze Platform
Jianghan Basin
China
Greater Subei
Tarim Basin
Junggar Basin
Asia
Mongolia
Thailand
Indonesia
India
Pakistan
Jordan
Turkey
June, 2013
Songliao Basin
East Gobi
Tamtsag
Khorat Basin
C. Sumatra
S. Sumatra
Tarakan
Kutei
Bintuni
Cambay Basin
Krishna-Godavari
Cauvery Basin
Damodar Valley
Lower Indus
Hamad
Wadi Sirhan
SE Anatolian
Thrace
Formation

In-Place
Recoverable
(Tcf)
(Tcf)

Qiongzhusi
Longmaxi
Permian
L. Cambrian
L. Silurian
Niutitang/Shuijintuo
Longmaxi
Qixia/Maokou
Mufushan
Wufeng/Gaobiajian
U. Permian
L. Cambrian
L. Ordovician
M.-U. Ordovician
Ketuer
Pingdiquan/Lucaogou
Triassic
Qingshankou
Tsagaantsav
Tsagaantsav
Nam Duk Fm
Brown Shale
Talang Akar
Naintupo
Meliat
Tabul
Balikpapan
Aifam Group
Cambay Shale
Permian-Triassic
Sattapadi-Andimadam
Barren Measure
Sembar
Ranikot
Batra
Batra
Dadas
Hamitabat
500
1,146
715
181
415
46
28
40
29
144
8
176
377
265
161
172
187
155
29
26
22
41
68
34
25
4
16
114
146
381
30
27
531
55
33
2
130
34
125
287
215
45
104
11
7
10
7
36
2
44
94
61
16
17
19
16
2
2
5
3
4
5
4
0
1
29
30
57
5
5
101
4
7
0
17
6
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
5
0
5
1
0
0
31
129
109
134
229
43
43
0
69
136
0
1
11
17
0
54
20
8
5
145
82
0
4
91
2
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.2
0.0
0.2
0.1
0.0
0.0
1.6
6.5
5.4
6.7
11.5
1.7
1.7
0.0
2.8
4.1
0.0
0.0
0.3
0.7
0.0
2.7
0.6
0.2
0.2
5.8
3.3
0.0
0.1
4.6
0.1
Total
31,138
6,634
5,799
286.9
Attachment C-4
Attachment D
Risk Factors Used for Shale Gas and Shale Oil Formations
in the EIA/ARI Resource Assessment
June, 2013
Attachment D
Risk Factors Used for Shale Gas and Shale Oil Formations in the EIA/ARI Resource Assessment
Continent
Region
Basin
Horn River
Canada
North America
Cordova
Liard
Deep Basin
Alberta Basin
Deep Basin
NW Alberta Area
Southern Alberta Basin
Williston Basin
Appalachian Fold Belt
Windsor Basin
Burgos
Sabinas
Mexico
Tampico
Tuxpan
Veracruz
Cooper
Maryborough
Australia
Australia
Perth
Canning
Georgina
Beetaloo
June, 2013
Formation
Play
Success
Factor
Muskwa/Otter Park
Evie/Klua
Muskwa/Otter Park
Lower Besa River
Doig Phosphate
Banff/Exshaw
Duvernay
North Nordegg
Muskwa
Colorado Group
Bakken
Utica
Horton Bluff
Eagle Ford Shale
Tithonian Shales
Eagle Ford Shale
Tithonian La Casita
Pimienta
Tamaulipas
Pimienta
Maltrata
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
80%
100%
100%
100%
100%
60%
80%
60%
70%
70%
70%
70%
75%
75%
60%
50%
50%
40%
70%
50%
50%
35%
60%
40%
40%
60%
50%
50%
30%
50%
50%
50%
75%
75%
75%
60%
50%
50%
40%
70%
50%
50%
28%
60%
40%
40%
60%
30%
40%
18%
35%
35%
35%
53%
Roseneath-Epsilon-Murteree (Nappamerri)
Roseneath-Epsilon-Murteree (Patchawarra)
Roseneath-Epsilon-Murteree (Tenappera)
Goodwood/Cherwell Mudstone
Carynginia
Kockatea
Goldwyer
L. Arthur Shale (Dulcie Trough)
L. Arthur Shale (Toko Trough)
M. Velkerri Shale
L. Kyalla Shale
100%
100%
100%
75%
100%
100%
75%
75%
75%
100%
100%
75%
60%
60%
50%
60%
60%
40%
50%
50%
50%
50%
75%
60%
60%
38%
60%
60%
30%
38%
38%
50%
50%
Attachment D-1
Prospective
Composite
Area Success
Success
Factor
Factor
Attachment D
Continent
Region
Colombia
Colombia/Venezuela
Formation
Play
Success
Factor

Llanos
Maracaibo Basin
La Luna/Tablazo
Gacheta
La Luna/Capacho
Los Molles
Vaca Muerta
Aguada Bandera
Pozo D-129
Ponta Grossa
Ponta Grossa
Jandiatuba
Barreirinha
Ponta Grossa
Cordobes
Los Monos
80%
55%
70%
100%
100%
50%
60%
75%
40%
40%
50%
50%
40%
40%
50%
75%
70%
45%
50%
50%
60%
40%
40%
60%
30%
30%
30%
30%
30%
40%
30%
60%
56%
25%
35%
50%
60%
20%
24%
45%
12%
12%
15%
15%
12%
16%
15%
45%
Llandovery
Llandovery
Llandovery
Carboniferous
Llandovery
Bazhenov Central
Bazhenov North
L. Silurian
L. Carboniferous
L. Silurian
Etropole
100%
60%
60%
50%
80%
100%
75%
50%
50%
55%
50%
40%
35%
40%
35%
40%
45%
35%
40%
40%
40%
35%
40%
21%
24%
18%
32%
45%
26%
20%
20%
22%
18%
Carboniferous Shale
Lias Shale
Jurassic
Lias Shale
Lias Shale
Posidonia
Wealden
Epen
Geverik Member
Posidonia
Alum Shale - Sweden
Alum Shale - Denmark
60%
80%
80%
100%
80%
60%
100%
75%
75%
75%
75%
60%
60%
35%
40%
50%
50%
40%
30%
60%
60%
60%
60%
60%
50%
40%
21%
32%
40%
50%
32%
18%
60%
45%
45%
45%
45%
30%
24%
Neuquen
Argentina
South America
Brazil
Paraguay
Uruguay
Paraguay/Bolivia
Chile
Poland
Lithuania/Kaliningrad
Eastern Europe
Russia
Ukraine
Ukraine/Romania
Romania/Bulgaria
UK
Spain
France
San Jorge Basin

Parana Basin
Parana Basin
Solimoes Basin
Amazonas Basin
Parana Basin
Chaco Basin
Baltic Basin/Warsaw Trough
Lublin
Podlasie
Fore Sudetic
Baltic Basin
West Siberian Central
West Siberian North
Carpathian Foreland Basin
Dniepr-Donets
Moesian Platform
N. UK Carboniferous Shale Region
S. UK Jurassic Shale Region
Cantabrian
Paris Basin
Southeast Basin
Western Europe
June, 2013
Composite
Prospective
Area Success
Success
Factor
Factor
Basin
Germany
Lower Saxony
Netherlands
West Netherlands Basin
Sweden
Denmark
Scandinavia Region
Attachment D-2
Attachment D
Continent
Region
Basin
Formation
Morocco
Tindouf
Tadla
L. Silurian
L. Silurian
Frasnian
Tannezuft
Tannezuft
Tannezuft
Frasnian
Tannezuft
Frasnian
Tannezuft
Frasnian
Tannezuft
Tannezuft
Tannezuft
Frasnian
Tannezuft
Frasnian
Sirte/Rachmat Fms
Etel Fm
Tannezuft
Khatatba
Khatatba
Khatatba
Khatatba
Prince Albert
Whitehill
Collingham
Ghadames/Berkine
Illizi
Mouydir
Algeria
Ahnet
Timimoun
Reggane
Tindouf
Africa
Tunisia
Ghadames
Ghadames
Libya
Egypt
South Africa
June, 2013
Sirte
Murzuq
Shoushan/Matruh
Abu Gharadig
Alamein
Natrun
Karoo Basin
Attachment D-3
Play
Success
Factor
50%
50%
100%
100%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%
100%
100%
100%
100%
80%
80%
100%
80%
80%
70%
70%
50%
60%
50%
Prospective
Composite
Area Success
Success
Factor
Factor
40%
20%
50%
25%
50%
50%
50%
50%
40%
20%
40%
20%
40%
20%
40%
20%
40%
20%
40%
20%
40%
20%
40%
20%
40%
20%
65%
65%
65%
65%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%
40%
50%
40%
50%
50%
60%
48%
60%
48%
35%
25%
35%
25%
30%
15%
40%
24%
30%
15%
Attachment D
Continent
Region
Basin
Sichuan Basin
Yangtze Platform
Jianghan Basin
China
Greater Subei
Tarim Basin
Junggar Basin
Asia
Mongolia
Thailand
Indonesia
India
Pakistan
Jordan
Turkey
June, 2013
Songliao Basin
East Gobi
Tamtsag
Khorat Basin
C. Sumatra
S. Sumatra
Tarakan
Kutei
Bintuni
Cambay Basin
Krishna-Godavari
Cauvery Basin
Damodar Valley
Lower Indus
Hamad
Wadi Sirhan
SE Anatolian
Thrace
Formation
Play
Success
Factor
Qiongzhusi
Longmaxi
Permian
L. Cambrian
L. Silurian
Niutitang/Shuijintuo
Longmaxi
Qixia/Maokou
Mufushan
Wufeng/Gaobiajian
U. Permian
L. Cambrian
L. Ordovician
M.-U. Ordovician
Ketuer
Pingdiquan/Lucaogou
Triassic
Qingshankou
Tsagaantsav
Tsagaantsav
Nam Duk Fm
Brown Shale
Talang Akar
Naintupo
Meliat
Tabul
Balikpapan
Aifam Group
Cambay Shale
Permian-Triassic
Sattapadi-Andimadam
Barren Measure
Sembar
Ranikot
Batra
Batra
Dadas
Hamitabat
100%
100%
60%
80%
80%
60%
60%
50%
40%
40%
40%
50%
50%
50%
50%
60%
60%
100%
40%
40%
50%
75%
50%
40%
40%
40%
40%
40%
100%
75%
50%
80%
40%
40%
100%
100%
100%
60%
Attachment D-4
Prospective
Composite
Area Success
Success
Factor
Factor
70%
70%
50%
70%
70%
40%
40%
40%
30%
30%
30%
70%
65%
50%
50%
60%
60%
50%
50%
50%
30%
60%
35%
50%
50%
50%
40%
40%
60%
60%
50%
50%
30%
30%
40%
40%
60%
60%
70%
70%
30%
56%
56%
24%
24%
20%
12%
12%
12%
35%
33%
25%
25%
36%
36%
50%
20%
20%
15%
45%
18%
20%
20%
20%
16%
16%
60%
45%
25%
40%
12%
12%
40%
40%
60%
36%
SHALE GAS AND SHALE OIL RESOURCE

ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
This report sets forth Advanced Resources methodology for assessing the in-place and
recoverable shale gas and shale oil resources for the EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil
Resource Assessment.
The methodology relies on geological information and reservoir
properties assembled from the technical literature and data from publically available company
reports and presentations. This publically available information is augmented by internal (nonconfidential) proprietary prior work on U.S. and international shale gas and shale oil resources
by Advanced Resources International.
The report should be viewed as an initial step toward future, more comprehensive
assessments of shale gas and shale oil resources. As additional exploration data are gathered,
evaluated and incorporated, the assessments of shale oil and gas resources will become more
rigorous.
RESOURCE ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY

The methodology for conducting the basin- and formation-level assessments of shale
gas and shale oil resources includes the following five topics:
1. Conducting preliminary geologic and reservoir characterization of shale basins and
formation(s).
2. Establishing the areal extent of the major shale gas and shale oil formations.
3. Defining the prospective area for each shale gas and shale oil formation.
4. Estimating the risked shale gas and shale oil in-place.
5. Calculating the technically recoverable shale gas and shale oil resource.
Each of these five shale gas and shale oil resource assessment steps is further
discussed below. The shale gas and shale oil resource assessment for Argentinas Neuquen
Basin is used to illustrate certain of these resource assessment steps.
June, 2013
1.
Conducting Preliminary Geologic and Reservoir Characterization of Shale

Basins and Formation(s).
The resource assessment begins with the compilation of data from multiple public and
private proprietary sources to define the shale gas and shale oil basins and to select the major
shale gas and shale oil formations to be assessed.
The stratigraphic columns and well logs,
showing the geologic age, the source rocks and other data, are used to select the major shale
formations for further study, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 for the Neuquen Basin of
Argentina.
Preliminary geological and reservoir data are assembled for each major shale basin and
formation, including the following key items:
Depositional environment of shale (marine vs non-marine)
Depth (to top and base of shale interval)
Structure, including major faults
Gross shale interval
Organically-rich gross and net shale thickness
Total organic content (TOC, by wt.)
Thermal maturity (Ro)
These geologic and reservoir properties are used to provide a first order overview of the
geologic characteristics of the major shale gas and shale oil formations and to help select the
shale gas and shale oil basins and formations deemed worthy of more intensive assessment.
June, 2013
Figure 1: Prospective Shale Basins of Argentina
June, 2013
Figure 2. Neuquen Basin Stratigraphy

The Vaca Muerta and Los Molles are Jurassic-age shale formations.
VACA MUERTA FM
LOS MOLLES FM
Modified from Howell, J., et al., 2005
June, 2013
2.
Establishing the Areal Extent of Major Shale Gas and Shale Oil Formations.
Having identified the major shale gas and shale oil formations, the next step is to
undertake more intensive study to define the areal extent for each of these formations. For this,
the study team searches the technical literature for regional as well as detailed, local crosssections identifying the shale oil and gas formations of interest, as illustrated by Figure 3 for the
Vaca Muerta and Los Molles shale gas and shale oil formations in the Neuquen Basin. In
addition, the study team draws on proprietary cross-sections previously prepared by Advanced
Resources and, where necessary, assembles well data to construct new cross-sections.
The regional cross-sections are used to define the lateral extent of the shale formation in
the basin and/or to identify the regional depth and gross interval of the shale formation.
Figure 3: Neuquen Basin SW-NE Cross Section
(Structural settings for the two shale gas and shale oil formations, Vaca Muerta and Los Molles)
SW
NE
FRONTAL
SYNCLINE
VACA MUERTA FM
HUINCUL
ARCH
LOS MOLLES FM
PALEOZOIC BASMENT
Los Molles Gas

Los Molles Oil
Vaca Muerta Oil
Vaca Muerta Gas
Vaca Muerta Hydrocarbon Migration Pathways

Los Molles Hydrocarbon Migration Pathways
Mosquera et al., 2009
June, 2013
3.
Defining the Prospective Area for Each Shale Gas and Shale Oil Formation.
An important and challenging resource assessment step is to establish the portions of
the basin that, in our view, are deemed to be prospective for development of shale gas and
shale oil. The criteria used for establishing the prospective area include:
Depositional Environment. An important criterion is the depositional environment of

the shale, particularly whether it is marine or non-marine. Marine-deposited shales
tend to have lower clay content and tend to be high in brittle minerals such as quartz,
feldspar and carbonates. Brittle shales respond favorably to hydraulic stimulation.
Shales deposited in non-marine settings (lacustrine, fluvial) tend to be higher in clay,
more ductile and less responsive to hydraulic stimulation.
Figure 4 provides an illustrative ternary diagram useful for classifying the mineral
content of the shale for the Marcellus Shale in Lincoln Co., West Virginia
Figure 4. Ternary Diagram of Shale Mineralogy (Marcellus Shale).
Quartz (Q)
Calcite (C)
Clay (Cly)
Source: Modified from AAPG Bull. 4/2007, p. 494 & 495

JAF028263.PPT
June, 2013
Depth. The depth criterion for the prospective area is greater than 1,000 meters but
less than 5,000 meters (3,300 feet to 16,500 feet). Areas shallower than 1,000
meters have lower reservoir pressure and thus lower driving forces for oil and gas
recovery. In addition, shallow shale formations have risks of higher water content in
their natural fracture systems.
Areas deeper than 5,000 meters have risks of
reduced permeability and much higher drilling and development costs.
Total Organic Content (TOC). In general, the average TOC of the prospective area
needs to be greater than 2%. Figure 5 provides an example of using a gamma ray
log to identify the TOC content for the Marcellus Shale in the New York (Chenango
Co.) portion of the Appalachian Basin.
Organic materials such as microorganism fossils and plant matter provide the
requisite carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atoms needed to create natural gas and oil.
As such TOC and carbon type (Types I and II) are important measures of the oil
generation potential of a shale formation.
Figure 5. Relationship of Gamma Ray and Total Organic Carbon
Top Marcellus ~1,300
Beaver Meadow #1 Well,

Chenango County, New York
Organically
Rich
Marcellus
~200
High TOC in Marcellus concentrates

potassium-40 isotope, visible as high
radioactivity (100 to 300 units) on
gamma ray log.
Gamma ray count correlates

reasonably with TOC.
The Beaver Meadow #1 well has

approximately 150 feet of organically
rich (TOC >3% by wt.) shale.
Source: J. Reed, 2008

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June, 2013
Thermal Maturity. Thermal maturity measures the degree to which a formation has
been exposed to high heat needed to break down organic matter into hydrocarbons.
The reflectance of certain types of minerals (Ro%) is used as an indication of
Thermal Maturity, Figure 6. The thermal maturity of the oil prone prospective area
has a Ro greater than 0.7% but less than 1.0%. The wet gas and condensate
prospective area has a Ro between 1.0% and 1.3%.
an Ro greater than 1.3%.
Dry gas areas typically have
Where possible, we have identified these three
hydrocarbon windows.
Figure 6. Thermal Maturation Scale
Geographic Location. The prospective area is limited to the onshore portion of the
shale gas and shale oil basin.
The prospective area, in general, covers less than half of the overall basin area.
Typically, the prospective area will contain a series of higher quality shale gas and shale oil
areas, including a geologically favorable, high resource concentration core area and a series
of lower quality and lower resource concentration extension areas. However, this more detailed
delineation of the prospective area is beyond the scope of this initial resource assessment.
June, 2013
Finally, shale gas and shale oil basins and formations that have very high clay content
and/or have very high geologic complexity (e.g., thrusted and high stress) are assigned a high
prospective area risk factor or are excluded from the resource assessment. Subsequent, more
intensive and smaller-scale (rather than regional-scale) resource assessments may identify the
more favorable areas of a basin, enabling portions of the basin currently deemed nonprospective to be added to the shale gas and shale oil resource assessment.
Similarly,
advances in well completion practices may enable more of the very high clay content shale
formations to be efficiently stimulated, also enabling these basins and formations to be added in
future years to the resource assessment.
The Neuquen Basins Vaca Muerta Shale illustrates the presence of three prospective
areas - - oil, wet gas/condensate and dry gas, Figure 7.
Figure 7. Vaca Muerta Shale Gas and Shale Oil Prospective Areas, Neuquen Basin
June, 2013
A more detailed resource assessment, including in-depth appraisal of newly drilled

exploration wells, with modern logs and rigorous core analyses, will be required to define the
next levels of resource quality and concentration for the major international shale plays.
4.
Estimating the Risked Shale Gas and Shale Oil In-Place (OIP/GIP).
Detailed geologic and reservoir data are assembled to establish the oil and gas in-place
(OIP/GIP) for the prospective area.

a. Oil In-Place. The calculation of oil in-place for a given areal extent (acre, square
mile) is governed, to a large extent, by two key characteristics of the shale formation - - net
organically-rich shale thickness and oil-filled porosity. In addition, pressure and temperature
govern the volume of gas in solution with the reservoir oil, defined by the reservoirs formation
volume factor.
Net Organically-Rich Shale Thickness. The overall geologic interval that contains
the organically-rich shale is obtained from prior stratigraphic studies of the formations
in the basin being appraised.
The gross organically-rich thickness of the shale
interval is established from log data and cross-sections, where available. A net to
gross ratio is used to account for the organically barren rock within the gross
organically-rich shale interval and to estimate the net organically-rich thickness of the
shale.
Oil- and Gas-Filled Porosity. The study assembles porosity data from core and/or
log analyses available in the public literature. When porosity data are not available,
emphasis is placed on identifying the mineralogy of the shale and its maturity for
estimating porosity values from analogous U.S shale basins. Unless other evidence
is available, the study assumes the pores are filled with oil, including solution gas,
free gas and residual water.
Pressure. The study methodology places particular emphasis on identifying overpressured areas. Over-pressured conditions enable a higher portion of the oil to be
produced before the reservoir reaches its bubble point where the gas dissolved in
the oil begins to be released. A conservative hydrostatic gradient of 0.433 psi per
foot of depth is used when actual pressure data is unavailable because water salinity
data are usually not available.
June, 2013
10
Temperature. The study assembles data on the temperature of the shale formation.
A standard temperature gradient of 1.25o F per 100 feet of depth and a surface
temperature of 60o F are used when actual temperature data are unavailable.
The above data are combined using established reservoir engineering equations and
conversion factors to calculate OIP per square mile.
OIP =
7758
is area, in acres (with the conversion factors of 7,758 barrels per acre foot).
is net organically-rich shale thickness, in feet.
is porosity, a dimensionless fraction (the values for porosity are obtained from
log or core information published in the technical literature or assigned by
analogy from U.S. shale oil basins; the thermal maturity of the shale and its
depth of burial can influence the porosity value used for the shale).
(So)
is the fraction of the porosity filled by oil (So) instead of water (Sw) or gas
(Sg), a dimensionless fraction (the established value for porosity () is
multiplied by the term (So) to establish oil-filled porosity; the value Sw defines
the fraction of the pore space that is filled with water, often the residual or
irreducible reservoir water saturation in the natural fracture and matrix
porosity of the shale; shales may also contain free gas (Sg) in the pore
space, further reducing oil-filled porosity.
Boi
is the oil formation gas volume factor that is used to adjust the oil volume in
the reservoirs, typically swollen with gas in solution, to oil volume in stocktank barrels; reservoir pressure, temperature and thermal maturity (Ro)
values are used to estimate the Boi value. The procedures for calculating Boi
are provided in standard reservoir engineering text.1,2 In addition, Boi can be
estimated from correlations (Copyright 1947 Chevron Oil Field Research)
printed with permission in McCain, W.D., The Properties of Petroleum Fluids,
Second Edition (1990), p. 320.
Ramey, H.J., Rapid Methods of Estimating Reservoir Compressibilities, Journal of Petroleum Technology, April, 1964, pp.
447-454.
2 Vasquez, M., and Beggs, H.D., Correlations for Fluid Physical Property Predictions, Journal of Petroleum Technology, June
1980, pp. 968-970.
1
June, 2013
11
In general, the shale oil in the reservoir contains solution or associated gas. A series of
engineering calculations, involving reservoir pressure, temperature and analog data from U.S.
shale oil formations are used to estimate the volume of associated gas in-place and produced
along with the shale oil. As the pressure in the shale oil reservoir drops below the bubble point,
a portion of the solution gas separates from the oil creating a free gas phase in the reservoir. At
this point, both oil (with remaining gas in solution) and free gas are produced.
b. Free Gas In-Place. The calculation of free gas in-place for a given areal extent
(acre, square mile) is governed, to a large extent, by four characteristics of the shale formation
- - pressure, temperature, gas-filled porosity and net organically-rich shale thickness.
Pressure. The study methodology places particular emphasis on identifying areas

with overpressure, which enables a higher concentration of gas to be contained
within a fixed reservoir volume. A conservative hydrostatic gradient of 0.433 psi per
foot of depth is used when actual pressure data is unavailable.
Temperature. The study assembles data on the temperature of the shale formation,
giving particular emphasis on identifying areas with higher than average temperature
gradients and surface temperatures. A temperature gradient of 1.25o F per 100 feet
of depth plus a surface temperature of 60o F are used when actual temperature data
is unavailable.
Gas-Filled Porosity.
The study assembles the porosity data from core or log
analyses available in the public literature. When porosity data are not available,
emphasis is placed on identifying the mineralogy of the shale and its maturity for
estimating porosity values from analogous U.S shale basins. Unless other evidence
is available, the study assumes the pores are filled with gas and residual water.
Net Organically-Rich Shale Thickness. The overall geologic interval that contains
the organically-rich shale is obtained from prior stratigraphic studies of the formations
in the basin being appraised.
The gross organically-rich thickness of the shale
interval is established from log data and cross-sections, where available. A net to
gross ratio is used to account for the organically barren rock within the gross
organically-rich shale interval and to estimate the net organically-rich thickness of the
shale.
June, 2013
12
The above data are combined using established PVT reservoir engineering equations
and conversion factors to calculate free GIP per acre. The calculation of free GIP uses the
following standard reservoir engineering equation:
GIP =
43 , 560 * A h ( S g )
Bg
Where:Bg
0.02829zT
P
is area, in acres (with the conversion factors of 43,560 square feet per acre
and 640 acres per square mile).
is net organically-rich shale thickness, in feet.
is porosity, a dimensionless fraction (the values for porosity are obtained from
log or core information published in the technical literature or assigned by
analogy from U.S. shale gas basins; the thermal maturity of the shale and its
depth of burial can influence the porosity value used for the shale).
(Sg)
is the fraction of the porosity filled by gas (Sg) instead of water (SW) or oil
(So), a dimensionless fraction (the established value for porosity () is
multiplied by the term (Sg) to establish gas-filled porosity; the value Sw
defines the fraction of the pore space that is filled with water, often the
residual or irreducible reservoir water saturation in the natural fracture and
matrix porosity of the shale; liquids-rich shales may also contain condensate
and/or oil (So) in the pore space, further reducing gas-filled porosity.
is pressure, in psi (pressure data is obtained from well test information

published in the literature, inferred from mud weights used to drill through the
shale sequence, or assigned by analog from U.S. shale gas basins; basins
with normal reservoir pressure are assigned a conservative hydrostatic
gradient of 0.433 psi per foot of depth; basins with indicated overpressure are
assigned pressure gradients of 0.5 to 0.6 psi per foot of depth; basins with
indicated underpressure are assigned pressure gradients of 0.35 to 0.4 psi
per foot of depth).
is temperature, in degrees Rankin (temperature data is obtained from well

test information published in the literature or from regional temperature
versus depth gradients; the factor 460 oF is added to the reservoir
temperature (in oF) to provide the input value for the gas volume factor (Bg)
equation).
June, 2013
13
Bg
is the gas volume factor, in cubic feet per standard cubic feet and includes
the gas deviation factor (z), a dimensionless fraction. (The gas deviation
factor (z) adjusts the ideal compressibility (PVT) factor to account for nonideal PVT behavior of the gas; gas deviation factors, complex functions of
pressure, temperature and gas composition, are published in standard
reservoir engineering text.)
c.
Adsorbed Gas In-Place. In addition to free gas, shales can hold significant
quantities of gas adsorbed on the surface of the organics (and clays) in the shale formation.
A Langmuir isotherm is established for the prospective area of the basin using available
data on TOC and on thermal maturity to establish the Langmuir volume (VL) and the Langmuir
pressure (PL).
Adsorbed gas in-place is then calculated using the formula below (where P is original
reservoir pressure).
GC=(VL*P)/(PL+P)
The above gas content (GC) (typically measured as cubic feet of gas per ton of net
shale) is converted to gas concentration (adsorbed GIP per square mile) using actual or typical
values for shale density. (Density values for shale are typically in the range of 2.65 gm/cc and
depend on the mineralogy and organic content of the shale.)
The estimates of the Langmuir value (VL) and pressure (PL) for adsorbed gas in-place
calculations are based on either publically available data in the technical literature or internal
(proprietary) data developed by Advanced Resources from prior work on various U.S. and
international shale basins.
In general, the Langmuir volume (VL) is a function of the organic richness and thermal
maturity of the shale, as illustrated in Figure 8. The Langmuir pressure (PL) is a function of how
readily the adsorbed gas on the organics in the shale matrix is released as a function of a finite
decrease in pressure.
The free gas in-place (GIP) and adsorbed GIP are combined to estimate the resource
concentration (Bcf/mi2) for the prospective area of the shale gas basin. Figure 9 illustrates the
relative contributions of free (porosity) gas and adsorbed (sorbed) gas to total gas in-place, as a
function of pressure.
June, 2013
14
Figure 8. Marcellus Shale Adsorbed Gas Content
Adsorbed Gas Content: Lower TOC

(Gas Content in scf/ton vs pressure)
Adsorbed Gas Content: Higher TOC

(Gas Content in scf/ton vs pressure)
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Figure 9. Combining Free and Adsorbed Gas for Total Gas In-Place
Adsorption Isotherm (Gas Content vs. Pressure)

Shallow Gas Shales
Deep Gas Shales
Total
Porosity
Sorbed
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June, 2013
15
b.
Establishing the Success/Risk Factors.
Two judgmentally established
success/risk factors are used to estimate risked OIP and GIP within the prospective area of the
shale oil and gas formation. These two factors are as follows:
Play Success Probability Factor.
The shale gas and shale oil play success
probability factor captures the likelihood that at least some significant portion of the
shale formation will provide oil and/or gas at attractive flow rates and become
developed. Certain shale oil formations, such as the Duvernay Shale in Alberta,
Canada, are already under development and thus would have a play probability
factor of 100%.
More speculative shale oil formations with limited geologic and
reservoir data may only have a play success probability factor of 30% to 40%. As
exploration wells are drilled, tested and produced and information on the viability of
the shale gas and shale oil play is established, the play success probability factor will
change.
Prospective Area Success (Risk) Factor: The prospective area success (risk) factor
combines a series of concerns that could relegate a portion of the prospective area
to be unsuccessful or unproductive for shale gas and shale oil production. These
concerns include areas with high structural complexity (e.g., deep faults, upthrust
fault blocks); areas with lower thermal maturity (Ro between 0.7% to 0.8%); the outer
edge areas of the prospective area with lower net organic thickness; and other
information appropriate to include in the success (risk) factor.
The prospective area success (risk) factor also captures the amount of available
geologic/reservoir data and the extent of exploration that has occurred in the
prospective area of the basin to determine what portion of the prospective area has
been sufficiently de-risked. As exploration and delineation proceed, providing a
more rigorous definition of the prospective area, the prospective area success (risk)
factor will change.
These two success/risk factors are combined to derive a single composite success
factor with which to risk the OIP and GIP for the prospective area.
June, 2013
16
The history of shale gas and shale oil exploration has shown that with time the
success/risk factors improve, particularly the prospective area success factor. As exploration
wells are drilled and the favorable shale oil reservoir settings and prospective areas are more
fully established, it is likely that the assessments of the size of the shale gas and shale oil inplace will change.
6.
Estimating the Technically Recoverable Resource.

The technically recoverable resource is established by multiplying the risked OIP and
GIP by a shale oil and gas recovery efficiency factor, which incorporates a number of geological
inputs and analogs appropriate to each shale gas and shale oil basin and formation. The
recovery efficiency factor uses information on the mineralogy of the shale to determine its
favorability for applying hydraulic fracturing to shatter the shale matrix and also considers
other information that would impact shale well productivity, such as: presence of favorable
micro-scale natural fractures; the absence of unfavorable deep cutting faults; the state of stress
(compressibility) for the shale formations in the prospective area; and the extent of reservoir
overpressure as well as the pressure differential between the reservoir original rock pressure
and the reservoir bubble point pressure.
Three basic shale oil recovery efficiency factors, incorporating shale mineralogy,
reservoir properties and geologic complexity, are used in the resource assessment.
Favorable Oil Recovery. A 6% recovery efficiency factor of the oil in-place is used
for shale oil basins and formations that have low clay content, low to moderate
geologic complexity and favorable reservoir properties such as an over-pressured
shale formation and high oil-filled porosity.
Average Oil Recovery. A 4% to 5% recovery efficiency factor of the oil in-place is

used for shale gas basins and formations that have a medium clay content,
moderate geologic complexity and average reservoir pressure and other properties.
Less Favorable Gas Recovery. A 3% recovery efficiency factor of the oil in-place is
used for shale gas basins and formations that have medium to high clay content,
moderate to high geologic complexity and below average reservoir pressure and
other properties.
June, 2013
17
A recovery efficiency factor of up to 8% may be applied in a few exceptional cases for

shale areas with reservoir properties or established high rates of well performance. A recovery
efficiency factor of 2% is applied in cases of severe under-pressure and reservoir complexity.
Attachment A provides information on oil recovery efficiency factors assembled for a
series of U.S. shale oil basins that provide input for the oil recovery factors presented above.
Three basic shale gas recovery efficiency factors, incorporating shale mineralogy,
reservoir properties and geologic complexity, are used in the resource assessment.
Favorable Gas Recovery. A 25% recovery efficiency factor of the gas in-place is
used for shale gas basins and formations that have low clay content, low to
moderate geologic complexity and favorable reservoir properties such as an
overpressured shale formation and high gas-filled porosity.
Average Gas Recovery. A 20% recovery efficiency factor of the gas in-place is used
for shale gas basins and formations that have a medium clay content, moderate
geologic complexity and average reservoir pressure and properties.
Less Favorable Gas Recovery. A 15% recovery efficiency factor of the gas in-place
is used for shale gas basins and formations that have medium to high clay content,
moderate to high geologic complexity and below average reservoir properties.
A recovery efficiency factor of 30% may be applied in exceptional cases for shale areas
with exceptional reservoir performance or established rates of well performance. A recovery
efficiency factor of 10% is applied in cases of severe under-pressure and reservoir complexity.
The recovery efficiency factors for associated (solution) gas are scaled to the oil recovery
factors, discussed above.
a. Two Key Oil Recovery Technologies. Because the native permeability of the shale
gas reservoir is extremely low, on the order of a few hundred nano-darcies (0.0001 md) to a few
milli-darcies (0.001 md), efficient recovery of the oil held in the shale matrix requires two key
well drilling and completion techniques, as illustrate by Figure 10:
June, 2013
18
Figure 10. Lower Damage, More Effective Horizontal Well Completions Provide Higher Reserves Per Well
Initial Barnett Shale Well Completions

(1,500 foot horizontal well with 5 stage frac)
Latest Barnett Shale Well Completions

(3,000 foot horizontal well with 12 stage frac)
JAF028263.PPT
Long Horizontal Wells. Long horizontal wells (laterals) are designed to place the oil
production well in contact with as much of the shale matrix as technically and
economically feasible.
Intensive Well Stimulation.
Large volume hydraulic stimulations, conducted in
multiple, closely spaced stages (up to 20), are used to shatter the shale matrix and
create a permeable reservoir. This intensive set of induced and propped hydraulic
fractures provides the critical flow paths from the shale matrix to the horizontal well.
Existing, small scale natural fractures (micro-fractures) will, if open, contribute
additional flow paths from the shale matrix to the wellbore.
The efficiency of the hydraulic well stimulation depends greatly on the mineralogy of the
shale, as further discussed below.
June, 2013
19
b. Importance of Mineralogy on Recoverable Resources. The mineralogy of the

shale, particularly its relative quartz, carbonate and clay content, significantly determines how
efficiently the induced hydraulic fracture will stimulate the shale, as illustrated by Figure 11:
Shales with a high percentage of quartz and carbonate tend to be brittle and will
shatter, leading to a vast array of small-scale induced fractures providing numerous
flow paths from the matrix to the wellbore, when hydraulic pressure and energy are
injected into the shale matrix, Figure 11A.
Shales with a high clay content tend to be ductile and to deform instead of shattering,
leading to relatively few induced fractures (providing only limited flow paths from the
matrix to the well) when hydraulic pressure and energy are injected into the shale
matrix, Figure 11B.
Figure 11. The Properties of the Reservoir Rock Greatly Influence the Effectiveness of Hydraulic
Stimulations.
June, 2013
20
c. Significance of Geologic Complexity. A variety of complex geologic features can

reduce the shale gas and shale oil recovery efficiency from a shale basin and formation:
Extensive Fault Systems. Areas with extensive faults can hinder recovery by limiting
the productive length of the horizontal well, as illustrated by Figure 12.
Deep Seated Fault System. Vertically extensive faults that cut through organically
rich shale intervals can introduce water into the shale matrix, reducing relative
permeability and flow capacity.
Thrust Faults and Other High Stress Geological Features. Compressional tectonic
features, such as thrust faults and up-thrusted fault blocks, are an indication of basin
areas with high lateral reservoir stress, reducing the permeability of the shale matrix
and its flow capacity.
Figure 12. 3D Seismic Helps Design Extended vs. Limited Length Lateral Wells
N
640 Acre Section
Well #2
Lateral
80
ult
Fa
160
Lateral
1 Mile
Well #2
Standard Lateral
D
0
26
ult
Fa
80
Faul
t
Well #1
Well #1
Extended Lateral
U
U
260
Fa
ult
1 Mile
160
Source: Newfield Exploration Company
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June, 2013
21
SUMMARY
The step-by-step application of the above shale gas and shale oil resource assessment
methodology leads to three key assessment values for each major shale oil and gas formation:
Shale Gas and Shale Oil In-place Concentration, reported in terms of billion cubic
feet of shale gas per square mile or millions of barrels of shale oil per square mile.
This key resource assessment value defines the richness of the shale gas and shale
oil resource and its relative attractiveness compared to other gas and oil
development options.
Risked Shale Gas and Shale Oil In-Place, reported in trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of shale
gas and billion barrels (Bbbl) of shale oil for each major shale formation.
Risked Recoverable Gas and Oil, reported in trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of shale gas and
billion barrels (Bbbl) of shale oil for each major shale formation.
The risked recoverable shale gas and shale oil provide the important bottom line value
that helps the reader understand how large is the prospective shale gas and shale oil resource
and what impact this resource may have on the gas and oil options available in each region and
country.
Tables 1 and 2, for the Neuquen Basin and its Vaca Muerta Shale formation, provides a
summary of the resource assessment conducted for one basin and one shale formation in
Argentina including the risked, technically recoverable shale gas and shale oil, as follows:
308 Tcf of risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource, including 194 Tcf of
dry gas, 91 Tcf of wet gas and 23 Tcf of associated gas, Table 1.
16.2 billion barrels of technically recoverable shale oil resource, including 2.6 billion
barrels of condensate and 13.6 billion barrels of volatile/black oil, Table 2.
June, 2013
22
Table 1. Shale Gas Reservoir Properties and Resources of Argentina

Neuquen
BasicData
Basin/Gross Area
(66,900 mi )
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Depositional Environment
2
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
Prospective Area (mi )

Organically Rich
Thickness (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
Reservoir Pressure
Average TOC (wt. %)
Thermal Maturity (% Ro)
Clay Content
Vaca Muerta
U. Jurassic - L. Cretaceous
Marine
4,840
500
325
3,000 - 9,000
5,000
Highly
Overpress.
5.0%
0.85%
Low/Medium
3,270
500
325
4,500 - 9,000
6,500
Highly
Overpress.
5.0%
1.15%
Low/Medium
3,550
500
325
5,500 - 10,000
8,000
Highly
Overpress.
5.0%
1.50%
Low/Medium
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
Resource
Gas Phase
2
GIP Concentration (Bcf/mi )
66.1
185.9
302.9
Risked GIP (Tcf)
192.0
364.8
645.1
Risked Recoverable (Tcf)
23.0
91.2
193.5
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table-2. Shale Oil Reservoir Properties and Resources of Argentina
June, 2013
Neuquen
Basin/Gross Area
(66,900 mi )
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Vaca Muerta
U. Jurassic - L. Cretaceous
Marine

Organically Rich
Thickness (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
4,840
500
325
3,000 - 9,000
5,000
Highly
Overpress.
5.0%
0.85%
Low/Medium
3,270
500
325
4,500 - 9,000
6,500
Highly
Overpress.
5.0%
1.15%
Low/Medium
Oil
Condensate
OIP Concentration (MMbbl/mi )
77.9
22.5
Risked OIP (B bbl)
226.2
44.2
Risked Recoverable (B bbl)
13.57
2.65
Reservoir Pressure
Average TOC (wt. %)
Clay Content
Oil Phase
2
23
ATTACHMENT A
ESTABLISHING OIL RECOVERY EFFICIENCY FACTORS FOR THE

INTERNATIONAL TIGHT OIL STUDY
INTRODUCTION
The information assembled in Attachment A provides support for the oil recovery
efficiency factors to be used by the International Tight Oil Resource Study being conducted for
the U.S. Energy Information Administration by Advanced Resources International, Inc.
DATA BASE
The Advanced Resources proprietary data base used to establish analog values for the
oil recovery efficiency factor in the International Tight Oil Resource Study consists of 28 tight
oil plays in seven U.S. shale and tight sand/lime basins.
Table A-1 provides a listing of the 28 U.S. tight oil plays included in the analysis as well
as key geological and reservoir properties that influence oil recovery efficiency, such as: (1)
reservoir pressure; (2) thermal maturity; and (3) the formation volume factor.
In addition, Table A-1 provides information on the geologic age of the tight oil formation
which influences its depositional style. In general, the 28 U.S. tight oil plays have deep marine
depositions with low to moderate clay content.
ANALYTIC RESULTS
Table A-2 provides the oil recovery efficiency factor estimated for each of the 28 U.S.
tight oil plays in the data base.
The oil in-place, shown in thousand barrels per square mile, is calculated from the
data on Table A-1 as well as from data in Advanced Resources proprietary
unconventional gas data base.
The oil recovery, also shown in thousand barrels per square mile, is from type
curves based calculations of oil recovery per well times the number of wells
expected to be drilled per square mile.
June, 2013
24
The oil recovery efficiency, shown as a percent, is calculated by dividing oil recovery
by oil in-place.
FINDINGS AND OBSERVATIONS

A closer look at the oil recovery efficiency data on Table A-2 leads to the following
findings and observations:
The oil recovery efficiency values range from about 1% to 9%, with an un-weighted
average of about 3.5%.
Taking out five of the extremely low oil recovery efficiency plays (which we would
classify as non-productive) - - Mississippi Lime (Eastern Oklahoma Ext.), Mississippi
Lime (Kansas Ext.), Delaware Wolfcamp (Texas Ext.), D-J Niobrara (North Ext. #2),
and D-J Niobrara (East Ext.), raises the average oil recovery efficiency to 4.1%.
Six of the U.S. tight oil plays have oil recovery factors that range from about 8% to
about 9%.
Four of the U.S. tight oil plays have oil recovery factors that range from about 4% to
about 6%.
Twelve of the U.S. tight oil plays have oil recovery factors that range from about 2%
to about 3%.
A number of actions could change these initial estimates of oil recovery efficiency in
future years, including: (1) use of closer well spacing; (2) continued improvements in oil
recovery technology, including use of longer laterals and more frac stages; (3) completion of
more of the vertical net pay encountered by the wellbore; and (4) development of the lower
productivity portions of each play area.
June, 2013
25
Table A-1. Tight Oil Data Base Used for Establishing Oil Recovery Efficiency Factors
Basin
Formation/Play
BakkenNDCore
BakkenNDExt.
Williston
BakkenMT
ThreeForksND
ThreeForksMT
EagleFordPlay#3A
EagleFordPlay#3B
Maverick
EagleFordPlay#4A
EagleFordPlay#4B
BarnettComboCore
Ft.Worth
BarnettComboExt.
Del.Avalon/BS(NM)
Del.Avalon/BS(TX)
Del.Wolfcamp(TXCore)
Del.Wolfcamp(TXExt.)
Permian
Del.Wolfcamp(NMExt.)
Midl.WolfcampCore
Midl.WolfcampExt.
Midl.ClineShale
CanaWoodfordOil
Miss.LimeCentralOKCore
Anadarko
Miss.LimeEasternOKExt.
Miss.LimeKSExt.
Appalachian
UticaShaleOil
DJNiobraraCore
DJNiobraraEastExt.
DJ
DJNiobraraNorthExt.#1
June, 2013
Age
ReservoirPressure
MississippianDevonian
Devonian
Devonian
LateCretaceous
LateCretaceous
LateCretaceous
LateCretaceous
Mississippian
Mississippian
Permian
Permian
PermianPennsylvanian
Pennsylvanian
UpperDevonian
Mississippian
Mississippian
Mississippian
Ordovician
LateCretaceous
LateCretaceous
LateCretaceous
LateCretaceous
Overpressured
Overpressured
Overpressured
Overpressured
Overpressured
Overpressured
Overpressured
Overpressured
Overpressured
SlightlyOverpressured
Overpressured
Overpressured
Overpressured
Overpressured
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
26
Thermal
Formation
Maturity VolumeFactor
(%Ro)
(Boi)
0.80%
0.80%
0.75%
0.85%
0.85%
0.90%
0.85%
0.75%
0.70%
0.90%
0.80%
0.90%
0.90%
0.92%
0.92%
0.92%
0.90%
0.90%
0.90%
0.80%
0.90%
0.90%
0.90%
0.80%
1.00%
0.70%
0.70%
0.65%
1.35
1.58
1.26
1.47
1.27
1.75
2.01
1.57
1.33
1.53
1.41
1.70
1.74
1.96
1.79
1.85
1.67
1.66
1.82
1.76
1.29
1.20
1.29
1.46
1.57
1.26
1.37
1.28
Table A-2. Oil Recovery Efficiency for 28 U.S. Tight Oil Plays
(Black Oil, Volatile Oil and Condensates)
Basin
Formation/Play
BakkenNDCore
BakkenNDExt.
BakkenMT
Williston
ThreeForksND
ThreeForksMT
EagleFordPlay#3A
EagleFordPlay#3B
Maverick
EagleFordPlay#4A
EagleFordPlay#4B
BarnettComboCore
Ft.Worth
BarnettComboExt.
Del.Avalon/BS(NM)
Del.Avalon/BS(TX)
Del.Wolfcamp(TXCore)
Del.Wolfcamp(TXExt.)
Permian
Del.Wolfcamp(NMExt.)
Midl.WolfcampCore
Midl.WolfcampExt.
Midl.ClineShale
CanaWoodfordOil
Miss.LimeCentralOKCore
Anadarko
Miss.LimeEasternOKExt.
Miss.LimeKSExt.
Appalachian
UticaShaleOil
DJNiobraraCore
DJNiobraraEastExt.
DJ
Age
Devonian
Devonian
LateCretaceous
LateCretaceous
LateCretaceous
LateCretaceous
Mississippian
Mississippian
Permian
Permian
Pennsylvanian
UpperDevonian
Mississippian
Mississippian
Mississippian
Ordovician
LateCretaceous
LateCretaceous
LateCretaceous
LateCretaceous
June, 2013
27
OilInPlace
(MBbls/Mi2)
12,245
9,599
10,958
9,859
10,415
22,455
25,738
45,350
34,505
25,262
13,750
34,976
27,354
35,390
27,683
21,485
53,304
46,767
32,148
11,413
28,364
30,441
21,881
42,408
33,061
30,676
28,722
16,469
Oil
Oil
Recovery
Recovery
Efficiency
(MBbls/Mi2)
(%)
1,025
736
422
810
376
1,827
2,328
1,895
2,007
377
251
648
580
1,193
372
506
1,012
756
892
964
885
189
294
906
703
363
1,326
143
8.4%
7.7%
3.9%
8.2%
3.6%
8.1%
9.0%
4.2%
5.8%
1.5%
1.8%
1.9%
2.1%
3.4%
1.3%
2.4%
1.9%
1.6%
2.8%
8.4%
3.1%
0.6%
1.3%
2.1%
2.1%
1.2%
4.6%
0.9%
I. Canada
I.
EIA/ARI W
World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assesssment
CANAD
C
DA
SUMMA
ARY
Canada
C
has a series of large hydroc
carbon basin
ns with thick, organic-ricch shales tha
at are
assessed
d by this res
source study
y. Figure I-1 illustrates ccertain of the major sha
ale gas and sshale
oil basins
s in Western
n Canada.
Figure
F
I-1. Seleected Shale Gaas and Oil Bassins of Westeern Canada
Sourcee: ARI, 2012.
June, 2013
I--1
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
The
T full set of
o Canadian shale gas and
a shale o il basins asssessed in th
his study incclude:
(1) the Horn
H
River Basin, the Cordova Em
mbayment a
and the Lia
ard Basin (lo
ocated in B
British
Columbia
a and the No
orthwest Territories) plu
us the Doig P
Phosphate S
Shale (locate
ed in both B
British
Columbia
a and Alberrta); (2) the
e numerous shale gas and shale oil formatio
ons and plays in
Alberta, such
s
as the Banff/Exshaw, the Duv
vernay, the N
Nordegg, the Muskwa a
and the Colo
orado
Group; (3
3) the Willistton Basins Bakken
B
Shale in Saskattchewan and
d Manitoba; and (4) the Utica
Shale in Quebec and
d the Horton Bluff Shale in Nova Sco
otia.
d areally exxtensive Mo
Western
W
Can
nada also contains
c
the
e prolific and
ontney and Doig
Resource
e Plays (in both
b
British Columbia and
a Alberta) categorized
d primarily a
as tight sand
d and
siltstone reservoirs.
As thus, these two important u

unconventio
onal gas resources are
e not
e gas and sh
hale oil reso
ource assesssment. In ad
ddition, Can
nada has a sseries
included in this shale
onal hydrocarbon-bearin
ng siltstone and shale formations that are not included in the
of additio
quantitative portion of
o this resou
urce study either
e
becausse of low orrganic conte
ent (Wilrich S
Shale
a) or becaus
se of limited information (Frederick B
Brook Shale in New Brunswick).
in Alberta
We
W estimate risked shale gas in-pla
ace for Can
nada of 2,413 Tcf, with
h 573 Tcf as the
risked, te
echnically re
ecoverable shale
s
gas res
source. In a
addition, we
e estimate rissked shale o
oil inplace for Canada of
o 162 billio
on barrels, with 8.8 biillion barrelss as the rissked, techn
nically
o resource..
recoverable shale oil
Table I-1 provides a more in-d

depth, regional tabulatio
on of
Canadas
s shale gas and oil resources.
As
A new drilling occurs and more detailed in formation iss obtained on these large,
emerging
g shale pla
ays, the es
stimates of the size of their in--place resources and their
recoverability will und
doubtedly ch
hange.
June, 2013
I--2
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Table I--1. Shale Gas and Oil Resouurces of Canaada

egion
Re
Risked
Resource In-Place
F
Basin / Formation
Oil/Conden
nsate Natural Gas Oil/Condensate Natura
al Gas
(Million bbl)
b
(Tcf))
n bbl)
(Tc
cf)
(Million
Horn River (Musk

H
kwa / Otter Park )
H
Horn
River (Evie / Klua)
C
/
British Columbia
C
Cordova
(Muskwa
a / Otter Park)
Northwes
st Territories Liard
L
(Lower Bes
sa River)
D
Deep
(Doig Phos
sphate)
S
Sub-Total
Al berta
Saskattchewan /
Man
nitoba
Risk
ked Technically
y
Recov
verable Resourrce
Alberta (Banff / Exshaw)

A
E
E
E/W
Shale (Duve
ernay)
D
Deep
Basin (Nord
degg)
N
N.W.
Alberta (Mu
uskwa)
S Alberta (Colorrado)
S.
S
Sub-Total
W
Williston
(Bakken
n)
375.7
7
154.2
2
81.0
0
526.3
3
100.7
7
1,237.8
93
3.9
38
8.5
20
0.3
157
7.9
25
5.2
335
5.8
0
10,500
66,800
0
19,800
0
42,400
0
139,500
5.1
482.6
6
72.0
0
141.7
7
285.6
6
987.1
1
0
320
4,01
10
790
0
2,12
20
7,24
40
0. 3
113
3.0
13
3.3
31.1
2.8
42
200
0.5
22,500
0
16.0
0
1,60
00
2..2
Qu
uebec
A
App.
Fold Belt (U
Utica)
155.3
3
31.1
Nova
a Scotia
W
Windsor
(Horton Bluff)
17.0
0
3..4
162,000
2,413.2
40
8,84
572
2.9
T
Total
*Less than 0.5 Tcf
June, 2013
I--3
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
BRITIS
SH COLUMBIA/NO
ORTHWES
ST TERR
RITORIES
British
B
Colum
mbia (BC) and
a
the Norrthwest Terrritories (NW
WT) hold thrree world-sscale
shale basins, the Ho
orn River Ba
asin, the Corrdova Emba
ayment and the Liard Ba
asin. In add
dition,
nic-rich Doig
g Phosphate Shale existts on each s ide of the ce
entral Alberta
a and BC bo
order.
the organ
In additio
on to these shale resou
urces, Britis
sh Columbia
a also has p
portions of tthe massive tight
sand and
d siltstone Montney Re
esource
an
nd Doig Re
esource playys.
These two low org

ganic
content formations, classified as

a tight san
nds by Can
nadas Natio
onal Energyy Board, are
e not
included in this shale
e gas and oill resource as
ssessment.
This
T
resource
e assessme
ent study ha
as benefitted
d greatly fro
om the exte
ensive geolo
ogical
and rese
ervoir charac
cterization work
w
supportted by the B
BC Ministry of Energy a
and Mines on the
shale ba
asins and fo
ormations off British Columbia.1,2 In
n addition, this study ha
as drawn on the
extensive
e well drillin
ng and welll performance informat ion provided
d by Canad
das oil and
d gas
industry. These two
o information
n sources se
erve as foun
ndations for the assessm
ment of the sshale
es of British
h Columbia and the No
orthwest Terrritories. Th
he four BC//NWT
gas and oil resource
asins assess
sed by this study
s
contain
n 1,238 Tcf of risked sh
hale gas in-p
place,
shale oil and gas ba
nically recove
erable shale
e gas resourcce, Table I-2
2.
with 336 Tcf as the risked, techn
Table I-2. Shale Gas Reeservoir Propeerties and Ressources of Briitish Columbiaa/NWT
BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
R
Horn River
Basin/Grosss Area
Cordova
(7,100 mi )
Shale Form
mation
Geologicc Age
Depositional En
nvironment
2

Org
ganically Rich
hickness (ft)
Th
Nett
Inteerval
Deepth (ft)
Aveerage
Reeservoir Pressuree
Muskwa/Otter Parkk
Devonian
Marine
Evie/Klua
Devonian
Marine
3,320
420
380
6,300 - 10,200
8,000
3.5%
3.50%
Low
3,320
160
144
6,800 - 10,700
8,500
Mod.
Overpress.
4.5%
3.80%
Low
M
Mod.
Overpress.
Avverage TOC (wt. %)

%
Th
hermal Maturity (% Ro)
Clay Content
Gas Phase
(4,290 mi )
Liard
Deep Baasin
2
(4,300 mi )
(24,800 mi )
P
Lower Besa River Doig Phossphate
Muskwa/Otter Park
Devonian
Devoniaan
Triasssic
Marine
Marinee
Marinne
2,000
230
207
5,500 - 6,2000
6,000
3,300
500
400
6,600 - 13,000
10,0000
3,000
1655
1500
6,800 - 10,900
9,250
Mod. Overpresss. Highly Overppress. Mod. Overrpress.

2.0%
2.50%
Low
3.5%
3.80%
Low
5.0%
%
1.10%
%
Low
w
Dry Gas
Dry Gas
Dry Gas
Dry Gass
Dry Gas
G
150.9
61.9
67.5
319.0
67.11
Risked GIP (Tcf)
375.7
154.2
81.0
526.3
100.7
Risked Recoverablle (Tcf)
93.9
38.5
20.3
157.9
25.22
June, 2013
I--4
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
1.
HORN
H
RIVE
ER BASIN
1.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T Horn Riv
ver Basin co
overs an are
ea of 7,100 m
mi2 in northe
ern British C
Columbia and the
Northwes
st Territories
s, Figure I-2
2. The bas
sins western
n border is defined by the Bovie F
Fault,
which se
eparates the Horn Riverr Basin from
m the Liard B
Basin. Its northern bord
der, in North
hwest
Territorie
es, is defined
d by the thinning of the shale
s
sectio n, and its so
outhern bord
der is constra
ained
by the piinch-out of the shale. Itts eastern border
b
is deffined by the Slave Pointt/Keg River Uplift
and the thinning
t
of the shale de
eposit. We have
h
defined
d a higher q
quality, 3,320
0-mi2 prospe
ective
area for the
t Horn Riv
ver Shale in the west-central portion
n of the basin
n, Figure I-3.
The
T Horn Riv
ver Basin contains a seriies of organic-rich shale
es, with the M
Middle Devo
onianage Muskwa/Otter Park
P
and Evie
e/Klua mostt prominent, Figure I-4.3 These two shale units were
n River Basin to establis
sh a prospe
ective area w
with sufficie
ent thicknesss and
mapped in the Horn
e concentration favorable
e for shale gas
g developm
ment. Otherr shales in th
his basin (bu
ut not
resource
included in the study
y) include th
he high orga
anic-content,, lower therm
mal maturityy, poorly de
efined
ppian Banff//Exshaw Sh
hale and th
he thick, low
w organic-ccontent Late
e Devonian Fort
Mississip
Simpson Shale.
1.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Two
T
major sh
hale gas form
mations, the Muskwa/Ottter Park and
d the Evie/K
Klua, are inclluded
in the quantitative po
ortion of our resource as
ssessment.
Muskwa/Otte
M
er Park. The
e Middle De
evonian Musskwa/Otter P
Park Shale, the upper sshale
interval within
w
the Horn
H
River Group,
G
is th
he main sha
ale gas targ
get in the Horn River B
Basin.
Drilling depth
d
to the
e top of the Muskwa/Ottter Park Sh
hale rangess from 6,300
0 to 10,200 feet,
averaging 8,000 fee
et for the prrospective area. The M
Muskwa/Otte
er Park Sha
ale is moderrately
ssured in th
he center of the basin. With an orrganic-rich g
gross shale thickness off 420
over-pres
feet, the Muskwa/Ottter Park ha
as a net pa
ay of 380 fe
eet. Total orrganic conte
ent (TOC) in
n the
prospective area ave
erages 3.5%
% for the net shale thickn
ness investig
gated. Therrmal maturityy (Ro)
is high, averaging
a
ab
bout 3.5% an
nd placing th
his shale gass in the dry g
gas window. Because o
of the
high therrmal maturity
y in the pros
spective area
a, the in-pla ce shale gass has a CO2 content of 11%.
The
Muskwa/Otte
M
r
June, 2013
Park
Shale
ha
as
I--5
high
quartz
a
and
low
clay
con
ntent.
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
World Shale Gas andd Shale Oil Resourcee Assessment
FFigure I-2. Horn River

R
Basin (Muskkwa/Otter Park Shaale) Outline and Depth
D
S
Source: ARI, 2013.
JJune, 2013
Figure I-3.
I Horn River Baasin (Muskwa/Otteer Park Shale) Isoopach and
Prospective Areea
Source: ARI, 2013.
I-6
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Figuree I-4. NE British Columbia, Devonian andd Mississippiaan Stratigraphhy
Middle
Lo
ower
Sourcce: D. J. K. Ross and R. M. Bustin, AAPG

A
Bulletin, v. 922, no. 1 (January 2008),
2
pp. 87125
JAF21300.A
AI
Evie/Klua.
E
The
T
Middle Devonian Evie/Klua
E
Sh
hale, the low
wer shale in
nterval within the
Horn Riv
ver Group, provides
p
a se
econdary sh
hale gas targ
get in the H
Horn River Basin. The ttop of
the Evie//Klua Shale is approxim
mately 500 fe
eet below th
he top of the
Otter Park S
Shale,
e Muskwa/O
separate
ed by an orrganically-lea
an rock inte
erval.
The organic-ricch Evie/Klua

a Shale, witth an
average TOC of 4.5%, has a th

hickness of about
a
160 fe
eet (gross) a
and 144 fee
et (net). The
ermal
h at about 3.8%,
3
placing
g this shale
e gas in the dry gas window. The
e CO2
maturity (Ro) is high
he Evie/Klua
a Shale has a low clay ccontent making the form
mation
content is estimated at 13%. Th
e for hydraulic stimulatio
on.
favorable
Other
O
Shales
s. The Horn
n River Basiin also conta
ains two shallower shales - - the U
Upper
Devonian
n/Lower Mississippian Banff/Exshaw
B
w Shale and the Late De
evonian Fortt Simpson S
Shale.
The Ban
nff/Exshaw Shale,
S
while
e rich in TO
OC (~5%) iis relatively thin (10 to
o 30 feet).
The
massively thick Fort Simpson Shale, with a gross intervval of 2,000

0 to 3,000 fe
eet, is organ
nically
OC <1%). Because of th
hese less fa
avorable res ervoir prope
erties and lim
mitations of data,
lean (TO
June, 2013
I--7
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
these two
o shale units
s have not been
b
include
ed in the qua
antitative portion of the H
Horn River B
Basin
shale res
source asses
ssment.
1.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T
prospec
ctive area for
f both the
e Horn Rivver Muskwa
a/Otter Parkk Shale and
d the
Evie/Klua
a Shale is ap
pproximately
y 3,320 mi2.
area, the Horn
Within
W
this prospective
p
H
River Muskwa/Ottter Park S
Shale has a rich
resource
e concentration of about 151 Bcf/mi2 and a risked
d gas in-placce is 376 Tccf, excluding CO2.
Based on
n favorable reservoir mineralogy an
nd other prop
perties, we e
estimate a risked, techn
nically
recoverable shale ga
as resource of 94 Tcf forr the Muskwa
a/Otter Parkk Shale, Tab
ble I-2.
The
T thinner Evie/Klua
E
Sh
hale has a resource
r
con
ncentration o
of 62 Bcf/mi2 and 154 T
Tcf of
risked ga
as in-place, excluding CO
C 2. We es
stimate a rissked, technically recove
erable shale
e gas
resource
e for the Evie
e/Klua Shale
e of 39 Tcf, Table
T
I-2.
1.4
Comparison
C
n with Other Resourc
ce Assess
sments
In
n mid-2010, the Canadian Society for
f Unconve
entional Gass estimated 75 to 170 T
Tcf of
marketab
ble (recoverable after extraction
e
of CO2 and a ny NGLs) sshale gas fo
or the Horn River
basin.4
M
of E
Energy and Mines (BC
C MEM) and
d the
Subsequently, in 2011, the BC Ministry
ard (NEB) pu
ublished an assessmentt for the sha
ale gas resou
urces of the Horn
National Energy Boa
River Ba
asin that ide
entified 448 Tcf of gas in-place, w
with an expe
ected marke
etable shale
e gas
resource
e of 78 Tcf.5
We
W estimate a larger risked, technic
cally recove rable shale gas resourcce of 133 Tcf for
the two shale
s
units assessed by
b this study
y, using a re
ecovery facttor of 25% of the shale
e gas
resource
e in-place. Our
O recovery
y factor is consistent wiith the 25% recovery fa
actor used b
by the
BC Oil and
a
Gas Co
ommission in their 2011 hydrocarb
bon reserve
es report forr the Horn River
Basin.6 The
T
BC ME
EM/NEB Ho
orn River Basin
B
asses sment repo
ort, with a lower 78 T
Tcf of
marketab
ble (recovera
able) shale gas
g resource
e, implies a lower recove
ery factor off 17.4% of ga
as inplace. (The
(
BC ME
EM/NEB ass
sessment ex
xcluded CO2 content and
d produced gas used ass fuel
from marrketable sha
ale gas.)
June, 2013
I--8
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Consistent
C
with
w
the exp
perience of shale gass developme
ent in the U.S., this sstudy
anticipate
es progressively increas
sed efficienc
cies for shal e gas recovvery as industry optimize
es its
well com
mpletion and production practices. One
O examp le is Nexens testing off advanced sshale
well com
mpletion meth
hods in the Horn River Basin.
The
ese advanced methodss are designed to
increase EURs in the

e Horn Riverr Basin shale
es from 11 B
Bcf/well to 16
6 Bcf/well.
1.5
Recent
R
Activity
A number of major and in
ndependent companies are active in the Horn R
River Shale play,
including
g Apache Ca
anada, EnCa
ana, EOG Resources,
R
Nexen, Devvon Canada, Quicksilver and
others.
Apache
A
Cana
ada, the Ho
orn River Ba
asins most active operrator with 72
2 wells targ
geting
shale gas in the bas
sin, has full-scale develo
opment und erway in the
e Two Island
d Lake area
a with
0 million cub
bic feet per day
d (MMcfd
d). Apache estimates a net recove
erable
net production of 90
T from its shale
s
leases
s in the Horn
n River Basin
n. 7
gas resource of 9.2 Tcf
EnCana,
E
with
h 68 long horizontal wells, produced
d a net 95 M
MMcfed in 20
011 from its sshale
gas lease
es in the Ho
orn River Bas
sin. Devon, with 22 sha le gas wellss, is in the ea
arly stages o
of derisking its 170,000 net
n acre lea
ase position,, which the company e
estimates co
ontains nearrly 10
Tcfe of net
n risked res
source. EO
OG, with a 15
57,000 net a
acre lease position and 9 Tcf of pote
ential
recoverable resource
es, has drillled 35 shale
e gas wells and claimss that the pe
erformance of its
initial sett of shale ga
as wells has
s met or exceeded expe
ectations. Q
Quicksilver ha
as a 130,00
00 net
acre leas
se position, 18 shale ga
as wells and
d a projecte
ed recoverab
ble resource
e of over 10
0 Tcf.
Nexen, with
w 90,000 acres, has drilled 42 horizontal
h
we
ells and esttimates 6 Tccf of recove
erable
resource
es from its lea
ase area.8
Total
T
natural gas produ
uction from the Horn R
River Basin was 382 M
MMcfd from
m 159
productiv
ve wells in 2011. In th
heir 2010 re
eport, the B
BC Oil and Gas Comm
mission (BCO
OGC)
estimated
d 10 Tcf of initial
i
raw ga
as reserves from 40 Tcff of original g
gas in-place
e, equal to a 25%
recovery factor.
In their 2011 report, th

he BCOGC increased tthe Horn R
River Shale initial
recoverable raw gas reserves to 11.5 Tcf.
June, 2013
I--9
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
The
T
gas pro
ocessing an
nd transporttation capaccity in the Horn Riverr Basin is b
being
expanded to provide
e improved market acce
ess for its g
growing sha
ale gas prod
duction. Pip
peline
cture is bein
ng expanded
d to bring the gas sou th to a series of propo
osed LNG e
export
infrastruc
facilities. A 287-mile
e (480-km) Pacific
P
Trail Pipeline
P
is u
under constrruction to connect the Kitimat
port plant (d
due on line in 2017) wiith Spectra Energys W
West Coast P
Pipeline Sysstem,
LNG exp
Figure I-5.
The Kittimat LNG te

erminal has an announcced initial se
end-out cap
pacity of 5 m
million
tons of LNG per yearr (MTPA), ex

xpanding to 10 MTPA w
with a second
d train.
Figu
ure I-5. Westeern Canadas LNG
L Export Pipelines and Infrastructure
TransCanada
T
a is proposing to build the 470-mil e Prince Ru
upert Gas T
Transmission
n line
with an in
nitial capacitty of 2 Bcfd (expandable
e to 3.6 Bcfd
d) to move M
Montney and
d Horn Rive
er gas
to the Pa
acific Northw
west LNG ex
xport terminal near Prin
nce Rupert, BC. The pllanned in-se
ervice
date is 2018. Earlierr, TransCana
ada was selected by Sh
hell Canada to build the 1.7 Bcfd Co
oastal
king Horn River
R
(and Montney)
M
ga
as with Shellls planned 12 MTPA LNG
GasLink Project, link
d of the deccade.9
ated to be in
n-service tow
ward the end
export facility near Kitimat estima
June, 2013
I-10
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
2.
CORDOVA
C
EMBAYME
ENT
2.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T
Cordova
a Embayme
ent covers an
a area of 4
4,290 mi2 in the extreme northea
astern
corner off British Collumbia, exte

ending into the
t
Northwe
est Territorie
es, Figure I-6. The Corrdova
Embaym
ment is separated from the
t Horn Riv
ver Basin on
n the west b
e Point Plattform.
by the Slave
The Emb
bayments no
orthern and southern bo
oundaries arre defined by a thinning of the shale
e and
its easte
ern boundary
y is the Briitish Columb
bia and Alb
berta borderr.
The dom
minant shale
e gas
formation
n, the Musk
kwa/Otter Pa
ark Shale, was
w mapped
d to establissh the 2,000
0-mi2 prospe
ective
area, Fig
gure I-7.
2.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
One
O shale ga
as formation
n, the Muskw
wa/Otter Parrk, is include
ed in the qu
uantitative po
ortion
of our res
source asse
essment.
Muskwa/Otte
M
er Park. The
e Middle De
evonian Musskwa/Otter P
Park Shale is the main sshale
gas targe
et in the Corrdova Embay
yment. The
e drilling dep
pth to the top
p of the Musskwa Shale iin the
prospective area ranges from 5,500 to 6,200 feet, a
averaging 6,,000 feet.
The reservoir is
ely over-pres
ssured. The
e organic-ric
ch gross thic kness is 230
0 feet, with a net thickne
ess of
moderate
207 feett.
Total org
ganic content (TOC) in
n the prosp
pective area
a is 2.5% fo
or the net sshale
thickness
s investigate
ed. Therma
al maturity averages
a
2.0
0% Ro, placcing the shale in the dryy gas
window. The Muskwa/Otter Pa
ark Shale ha
as a moderrately high q
quartz conte
ent, favorable for
hydraulic
c stimulation.
Other
O
Shales
s. The deep
per Evie/Klua
a Shale, sep
parated from
m the overlying Muskwa//Otter
Park by the Slave Point and Sulfur Poin
nt Formation
ns, is thin, Figure I-8.
The overlying
Banff/Exs
shaw and Fort Simpson
n shales are shallower, tthin and/or low in organics. These other
shales ha
ave not bee
en included in
i the quanttitative portio
on of the Co
ordova Embayment reso
ource
assessm
ment.
June, 2013
I-11
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Figure I-6. Cordova Embayment (M

Muskwa/Otter Parkk Shale) Outline an
nd
Deepth
S
Source: ARI, 2013.
JJune, 2013
Figu
ure I-7. Cordova EEmbayment - Musskwa/Otter Park Shale Isopach
annd Prospective Arrea
Source: ARI, 2013.

2
I-12
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Figure I-8.. Cordova Em

mbayment Straatigraphic Column
2.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T
prospec
ctive area of
o the Cord
dova Emba
ayments Muskwa/Otterr Park Sha
ale is
approxim
mately 2,000
0 mi2. With
hin this pros
spective are
ea, the shale
e has a mo
oderate reso
ource
concentrration of 68 Bcf/mi2 and
d a risked ga
as in-place o
of 81 Tcf. B
Based on favorable rese
ervoir
mineralogy and oth
her propertie
es, we estim
mate a riskked, techniccally recove
erable shale
e gas
resource
e of 20 Tcf fo
or the Muskw
wa/Otter Park Shale in th
he Cordova Embaymentt, Table I-2.
2.4
Comparison
C
ce Assess
sments
In mid-2010, the Canadian Society of
o Unconven
ntional Gas ((CSUG) estimated 200 T
Tcf of
shale ga
as in-place and
a
30 to 68
6 Tcf of marketable (rrecoverable)) shale gas for the Corrdova
Embaym
ment.4 In earrly 2012, the
e BC Ministry
y of Energy reported 20
00 Tcf of gas in-place fo
or the
Cordova Embayment, a number which appe
ears to have been based
d on the CSU
UG study.4
June, 2013
I-13
I. Canada
2.5
EIA/ARI W
Recent
R
Activity
Nexen
N
has acquired
a
an 82,000-acre
e lease posittion in the C
Cordova Emb
bayment and
d has
drilled tw
wo vertical and two horizontal
h
sh
hale gas e
exploration w
wells.
Nexxen estimattes a
contingent resource of up to 5 Tcf

T for its lea
ase position.10 PennWesst Exploratio
on and Mitsu
ubishi
o develop th
he estimated
d 5 to 7 Tccf of recove
erable shale
e gas
have forrmed a jointt venture to
resource
es on their 17
70,000-acre (gross) leas
se area.11
June, 2013
I-14
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
3.
LIARD
L
BAS
SIN
3.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T Liard Ba
asin covers an
a area of 4,300
4
mi2 in northwesterrn British Co
olumbia, Figure I-
9.3 Its eastern borde

er is defined
d by the Bov
vie Fault, w hich separa
ates the Liarrd Basin from
m the
ver Basin, Figure I-8. Its
s northern bo
oundary is ccurrently deffined by the British Colu
umbia
Horn Riv
and the Yukon/Nortthwest Terriitories borde
er, and its western an
nd southern boundariess are
defined by
b structural folding and shale depos
sition.
Figurre I-9. Liard Basin
B
(Lower Besa
B
River Shhale) Outline aand Depth Mapp
Source: Modiffied from Ross and

a Bustin, 2008.
The
T dominan
nt shale gas formation in
n the Liard B
Basin is the Middle Devvonian-age L
Lower
Besa Riv
ver Shale, eq
quivalent to the Muskwa
a/Otter Parkk and Evie/K
Klua shales iin the Horn River
Basin. Additional,
A
le
ess organica
ally rich and
d less prosp ective shale
es exist in th
he basins U
Upper
Devonian
n- and Mississippian-ag
ge shales, su
uch as the M
Middle Besa
a River Shale (Fort Sim
mpson
equivalen
nt) and the Upper Besa
a River Sha
ale (Exshaw
w/Banff equivvalent), Figu
ures I-1012 a
and I11.13 Based on still limited data
a on this sha
ale play, a p
prospective a
area of 3,3
300 mi2 has been
er Besa Rive
er Shale in th
he central po
ortion of the
e basin, Figure I-12.3
mapped for the Lowe
June, 2013
I-15
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Figu
ure I-10. Liard
d Basin Locatio
on, Cross-Secction and Prosspective Areaa
Source: Levvson et al., British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Petrroleum Resourcees, 2009.
Figure I--11. Liard Bassin Stratigraphhic Cross-Secction
June, 2013
I-16
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Figure I-112. Liard Basiin (Lower Bessa River Shalee) Isopach andd Prospective Area
Source: Modified
M
from Rosss and Bustin, 2006.
3.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area).
The
T Lower Be
esa River orrganic-rich shale
s
is the m
main shale g
gas target in
n the Liard B
Basin.
Drilling depths
d
to the
e top of the formation in the prosp ective area range from 6,600 to 13
3,000
Lower Besa
feet, ave
eraging abou
ut 10,000 fe
eet. The organic-rich L
a River secttion has a g
gross
thickness
s of 750 fee
et and a ne
et thickness
s of 600 fee
et. Total orrganic conte
ent (TOC) in
n the
prospective area, loc
cally up to 5%,
5
average
es 3.5% for tthe net shalle interval in
nvestigated. The
m
of the
t prospecttive area is high, with a
an average R
Ro of 3.8%. Because o
of the
thermal maturity
high therrmal maturitty, we estim
mate the in-place shale gas has a CO2 content of 13%. The
geology of the Besa River Shale
e is complex
x with numerrous faults a
and thrusts. The Lower Besa
hale is quarttz-rich, with episodic inttervals of do
olomite and more perva
asive interva
als of
River Sh
clay.
June, 2013
I-17
I. Canada
3.3
EIA/ARI W
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T
Liard Ba
asins Lowerr Besa Rive
er Shale hass a high ressource conccentration off 319
2
Bcf/mi . Within the prospective

p
area
a
of 3,300 mi2, the rissked shale g
gas in-place is approxim
mately
526 Tcf.
Based on
n favorable reservoir mineralogy
m
b
but significant structural complexityy, we
echnically re
ecoverable shale
s
gas re
esource of 158 Tcf for the Liard B
Basin,
estimate a risked, te
2.
Table I-2
3.4
Recent
R
Activity
Apache
A
has a 430,000 acre
a
lease po
osition in the
e center of tthe Liard Ba
asins prospe
ective
area, esttimating 210

0 Tcf of net gas in-pla
ace and 54 Tcf of reco
overable raw
w gas (48 T
Tcf of
marketab
ble gas). Ap
paches D-3
34-K well, drrilled to a ve
ertical depth
h of 12,600 ffeet with a 2
2,900
foot laterral and 6 frrac stages, had a 30-d
day IP of 21
1.3 MMcfd a
and a 12 m
month cumulative
recovery of 3.1 Bcf. The well has a currently
y projected E
EUR of nearrly 18 Bcf.7
Nexen
N
has acquired a 12
28,000-acre (net) land p
position in th
his basin, asssigning up to 24
Tcf of prospective
p
recoverable resource to
t its lease area.10
Trranseuro En
nergy Corp.. and
Questerrre Energy Co
orp., two sm
mall Canadian operators,, have comp
pleted three exploration wells
in the Be
esa River and
d Mattson sh
hale/siltstone intervals a
at the Beave
er River Field
d.14
June, 2013
I-18
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
4.
DOIG
D
PHOS
SPHATE SHALE/DEE
EP BASIN
4.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T Doig Pho
osphate Sha
ale is located
d in the Dee
ep Basin of A
Alberta and British Colum
mbia.
The Middle Triassic Doig Phos

sphate Form
mation serve
es as the ba
ase for the more exten
nsive,
nantly siltsto
one and sa
and conten
nt Doig Ressource Playy, Figure I--13.
predomin
The Doig
Phospha
ate Formation, a high orrganic-content shale, ha
as a prospecctive area off 3,000 mi2 a
along
the west--central portion of the De
eep Basin.
Fig
gure I-13. Dep
position and Stratigraphy
S
off Doig Phosphhate and Monttney/Doig Ressource Plays
Advanced Montney
Well Completion
W
o
Fo
ke
La
an
w
S
lls
thi
w
Da
n
so
Halfway
Post-Triassic
Unconformity
Doig
Doig Phosphate
Montney
Upper Montney
Lower Montney
Belloy
054.CD
JA F02
Blacck Marine Shale
Siltstone, Sands
S
and Shales
Convventional Sands
Modified from Tristone Shhale Gas Report Octobeer 2008

JAF028245.PPT
4.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T
Middle Triassic
T
Doiig Phosphatte Shale ha
as a thick ssection of organic-rich sshale
along the
e western edge
e
of the
e Deep Basin that form
ms the prosp
a, Figure I-14.15,8
pective area
Drilling depth
d
to the top of the shale avera
ages 9,250 feet. The o
organic-rich Doig Phosp
phate
Shales thickness ra
anges from 130 to 20
00 feet, witth a net thickness of 150 feet in
n the
June, 2013
I-19
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
prospective area. The

T
average
e thermal maturity
m
(Ro
o of 1.1%) p
places the sshale in the
e wet
gas/cond
densate wind
dow. The to
otal organic content (TO
OC) is mode
erate to high
h, averaging
g 5%.
X-ray difffraction of cores
c
taken from the Do
oig Phospha
ate Formatio
on show sig
gnificant leve
els of
quartz with minor to moderate le
evels of clay
y and trace tto minor amo
ounts of pyrrite and dolo
omite,
making the formation
n favorable for
f hydraulic fracturing.
Figuree I-14. Prospeective Area forr the Doig Phoosphate Shalee (Deep Basin))
Modified from Walsh,

W
2006.
June, 2013
I-20
I. Canada
4.3
EIA/ARI W
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T prospecttive area of the Doig Ph
hosphate Sh
hale is estim
mated at 3,00
00 mi2, limite
ed on
the west by the Phanerozoic De

eformation Fault and by the pinch-out of the sha
ales to the n
north,
spective area
a, the shale has a mode
erate resourrce concentrration
east and south. Within the pros
cf per mi2 off wet gas an
nd a risked resource in
n-place of 10
01 Tcf. Bassed on favo
orable
of 67 Bc
mineralogy, we estim
mate a riske
ed, technically recoverab
ble shale ga
as resource of 25 Tcf fo
or the
osphate Sha
ale.
Doig Pho
4.4
Comparison
C
ce Assess
sments
In
n 2006, Wals
sh estimated
d a gas in-p
place for the Doig Phosp
phate Unit off ~70 Tcf.15
4.5
Recent
R
Activity
The
T
Doig Ph
hosphate Sh
hale reservo
oir overlies tthe Montneyy Resource Play. As ssuch,
much of the activity and apprais

sal of the Do
oig Phospha
ate is reportted as part o
of exploratio
on for
oig Resource
e plays. Pe
engrowth En
nergy Corp, a small Can
nadian prod
ducer,
the Monttney and Do
tested the larger Doiig interval with
w a vertica
al well in 201
11 with a rep
ported test rrate of 750 M
Mcfd.
The company plans to
t target the
e Doig with a horizontal w
well in 2012.8
June, 2013
I-21
I. Canada
5.
EIA/ARI W
MONTNEY
M
AND
A
DOIG
G RESOURCE PLAYS
S (BRITISH
H COLUMBIA)
The
T
Deep Ba
asin of Britis
sh Columbia
a contains tthe Montneyy and Doig Resource p
plays.
These arre multi-depo

ositional, Triiassic-age hydrocarbon accumulatio
ons containin
ng large volu
umes
of dry and wet gas in
n-place in co
onventional, tight sand a nd shale forrmations.
The
T Canadian National Energy
E
Board
d categorize
es the Montn
ney and Doig
g Resource plays
as tight gas
g sands. Work
W
by the
e BC Oil and Gas Comm
mission, in th
heir Montney Formation
n Play
Area Atla
as NEBC,16 shows that only
o
a very small
s
portion
n of the Mon
ntney Resource play con
ntains
oil/conde
ensate, Figure I-15. As such, we ha
ave excluded
d the Montn
ney and Doig
g Resource plays
from the
e shale res
source asse
essment of Canada.
(In our pre

evious shalle gas reso
ource
assessm
ment, we speculated thatt a shale-rich
h Montney a
area with hig
gher TOC va
alues may exxist in
BC along the north
hwestern ed
dge of the Deep Basin
n.
Howeve
er, because of lack of data
ng this specu
ulation, we have
h
excluded this area
a and resourrce volumes from our cu
urrent
confirmin
shale oil and gas ass
sessment.)
To
T put the potential volu
ume of tightt gas resourrce in the M
Montney and
d Doig Reso
ource
plays of British
B
Colum
mbia into perspective, th
he BC MEM reports a ga
as in-place ffor the BC po
ortion
of the Mo
ontney and Doig
D
Resourrce plays at 450 Tcf and
d 200 Tcf resspectively.8
6.
CANOL
C
SHA
ALE
The
T Canol Sh
hale is an em
merging sha
ale play loca ted in the ce
entral Macke
enzie Valleyy near
Norman Wells, North

hwest Territo
ories. To da
ate, only seissmic and a h
handful of ve
ertical wells have
been drilled to explo
ore this sha
ale oil play. Work is u
underway on a multi-ye
ear study byy the
Northwes
st Territories
s Geoscienc
ce Office to better
b
define
e this resourcce.
Husky
H
Oil, ha
aving spent $376 million at the 20 11 land aucction, has drrilled two ve
ertical
wells on its 300,000
0-net acre le
ease area and is planniing on comp
pleting three
e wells in 20
013.17
nergy Corp, with 470,000-net acres in this reso
ource play, p
plans to drill one vertica
al well
MGM En
during th
he current wiinter explora
ation season
n. MGM (witth Shell as its partner) w
withdrew pla
ans to
drill a horizontal well in 2012 to test the prod
ductivity of th
he Canol Sha
ale play. 18 A
As informatio
on on
pectivity of th
he Canol Sh
hale is gaine
ed from the a
above wells,, it would be timely to incclude
the prosp
this shale
e play in the assessmen
nt of Canada
as shale gass and oil reso
ources.
June, 2013
I-22
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Fig
gure I-15. Mon
ntney Trend Identified Gaas Liquids/Oil Distribution
Source: BC Oil and Gas Commission

C
Monntney Formation Play Atlas NEB
BC October 20122.
June, 2013
I-23
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
ALBER
RTA
Alberta
A
holds
s a series of
o significantt, organic-ri ch shale ga
as and shalle oil formattions,
including
g: (1) the Ba
anff and Exs
shaw Shale in the Alberrta Basin; (2
2) the Duverrnay Shale in the
East and
d West Shale
e Basin of west-central
w
Alberta;
A
(3) the Nordegg
g Shale in th
he Deep Bassin of
west-cen
ntral Alberta
a; (4) the Muskwa
M
Sha
ale in north
hwest Alberrta; and (5) the shale
e gas
formation
ns of the Co
olorado Grou
up in southe
ern Alberta. (In additio
on, Alberta h
holds the ea
astern
portion of
o the Doig Phosphate
P
Sh
hale play, discussed pre
eviously.)
The
T study ha
as benefitted
d greatly from
m the in-dep
pth and rigorrous siltstone and shale
e data
in the ERCB/AGS
E
report enttitled, Sum
mmary of A
Albertas Sh
osted
hale- and Siltstone-Ho
Hydrocarrbon Resource Potentia
al.19 This ERCB/AGS
E
report helpe
ed define the boundarie
es for
the oil, wet
w gas/con
ndensate an
nd dry gas play areas used by th
his study.
This report also
provided valuable da
ata on key re
eservoir prop
perties such as porosity and net payy.
To
T maintain consistency
c
with the ER
RCB/AGS stu
udy for Alberrta, our stud
dy used the ssame
minimum
m criterion off 0.8% Ro fo
or the volatiile/black oil window. H
However, our study used the
criterion of >1.3% Ro for the dry
y gas windo
ow, compare
ed to the >1
1.35% Ro in
n the ERCB//AGS
Our study also expanded on the
e analytical data in ER
RCB/AGSs report with
h our
study.
dently derive
ed estimates
s of prospec
ctive areas a
as well as o
our assignm
ments of presssure
independ
gradients
s, gas-oil ra
atios (as fu
unctions of reservoir p
pressure an
nd temperatture), and other
reservoirr properties to each sha
ale play. (T
The ERCB/A
AGS assumed normal rrather than overpressure
ed gradients in their Albe
erta resourc
ce assessme
ent and linke
ed a constant oil-gas ra
atio to
each thermal maturitty (Ro) value, independe
ent of reservo
oir pressure and depth.))
The
T five Albe
erta basins assessed
a
by
y this study contain 987
7 Tcf of riskked shale ga
as inplace, wiith 200 Tcf as
a the risked
d, technically
y recoverabl e shale gass resource, T
Table 1-3. T
These
five basin
ns also conttain 140 billion barrels of
o risked sha
ale oil in-placce, with 7.2 billion barre
els as
the risked
d, technically recoverable shale oil resource,
r
Ta
able I-4.
June, 2013
I-24
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Taable I-3. Shale Gas Reservoiir Properties aand Resourcees of Alberta

BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Alberta Basin
B
Basin/Gross
Area
Shale Formation
S
Geologic Age
2
Prospecctive Area (mi )

Organically Rich
Thicknesss (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ftt)
Average
NW Albertaa Area
Deep Basin
Southern Alb
berta Basin
(28,700 mi )
(50,500 mi )
(26,200 mi )
(33,000 mi
m )
(124,0000 mi )
Banff/Exshaw
L Mississippian
L.
Marine
Duvernay
U. Devonian
Marine
North Nordegg
L. Jurassic
Marine
Muskw
wa
U. Devonnian
Marinee
Colorado Group
Cretaceeous
Marinne
10,500
65
15
3,900 - 6,200
4,800
Reservoir Pressure
Normal
Average TOC (wt. %)

Clay Con
ntent
3.2%
0.90%
Medium
7,350
2,900
6,900
13,000
60
70
82
45
54
63
37
41
7,500 - 100,500 10,500 - 13,800 13,8800 - 16,400 5,200 - 8,2000
9,0000
11,880
15,000
6,724
Highlyy
Highly
Highly
Mod.
Overpreess.
Overpress.
O
Overpress.
Overpress.
3.4%
%
3.4%
3.4%
11.0%
1.50%
0.90%
0.90%
%
1.15%
Low
Low/Med.
Low
Low
4,000
1,5500
12,500
6,600
72
6
69
70
112
31
2
29
25
78
8,200 - 11,500 11,500 - 14,800 3,300 - 8,200 3,,900 - 8,200
10,168
12,464
6,100
4,602
Mod.
Mood.
Mod.
Mod.
Overpress.
Overppress.
Overpress.
O
Overpress.
11.0%
11..0%
3.2%
3.2%
1.15%
1.335%
0.90%
1.10%
Low
Low/Med.
Low//Med.
Low
48,7550
5233
1055
5,000 - 10,000
1
6,9000
Underp ress.
%
2.4%
0.60%
Low/M
Med.
Assoc. Gas
Assoc. Gas
G
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
GIP Con
ncentration (Bcf/mi )
1.2
12.0
47.4
63.8
4.7
19.6
222.1
4.6
34.2
20.99
Risked GIP
G (Tcf)
5.1
109.11
244.1
129.5
16.2
39.2
166.6
29.0
112.7
285..6
Risked Recoverable
R
(Tcf)
0.3
13.1
61.0
38.8
1.3
7.8
4
4.1
2.9
28.2
42.88
Gas Phaase
2
Dry Gas
G
Taable I-4. Shalee Oil Reservoirr Properties aand Resourcess of Alberta

BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Albertaa Basin
Basin/Gross Arrea
East an
nd West Shale Basin
n
Shale Formatio
on
Geologic Agee
Depositional Enviro
onment
2
Pro
ospective Area (mi )
Organically Rich
Thickness (ft)
Net
Interval
pth (ft)
Dep
Average
NW Alberta Areaa
(50,500 mi )
(26,200 mi )
(33,000 mi )
Banff/E
Exshaw
L. Missiissippian
Maarine
Duvernay
U. Devonian
Marine
N
North Nordegg
L. Jurrassic
Marrine
Muskwa
U. Devonian
Marine
10,,500
6
65
1
15
3,900 - 6,200
4,8800
Resservoir Pressure
No rmal
Aveerage TOC (wt. %)

Theermal Maturity (% Ro)
R
Clay Content
3.22%
0.990%
Meddium
Oil Phase
Deep Basin
(28,7000 mi )
13,0000
7,350
6,900
4,000
12,500
60
82
72
45
70
54
37
31
41
25
7,500 - 10,500 10,500 - 13,8800 5,200 - 8,200 8,200 - 11,500 3,3300 - 8,200
6,724
9,0000
11,880
10,168
6,100
Highly
Mod.
Highly
Mod.
Mod.
Overpresss.
Overpress.
O
Overpress.
Overpreess.
Overpress.
11.0%
3.4%
%
3.4%
11.0%
3.2%
0.90%
1.15%
0.90%
0.90%
%
1.15%
Low/Med.
Low/Med.
Low
w
Low
Low
6,6600
112
7
78
3,900 - 8,200
4,6602
Mood.
Overppress.
3.2%
1.110%
Loow
O
Oil
Oil
Condensatte
Oil
Condensate
Oil
Cond ensate
OIP
P Concentration (MM
Mbbl/mi )
2
2.5
7.1
0.5
5.5
0.4
6.4
0
0.7
Risked OIP (B bbl)
100.5
64.22
2.6
19.0
0.8
40.0
2
2.4
Risked Recoverable (B
B bbl)
0..32
3.855
0.16
0.76
0.03
2.00
0.12
June, 2013
I-25
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
1.
BASAL
B
BAN
NFF AND EXSHAW
E
SHALE/
S
AL
LBERTA BA
ASIN
1.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T basal Ba
anff/Exshaw Shale asses
ssed by thiss study is loccated in the southern Allberta
portion of
o the Alberrta Basin, Figure
F
I-16.19
The wesstern boundary of this shale depo

osit is
constrain
ned by the Deformed Belt and itts northern boundary is defined by the sub
b-crop
erosional edge. Its eastern
e
boundary is the Alberta and
d Saskatche
ewan borderr and its southern
y is the U.S. and Canada border. Within
W
the larrger 15,360--mi2 area of shale depossition,
boundary
the Basa
al Banff/Exsh
haw Shale has
h a prospe
ective area o
of 10,500 mii2 for volatile
e/black oil, F
Figure
I-17.19 (T
The small dry
d gas and wet gas are
eas were no
ot considere
ed prospective.) The ea
ast to
west cros
ss-section (E
E-E) for the
e Lower Miss
sissippian an
nd Upper De
evonian Bassal Banff/Exxshaw
Shale shows its strattigraphic equ
uivalence to the Bakken
n Formation in the Willistton Basin, F
Figure
I-18.19
1.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Similar
S
to the
e Bakken Sh
hale, the ba
asal Banff/Exxshaw Shale
e consists o
of three rese
ervoir
units. Th
he upper and
d lower units
s are domina
ated by orga
anic-rich sha
ale. The mid
ddle unit con
ntains
a variety
y of lithologies including
g calcareou
us sandstone
e and siltsttone, dolomitic siltstone
e and
limestone
e. The primary reservoir is the more
e porous an d permeable
e middle uniit, sourced b
by the
upper an
nd lower orrganic-rich shales
s
units
s.
Howeverr, compared
d to the Ba
akken Shale
e, the
prospective area of the

t basal Ba
anff/Exshaw Shale is no
ormally presssured (with higher presssures
est) rather th
han over-pre
essured, and
d its middle unit appearss to have co
onsiderably lower
in the we
permeab
bility and solu
ution gas.
In
n the prospe
ective area, the drilling depth
d
to the top of the sshale rangess from 3,300
0 feet
on the ea
ast to about 6,600 feet on
o the west, averaging 4
4,800 feet. T
The upper shale unit is 3 to 5
feet thick
k and the lo
ower shale unit has a gross thickn
ness of 10 to 40 feet, providing a net,
organic-rrich shale pa
ay averaging
g 15 feet.
June, 2013
I-26
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Figuree I-16. Outlinee and Depth of

o Basal Banff and Exshaw S
Shale (Albertaa)
Source: Modified from ERCB/AGS

E
Openn File Report 20 12-06, October 22012.
Figuree I-17. Prospeective Area forr Basal Banff and Exshaw S

Shale (Albertaa).

E
Opeen File Report 20012-06, October 2012.
June, 2013
I-27
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Figure I-188. Stratigraph

hic Cross Secttion E-E of thhe Basal Banfff and Exshaw Shale
Sourrce: ERCB/AGS
S Open File Repport 2012-06, Occtober 2012.
The
T total orga
anic contentt (TOC) in th
he prospectivve area averages 3.2% and rangess from
lean to nearly
n
17%. The upper and lower shale
s
units h
have high TOC values ((3% to 17%), the
middle unit has much lower TOC
C (lean to 3%
%). The the
ermal maturrity (Ro) of th
he shale sho
ows a
sive increase
e from immatture (below 0.8% Ro) in the east to d
dry gas (ove
er 1.3% Ro) iin the
progress
west. Ho
owever, in th
he western area
a
where the thermal maturity exxceeds 1.0%
% Ro, the sha
ale is
thin and thus has be
een excluded
d from the prospective
p
area. As su
uch, the bassal Banff/Exxshaw
as a prospec
ctive area forr oil of 10,50
00 mi2 (0.8%
% to 1.0% Ro) located in the center o
of the
Shale ha
larger pla
ay area.
1.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T prospecttive area for the Basal Banff/Exshaw
B
w Shale in th
he Alberta B
Basin is limite
ed by
depth an
nd thermal maturity
m
on th
he east and by shale thiickness on tthe west. W
Within the 10
0,500mi2 prosp
pective area
a for oil, the basal Banfff/Exshaw Sh
hale has a re
esource con
ncentration o
of 2.5
million ba
arrels of oil per
p mi2 plus
s moderate volumes
v
of a
associated gas.
June, 2013
I-28
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
The
T risked re
esource in-pllace for the oil
o prospectiive area is e
estimated at 10 billion ba
arrels
of oil plu
us 5 Tcf of associated natural gas
s. Based o
on recent w
well performance as we
ell as
reservoirr properties that appear to be less favorable
f
tha
an for the B
Bakken Shale in the Williston
Basin, we
w estimate a risked, tec
chnically rec
coverable re
esource of 0
0.3 billion ba
arrels of sha
ale oil
and 0.3 Tcf
T of associated shale gas.
g
1.4
Comparison
C
n With Oth
her Resourrce Assess
sments
The
T ERCB/AGS resource
e study, disc
cussed abovve, calculate
ed an unriskked oil in-pla
ace of
26,300 million
m
barre
els and an unrisked
u
gas in-place o
of 39.8 Tcf for the bassal Banff/Exxshaw
Shale.19
The ERCB/AGS stud

dy did not use depth, net pay or other criteria to defiine a
prospective area and

d did not estimate a riske
ed recovera ble resource
e.
1.5
Recent
R
Activity
Considerable
C
e leasing occ
curred for th
he basal Ba nff/Exshaw Shale in 20
010, sparking
g this
southern Alberta sha

ale play. Since then, a number of producers, such as Cre
escent Point and
O have drilled explorattion wells to test the ressource poten
ntial in this sshale oil playy. So
Murphy Oil,
far, of th
he 22 wells with
w reporte
ed production, only three
e wells havve current prroducing rattes of
B/D.
over 100 B/D; the rem
mainder hav
ve rates of le
ess than 50 B
Crescent
C
Poiint drilled tw
wo exploratio
on wells into
o the Exsha
aw Shale in
n early 2012
2 with
plans to drill addition
nal wells in the area.20 Murphy
M
Oil h
has assemblled a 150,00
00 net acre lease
area. While
W
its early
y exploration
n for this sh
hale play hass shown mixxed results, Murphys re
ecent
#15-21 well
w targeting
g the Exshaw Shale had
d an IP of 3
350 BOPD. Murphy Oil is examining the
use of longer laterals
s, enhanced stimulation and lower ccosts to imprrove the eco
onomic viability of
this shale
e play.21
June, 2013
I-29
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
2.
DUVERNAY
D
Y SHALE/E
EAST AND WEST SHA
ALE BASIN
N
2.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T East and
d West Shale Basin, cov
vering an arrea of over 5
50,000 mi2 in
n central Alb
berta,
contains the organically rich Duv

vernay Shale
e, Figure I-1 9.19 The we
estern bound
dary of this sshale
y the Deform
med Belt, th
he northern boundary byy the Peace
e River Arch
h, the
deposit is defined by
b the Leduc
c Shelf, and
d the eastern
n boundary by the Grossmont Carbo
onate
southern boundary by
ea of shale deposition, the prospe
ective area ffor the Duve
ernay
Platform.. Within thiis larger are
Shale is 23,450 mi2, primarily in the central and
a western portions of this basin, F
Figure I-20.199
The
T
Upper and
a
Middle Devonian Duvernay
D
S
Shale is stra
atigraphic e
equivalent to
o the
Muskwa Shale in no
orthwest Alb
berta and no
ortheast Britiish Columbia. In the E
East Shale B
Basin,
ernay Shale
e is primarily an organ
nic-rich lime
estone.
the Duve
In the West S
Shale Basin
n, the
Duvernay
y Shale grad
des from a carbonate-riich mudston
ne in the easst to an incrreasingly po
orous,
organic-rrich shale in the west, Fiigure I-21.19
2.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
In
n the prospe
ective area, the drilling depth
d
to the top of the D
Duvernay Sh
hale ranges from
7,500 fee
et in the eas
st to 16,400 feet in the west.
w
The g
gross shale thickness in
n the prospe
ective
area rang
ges from 30
0 feet to over 200 feet, with
w an averrage of 41 n
net feet in th
he oil prospe
ective
area, 54 net feet in the wet gas
s/condensatte prospectivve area, and 63 net fee
et in the dryy gas
prospective area.
The
T
total org
ganic carbon
n (TOC) in the
t
prospecctive area re
eaches 11%
%. Excluding
g the
organically lean rock using the
e net to gross ratio, the
e average T
TOC is 3.4%
%. The the
ermal
s
increa
ases as the shales deep
pen, from im
mmature (below 0.8% Ro) on
maturity (Ro) of the shale
1.3% to 2% Ro) in the west.
w
As succh, the Duve
ernay Shale has an extensive
the east to dry gas (1
pective area in the eastt, a wet gas
s/condensate
e prospectivve area in th
he center, a
and a
oil prosp
smaller dry
d gas prospective area
a in the westt.
.
June, 2013
I-30
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Figure I-19. Outline and Depth of Duveernay Shale (A

Alberta)
Sourcee: Modified from

m ERCB/AGS Oppen File Report 22012-06, Octobeer 2012.
Figure I-20. Prospective Area for Duveernay Shale (A

Alberta)

E
June, 2013
I-31
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Figurre I-21. Stratig

graphic Crosss Section B-B of the Duvernnay Formationn
Source: ERCB/AGS
E
Openn File Report 2012-06, October 2012.
2.3
Resources
R
Assessme
ent
The
T prospecttive area of the Duvernay Shale in the East an
nd West Shale Basin co
overs
23,250 mi
m 2, limited on
o the east by
b low therm
mal maturity. Within the 13,000-mi2 prospective area
for oil, th
he Duvernay
y Shale has
s a resource
e concentrattion of 7.1 million barre
els of oi/mi2 plus
associate
ed gas.
Within
W
the 7,350-mi2 we
et gas/conde
ensate prosspective area, the Duve
ernay
Shale ha
as resource concentratio
ons of 0.5 million
m
barrel s of conden
47 Bcf of we
et gas
nsate and 4
per mi2. Within the 2,900-mi2 dry
d gas pros
spective are
ea, the Duve
ernay Shale
e has a reso
ource
2
concentrration of 64 Bcf/mi
B
.
The
T
risked resource
r
in-place in the prospecctive areas of the Duvvernay Sha
ale is
estimated
d at 67 billion barrels of
o shale oil//condensate
e and 483 T
Tcf of shale gas. Base
ed on
favorable
e reservoir properties
p
an
nd analog information fro
om U.S. sha
ales such ass the Eagle Ford,
we estim
mate risked
d, technically recovera
able resourrces of 4.0 billion b
barrels of sshale
oil/conde
ensate and 133 Tcf of drry and wet sh
hale gas.
June, 2013
I-32
I. Canada
2.4
EIA/ARI W
Recent
R
Activity
The
T
Duverna
ay Shale is the current hot shale
e play in We
estern Cana
ada with ove
er $2
owed
billion sp
pent (in 2010
0 and 2011) in auctions for leases. Athabasca Oil (with 1,0
000 mi2) follo
by Canad
dian Natural Resources
s (600+ mi2),, EnCana (5
580+ mi2) an
nd Talisman (560+ mi2) have
the dominant land po
ositions. Tw
welve additio
onal compan
nies, ranging
g from Chevvron to Enerrplus,
each hold
d over 100 mi
m 2 of leases
s.
Much
M
of the current
c
activ
vity is in the Kaybob we
et gas/conde
ensate area.. EnCana w
with 8
Hz wells plus one vertical
v
well and Celtic with
w 7 Hz a
and 5 vertica
al wells are
e the most a
active
operators
s. Since the
e first Celtic well in the Duvernay
D
S hale in 2010
0, a total of 45 wells (Hzz and
vertical) have been drilled
d
or are being drilled
d (mid-2012
2).
EnCana reports
r
that its
i Duvernay
y well tested at 2.3 MMccfd of wet ga
as and 1,632
2
barrels pe
er day of con
ndensate.
Celtics be
est Duverna
ay well tested
d at 5.8 Mcfd
d of wet gass plus 638 ba
arrels per da
ay of
condensa
ate.
In
n the Pembin
na area, EnCana with fo
our Hz wellss and ConoccoPhillips with three Hz wells
are mostt active. In the Edson Area, where active
a
leasin
ng is still und
derway, Angle Energy, C
CNRL
and Verm
million are drrilling Duvern
nay Shale explorations w
wells.
June, 2013
I-33
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
3.
NORDEGG
N
SHALE/DE
EEP BASIN
N.
3.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting.
The
T Nordegg
g Shale asse
essed in this
s study is lo
ocated within
n the Deep Basin of Alb
berta,
Figure I-2
22.19 The Lower Jurass
sic Nordegg Shale Mem
mber is locatted at the ba
ase of the F
Fernie
Formatio
on, shown by
b the cross-section on Figure I-2
23.19
The Nordegg tra

ansitions fro
om a
carbonatte-rich deposition on the

e south into
o a fine-grai ned rock on
n the north. In the norrthern
area, wh
here the sh
hale intervall is sometim
mes referred
d to as the
e Gordonda
ale Memberr, the
Nordegg Shale is an
n organic-ric
ch mudstone
e (shale) wh ich also includes chertyy and phosp
phoric
a siltstones
s and some sandstone, Figure 1-24
4.19 The No
ordegg Shale
e has
carbonattes as well as
served as a prolific source
s
rock for
f shallower convention
nal hydrocarrbon reservo
oirs in this po
ortion
of the De
eep Basin.
Figure I-22. Outline and Depth of Norddegg Shale (A
Alberta).
Source: Modified
M
from ER
RCB/AGS Open File Report 20122-06, October 2012.
June, 2013
I-34
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Figure I-23.. Prospectivee Area for Norddegg Shale (A

Alberta)

E
Figure I-24. Straatigraphic Crosss Section F-FF of the Nordegg Member
Source: ERCB/AGS Open Fille Report 2012-006, October 201 2.
June, 2013
I-35
I. Canada
3.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
In
n the Nordeg
gg Shale pro
ospective arrea, the drill ing depth to
o the top of the shale ra
anges
from 3,3
300 feet in the north-e
east to abo
out 15,000 feet in the south.
W
Within the ovverall
prospective area of 12,400 mi2, the volatile/black oil prospective area is 6,9
900 mi2, the
e wet
densate pros
spective are
ea is 4,000 mi
m 2, and the
e dry gas prrospective area is 1,500
0 mi2.
gas/cond
The shalle thickness in the overa
all prospective area ran
nges from 50
0 feet to 150 feet and h
has a
high net to gross ratio of about 0.8.
0
The
T total organic carbon (TOC) in th
he prospectiive area is h
high, at over 11%, base
ed on
82 samples from 16 wells. The thermal matturity (Ro) off the shale in
ncreases to the southwe
est in
d
The overall Norrdegg Shale prospective
e area has a
an oil prone area
line with increasing depth.
8% to 1.0%)) on the north, a wet gas
s/condensate
e area in the
e center (Ro of 1.0% to 1
1.3%)
(Ro of 0.8
and a drry gas area (Ro >1.3) on
o the south
h. While th
he data are sparse, industry inform
mation
suggests
s that the No
ordegg Shale
e is over-pre
essured.
3.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt.
2
Within
W
the 6,900-mi
6
oil
o prospecttive area, the Nordeg
gg Shale h
has a reso
ource
concentrration of 5.6 million barre

els of oil perr mi2 plus asssociated ga
as. Within the 4,000-mii2 wet
gas and condensate prospective
e area, the Nordegg
N
Sha
ale has a re
esource conccentrations o
of 0.4
arrels of oil and 20 Bcff of wet gas per mi2. W
Within the 1,500-mi2 dryy gas prospe
ective
million ba
area, the
e Nordegg Shale has a resource con
ncentration o
of 22 Bcf/mi2.
Combined,
C
th
he risked res
source in-pla
ace for the p
prospective a
area of the N
Nordegg Shale is
estimated
d at 20 billio
on barrels off oil/condens
sate and 72 Tcf of naturral gas. Bassed on mod
derate
reservoirr properties and analog information
n from U.S. shales, we estimate risked, techn
nically
es of 0.8 billion barrels of oil/conde
ensate and 13 Tcf of na
atural gas fo
or the
Nordegg Shale.
June, 2013
I-36
I. Canada
3.4
EIA/ARI W
Comparison
C
ce Assess
sments
The
T
ERCB/A
AGS resourc
ce study, dis
scussed abo
ove, calculatted an unrissked mean o
oil in-
place of 40,645 million barrels and

a an unris
sked mean g
gas in-place
e of 164 Tcff for the Norrdegg
ce resource
e values in our study a
are differentt than those
e reported in
n the
Shale.19 The in-plac
GS study du
ue to the following: (1) given the stilll emerging n
nature of the
e Nordegg S
Shale,
ERCB/AG
we judge
e this resource area to be only 50
0% de-risked
d; (2) we fin
nd the Nordegg Shale tto be
moderate
ely over-pres
ssured; and (3) we have
e a significan
ntly lower asssociated ga
as-oil ratio fo
or the
volatile/b
black oil pros
spective reso
ource area than used in the ERCB/A
AGS study.
3.5
Recent
R
Activity
Only
O
a modest number of
o exploration
n wells have
e been comp
pleted in the
e Nordegg S
Shale.
Recently
y, Anglo Can
nadian drille
ed a horizontal test well (Shane 07--11-77-03W
W6) and a ve
ertical
test well (Sturgeon
n Lake 05--10-68-22W5
5) which p
produced n
non-commerccial volume
es of
moderate
ely heavy, 25
2 o API oil. Tallgrass Energy
E
has since acquiired Anglo C
Canadian an
nd its
large land position, with
w 272 mi2 in the Nord
degg Shale.222 The litera
ature reportss that a com
mpany
g oil fairway has comple
eted one Norrdegg Hz we
ell with a mu
ulti-stage fracc that
active in the Nordegg
d 500 BOED
D, with 80% oil (42o API), during its initial flow ttest and com
mpleted a se
econd
produced
well that had a 30-da
ay initial prod
duction rate of 78 barrelss of 32o API oil.23
June, 2013
I-37
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
4.
MUSKWA
M
SHALE/NO
S
RTHWEST
T ALBERTA
A
4.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T
Muskwa Shale depo
osition in no
orthwest Alb
berta is the northern co
ontinuation o
of the
Duvernay
y Shale in central
c
Alberrta and the eastern
e
conttinuation of Muskwa/Ottter Park Sha
ale in
northeas
st British Columbia, Figu
ure I-25.19 The
T
bounda
aries of the Muskwa Sh
hale in north
hwest
Alberta are
a the Albe
erta/British Columbia
C
bo
order on the
e west, the Alberta/NW
WT border on the
north, the
e Peace Riv
ver Arch on the south, and
a the Gro
osmont Carb
bonate Platfform on the east.
Within th
his larger de
epositional area,
a
the Mu
uskwa Shale
e has a prosspective are
ea of 19,100
0 mi2,
primarily in the weste
ern portion of
o the larger Muskwa Sh ale depositio
onal area, F
Figure I-26.19
The
T
Muskwa
a Shale is overlain
o
by the Ft. Sim
mpson Shalle and is d
deposited on
n the
Beaverhiill Lake Formation, Fig
gure I-27.19 The Muskkwa Shale is primarily an organicc-rich
limestone
e deposited in a deep-w
water marine setting.
Figure I-25.. Outline and Depth of Musskwa Shale (Alberta).
Source: ERCB/AGS Opeen File Report 2012-06, Octobe r 2012.
June, 2013
I-38
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Figure I-26. Prospectivee Area for Musskwa Shale (A

Alberta).
Source: ERCB/AGS Opeen File Report 2012-06, Octobe r 2012.
Figu
ure I-27. Stratiigraphic Crosss Section C-C
C of the Muskw
wa Formationn
Source: ERCB/AGS
S Open File Repport 2012-06, Occtober 2012.
June, 2013
I-39
I. Canada
4.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
In
n the prospe
ective area, the drilling depth to the
e top of the Muskwa Sh
hale ranges from
3,300 fee
et in the northeast to 8,200 feet in the southw
west. The gross shale tthickness ra
anges
from 33 feet
f
to nearly
y 200 feet, with
w a high net to gross p
pay ratio.
The
T
total org
ganic conten
nt (TOC) ran
nges from le
ess than 1 tto over 10%
%, with the le
eaner
TOC pay
y excluded by
b the net to
o gross pay ratio. Exclu
uding the lea
an TOC seg
gments, a sa
ample
of 47 TO
OC measurements from 5 wells prov
vided an ave
erage TOC value of 3.2
2%. The the
ermal
maturity (Ro) of the shale
s
increas
ses with dep
pth, ranging ffrom immatu
ure (Ro < 0.8
8%) in the ea
ast to
thermally
y mature forr wet gas and condens
sate (Ro of 1
1.0% to 1.2
2%) on the w
west. Base
ed on
thermal maturity,
m
the
e Muskwa Shale has an oil-prone arrea with asssociated gass on the easst and
a wet gas
s/condensatte area on th
he northwestt.
4.3
Resources
R
Assessme
ent
The
T
overall oil
o and gas prospective area of the
e Muskwa S
Shale in nortthwest Albe
erta is
approxim
mately 19,100 mi2. Withiin the oil pro
ospective are
ea of 12,500
0 mi2, the Mu
uskwa Shale
e has
a resourc
ce concentra
ation of 6 million
m
barrels
s of oil per m
mi2 plus asssociated gass. Within the
e wet
gas/cond
densate pros
spective area of 6,600 mi
m 2, the Mus kwa Shale h
has a resourrce concentrration
of 1 millio
on barrels off oil/condens
sate per mi2 and 34 Bcf of wet gas p
per mi2.
The
T risked re
esource in-p
place is estim
mate at 42 b
billion barrells of oil/cond
densate and
d 142
Tcf of sh
hale gas. Given
G
favora
able reservoir propertiess and analog informatio
on from the Horn
shales, we estimate a risked, tech
River and
d Cordova Embayment
E
hnically recoverable reso
ource
of 2.1 billion barrels of
o shale oil/c
condensate and 31 Tcf o
of shale gass.
4.4
Comparison
C
ce Assess
sments
The
T
ERCB/A
AGS resourc
ce study, dis
scussed abo
ove, calculatted an unrissked mean o
oil in-
place of 115,903 milllion barrels and an unriisked mean gas in-place of 413 Tcf for the Muskwa
udy area in NW Alberta
a.19 The in--place value
es in our stu
udy are diffferent than tthose
Shale stu
reported in the ERC
CB/AGS stud
dy due to the following: (1) given th
he limited exxploration fo
or the
W Alberta, we
w judge this resource arrea to be only 50% de-risked; (2) we
e find
Muskwa Shale in NW
a to be mod
derately ove
er-pressured
d; and (3) w
we have a lower
the Muskwa Shale in this area
ed gas-oil ra
atio for the sh
hale.
associate
June, 2013
I-440
I. Canada
4.5
EIA/ARI W
Recent
R
Activity
Husky
H
Oil Ca
anada, curre
ently the mos
st active exp
plorer in Alb
bertas Muskkwa Shale, h
has a
concentrrated 400,00
00-net acre land positio
on in the Ra
ainbow area
a. Husky drrilled 14 Muskwa
Shale we
ells in 2012,, completing
g 4 wells, wiith the goal of de-risking its large land position
n and
refining itts well comp
pletion practtices. Husky
y is currentlyy looking forr a JV partne
er to help fin
nance
the development of this shale oil play17.
A smaller Canadian E&P
P company, Mooncor
M
Oil and Gas, d
drilled a pilott test well intto the
Muskwa Shale in ea
arly 2009 (W
Well #06-34--94-12W6). The Muskw
wa zone wa
as reported to be
ssured and flowed
f
56o API
A condens
sate plus wett gas.24
over-pres
June, 2013
I-441
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
5.
COLORADO
C
O GROUP/SOUTHER
RN ALBERT
TA
5.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T Colorado
o Group Sha
ale covers a massive, 1 24,000-mi2 a
area in soutthern Alberta
a and
southeas
stern Saskattchewan. The
T
western boundary o
of the Colorrado Group is the Cana
adian
Rockies Overthrust. The northe
ern and easttern bounda
aries are deffined by sha
allow shale d
depth
ern boundarry is the U.S
S./Canada b
border. The Colorado G
Group
and loss of net pay. The southe
asses a thick, Cretaceou
us-age sequ
uence of san
nds, mudsto
ones and shales. Within
n this
encompa
sequence
e are two sh
hale formatio
ons of intere
est - - the F
Fish Scale Shale Formattion in the L
Lower
Colorado
o Group and the Seco
ond White Speckled
S
Sh
hale Formattion in the Upper Colo
orado
Group, Figure
F
I-28.25 We selec
cted the 5,0
000 to 10,00
00 foot dep
pth contourss for defining
g the
48,750-m
mi2 prospecttive area, Fig
gure I-29.
5.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
In
n the prospe
ective area, the depth to
t the Secon
nd White Sp
peckled (2W
WS) and the
e Fish
Scale shales ranges

s from 5,000 feet near Medicine
M
Hatt (on the easst) to over 1
10,000 feet iin the
he Fish Scale Shale is generally abo
out 200 feet deeper than
n the 2WS. The interval from
west. Th
the top of
o the 2WS to
o the base of
o the Fish Scales
S
Shale
e ranges from
m 300 feet in
n the east to
o over
1,000 fee
et in the wes
st, with an average
a
gros
ss pay of 52
23 feet. Asssuming a co
onservative n
net to
gross rattio of 20%, we estimate
e a net pay
y of 105 fee
et. Much off the Colora
ado Group S
Shale
appears to be underr-pressured, with a pres
ssure gradie
ent of about 0.3 psi/ft. T
The total org
ganic
TOC) conten
nt of the sha
ale ranges frrom 2% to 3
3%. In the p
prospective a
area, the the
ermal
carbon (T
maturity of the shale is low (Ro of 0.5% to 0.6%). H
However, the presence of biogenicc gas
ovided adequ
uate volume
es of gas ge
eneration. T
The rock min
neralogy app
pears
appears to have pro
w to moderate in clay (31
1%) and thus
s favorable ffor hydraulicc fracturing.
to be low
5.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T
48,750--mi2 prospective area of the Co lorado Group Shale ccovers mucch of
southwes
stern Albertta.
Within this prospective area

a, the shale
e has a re
elatively low
w gas
concentrration of 21 Bcf/mi2. Th
he risked sh
hale gas in--place for th
he Colorado
o Group Sha
ale is
estimated
d at 286 Tcf.
T
Based on mode
erately favorrable shale mineralogyy, but otherr less
favorable
p
su
uch as low pressure and
d an uncertaiin gas charg
ge, we estim
mate a
risked tec
chnically rec
coverable sh
hale gas reso
ource of 43 T
Tcf for the C
Colorado Gro
oup Shale.
June, 2013
I-442
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Figuree I-28. Colorado Group

G
Stratigraphic Column
Central
Plaains
Periodd Epoch
Figure I-29. C
Colorado Group, P
Prospective Area
Souuthern
Plaains
Beelly
Riiver
Belly
River
W
White
Speckled Shale
Group
Upper
Group
Upper
M
Medicine
Hat
Cretaceous
Seco
ond White Speckled Shale
B
Barons
Ss
Lower
Colorado
Lower
Colorado
Fish Scales Shale
Viking
Joli Fou
Mannville
Group
Basal
Colorado
Bow Island
Joli Fou
Man
nnville
Grroup
JAF02061.CDR
S
Source: Leckie, D.A.,, 1994.
JJune, 2013
Source: ARI, 2013.
I-43
I. Canada
5.4
EIA/ARI W
Comparison
C
ce Assess
sments
In
n mid-2010, the Canadia
an Society fo
or Unconven
ntional Gas estimated 1
100 Tcf of ga
as in-
place and
d 4 to 14 Tcf of marketa
able (recoverrable) shale gas for the Colorado Sh
hale.4
5.5
Recent
R
Activity
To
T date, the Colorado Group Shale has seen on
nly limited e
exploration a
and developm
ment,
primarily in the shallo

ower eastern
n portion of the
t play area
a.
June, 2013
I-444
I. Canada
6.
EIA/ARI W
MONTNEY
M
AND
A
DOIG
G RESOURCE PLAYS
S (ALBERT
TA)
The
T Deep Ba
asin of Cana
ada also contains the A
Alberta portio
on of the Montney and Doig
Resource
e plays. Th
hese multi-d
depositional Triassic-ag
ge hydrocarrbon accum
mulations co
ontain
massive volumes of dry, wet and
d associated
d gas as welll as oil/condensate.
We
W have exc
cluded the Allberta portion of the Mon
ntney and D
Doig Resourcce Plays from
m our
assessm
ment because
e the reservo
oirs in the Alberta portio
on of the bassin are generally classifie
ed as
tight and conventional sands and because the
t organic--content (TO
OC) of the M
Montney and Doig
e plays is low, averaging
g about 0.8%
%. Essentia
ally all of the
e 170 samples taken fro
om 43
Resource
Montney Formation wells have TOC values
s less than 1
1.5%, Figure
he basin ave
erage
e I-30.19 Th
alues for TO
OC in our stu
udy (for cons
sistency with
h the USGS
S evaluationss of shale oiil and
cut-off va
gas reso
ources) is 2%, with indiividual reserrvoir rock in tervals having to have at least 1.5%
% for
inclusion in net, orga
anic-rich pay
y.
Figurre I-30. Histog
gram of Total Organic
O
Carbo
on (TOC) of 1770 Samples froom the Montnney Formationn.
Source: ERCB/AGS Open Fille Report 2012-006, October 201 2.
June, 2013
I-445
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
SASKA
ATCHEW
WAN/MANITOBA
1.
WILLISTON
W
N BASIN/BA
AKKEN SH
HALE
1.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T
Williston
n Basin of Canada
C
exte
ends northw
ward from th
he U.S./Can
nada borderr into
southern Saskatchew
wan and southwestern Manitoba an
nd contains the Canadian portion o
of the
S
play, Figure I-31..26 We estim
mate this ba
asin contains 22 billion barrels of rrisked
Bakken Shale
shale oil in-place, with
w
1.6 billlion barrels
s as the rissked, techn
nically recovverable shale oil
e. The basin
n also conta
ains 16 Tcf of associate
ed shale gass in-place, w
with 2 Tcf a
as the
resource
risked, te
echnically recoverable sh
hale gas res
source, Table
e I-5.
Taable I-5. Shalee Gas and Oil Reservoir Pro
operties and R
Resources of Saskatchewan/Manitoba
Within
W
the larrger Bakken Shale depo
ositional area
a, we have d
defined a pro
ospective arrea of
8,700 mi2 where the shale appears to have more favora
able reservo
oir propertiess and where
e past
ccurred.
Bakken Shale drilliing has oc
The
T
prospe
ective area for the Bakken Shale in
hewan and Manitoba is

s bounded on
o the nort h, east and
d west by th
he 30-foot sshale
Saskatch
interval contour
c
and on the south
h by the U.S./Canada bo
order, Figure
e I-32.27
June, 2013
I-446
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Figure I-31. Outline

O
and Deepth of Willisto
on Basin Bakkken Shale (Saaskatchewan/M
Manitoba)
Source: Moodified from Saskkatchewan Minisstry of Energy Reesources, 2010..
Figure I-32. Prospective

P
Arrea for Willisto
on Basin Bakkken Shale (Sasskatchewan/M
Manitoba)
Source: AA
APG Flannery & Kraus, 2006.
June, 2013
I-447
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
For this shale

e play, we have
h
expand
ded our crite
eria for estab
blishing the prospective area
for oil to below our general cut-o
off of 0.7% th
hermal matu
urity (Ro) forr two reason
ns. First, mu
uch of
the oil in
n-place in this part of the Bakken Shale
S
play iss oil that has migrated ffrom the de
eeper,
more ma
ature Bakke
en Shale in the center of the Will iston Basin to the sou
uth.28
Secon
nd, a
considera
able portion
n of the suc
ccessful Bak
kken Shale well drilling in Canada has been in
n this
thermally
y less mature
e area of the
e northern Williston
W
Basiin.
1.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
Similar
S
to the basal Ba
anff/Exshaw Shale, the Late Devo
onian to Early Mississip
ppian
Bakken Shale
S
consists of three reservoir units. The u
upper and lo
ower units a
are dominate
ed by
organic-rrich shale.
ologies inclu
uding calcarreous
The middlle unit conttains a variiety of litho
sandston
ne and siltsto
one, dolomittic siltstone and limesto
one, Figure II-33.26 The primary rese
ervoir
is the more porous and permea
able middle unit, source
ed by the u
upper and lo
ower organicc-rich
shales. The
T Bakken Shale is over-pressured
d in much off its prospecctive area.
Figure I-333. Bakken Shale Stratigrapphy (Saskatcheewan)
Source: Saskatchewan Ministry of Ene rgy Resources, 2010.
June, 2013
I-448
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
The
T
drilling depth
d
to the top of the Bakken Sha
ale in the prrospective a
area ranges from
5,500 fee
et on the norrth to about 8,800 feet on
o the south , averaging 6,600 feet in
n the prospe
ective
area. Th
he Bakken Shale
S
gross interval ranges from 30
0 to over 60 feet in the prospective area
with an average net pay of about 20 feet, with favora
rable porositty of about 10%. The total
c
(TO
OC) in the prospective
p
area averag
ges 11% in the organicc-rich upperr and
organic content
lower units. The Bak
kken Shale is prospectiv
ve for oil pluss associated
d gas.
1.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Within
W
the 8,7
700-mi2 pros
spective are
ea for oil and
d associated
d gas, the Bakken Shale
e has
a resource concentrration of 4 million

m
barre
els/mi2 for oiil plus mode
erate volumes of assocciated
gas.
The
T risked oil resource in
n-place for th
he prospectiive area is e
estimated at 22 billion ba
arrels
plus 16 Tcf of associated natural gas.
Based on rrecent well performancce and rese

ervoir
es, we estimate risked, technically

t
re
ecoverable rresources of 1.6 billion barrels of oiil and
propertie
2 Tcf of associated
a
gas.
g
1.4
Recent
R
Activity
The
T Bakken Shale
S
in Canada is an active
a
shale oil play with
h over 2,000
0 producing wells
and abou
ut 75,000 barrels per day
d of oil production, ass of mid-201
11. The va
arious compa
anies
active in the play hav
ve publically
y reported 22
25 million ba
arrels of provved and prob
bable reservves.29
June, 2013
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I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
EASTE
ERN CAN
NADA
Canada
C
has four potential shale gas
s plays - - tthe Utica an
nd Lorraine shales in th
he St.
Lawrence
e Lowlands of the App
palachian Fo
old Belt of Quebec, the Horton Bluff Shale in
n the
Windsor Basin of no
orthern Nova
a Scotia, an
nd the Frede
he Moncton Suberick Brook Shale in th
es Basin in New
N
Brunsw
wick. These shale oil an
nd gas forma
ations and basins
Basin of the Maritime
n early explo
oration stage
e. Therefore
e, only prelim
minary shale
e resource a
assessmentts are
are in an
offered fo
or the Utica
a and Horton
n Bluff shale
es. Insufficiient informattion exists ffor assessing the
Lorraine and Frederick Brook shales.
The
T two asse
essed Eastern Canada shale
s
gas ba
asins assesssed by this sstudy contain
n 172
Tcf of risked gas in-p
place, with 34
3 Tcf as the
e risked, tec hnically reco
overable sha
ale gas reso
ource,
Table I-6
6.
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table I--6. Shale Gass Reservoir Properties and R

Resources of Eastern Canaada
June, 2013
Appalacchian Fold Beltt
Basin
n/Gross Area
Windsorr
2
(33,500 mi )
(650 mi )
Utica
O
Ordovician
Marine
Horton Blu
uff
Mississippiian
Marine
2,900
1,000
400
4,0000 - 11,000
8,000
520
500
300
3,000 - 5,0000
4,000
Mod.. Overpress.
Normal
2.0%
2.00%
Low
5.0%
2.00%
Unknownn
D Gas
Dry
Dry Gas
GIP Concenttration (Bcf/mi )
133.9
81.7
Risked GIP (Tcf)
155.3
17.0
Risked Recovverable (Tcf)
31.1
3.4
Shalee Formation
Geo
ologic Age
Depositio
onal Environmeent
2
Prospective Area
A (mi )
Organicallyy Rich
Thickness (ftt)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
Reservoir Prressure
Average TOC
C (wt. %)
Thermal Matturity (% Ro)
Clay Contentt
Gas Phase
2
I-50
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
1.
APPALACH
A
HIAN FOLD
D BELT (QU
UEBEC)/UT
TICA SHAL
LE
1.1
In
ntroduction
n and Geologic Setting
The
T
Utica Sh
hale is locatted within th
he St. Lawre
ence Lowlan
nds of the A
Appalachian Fold
Belt in Quebec,
Q
Can
nada, Figure
e I-34. The
e Utica is a
an Upper Orrdovician-ag
ge shale, loccated
above th
he conventio
onal Trenton
n-Black Rive
er Formation
n, Figure I-3
35. A second, less deffined,
thicker but lower TOC Lorraine Shale
S
overlie
es the Utica . Three ma
ajor faults - - Yamaska, T
Tracy
nd Logans Line
L
- - form
m structural boundaries
b
a
and partition
ns for the Uttica Shale play in
Brook an
Quebec.
Figure
F
I-34. Utica
U
Shale Ou
utline and Prosspective Area (Quebec)
Source:
S
ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
I-51
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Figurre I-35. Utica Shale

S
Stratigraaphy (Quebecc)
Source: L. Smith AAPG, AAPG Bulletiin, v. 90, no. 11 (November 2006),

2
pp. 16911718
JAF21299.AI
1.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T
extensiv
ve faulting and thrustting in the Utica Sha
ale introducces conside
erable
exploratio
on and com
mpletion risk
k. The depth to the to
op of the sh
hale in the prospective area
ranges from
f
3,000 to
t over 11,0
000 feet, sh
hallower alo
ong the soutthwestern a
and northwe
estern
boundaries and deeper along th
he eastern boundary.
b
T
The Utica S
Shale has a gross intervval of
1,000 fee
et. With a ne
et to gross ratio
r
of 40%, the net org
ganic-rich sh
hale is estim
mated at 400
0 feet.
The tota
al organic content
c
(TO
OC) ranges from 1.5% to 3%, w
with the high
her TOC va
alues
concentrrated in the Upper Utica
a Shale. Th
he thermal m
maturity of tthe prospecctive area ra
anges
from an Ro of 1.1% to
t 4% and averages
a
2%
%, placing th
he shale prim
marily in the dry gas win
ndow.
q
and clay
c
contents
s are not publicly availab
ble.
Data on quartz
June, 2013
I-52
I. Canada
1.3
EIA/ARI W
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T prospecttive area of the
t Utica Sh
hale in Queb
bec is estima
ated at 2,900
0 mi2. Within this
prospective area, the

e shale has a gas in-plac
ce concentra
ation of 134 Bcf/mi2. Ass such, the rrisked
s in-place is
s 155 Tcf. Assuming
A
low
w clay conte
ent, but conssiderable geo
ologic comp
plexity
shale gas
within the
e prospectiv
ve area, we estimate
e
a risked, techn
nically recove
erable shale
e gas resourrce of
31 Tcf fo
or the Utica Shale.
S
1.4
Comparison
C
ce Assess
sments
In
n mid-2010, the Canadia
an Society fo
or Unconven
ntional Gas (CSUG) cite
es a gas in-place
of 181 Tc
cf (unrisked)) for the Utic
ca Shale in Canada
C
with
h 7 to 12 Tcff of marketable (recoverrable)
shale gas
s resources..30
1.5
Exploration
E
n Activity
Two
T
large op
perators, Tallisman and Forest Oil, p
plus numero
ous smaller companies such
as Ques
sterre, June
ex, Gastem and Molop
po, hold lea
ases in the
e Utica Sha
ales of Que
ebec.
Approxim
mately 25 ex
xploration we
ells have be
een drilled w
with moderatte results. M
Market acce
ess is
provided by the Marritimes and Northeasterrn pipeline a
as well as th
he TransCa
anada Pipeline to
markets in Quebec City and Montreal.
M
Currently
C
sh
hale gas drilling in Que
ebec is on hold,
awaiting further envirronmental sttudies.
June, 2013
I-53
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
2.
WINDSOR
W
BASIN
B
(NO
OVA SCOTIA)/HORTO
ON BLUFF SHALE
2.1
In
ntroduction
The
T
Horton Bluff
B
Shale is located in
n north-centtral Nova Scotia. It is a Carbonife
erous
(Early Mississippian) shale with

hin the Hortton Group, Figure I-36.. Because the Horton Bluff
ests directly on the pre
e-Carboniferous igneou
us and mettamorphic b
basement, itt has
Shale re
experienced high he
eat flow and
d has a hig
gh thermal m
maturity in northern No
ova Scotia. The
Horton Bluff
B
Shale ge
eology is complex, conta
aining nume
erous faults.
2.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T
regional extent of th
he Horton Shale
S
play iss only partlyy defined a
as the basin
n and
prospective area bou

undaries are
e highly unce
ertain. A pre
eliminary outtline and 520
0-mi2 prospe
ective
s been estim
mated for the
e Horton Blufff Shale playy, Figure I-3
37. The dep
pth of the sha
ale in
area has
the prosp
pective area ranges from
m 3,000 to 5,000 feet. T
The shale intterval is thick with 500 fe
eet of
gross pay and 300 fe
eet of organ
nically rich net pay. The
e TOC is 4%
% to 5% (loca
ally higher). The
thermal maturity
m
of the prospecttive area ran
nges from a Ro of 1.2%
% in the south to a Ro off over
2.5% in the
t northeas
stern portion of the prosp
pective area
a, placing the
e Horton Blu
uff Shale prim
marily
in the dry
y gas window
w. Data from
m the Kenne
etcook #1, drrilled to test the Horton B
Bluff Shale iin the
Windsor Basin, proviided valuable data on re
eservoir prop
perties.
2.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T 520-mi2 prospective area of the Horton Blufff Shale in N
Nova Scotia is in the norrthern
and easttern portions

s of the play
y area. With
hin this prosspective are
ea, the shale
e has an in-place
2
resource
e concentration of 82 Bcf/mi
B
. Ourr preliminaryy resource e
estimate is 17 Tcf of rrisked
shale gas
s in-place. Given
G
the ge
eologic comp
plexity in the
e prospective
e area, we e
estimate a rissked,
technicallly recoverab
ble shale gas resource of
o 3 Tcf for th
he Horton Bluff Shale.
2.4
Recent
R
Activity.
Two
T
small op
perators, Tria
angle Petrolleum and Fo
orent Energyy, have acquired leasess and
have beg
gun to explore the Horton Bluff Shale
e.
June, 2013
I-54
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Figure I-36. Horto

on and Frederick Brook Shale (Horrton Group)
Stratigrap
phy
Figure I-37. Outlin

ne and Prospectivve Area for Hortonn Bluff Shale (Novva Scotia)
Souurce: ARI, 2013.
Source: Mukhopadhyay, 2009
JJune, 2013
JAFF21298.AI
I-55
I. Canada
3.
EIA/ARI W
MONCTON
M
SUB-BASIIN (NEW BRUNSWIC
B
CK)/FREDE
ERICK BRO
OOK SHAL
LE
The
T Frederick Brook Sha
ale is located in the Mo ncton Sub-B
Basin of the larger Marittimes
Basin off New Bruns

swick, Figure I-38.
his Mississip
ppian-age sshale is corrrelative with
h the
Th
Horton Group
G
in Nov
va Scotia. The Moncton Sub-Basin is bounded on the east by the Caled
donia
Uplift, on
n the west by
y the Kingsto
on Uplift, an
nd on the no rth by the W
Westmoreland Uplift, Figure I39. Beca
ause of limitted data, the
e definition of
o the prospe
ective area o
of the Frede
erick Brook S
Shale
has yet to
t be establiished.
Figure I-38. Lo
ocation of Mon
ncton Sub-Bassin and Maritimes Basin
MA
ARITIMES
Moncton
M
Su
ub-Basin
Source: Geological Survey off Canada, 2009 CSPG

G CSEG CWLS Convvention, Canada
JAF21297..AI
The
T
Frederic
ck Brook Sh
hale in the Moncton S
Sub-Basin iss structurallly complex, with
extensive
e faulting an
nd deformation. Its dep
pth ranges ffrom about 3,000 feet a
along the ba
asins
eastern edges
e
to 15,000 feet in the north. The total orrganic conte
ent of the shale varies w
widely
(1% to 10%), but typically
t
ran
nges from 3%
3 to 5%.
No publicc data are a

available on
n the
hale. The th
hermal matu
urity ranges ffrom immatu
ure Ro < 1%
% in the shallower
mineralogy of the sh
portions of the basin
n to highly mature
m
(Ro > 2%) in the
e deeper we
estern and ssouthern are
eas of
the basin
n.
June, 2013
I-56
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Much
M
of the data for this
s preliminary
y assessme
ent of the Frrederick Bro
ook Shale is from
the McC
Cully gas fie
eld along the southwes
stern edge o
of the Monccton Sub-Ba
asin and fro
om a
handful of
o vertical ex
xploration we
ells. Other areas,
a
such as the Coca
agne Sub-Basin, Figure I-39,
may also
o be prospec
ctive for the Frederick
F
Brrook Shale b
but have yet to be explored or assesssed.
Figure I-339. Structural Controls for Moncton
M
Sub--Basin (New B
Brunswick) Caanada
JAF21296.A
AI
Source: P.K.
P Mukhopadhyay, Seaarch and Discovery Articcle #10167 (2008)
REFERE
ENCES
Gas Shalee Potential of Devonian Strata, Northeastern

N
Brittish Columbia, P
Petroleum Geology Special Papeer 2005-1.
Shale Unitts of the Horn River Formation, Horn

H River Basinn and Cordova E
Embayment, Norrtheastern British Columbia,
Petroleum Geology
G
Open File 2008-1.
2
Ross, D.J.K., and Bustin, R.M.,

R
Characterizing the shale gas resource pootential of DevonnianMississippian strata in the
Western Caanada sedimentaary basin: Appliccation of an integgrated formation evaluation, AA
APG Bulletin, v. 992, no. 1 (January
2008), pp. 87125
8
3
An Overview of Canadass Natural Gas Reesources, Canaadian Society forr Unconventionaal Gas (CSUG) M
May 2010.
Ultimate Potential
P
for Uncoonventional Natuural Gas in Northheastern British Columbias Horrn River Basin, B
British Columbiaa
Ministry of Energy
E
and Minees, National Energy Board, Oil and Gas Reportss 2011-1 - May 22011
5
Hydrocarbbon and By-Prodduct Reserves inn British Columbbia, BC Oil and G

Gas Commissioon, 2010
June, 2013
I-57
I. Canada
EIA/ARI W
Apache Invvestor Day Pressentation, June 2012.

2
Summaryy of Shale Gas Activity

A
in Northeaast British Colum
mbia 2011, Briti sh Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines, Oil aand
Gas Divisionn, Geoscience and
a Strategic inittiatives Branch, Oil
O and Gas Repport 2012-1.
8
TransCanaada Corporate Presentation,

P
20113.
10
Nexen Invvestor Day Presentation, North East

E British Coluumbia, 2011.
11
PennWesst Exploration Jaanuary Update (22013)
12
Levson ett al., British Coluumbia Ministry off Energy, Mines,, and Petroleum Resources, 20009
D.W. Morrrow and R. Shinnduke, Liard Basin, Northeast British

B
Columbia: An Exploration Frontier, Geoloogical Survey of
Canada (Caalgary), Natural Resources
R
Canaada.
13
14
Transeuroo Energy, Annuaal General meetiing 3rd October 2012,

2
Oslo, Norw
way.
Walsh, W.,
W Adams, C. et al, Regional Shhale Gas Potenttial of the Triasssic Doig and Monntney Formations, Northeastern British
Columbia, British Columbiaa Ministry of Eneergy and Mines, Oil and Gas Divvision, Resource Development aand Geoscience
Branch, Pettroleum Geologyy Open File 20066-02.
15
16
BC Oil annd Gas Commisssion Montney Foormation Play Atlas NEBC Octobber 2012.
17
Husky Ennergy, Investor Day

D Presentationn, December 4, 2012.
2
18
MGM Eneergy Corp., Pressentation, Peterss & Co. 2012 Eneergy Conferencee, September 133, 2012.
Rokosh, C.D.,
C Lyster, S., Anderson, S.D.A
A., Beaton, A.P., Berhane, H., B
Brazzoni, T., Cheen, D., Cheng, Y
Y., Mack, T., Panna, C.
and Pawlow
wicz, J.G. (2012): Summary of Alberta's shale- and siltstone-hossted hydrocarbonn resource potenntial; Energy
Resources Conservation
C
Booard, ERCB/AGS
S Open File Repport 2012-06.
19
20
Crescent Point Corporatee Presentation, December

D
2012.
21
Murphy Oil
O Corp, Annual Meeting of Sharreholders, May 2012.
2
22
Tallgrass Energy web sitee www.tallgrasseenergylp.com/
23
Emergingg Nordegg Oil Play, www.investtorvillage.com accessed 1/31/20013.
24
Mooncor Oil and gas Corp Press Releasee, February, 2011.
Leckie, D.A., (1994): Crettaceous Coloraddo/Alberta Groupp of the Westernn Canada Sedimentary Basin; in Geological Atlas of
the Westernn Canada Sedim
mentary Basin, J.P. Bhattacharyaa, J. Bloch, C.F. Gilboy and B. N
Norris, Canadian Society of Petrooleum
Geologists and
a Alberta Research Council, URL
U <http://www
w.ags.gov.ab.ca//publications/wcssb_atlas/atlas.httml>
25
26
Prospectt Saskatchewan, The Bakken Reevisited, Saskattchewan Ministryy of Energy Ressources, Issue No. 6, January 20010.
Flannery, J. and Kraus, J., Integrated Anaalysis of the Bakkken Petroleum S

System: US Willliston Basin, posster presentationn, at
AAPG Annuual Convention, Houston,
H
Texas, April 10-12, 2006.
27
National Energy
E
Board Caanada, Energy Briefing
B
Note Tight Oil Developpments in the Weestern Canadiann Sedimentary B
Basin,
December 2011.
2
28
29
Saskatcheewan Ministry off Energy and Reesources
Dawson, F. M., Unconveentional Gas in Canada,

C
Opportuunities and Challlenges, Canadiaan Society for U
Unconventional G
Gas,
Service Secctor Workshop, June
J
22, 2010.
30
June, 2013
I-58
II. Mexico
II.
MEXICO
SUMMARY
Mexico has excellent potential for developing its shale gas and oil resources stored in
marine-deposited, source-rock shales distributed along the onshore Gulf of Mexico region.
Figure II-1. Onshore Shale Gas and Shale Oil Basins of Eastern Mexicos Gulf of Mexico Basins.
Source: ARI, 2013.

June, 2013
II-1
II. Mexico
Technically recoverable shale resources, estimated at 545 Tcf of natural gas and 13.1
billion barrels of oil and condensate, are potentially larger than the countrys proven
conventional reserves, Table II-1. The best documented play is the Eagle Ford Shale of the
Burgos Basin, where oil- and gas-prone windows extending south from Texas into northern
Mexico have an estimated 343 Tcf and 6.3 billion barrels of risked, technically recoverable shale
gas and shale oil resource potential, Table II-2.
Further to the south and east within Mexico, the shale geology of the onshore Gulf of
Mexico Basin becomes structurally more complex and the shale development potential is less
certain. The Sabinas Basin has an estimated 124 Tcf of risked, technically recoverable shale
gas resources within the Eagle Ford and La Casita shales, but the basin is faulted and folded.
The structurally more favorable Tampico, Tuxpan, and Veracruz basins add another 28 Tcf and
6.8 billion barrels of risked, technically recoverable shale gas and shale oil potential from
Cretaceous and Jurassic marine shales. These shales are prolific source rocks for Mexicos
conventional onshore and offshore fields in this area. Shale drilling has not yet occurred in
these southern basins.
PEMEX envisions commercial shale gas production being initiated in 2015 and
increasing to around 2 Bcfd by 2025, with the company potentially investing $1 billion to drill 750
wells. However, PEMEXs initial shale exploration wells have been costly ($20 to $25 million
per well) and have provided only modest initial gas flow rates (~3 million ft3/d per well with steep
decline). Mexicos potential development of its shale gas and shale oil resources could be
constrained by several factors, including potential limits on upstream investment, the nascent
capabilities of the local shale service sector, and public security concerns in many shale areas.
June, 2013
II-2
II. Mexico
Table II-1. Shale Gas Reservoir Properties and Resources of Mexico

BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
(35,700 mi )

600
Organically Rich
200
Thickness (ft)
Net
160
Interval
3,300 - 4,000
Depth (ft)
Average
3,500
Highly
Reservoir Pressure
Overpress.
5.0%
Average TOC (wt. %)
0.85%
Low
Clay Content
Gas Phase
Tithonian Shales Eagle Ford Shale Tithonian La Casita

U. Jurassic
M. - U. Cretaceous
U. Jurassic
Marine
Marine
Marine
Eagle Ford Shale

M. - U. Cretaceous
Marine
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
10,000
6,700
6,700
200
300
500
160
210
200
4,000 - 16,400 6,500 - 16,400 7,500 - 16,400
7,500
10,500
11,500
Highly
Highly
Highly Overpress.
Overpress.
Overpress.
5.0%
5.0%
3.0%
1.15%
1.60%
1.70%
Low
Low
Low
9,500
500
400
5,000 - 12,500
9,000
9,500
800
240
9,800 - 13,100
11,500
Underpress.
Underpress.
4.0%
1.50%
Low
2.0%
2.50%
Low
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
Dry Gas
Dry Gas
Dry Gas
21.7
74.4
190.9
100.3
131.9
69.1
Risked GIP (Tcf)
7.8
446.4
767.5
201.6
501.0
118.1
0.9
111.6
230.2
50.4
100.2
23.6
Tampico
Basin/Gross Area
BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
(24,200 mi )
Tuxpan
(26,900 mi )
(2,810 mi )
Tamaulipas
L. - M. Cretaceous
Marine
Pimienta
Jurassic
Marine
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Veracruz
2

9,000
3,050
1,550
Organically Rich
500
500
500
Thickness (ft)
Net
200
200
200
Interval
3,300 - 8,500 4,000 - 8,500 7,000 - 9,000
Depth (ft)
Average
5,500
6,200
8,000
1,000
300
210
6,000 - 9,500
7,900
(9,030 mi )
Pimienta
Jurassic
Marine
Maltrata
U. Cretaceous
Marine
1,000
560
400
500
300
300
200
150
150
6,600 - 10,000 9,800 - 12,000 10,000 - 12,500
8,500
11,000
11,500
Reservoir Pressure
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Average TOC (wt. %)

Clay Content
3.0%
0.85%
Low
3.0%
1.15%
Low
3.0%
1.40%
Low
3.0%
0.85%
Low
3.0%
0.90%
Low
3.0%
0.85%
Low/Medium
3.0%
1.40%
Low/Medium
Gas Phase
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
Assoc. Gas
Assoc. Gas
Assoc. Gas
Dry Gas
18.6
44.7
83.0
25.5
27.2
22.4
70.0
Risked GIP (Tcf)
58.5
47.7
45.0
8.9
9.5
6.6
14.7
4.7
9.5
9.0
0.7
0.8
0.5
2.9
June, 2013
Sabinas
Burgos
Basin/Gross Area
II-3
II. Mexico
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table II-2. Shale Oil Reservoir Properties and Resources of Mexico

Burgos
Basin/Gross Area
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
2

Organically Rich
Thickness (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
Reservoir Pressure
Eagle Ford Shale

M. - U. Cretaceous
Marine
Pimienta
Jurassic
Marine
Tamaulipas
L. - M. Cretaceous
Marine
9,000
3,050
500
500
200
200
3,300 - 8,500 4,000 - 8,500
5,500
6,200
1,000
300
210
6,000 - 9,500
7,900
600
200
160
3,300 - 4,000
3,500
10,000
200
160
4,000 - 16,400
7,500
5.0%
0.85%
Low
5.0%
1.15%
Low
Veracruz
2
(26,900 mi )
Highly Overpress. Highly Overpress.
Average TOC (wt. %)

Clay Content
Tuxpan
Tampico
2
(24,200 mi )
(2,810 mi )
(9,030 mi )
Pimienta
Jurassic
Marine
Maltrata
U. Cretaceous
Marine
1,000
560
500
300
200
150
6,600 - 10,000 9,800 - 12,000
8,500
11,000
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
3.0%
0.85%
Low
3.0%
1.15%
Low
3.0%
0.85%
Low
3.0%
0.90%
Low
3.0%
0.85%
Low/Medium
Oil
Condensate
Oil
Condensate
Oil
Oil
Oil
43.9
15.0
37.9
17.3
36.4
33.0
23.5
Risked OIP (B bbl)
15.8
89.8
119.4
18.5
12.7
11.5
6.9
0.95
5.39
4.78
0.74
0.51
0.46
0.28
Oil Phase
2
INTRODUCTION
Mexico has large, geologically prospective shale gas and shale oil resources in the
northeastern part of the country within the onshore portion of the greater Gulf of Mexico Basin,
Figure II-1. These thick, organic-rich shales of marine origin correlate with productive Jurassic
and Cretaceous shale deposits in the southern United States, notably the Eagle Ford and
Haynesville shales, Figure II-2.1 To date, Mexicos national oil company PEMEX has drilled at
least six shale gas/oil exploration wells with modest results. The company plans to accelerate
shale activity during the next few years, budgeting 6.8 billion pesos (575 million USD) in 2014.
Whereas Mexicos marine-deposited shales appear to have good rock quality, the
geologic structure of its sedimentary basins often is considerably more complex than in the
USA.
Compared with the broad and gently dipping shale belts of Texas and Louisiana,
Mexicos coastal shale zone is narrower, less continuous and structurally more disrupted.
Regional compression and thrust faulting related to the formation of the Sierra Madre Ranges
have squeezed Mexicos coastal plain, creating a series of discontinuous sub-basins.2 Many of
Mexicos largest conventional oil and gas fields also occur in this area, producing from
conventional sandstone reservoirs of Miocene and Pliocene age that were sourced by deep,
organic-rich and thermally mature Jurassic and Cretaceous-age shales. These deep source
rocks are the principal targets for shale gas/oil exploration in Mexico.
June, 2013
II-4
II. Mexico
Figure II-2. Cross-Section of Shale Targets in Eastern Mexico.
Source: Escalera Alcocer, 2012.
Improved geologic data coverage collected since ARIs initial 2011 estimate indicates
that Mexicos prospective areas for shale gas -- particularly in the structurally more complex
basins are slightly smaller than previously mapped. Furthermore, several of the previously
mapped dry gas areas are now known to be within the wet gas to oil thermal maturity windows.
On the other hand, geologic risk factors have been reduced due to the demonstration of the
presence of productive hydrocarbons and improved geologic control. On an overall energyequivalent basis, our updated estimate of Mexicos shale resources is about 10% lower than our
earlier 2011 estimate (624 Tcfe in this study vs 681 Tcf previously).
PEMEX has identified some 200 shale gas resource opportunities in five geologic
provinces in eastern Mexico, Figure II-3.
According to the company, prospective regions
include 1) Paleozoic shale gas in Chihuahua region; 2) Cretaceous shale gas in the SabinasBurro-Picachos region; 3) Cretaceous shale gas in the Burgos Basin; 4) Jurassic shale gas in
Tampico-Misantla; and 5) unspecified shale gas potential in Veracruz.
June, 2013
II-5
II. Mexico
Figure II-3. PEMEX Map Identifying Mexicos Shale Gas Potential (November 2012)
Source: PEMEX, 2012b.
PEMEXs initial internal evaluation estimated 150 Tcf (P90) to 459 Tcf (P10) of
recoverable shale gas resources, with a median estimate of 297 Tcf. In 2012 PEMEX updated
its shale gas and shale oil resource assessment to 141.5 Tcf of shale gas (comprising 104.7 Tcf
dry and 36.8 Tcf wet) and 31.9 billion barrels of shale oil and condensate.
Initial shale gas and shale oil exploration began in Mexico in late 2011. PEMEX has
drilled at least six wells in the Eagle Ford Shale play in northern Mexico to date, but the
southern shale basins have not yet been tested. Despite some areas with favorable shale
geology, Mexico faces significant obstacles to shale development. The countrys upstream oil
industry is largely closed to foreign investment. None of the shale-discovering independent
E&Ps, which unlocked the North American shale plays, are active in Mexico. And, well services
for shale development are costlier than in the U.S. and Canada.
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Onshore eastern Mexico contains a series of medium-sized basins and structural highs
(platforms) within the larger western Gulf of Mexico Basin.3
These structural features contain
organic-rich marine shales of Jurassic and Cretaceous age that appear to be the most
prospective for shale gas and oil development. The arcuate coastal shale belt includes the
Burgos, Sabinas, Tampico, Tuxpan Platform, and Veracruz basins and uplifts.
Because
detailed geologic maps of these areas generally are not readily available, ARI constructed the
general pattern of shale depth and thickness from a wide range of published local-scale maps
and structural cross-sections.
Many of Mexicos shale basins are too deep in their center for shale gas and shale oil
development (>5 km), while their western portions tend to be overthrusted and structurally
complex. However, the less deformed eastern portions of these basins and adjacent shallower
platforms are structurally more simple. Here, the most prospective areas for shale gas and
shale oil development are buried at suitable depths of 1 km to 5 km over large areas.
Pyrolysis geochemistry, carbon isotope studies, and biomarker analysis of oil and gas
fields identify three major Mesozoic hydrocarbon source rocks in Mexicos Gulf Coast Basin: the
Upper Cretaceous (Turonian to Santorian), Lower-Mid Cretaceous (Albian-Cenomanian), and -most importantly Upper Jurassic (Tithonian), the latter having sourced an estimated 80% of
the conventional oil and gas discovered in this region.4 These targets, particularly the Tithonian,
also appear to have the greatest potential for shale gas development, Figure II-4.
The following sections discuss the shale gas and shale oil geology of the individual subbasins and platforms along eastern Mexicos onshore Gulf of Mexico Basin.
The basins
discussed start in northern Mexico near the Texas border moving to the south and southeastern
regions close to the Yucatan Peninsula.
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Figure II-4. Stratigraphy of Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks in the Gulf of Mexico Basin, Mexico and USA.
Shale gas targets are highlighted.
Modified from Salvador and Quezada-Muneton, 1989.
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1.
BURGOS BASIN (Eagle Ford and Tithonian Shales)
1.1
Geologic Setting
Located in northeastern Mexicos Coahuila state, directly south of the Rio Grande River,
the Burgos Basin covers an onshore area of approximately 24,200 mi2, excluding its extension
onto the continental shelf of the Gulf of Mexico, Figure II-5. The Burgos Basin is the southern
extension of the Maverick Basin in Texas, the latter hosting the productive Eagle Ford and
Pearsall shale plays.
The Burgos Basin expanded during the Early Jurassic and developed into a restricted
carbonate platform, with thick salt accumulations that later formed a regional structural
detachment as well as isolated diapirs.
Structural deformation took place during the late
Cretaceous Laramide Orogeny, resulting in some degree of faulting and tilting within the Burgos
Basin. However, this tectonic event was focused more on the Sabinas Basin and Sierra Madre
Oriental, while the Burgos remains structurally relatively simple and favorable for shale
development.5
Thick Tertiary-age clastic non-marine deposits overlie the Jurassic and
Carbonate marine sequences, reflecting later alternating transgressions and regressions of sea
level in northeastern Mexico.6
The two most prospective shale targets in Mexico are present in the Burgos Basin: the
Cretaceous (mainly Turonian) Eagle Ford Shale play and the Jurassic (mainly Tithonian) La
Casita and Pimienta formations, Figure II-6. The Eagle Ford Shale in Mexico is the direct
extension of its commercially productive Texas equivalent, whereas the La Casita and Pimienta
formations correlate with the productive Haynesville Shale of the East Texas Basin. The La
Casita is believed to be the main source rock for conventional Tertiary clastic reservoirs
(Oligocene Frio and Vicksburg) in the southeastern Burgos Basin, with oil transported via deepseated normal faults.7
1.2
Reservoir Properties (Prospective Area)

Eagle Ford Shale. Based on analogy with the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas, industry and
ARI considers the Eagle Ford Shale in the Burgos Basin to be Mexicos top-ranked shale
prospect. The Eagle Ford Shale is continuous across the western margin of the Burgos Basin,
where the overall formation interval ranges from 100 to 300 m thick (average 200 m).8
Recognizing the sparse regional depth and thickness control on the Eagle Ford Shale in the
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Burgos Basin,9 we relied on a recent PEMEX shale map to estimate a prospective area of
17,300 mi2, slightly less than our previous estimate of 18,100 mi2, comprising three distinct
areas where the shale lies within the 1 km to 5 km depth window, Figure II-5. The eastern
onshore portion of the Burgos Basin is excluded as the shale is deeper than 5 km.
Figure II-5. Burgos Basin Outline and Shale Gas and Shale Oil Prospective Areas.
Source: ARI, 2013.

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Figure II-6. Stratigraphic Cross-Section Along the Western Margin of the Burgos Basin.
Section is flattened on top Cretaceous.
The Eagle Ford Shale (EF) here ranges from about 100 to 300 m thick (average 200 m).
Modified from Horbury et al., 2003.
Net organically-rich shale thickness within the prospective area ranges from 200 to 300
ft. Total organic content (TOC) is estimated to average 5%. Vitrinite reflectance (Ro) ranges
from 0.85% to 1.6% depending on depth. Over-pressured reservoir conditions are common in
this basin and a pressure gradient of 0.65 psi/ft was assumed. The surface temperature in this
region averages approximately 20C, while the geothermal gradient typically is 23C/km.
Porosity is not known but assumed to be comparable to the Texas Eagle Ford Shale play at
about 10%.
La Casita and Pimienta (Tithonian) Shales. Several thousand feet deeper than the
Eagle Ford Shale, the La Casita and Pimienta shales (Upper Jurassic Tithonian) are considered
the principal source rocks in the western Burgos Basin. Extrapolating from the structure of the
younger Eagle Ford, the average depth of the Tithonian Shale is 11,500 ft, with a prospective
range of 5,000 to 16,400 ft.
Gross formation thicknesses can be up to 1,400 ft, with an
organically rich net pay of about 200 ft. TOC of 2.6% to 4.0%, averaging 3.0%, consists mainly
of Type II kerogen that appears to be entirely within the dry gas window (1.30% Ro) with little to
no liquids potential.10 Reservoir pressure and temperature conditions are similar to those in the
Eagle Ford Shale play.
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1.3
Resource Assessment
Eagle Ford Shale.
Within its 17,300-mi2 prospective area, the Eagle Ford Shale
exhibits a high resource concentration of up to 191 Bcf/mi2. Risked shale gas in-place (OGIP)
totals 1,222 Tcf with risked shale oil in-place (OOIP) of 106 billion barrels. Risked, technically
recoverable resources are estimated to be 343 Tcf of shale gas and 6.3 billion barrels of shale
oil and condensate.
Tithonian Shale. Within the high-graded prospective area of 6,700 mi2, the Tithonian
La Casita and Pimienta shales are estimated to have approximately 50 Tcf of risked, technically
recoverable dry gas resources from 202 Tcf of risked gas in-place. Resource concentration is
about 100 Bcf/mi2.
1.4
Recent Activity
PEMEX initiated conventional exploration in the Burgos Basin in 1942, discovering some
227 mostly natural gas fields in this basin to date. Currently, there are about 3,500 active
natural gas wells producing in the Burgos Basin. These conventional reservoirs typically have
low permeability with rapidly declining gas production. Due to restrictions on upstream oil and
gas investment in Mexico, PEMEX is the only company that has conducted shale exploration
activity in the Burgos Basin to date.
PEMEX made its first shale discovery in the Burgos Basin during late 2010 and early
2011, drilling the Emergente-1 shale gas well located a few kilometers south at the
Texas/Coahuila border on a continuation of the Eagle Ford Shale trend from Texas. This initial
horizontal well was drilled to a vertical depth of about 2,500 m and employed a 2,550-m lateral
(although another source reported 1,364-m). Following a 17-stage fracture stimulation, the $2025 million well tested at a modest initial rate of 2.8 million ft3/day (time interval not reported),
which would not be economic at current gas prices.11
As of its last report (November 2012), PEMEX had drilled four shale gas exploration
wells in the Eagle Ford play of the Burgos Basin with one shale exploration well in the Sabinas
basin, reporting initial production for three wells.
These wells include the Nmada-1 well
situated in the oil window, the Habano-1 well (IP 2.771 million ft3/day gas with 27 bbl/day crude)
and the Montas-1 well in the wet gas window of the Burgos Basin. The dry gas window in the
Burgos Basin was tested by the Emergente-1. The Percutor-1 (IP 2.17 million ft3/day) tested the
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dry gas window in the Sabinas Basin. PEMEX has announced also drilled and produced gas
from the Arbolero-1 well (3.2 million ft3/day), the first test of the Jurassic shale in this basin.12
PEMEX plans to drill up to 75 shale exploration wells in the Burgos Basin through 2015.
2.
SABINAS BASIN (Eagle Ford and Tithonian Shales)
2.1
Geologic Setting
The Sabinas is one of Mexicos largest onshore marine shale basins, extending over a
total area of 35,700 mi2 in the northeast part of the country, Figure II-7. The basin initially
expanded during Jurassic time with a northeast-southwest trending structural fabric and was
later strongly affected by the Late Cretaceous Laramide Orogeny. Structurally complex, the
Sabinas Basin has been deformed into a series of tight, NW-SE trending, evaporate-cored folds
of Laramide origin called the Sabinas Foldbelt. Dissolution of Lower Jurassic salt during early
Tertiary time introduced a further overprint of complex salt-withdrawal tectonics.13 Much of the
Sabinas Basin is too structurally deformed for shale gas development, but a small area on the
northeast side of the basin is more gently folded and may be prospective.
Petroleum source rocks in the Sabinas Basin include the Cretaceous Olmos
(Maastrichtian) and Eagle Ford Shale (Turonian) formations and the Late Jurassic (Tithonian)
La Casita Formation.
The latter two units contain marine shales with good petrophysical
characteristics for shale development.14 In contrast, the Olmos Formation is primarily a nonmarine coaly unit that, while a good source rock for natural gas15 as well as a coalbed methane
exploration target in its own right,16 appears to be too ductile for shale development.
2.2

Eagle Ford Shale. The Eagle Ford Shale is distributed across the NW, NE, and central
portions of the Sabinas Basin.
The target is the 300-m thick sequence of black shales
rhythmically interbedded with sandy limestone and carbonate-cemented sandstone.
We
estimated a 500-ft thick organic-rich interval with 400 feet of net pay. We considered the Eagle
Ford Shale in the Maverick Basin of South Texas as the analog for reservoir properties, using a
TOC of 4% and a thermal maturity of 1.50% (Ro). Our estimate of porosity was increased to 5%
based on the rock fabric and correlation with the Texas Eagle Ford Shale analog. The average
depth for the prospective Eagle Ford is approximately 9,000 feet. Based on reported data,
mostly from coal mining areas, we use a slightly under-pressured gradient of 0.35 psi/ft for the
Sabinas Basin.
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Figure II-7. Sabinas Basin Outline and Shale Gas Prospective Area.
Source: ARI, 2013.
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La Casita Formation. This Tithonian-age unit, regarded as the primary hydrocarbon

source rock in the Sabinas Basin, consists of organic-rich shales deposited in a deepwater
marine environment. The La Popa sub-basin is one of numerous sub-basins within the Sabinas
Basin, Figure II-8.17,18 The La Popa is a rifted pull-apart basin that contains thick source rock
shales.
Up to 370 m of black carbonaceous limestone is present overlying several km of
evaporitic gypsum and halite. Total shale thickness in the La Casita ranges from 60 m to 800
m. Thick (300 m) and prospective La Casita Fm shales have been mapped at depths of 2,000
to 3,000 m in the central Sabinas Basin. Nearby, a thicker sequence (400-700 m) was mapped
at greater depth (3,000 to 4,000 m).
The high-graded prospective area for the La Casita Formation averages 11,500 ft deep,
about 2,500 ft deeper than the Eagle Ford Shale. The La Casita Formation averages about 240
ft of net pay thickness within an 800-ft thick organic-rich interval and has 2.0% average TOC
that is gas prone (2.5% Ro). Our estimate of porosity in the La Casita was increased to 5%
based on the rock fabric and correlation with the deep Texas and Louisiana Haynesville Shale
analog.
2.3
Resource Assessment
Eagle Ford Shale. The Eagle Ford Shale unit is the larger shale gas target in the
Sabinas Basin, with an estimated 100 Tcf of technically recoverable shale gas resource out of
501 Tcf of risked shale gas in-place within the 9,500-mi2 prospective area.
The average
resource concentration is high at 132 Bcf/mi2.

La Casita Formation. The secondary target in the Sabinas Basin, the underlying La
Casita Formation, has an estimated 24 Tcf of technically recoverable shale gas out of 118 Tcf of
risked shale gas in-place. Its resource concentration is estimated at 69 Bcf/mi2.
2.4
Recent Activity
PEMEX has drilled one shale gas exploration well in the Sabinas Basin, confirming the
continuation of the Eagle Ford Shale play. The Percutor-1 horizontal well, completed in March
2012, produced dry gas from a sub-surface depth of 3,330-3,390 m. The wells initial production
rate was a modest 2.17 million ft3/day (measurement time interval not specified), with production
reportedly declining rapidly.
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Figure II-8. Geologic Map of the La Popa Sub-Basin, Southeastern Portion of the Sabinas Basin.
Note the numerous detachment and salt-controlled folds.
Source: Hudson and Hanson, 2010.
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3.
TAMPICO BASIN (Pimienta Shale)
3.1
Geologic Setting
Bounded on the west by the fold-and-thrust belt of the Sierra Madre Oriental (Laramide)
and on the east by the Tuxpan platform, the Tampico-Mizatlan Basin extends north from the
Santa Ana uplift to the Tamaulipas arch north of Tampico, Figure II-9. At the northern margin of
the basin is an arch, limited by a series of faults extending south from the Tamaulipas arch.
Figure II-9. Prospective Pimienta Formation (Tithonian) Shale, Tampico Basin.
Source: ARI, 2013.
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The principal source rock in the Tampico Basin is the Upper Jurassic (Tithonian)
Pimienta Shale, Figure II-10. Although quite deep over much of the basin, the Pimienta reaches
shale-prospective depths of 1,400 to 3,000 m in the south where three uplifted structures occur.
The 40-km long, NE-SW trending Piedra de Cal anticline in the southwest Bejuco area has
Pimienta Shale cresting at 1,600-m depth. The 20-km long, SW-NE trending Jabonera syncline
in southeast Bejuco has maximum shale depth of 3,000 m in the east and minimum depth of
about 2,400 m in the west. A system of faults defines the Bejuco field in the center of the area.
Two large areas (Llano de Bustos and La Aguada) lack upper Tithonian shale deposits.
Figure II-10. Structural Cross-Section of the Tampico Basin
3.2
Reservoir Properties
Near the city of Tampico, some 50 conventional wells have penetrated organic-rich
shales of the Pimienta Formation at depths of about 1,000 to 3,000 m. Three distinct thermal
maturity windows (dry gas, wet gas, and oil) occur from west to east, reflecting the gentle
structural dip angle in this basin. Average shale depth ranges from 5,500 to 8,000 ft. Excluding
the paleo highs, the prospective area of the Pimienta Shale totals approximately 13,600 mi2.
Detailed shale thickness data are not available, but the Pimienta Fm here generally ranges from
200 m thick to as little as 10 m thick on paleo highs. We estimate an average net shale
thickness of about 200 ft, out of the total organically rich interval of 500 ft within the prospective
area. Average net shale TOC is estimated at 3%, with average thermal maturity ranging from
0.85% to 1.4% Ro.
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3.3
Resource Assessment
The Pimienta Shale in the Tampico Basin holds an estimated 23 Tcf and 5.5 billion
barrels of risked, technically recoverable shale gas and shale oil resources, out of risked OOIP
and OGIP of 151 Tcf and 138 billion barrels, respectively.
The shale gas resource
concentration averages 19 to 83 Bcf/mi2 while the shale oil concentration averages 17 to 38

million bbl/mi2.
3.4
Recent Activity
PEMEX reported that it is evaluating the shale geology of the Tampico Basin and plans
to drill up to 80 shale exploration wells through 2015.19
4.
TUXPAN PLATFORM (Pimienta and Tamaulipas Shales)
4.1
Geologic Setting
The Tuxpan Platform, located southeast of the Tampico Basin, is a subtle basement
high that is capped with a well-developed Early Cretaceous carbonate platform.20 A particularly
prospective and relatively well defined shale gas deposit is located in the southern Tuxpan
Platform. Approximately 50 km south of the city of Tuxpan, near Poza Rica, a dozen or so
conventional petroleum development wells in the La Mesa Syncline area penetrated thick
organic-rich shales of the Pimienta (Tithonian) and Tamaulipus (Lower Cretaceous)
Formations.21
A detailed cross-section of the Tuxpan Platform shows thick Lower Cretaceous and
Upper Jurassic source rocks dipping into the Gulf of Mexico Basin, Figure II-11. These source
rocks reach prospective depths of 2,500 m. Thermal maturity ranges from oil- to gas-prone.
4.2

Pimienta Fm. The organically rich portion of the Jurassic Pimienta Shale averages
about 500 ft thick in the high-graded area, with net thickness estimated at 200 ft. However,
southeast of Poza Rica some areas the shale is thin or absent, probably due to submarine
erosion or lack of deposition, Figure 12. The gamma ray log response in the organic-rich
Pimienta Shale indicates moderate TOC of 3.0%, which is in the oil to wet gas window (average
Ro of 0.9%). Depth ranges from 6,600 to 10,000 ft, averaging about 8,500 ft.
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Tamaulipas Fm. The Lower Cretaceous Tamaulipas Fm spans a depth range of 6,000
to 9,500, averaging about 7,900 ft. The organic-rich interval averages 300 ft thick, with net pay
estimated at about 210 ft. TOC is estimated to be 3.0%. The average thermal maturity is
slightly lower than for the deeper Pimienta, at 0.85% Ro.
Figure II-11. Cross-Section of the Tuxpan Platform.
Modified from
Salvador, 1991c
Modified from Salvador, 1991c.
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Figure II-12. Potentially Prospective Shale Gas and Shale Oil Areas of the Tuxpan Platform.
Source: ARI, 2013.
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4.3
Resource Assessment
Pimienta Fm. In the Tuxpan Platform, the prospective area of the Pimienta Fm shale is
estimated to be approximately 1,000 mi2.
Risked, technically recoverable resources are
estimated to be about 1 Tcf of shale gas and 0.5 billion barrels of shale oil and condensate.
Risked shale resource in-place is estimated at 10 Tcf and 12 billion barrels.
Tamaulipas Fm.
Due to limited data on the younger Tamaulipas Fm the same
prospective area of the Pimienta Shale was assumed (1,000 mi2). The Tamaulipas Shale is
estimated to have risked technically recoverable resources of about 1 Tcf of shale gas and 0.5
billion barrels of shale oil and condensate, out of risked shale resources in-place of 9 Tcf and 13
billion barrels.
4.4
Recent Activity
No shale gas or oil exploration activity has been reported on the Tuxpan Platform.
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5.
VERACRUZ BASIN (Maltrata Shale)
5.1
Geologic Setting
The Veracruz Basin extends over an onshore area of 9,030 mi2, near its namesake city.
The basins western margin is defined by thrusted Mesozoic carbonates (early Tertiary
Laramide Orogeny) of the Cordoba Platform and Sierra Madre Oriental, Figure II-13. The basin
is asymmetric in cross section, with gravity showing the deepest part along the western margin,
Figure II-14.22 The basin comprises several major structural elements, from west to east: the
Buried Tectonic Front, Homoclinal Trend, Loma Bonita Anticline, Tlacotalpan Syncline, Anton
Lizardo Trend, and the highly deformed Coatzacoalcos Reentrant in the south.23
A recent shale exploration map released by PEMEX indicates the prospective area of
the Veracruz Basin is much smaller than previously assumed in the 2011 EIA/ARI study. This is
because the shale is shown to be dipping at a steeper angle than previously mapped. In
addition, both shale gas and oil thermal maturity windows are present.
5.2

Maltrata Fm. The Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) Maltrata Formation is a significant
source rock in the Veracruz Basin, containing an estimated 300 ft of organic-rich, shaly marine
limestone. TOC ranges from 0.5% to 8%, averaging approximately 3%, and consists of Type II
kerogen. Thermal maturity ranges from oil-prone (Ro averaging 0.85%) within the oil window at
depths of less than 11,000 ft, to gas-prone (Ro averaging 1.4%) within the gas window at
average depths below 11,500 ft.
5.3
Resource Assessment
Maltrata Fm. Whereas we previously had assumed that 90% of the Veracruz Basin
(8,150 mi2) is in a favorable depth range, based on available cross-sectional data, the new
PEMEX map indicates that the true prospective area in the Veracruz Basin could be much
smaller, perhaps only 960 mi2. This yields a reduced estimate of 3 Tcf and 0.3 billion barrels of
risked technically recoverable shale gas and shale oil resources for the Maltrata Formation in
the Veracruz Basin, out of 21 Tcf and 7 billion barrels of risked shale gas and shale oil in-place.
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5.4
Recent Activity
PEMEX plans to drill up to 10 shale exploration wells in the Veracruz Basin in the next
three years.
Figure II-13. Veracruz Basin Outline and Shale Gas and Shale Oil Prospective Area.
Source: ARI, 2013.
Figure II-14. Veracruz Basin Cross Section Showing the Maltrata Shale
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10
Ambrose, W. A., et al., 2005. Neogene Tectonic, Stratigraphic, and Play Framework of the Southern Laguna Madre-Tuxpan
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Estrada, J., 2012. Gas de Lutita en Mxico: Planes, Potencial y Regulaciones. Analytica Energetica, S.P., August, 56 p.
12
PEMEX, Form 6-K, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, November 2012, p. 7.
13
Soegaard, K., Ye, H., Halik, N., Daniels, A.T., Arney, J., and Garrick, S., 2003. Stratigraphic Evolution of Latest Cretaceous
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14
Eguiluz de Antuano, S., 2001. Geologic Evolution and Gas Resources of the Sabinas in Northeastern Mexico. In: Bartolini,
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15
Alsaab, D., Suarez-Ruiz, I., Elie, M., Izart, A., and Martinez, L., 2006. Comparison of Generative Capacities for Bitumen and
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Eguiluz, de Antunano, S., and Amezcua, N.T., 2003. Coalbed Methane Resources of the Sabinas Basin, Coahuila, Mexico.
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17
Lawton, T.F., Vega,, F.J., Giles, K.A., and Rosales-Dominguez, C., 2001. Stratigraphy and Origin of the La Popa Basin,
Nuevo Leon and Coahuila, Mexico. In C. Bartolini, R.T. Buffler, and A. Cantu-Chapa, eds., The Western Gulf of Mexico
Basin: Tectonics, Sedimentary Basins, and Petroleum Systems. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 75,
p. 219-240.
18
Hudson, S.M. and Hanson, A.D., 2010. Thermal Maturation and Hydrocarbon Migration Within La Popa Basin, Northeastern
Mexico, with Implications for Other Salt Structures. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, vol. 94, p. 273291.
19
PEMEX, Investor Presentation, November 2012, 43 p.
20
Salvador, A., 1991c. Plate 6 : Cross Sections of the Gulf of Mexico Basin. The Geology of North America, Vol. J, The Gulf
of Mexico Basin. The Geological Society of America.
21
Cantu-Chapa, A., 2003. Subsurface Mapping and Structural Elements of the Top Jurassic in Eastern Mexico (Poza Rica and
Tampico Districts). In C. Bartolini, R.T. Buffler, and J. Blickwede, eds. The Circum-Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean:
Hydrocarbon Habitats, Basin Formation, and Plate Tectonics. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 79, p.
51-54.
22
Escalera Alcocer, J.A., 2012. Potencial de Recursos no Convencionales Asociado a Plays de Aceite y Gas de Lutitas en
Mxico. ExpoForu PEMEX, August 1, 37 p. (in Spanish).
23
Prost, G. and Aranda, M., 2001. Tectonics and Hydrocarbon Systems of the Veracruz Basin, Mexico. In C. Bartolini, R.T.
Buffler, and A. Cantu-Chapa, eds., The Western Gulf of Mexico Basin: Tectonics, Sedimentary Basins, and Petroleum
Systems. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 75, p. 271-291.
June, 2013
II-26
III. Australiaa
III.
EIA/ARI W
AUSTR
RALIA
SUMMA
ARY
With
W
geologic and indu
ustry conditiions resemb
bling those of the US
SA and Can
nada,
Australia has the po
otential to be
e one of the
e next counttries with co
ommercially viable shale
e gas
and shale oil produc
ction. As in the US, small independ
dents have lled the wayy, assembling the
al data and
d exploring the high potential sh
hale basinss of Austra
alia, Figure III-1.
geologica
Internatio
onal majors are now enttering these plays by forrming JV partnerships w
with these sm
maller
independ
dents, bring capital investment to the table.
ness of man
But, with tthe remoten
ny of
Australias shale gas

s and shale oil
o basins, de
evelopment will likely prroceed at a m
moderate pa
ace.
Figure III-1. Australias Assessed Prospective
P
S hale Gas and Shale Oil Bassins
Source: ARI, 2013

June, 2013
III-1
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
This
T
report assesses
a
th
he shale ga
as and shale oil poten
ntial in six major Austrralian
sedimenttary basins having sufficient geolog
gic data forr a quantitattive assessm
ment. Addittional
potential is likely to exist
e
in otherr basins not yet assesse
ed.
The
T six assessed shale gas and oil basins of A
Australia holld an estima
ated 2,046 T
Tcf of
risked sh
hale gas in
n-place, with
h 437
Tcf as the riskked, techniccally recove

erable shale
e gas
resource
e, Tables III--1A, III-1B, and
a III-1C. These six b
basins also h
hold an estim
mated 403 b
billion
barrels of
o risked sha
ale oil in-pla
ace, with 17
7.5 billion ba
arrels as rissked, techniccally recove
erable
shale oil resource, Ta
ables III-2A and III-2B.
Of
O the six assessed basins, the Coo
oper Basin, Australias m
main onshore gas-producing
basin, with its existin
ng gas proc
cessing facilities and tra
ansportation
n infrastructu
ure, could be the
first com
mmercial sou
urce of shale
e hydrocarb
bons. The ba
asins Perm
mian-age sha
ales have a nonmarine (lacustrine) depositionals
d
s and the shale gas app ears to have
e elevated C
CO2 content,, both
a
risk to
o these sha
ale gas and shale oil pla
ays. Santoss, Beach En
nergy and S
Senex
factors adding
Energy are
a testing the
t
shale re
eservoirs in the Cooperr Basin, with initial resu
ults from ve
ertical
productio
on test wells providing encourageme
ent for furthe
er delineation.
The
T other pro
ospective Au
ustralian sha
ale basins ad
ddressed in this report include the ssmall,
scarcely explored Maryboroug
M
h Basin in
n coastal Q
Queensland, that conta
ains prospe
ective
ous-age marrine shales thought to be over-pre
essured and
d gas satura
ated. The Perth
Cretaceo
Basin in Western Australia,
A
undergoing initial testing
g by AWE and Norwe
est Energy,, has
mian age. T
The large C
Canning Bassin in
prospective marine shale targetts of Triassic and Perm
as deep, Ord
dovician-age
e marine sha
ales that are
e roughly co
orrelative witth the
Western Australia ha
N
Terrritory, the P
Pre-Cambria
an shales in
n the
Bakken Shale in the Williston Basin. In Northern
o Basin and the
t Middle Cambrian
C
sh
hale in the G
Georgina Bassin have rep
ported oil and
d gas
Beetaloo
shows in
n shale exploration wells. If prove
ed commerccial, these ttwo shale gas and sha
ale oil
basins would
w
become some of th
he oldest pro
oducing hyd rocarbon so
ource rocks in the world.
June, 2013
III-2
III. Australia
EIA/ARI W
Table
T
III-1A. Austraalian Shale Gas Reeservoir Propertiees and Resourcess (Page 1 of 3)
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
G
Gas Resources
s
JJune, 2013
Cooper
Basin/Gross Area
(46,900 mi )
Shale Formaation
Rosen
neath-Epsilon-Murtereee (Nappamerri)
R
Roseneath-Epsilon-Mu
urteree (Patchawarra)
Geologic Age
A
Depositional Envvironment
Permian
Lacustrine
Perm
mian
Lacusstrine
Roseneath-Epsilon
nMurteree (Tenappera)
Permian
Lacustrine
1,010
1,1550
170
100
125
100
60
75
600
1
8,000 - 13,0000
7,000 - 9,200 8,000 - 10,000
8,000
9,0000
10,500
200
225
135
5,000 - 6,500
5,500
Prospective Area (m
mi )
6225
Orgaanically Rich
2550
Thickness (ft)
Net
1550
5,000 - 7,000
Interrval
Depth (ft)
Averrage
6,000
Mo d.
Reservoir Pressure
Overp ress.
Average TOC (wt. %))
2.66%
Thermal Maturity (%
% Ro)
0.855%
Clay Content
Lo w
Gas Phase
555
3,525
500
500
300
300
6,000 - 10,000 7,000 - 13,000
8,000
10,000
Mod.
Mod.
Overpress.
Overpress.
2.6%
2.6%
1.15%
2.00%
Low
Low
Normal
Norm
mal
Normal
Normal
2.6%
0.85%
Low
2.6%
1.155%
Low
w
2.6%
1.30%
Low
2.6%
0.85%
Low
Assocc. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
A
Assoc.
Gas
Wet Gas
G
Dry Gas
Assoc. Gas
13.1
87.6
100.1
7.3
15..6
18.6
10.1
Risked GIP (Tcf)
6.1
36.5
264.7
4.4
10..8
1.9
1.2
0.7
9.1
79.4
0.4
2.77
0.5
0.1
III-3
III. Australia
EIA/ARI W
Tablee III-1B. Australian

n Shale Gas Reservoir Properties and
a Resources (Coont) (Page 2 of 3))
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
Physical Extent
PhysicalExtent
Basic Data
BasicData
G
Gas Resources
s
JJune, 2013
Geolog
gic Age
2
Prospective Areaa (mi )

O
Organically
Rich
Thickness (ft)
N
Net
In
nterval
Depth (ft)
A
Average
Reservoir Pressu
ure
Average TOC (wtt. %)
Thermal Maturityy (% Ro)
Clay Content
Gas Phase
Good
dwood/Cherwell
Mudstone
C
Cretaceous
Marine
(20,000 mi )
(4,290 mi )
Shale Fo
ormation
Canniing
Perth
M
Maryborough
Basin/Gro
oss Area
(181,0000 mi )
Caarynginia
Kockatea
Goldw
wyer
U. Permian
Marine
L. Triassic
Marine
M. Ordo vician
Marinne
1,030
14,900
19,6200
22,860
8600
3000
300
1,000
1,3000
1,300
1600
160
250
250
250
3,300 - 15,100 9,200 - 16,500 33,300 - 7,200 7,200 - 100,500 10,500 - 16,500
11,000
5,200
8,8000
13,500
9,200
1,540
1,250
250
5,000 - 16,500
9,500
2,200
950
250
3,3000 - 16,500
10,000
Mo d. Overpress.
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normaal
Normal
2.0%
1.50%
Low
4.0%
1.40%
Low
%
5.6%
0.85%
%
Low
w
5.6%
1.15%
Low
3.0%
0.85%
Low
3.0%
%
1.15%
Low
3.0%
1.40%
Low
Dry Gas
D Gas
Dry
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
A
Assoc.
Gas
Wet Gaas
Dry Gas
on (Bcf/mi )
GIP Concentratio
110.7
94.0
14.00
58.9
18.7
67.1
109.2
Risked GIP (Tcf)
63.9
124.1
7.2
36.4
83.5
395.00
748.7
Risked Recoveraable (Tcf)
19.2
24.8
0.6
7.3
6.7
79.0
149.7
III-4
III. Australia
EIA/ARI W
Tablee III-1C. Australian

n Shale Gas Reservoir Properties and
a Resources (Coont) (Page 3 of 3))
G
Gas Resources
s
BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Beetalo
oo
Georgina
Basin//Gross Area
(125,000 mi )
(14,000 mi
m )
Shalee Formation
L. Arthur
A
Shale (Dulcie Tro
ough)
L. Arthur Shaale (Toko Trough)
M. Velkerrri Shale
L. Kyalla Shale
Geologic Age
nal Environment
Deposition
M. Cambrian
Marine
M. Cambrian
C
M
Marine
Precambbrian
Marinne
Precambrrian
Marine
Prospective Area
A (mi )
2,260
Organically Rich
115
Thickness (ft))
Net
85
Interval
7,2200 - 10,500
Depth (ft)
Average
8,800
1,9500
115
85
2,300 - 3,,300
3,0000
3,220
2,010
790
2,650
65
65
65
450
50
50
50
100
3,300 - 4,000 4,0000 - 5,000 5,000 - 6,500 3,300 - 5,000
3,600
4,200
4,500
5,700
Mod.
Normal
N
Normal
Normal
Overpress.
5.5%
5.5%
5.5%
4.0%
0.85%
1
1.15%
1.50%
0.85%
Low
Low
Low
Low
2,1300
4500
1000
5,000 - 7,000
7
6,0000
Mod .
Overpreess.
4.0%
%
1.15%
%
Low
w
2,480
450
100
7,000 - 8,700
7,500
Mod.
Overpress.
4.0%
1.60%
Low
4,010
520
130
3
3,300
- 5,000
4,200
Mod.
O
Overpress.
2.5%
0.85%
Low
2,400
520
130
5,000 - 6,0000
5,500
Mod.
Overpresss.
2.5%
1.15%
Low
1,310
520
130
6,000 - 8,000
6,500
Mod.
Overpress.
2.5%
1.60%
Low
Reservoir Preessure
Normal
Normaal
Average TOC (wt. %)

Thermal Matu
urity (% Ro)
Clay Content
3.0%
1.15%
Low
5.5%
%
1.50%
Low
Wet Gas
Dry Gaas
Assoc. Gas
W Gas
Wet
Dry Gas
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
G
Dry Gas
A
Assoc.
Gas
Wet Gass
Dry Gas
GIP Concentrration (Bcf/mi )
22.8
29.1
4.5
17.5
26.7
7.2
30.77
42.0
11.7
37.1
49.6
Risked GIP (T
Tcf)
19.3
21.3
5.5
13.2
7.9
9.6
32.77
52.0
23.5
44.5
32.5
3.9
4.3
0.4
2.6
1.6
1.0
8.2
13.0
2.3
11.1
8.1
Gas Phase
2
JJune, 2013
III-5
III. Australia
EIA/ARI W
Tablee III-2A. Australiaan Shale Oil Reserrvoir Properties an

nd Resources (Coont) (Page 1 of 2)
O
Oil Resources
BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Perth
Coo
oper
Basin/Gross Area
onRoseneath-Epsilo
Murteree (Nappameerri)
Permian
Lacustrine
Shaale Formation
Geeologic Age
2
Oil Phase
200
225
135
5,000 - 6,500
5,500
(20,000 mi )
(181,0000 mi )
Kockatea
Goldwyer
L. Triassic
Marine
M. Orrdovician
M
Marine
Roseneath-Epssilon-Murteree Rosen
neath-Epsilon-Murtereee
(Patchaawarra)
(Tenappera)
Perm
mian
Permian
Lacusstrine
Lacustrine
Prospectivee Area (mi )

625
5555
1,010
1,150
100
Organically Rich
250
5000
125
Thickness (ft)
(
150
3000
75
60
Net
5,000 - 7,000 6,000 - 10,000 7,000 - 9,200 8,000 - 10,000
Interval
Depth (ft)
8,000
6,000
8,0000
9,000
Average
Mod.
Mo d.
Reservoir Pressure
P
Normal
Normal
Overpress. Overp ress.
Average TO
OC (wt. %)
2.6%
2.6%
2.6%
2.6%
Thermal Maaturity (% Ro)
0.85%
0.85%
1.155%
1.15%
Clay Conten
nt
Low
Low
w
Low
Low
Caanning
2
(46,9000 mi )
1
1,030
14,900
19,620
860
300
1,000
1,300
300
160
250
250
160
3,300 - 15,100 9,2000 - 16,500 3,300 - 7,2000 7,200 - 10,500
9,200
11,000
5,200
8,800
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
2.6%
0.85%
Low
5.6%
0.85%
Low
5
5.6%
1.15%
Low
3.0%
0.85%
Low
3.0%
1.15%
Low
Oil
Conde nsate
Oil
Condensate
Oil
Oil
Conndensate
Oil
Condensate
ntration (MMbbl/mi )
OIP Concen
22.5
14..5
11.1
3.0
21.9
18.9
6.1
41.1
10.2
Risked OIP (B bbl)
10.5
6.00
6.7
2.1
2.6
9.8
3.8
183.7
60.0
Risked Reco
overable (B bbl)
0.63
0.336
0.34
0.10
0.13
0.39
0.15
7.35
2.40
JJune, 2013
III-6
III. Australia
EIA/ARI W
Tablee III-2B. Australiaan Shale Oil Reserrvoir Properties an

nd Resources (Coont) (Page 2 of 2)
O
Oil Resources
Beetaloo
Georgina
Baasin/Gross Area
(14,000 mi )
(125,000 mi )
L. Arthur Shaale
(Dulcie Troug
gh)
M. Cambriann
Marine
Sh
hale Formation
Geologic Age
G
Deposiitional Environmentt
2
Prospectivve Area (mi )

Organically Rich
R
Thicknesss (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
L. Arthur Shalle (Toko Trough)
M. Velkerri Shale
S
L. Kyalla Shale
M. Cambrian
Marine
Precambriaan
Marine
Precambrian
Marine
2,260
115
85
7,200 - 10,5000
8,800
3,220
65
50
3,300 - 4,000
3,600
2,010
65
50
4,000 - 5,000
4,500
5.5%
1.15%
Low
2,650
450
100
3,300 - 5,000
4,200
Mod.
Overpress.
4.0%
0.85%
Low
2,130
450
100
5,0000 - 7,000
6,000
Mod.
Ovverpress.
4.0%
1.15%
Low
4,0010
520
130
3,300 - 5,000
4,2200
Mood.
Overppress.
2.55%
0.885%
Loow
2,400
520
130
5,000 - 6,0000
5,500
Mod.
Overpresss.
2.5%
1.15%
Low
Reservoir Pressure
Normal
Normal
Normal
Average TOC
T (wt. %)
Thermal Maturity
M
(% Ro)
Clay Content
3.0%
1.15%
Low
5.5%
0.85%
Low
Condensatee
Oil
Condensate
Oil
Coondensate
O
Oil
Condensaate
OIP Conceentration (MMbbl/m

mi )
3.5
14.7
5.2
16.7
5.3
277.1
8.9
Risked OIP (B bbl)
2.9
17.7
3.9
22.1
5.7
544.4
10.7
Risked Reecoverable (B bbl)
0.12
0.71
0.16
1.11
0.28
2..72
0.54
Oil Phase
2
JJune, 2013
III-7
III. Australiaa
1.
COOPER
C
BASIN
1.1
In
ntroduction
n
EIA/ARI W
Straddling
S
the South Au
ustralia and Queenslan
nd border, the Cooper Basin has been
Australias main ons
shore oil and gas supply region fo r the past sseveral deca
ades.1 Within the
basin, th
he Nappam
merri Trough
h contains thick, overrpressured and organic-rich shale
es at
prospective depth. The
T Cooper Basin alrea
ady has servvice industryy capacity for well drilling
g and
hydraulic
c fracturing that could be
e used to dev
velop the prrospective sh
hale reservo
oirs in this ba
asin.
However,
H
wh
hile overall the
t
Cooper Basin appe
ears favorab
ble for shale
e developme
ent, a
key risk remains in that the sha
ales were deposited
d
in a lacustrine
e (not marin
ne) environm
ment.
ne shales often
o
have higher
h
clay contents w
with uncertaiinty on how
w the shaless will
Lacustrin
respond to hydraulic stimulatio
on treatmentts, in comp
parison with lower clayy content m
marine
shales. In
n addition, high
h
CO2 volu
umes have been
b
noted in the deepe
er troughs in
n this basin.
1.2
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T
Cooper Basin is a Gondwana intracrato
onic basin ccontaining n
non-marine Late
Carbonife
erous to Middle
M
Trias
ssic strata, which incl ude prospe
ective Perm
mian-age sh
hales.
Following
g an episode of regiona
al uplift and erosion durring the late
e Triassic, th
he Cooper B
Basin
continued
d to gently subside.
s
The Paleozoic
c sequence w
was unconfo
ormably overlain by up tto 1.3
km of Ju
urassic to Tertiary delta
aic deposits of the Erom
manga Basiin which contain the ba
asins
conventio
onal sandsto
one reservoiirs.2
Extending
E
ov
ver a total area
a
of abo
out 130,000 km2, the C
Cooper Basin contains three
major de
eep troughs
s with shale
e gas and shale oil p
potential - - Nappame
erri, Patchaw
warra
(including
g the Arrabu
ury Trough) and Tenapp
pera, Figure
e III-2. Thesse troughs a
are separate
ed by
faulted structural
s
hig
ghs from which Permia
an shale-bea
aring strata have large
ely been ero
oded,
Figure IIII-3.3,4
The
T prospecttive areas wiithin the Coo
oper Basinss troughs are
e large, therm
mally mature
e and
overpressured. Deptth to the Perrmian horizo
on ranges fro
om 5,000 feet at the sou
uthern end o
of the
basin to 13,000 fee
et in the ce
enter.
Nearrly the entirre areal exttent of the Nappamerrii and
s, as well as
s the Tenapp
pera Trough
h in the soutth, appear d
depth-prospe
ective
Patchawarra troughs
e developme
ent. Furthe
ermore, relatively little ffaulting occurs within these trough
hs as
for shale
structural deformatio
on is confined
d largely to uplifted
u
ridge
es, Figure III-3.
June, 2013
III-8
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Figure III-2: Majo

or Structural Elements
E
of th e Southern Coooper Basin.
June, 2013
III-9
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Figure III-33. Seismic Secction Across thhe Merrimeliaa Ridge
The
T
stratigraphy of the Cooper
C
Basin is shown in Figure III-4. Conve
entional and tight
sandston
ne oil and gas
g
reservo
oirs are foun
nd in the P
Patchawarra and Toolacchee formattions,
interbedd
ded with coa
al deposits. These form
mations were
e sourced byy two compllexes - - the
e Late
Carbonife
erous to La
ate Permian
n Gidgealpa Group and
d the Late Permian to
o Middle Triiassic
Nappame
erri Group, both of which were deposited in n
non-marine ssettings. O
Of the two so
ource
rocks, the Gidgealpa
a Group is more
m
prospec
ctive. Most of the gas g
generated byy the Nappa
amerri
kely came frrom its multiple, thin and
d discontinu ous coal se
eams, since the shales iin the
Group lik
Nappame
erri Group are
a low in TO
OC.
The
T
most pro
ospective sh
hales in the
e Gidgealpa Group, with oil and ga
as shows d
during
drilling and higher TOCs, are the Early Perm
mian Rosen
neath and M
Murteree sha
ales.5 Figure
e III-5
hic cross-se
ection of the Roseneatth, Epsilon, and Murte
eree (collecctively
shows a stratigraph
termed REM)
R
sequen
nce in the Nappamerri Trough.
T
1.3
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T Murteree
e Shale is a widespread, shaley form
mation typica
ally 150 feett thick acrosss the
Cooper Basin,
B
becom
ming as thick as 250 fee
et in the Nap
ppamerri Tro
ough. The M
Murteree con
nsists
of dark organic-rich
o
shale,
s
siltsto
one and fine
e-grained san
ndstone, becoming sandier to the ssouth.
TOC of the Murteree
e Shale averages 2.5% based
b
on da
ata from seve
en wells.
The
T
Rosenea
ath Shale, less
l
widesp
pread than tthe Murteree
e due to errosion on uplifts,
averages
s 120 feet thick, reaching 330 feett thick in the
e Nappame
erri Trough. The interve
ening
Epsilon Fm consists
s primarily of
o low-perm
meability (0.1
1 to 10 mD
D) quartzose
e sandstone
e with
ceous shale and coal. The Epsilon
n, averaging
g about 175 feet thick in
n drill cores,, was
carbonac
deposited
d in a fluvial-deltaic enviironment.6
June, 2013
III-10
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Fiigure III-4. Straatigraphy of th

he Cooper Baasin Permian-A
Age Shales
Source: Soouth Australia DMER, 2010
June, 2013
III-11
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Figure III-5. Stratigraphic

S
Cross-Sectionn in the Coopeer Basin
Source: Menpes, 2012
The
T
organic--rich gross thickness of
o the REM
M sequence in the Nap
ppamerri Trrough
averages
s about 500 feet, with a net pay of 300
3 feet in th
he gas prosp
pective area and a net p
pay of
150 feet in the oil prrospective area.7 The gross organicc-rich REM sequence iss much thinn
ner in
the Patch
hawarra Tro
ough, averag
ging 100 fee
et in the gas prospective
e area and 1
125 feet in th
he oil
prospective area, witth a modera
ate net to gro
oss ratio. T
The gross orrganic-rich R
REM sequen
nce in
the Tena
appera Troug
gh averages
s 225 feet.
The
T REM sou
urce rocks are primarily Type III kero
ogens. They have gene
erated mediu
um to
light grav
vity oil, rich in paraffin. Initial min
neralogical data indicatte that these shales co
onsist
mainly of
o quartz an
nd feldspar (50%) and carbonate (30%; main
nly iron-rich
h siderite).
Clay
content is
s relatively low (20%; prredominately
y illite).8 In sspite of the lacustrine de
epositional o
origin,
this lithology appears
s brittle and could respo
ond well to hyydraulic fraccturing.
June, 2013
III-12
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Temperature
T
gradients in the Coop
per Basin a
are quite hiigh, averagiing 2.55F/1
100ft.
Bottomho
ole temperatture at depth
hs of 9,000 feet
f
average
e about 300 F. The Na
appamerri Trrough
is even hotter,
h
with a temperature gradient of up to 3.4
42F/100 ft, d
due to its ra
adioactive grranite
basemen
nt. The Patc
chawarra Trrough, which
h has a sed imentary-me
etamorphic basement, h
has a
lower butt still elevate
ed 2.02 F/10
00 ft temperrature gradie
ent.
The
T
thermal maturity of
o the Perm
mian REM ssection in tthe deeper portions o
of the
Nappame
erri and Pa
atchawarra trroughs is ga
as prone (Ro >1.3%).
Ro values be
etween 0.7%
% and
1.0% are
e observed at
a the shallo
ower, southe
ern ends of each trough
h and also in the Tenap
ppera
Trough, suggesting that the RE
EM section is oil prone
e in these areas.
A m
modest size
e wet
densate pro
ospective arrea exists between
b
the
e oil prone and dry gas areas in
n the
gas/cond
Nappame
erri and Patc
chawarra tro
oughs.
Regional
R
hyd
drostatic pre
essure gradients are th
he norm in most of the
e Cooper B
Basin.
Howeverr, the Nappa
amerri Troug
gh becomes
s overpressu
pths of 9,000
0 to 12,000 feet,
ured at dep
with pres
ssure gradie
ents of up to 0.7 psi/ft re
ecorded in th
he deepest p
portions of the trough.9 High
levels of carbon diox
xide are also
o common in
n the Cooperr Basin. Ga
as produced from the Ep
psilon
on (the centrral portion of
o the REM sequence)
s
ccontains ele
evated CO2, typically ran
nging
Formatio
from 8% to 24% (ave
erage 15%).10
1.4
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T prospecttive areas fo
or shale gas developme
ent in the Co
ooper Basin area are de
efined
by the in
ntersection of
o a minimu
um depth of 6,500 feet (top of the gas window
w, as define
ed by
thermal maturity
m
mod
deling), vitrin
nite reflectan
nce greater than 1.0%, and a minim
mum thickne
ess of
the REM
M section off 50 feet. The
T
prospec
ctive areas ffor shale oil are define
ed by Ro va
alues
between 0.7% and 1.0% and a minimum
m
thic
ckness of th e REM section of 50 fee
et, Figure III--6.
Completable
C
shale interv
vals in the dry and we
et gas prosp
pective area
as containing
g the
Rosenea
ath, Epsilon, and Murte
eree (REM)) formationss have estimated shale gas reso
ource
2
concentrrations of 88 to 100 Bcf/mi
B
in th
he Nappame
erri Trough, benefitting
g from favo
orable
thickness
s, moderate TOC and ov
verpressurin
ng, but reducced by 15% for CO2 con
ntent. In con
ntrast,
the shale gas reso
ource conce
entrations in
n the dry a
and wet gass prospectivve areas o
of the
ess, from 16
6 to 19 Bcf/m
mi2. The reso
ource conce
entration in the oil
Patchawarra Trough are much le
ara Trough is
s 22 million b
barrels/mi2.
prospective area of the Tenappa
June, 2013
III-13
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Figure III-6. Southern Cooper Basin

n Prospective Shale Gas annd Shale Oil Areas
The
T
total sha
ale gas and
d shale oil prospective area for th
he Permian REM section is
estimated
d at 7,235 mi
m 2, covering major portio
ons of the N
Nappamerri, Patchawarra
a and Tenap
ppera
troughs in the Coope
er Basin. Net of 15% CO
C 2 content, the estimatted risked sh
hale gas in-place
is 325 Tcf,
T
with a risked, tech
hnically reco
overable sh
hale gas ressource of 9
93 Tcf, inclu
uding
associate
ed gas in the
e shale oil prospective
p
area,
a
Table IIII-A. The risked shale o
oil in-place iin the
Cooper Basin
B
is 29 billion barre
els, with a ris
sked, techniically recove
erable resou
urce of 1.6 b
billion
bbls, Tab
ble III-2A.
June, 2013
III-14
III. Australiaa
1.5
EIA/ARI W
Recent
R
Activity
The
T Cooper Basin is Australias larg
gest onshore
e oil and ga
as production region. B
Beach
Energy, Senex, DrillSearch Ene

ergy and Santos have a
active shale gas and oil exploration
n and
on programs underway.
evaluatio
Beach
B
has drilled two ve
ertical test wells
w
in the d
deep, centra
al portion off the Nappa
amerri
Trough.
These we
ells each tested at abo
out 2 MMcffd gas afterr hydraulic stimulation. The
er-1, thought to be Austtralias first commercially

c
y viable sha
ale well, wass drilled to a total
Encounte
depth of 11,850 feet and penetra
ated 1,290 feet
f
of the R
REM sequence, reporting
g continuouss gas
ed an additio
onal three vertical test w
wells in the first half of 2012, with three
shows. Beach drille
more pla
anned for the
e rest of the year. The te
est wells wil l be studied to identify the best loca
ations
for placin
ng two horizo
ontal wells to
o be drilled in late 2012..
Senex
S
has drrilled five ve
ertical test wells
w
in the T
Tenappera T
Trough to the
e south and
d east
of the Nappamerri
N
Trough with
h reports off liquid hydrrocarbon prroduction.
The compa
any is
planning a 12 well drrilling progra

am for 2012//13. DrillSea
arch Energyy, in a JV witth the BG Group,
has unde
ertaken deta
ailed shale co
ore studies along
a
with a cquiring 425
5 mi2 of 3D sseismic.
June, 2013
III-15
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
2.
MARYBORO
M
OUGH BAS
SIN
2.1
In
ntroduction
n
This
T
small ba
asin in coas
stal Queenslland, locate d about 250
0 km north of Brisbane
e, has
two pote
ential gas sh
hale targets within the Cretaceous
C
Maryboroug
gh Formatio
on. The bassin is
highly un
nexplored with only five conventiona
al oil and gass exploration
n wells drille
ed to date. T
Three
large antticlines occu
ur within the onshore po
ortion of the basin, all off which have
e been drille
ed but
discoveries
without conventional
c
s.11
2.2
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T Maryborough Basin is a half-gra
aben bound
ded on the w
west by the Electra Fau
ult. It
covers an
a onshore area of 4,3
300-mi2, Fig
gure III-7.
Major folding and fau

ulting, along with
significan
nt erosion, occurred during the Cretaceous-P
C
e establishin
ng the strucctural
Palaeogene
setting of
o the basin.. Two main
n deposition
nal sequencces were exxamined in tthe Maryborrough
Basin, Fiigure III-8.12 The Duckin
nwilla Group
p, which con
ntains Late T
Triassic to m
mid-Jurassic nonmarine sediments, is
s not conside
ered prospe
ective for sha
ale oil or gas. Overlying
g the Duckin
nwilla
is the Grahams Cre
eek Formation which contains
c
Late
ous (Neocom
mian)
e Jurassic to Cretaceo
strata, including the marine-depo
m
osited Maryb
borough Forrmation.
2.3
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
n) appears to be the primary shale
The
T
Maryborrough Forma
ation (Neoco
omian-Aptian
e gas
unit in the Maryborou

ugh Basin. Up to 8,500
0 feet thick, it is the onlyy definitely m
marine unit iin the
The unit consists
c
primarily of mudstones, siltstone a
and sandsttone with m
minor
basin.
erate, limestone and co

oal. Within the Marybo
orough Form
mation, the m
most prospe
ective
conglome
sub-units
s are the Go
oodwood Mu
udstone, the
e Woodgate
e Siltstone, a
and the Che
erwell Mudsstone,
Figure IIII-9. These sub-units
s
ha
ave been de
escribed as a monotono
ous series off mudstoness with
minor sh
hales and silltstones. The mudstone
es are light tto dark greyy, slightly ca
alcitic, pyriticc and
silty.
Ca
alcite veins are commo
on in the lo
ower section
n.13
The Goodwood M
Mudstone (S
Shale)
interval is
i approxima
ately 2,000 feet thick (gross)
(
with a depth off 5,000 feett on anticlines to
15,000 fe
eet in the trroughs. TO
OC averages
s 2.0% and the shale iss within the dry gas ma
aturity
window (Ro > 1.5%)). The und
derlying Che
erwell Mudsttone (Shale) interval co
onsists main
nly of
ck (gross) an
nd ranges ffrom 8,000 ffeet deep o
on anticliness to a
black shale about 500 feet thic
d 17,000 fee
et deep in the
t
troughs.. TOC ave
erages 2.0%
% and the shale is therrmally
projected
mature (R
Ro >1.5%). The net organic-rich pay
y in the two shale intervvals is estima
ated at 250 ffeet.
June, 2013
III-16
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Figure III-7. Maryborough Basin Prospeective Shale G

Gas Area
June, 2013
III-17
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Figure III-8.
I
Stratigrap
phy of the Ma ryborough Baasin
Figure III-9. Cross-Section of the Maryboroug

gh Basin and tthe Cretaceouus Maryborouggh Formation.
June, 2013
III-18
III. Australiaa
2.4
EIA/ARI W
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
ARI
A evaluated only the northern
n
portion of the M
Maryborough
h Basin whe
ere geologicc data
exist. We
W estimate that a 1,54
40-mi2 area could be p
prospective for shale gas developm
ment.
Additiona
al areas in th
he poorly constrained so
outhern half of the basin may be pro
ospective but lack
sufficientt data for a rigorous
r
reso
ource assess
sment.
h Formation
The
T basal shales of the Maryboroug
M
n (Cherwell a
and Goodwo
ood shales) have
an estimated gas in--place conce
entration of 111 Bcf/mi2 . The risked
d gas in-place for the shales
stimated at 64
6 Tcf, with a risked, te
echnically re
ecoverable sshale
in the Maryborough Basin is es
T Table III-1B. With its
s high therm
mal maturity, the Marybo
orough Form
mation
gas resource of 19 Tcf,
ospective for shale oil.
is dry-gas prone and thus not pro
2.5
Recent
R
Activity
Blue
B
Energy Ltd., in a JV
J with Bea
ach Energy, is awaiting
g award of tthree explorration
permits in
i the northern portion of the Mary
yborough Ba
asin. The co
ompanies are assessing the
potential of shale ga
as in this basin target with
w a view to
oward deterrmining a po
ossible shale
e test
1
well drilling location.14
June, 2013
III-19
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
3.
PERTH
P
BAS
SIN (WEST
TERN AUST
TRALIA)
3.1
In
ntroduction
n
The
T Perth Ba
asin, an activ
ve petroleum
m producing
g region, extends on- an
nd offshore in the
southwes
st of Westerrn Australia. The basin contains
c
two
o main organ
nic-rich shale formationss, the
Permian Carynginia and the Tria
assic Kockatea.
3.2
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T Perth Ba
asin is a nortth-northwestt trending ha
alf-graben w
with relativelyy simple stru
ucture
that appe
ear favorable for shale oil and gas
s developme
ent. About h
half of the b
basin is onsshore,
covering an area of approximate
ely 20,000 mi
m 2. The on
nshore portio
on of the ba
asin containss two
eep sedimen
ntary sub-ba
asins, the Da
andaragan a
and Bunburry troughs, sseparated b
by the
large, de
Harvey Ridge
R
structu
ural high, Fig
gure III-10.15
The
T Dandara
agan Trough, a large syn
ncline in norrthern Perth Basin, conta
ains the dee
epest,
thickest and
a most prrospective shale gas forrmations. S
Some 300 m
miles long an
nd up to 30 miles
wide, the
e Dandarag
gan Trough holds as much
m
as 9 miles of S
Silurian to e
early Cretacceous
sedimenttary rocks. Much of the
e Dandaraga
an Trough iss too deep fo
or shale devvelopment, b
but its
northern area and th
he adjoining Beagle Rid
dge appear tto be within the prospecctive shale d
depth
s not structurally comple
ex but does h
have some ssignificant fa
aulting, Figure IIIwindow. The area is
11.16
y 100 petroleum explorration wells h
Approximatel
A
have been d
drilled in the
e onshore po
ortion
of the Pe
erth Basin, resulting
r
in the discovery of six con
nventional n
natural gas ffields, all loccated
within the
e Dandaraga
an Trough. Proved rese
erves to date
e total aboutt 600 Bcf witth small amo
ounts
of associiated oil in conventional
c
reservoirs (Upper Perm
mian Dongarra Sandstone
e and Beeke
eeper
Formatio
on).
Natura
al gas reco
overed from the deepe
er Permo-Trriassic rese
ervoirs (Dongara,
Mondarra
a, Yardarino
o, Woodada and Whiche
er Range) te
ends to be d
dry, reflectin
ng higher the
ermal
maturity and higher proportions of gas-pron
ne organic m
matter. CO2 is generallyy low, apart from
r
of 4.1%
4
in the Woodada-1
W
well and 3.9
9% in the Mo
ondarra-1 w
well.
isolated readings
June, 2013
III-20
III. Australia
EIA/ARI W
Figure III-10. Perth

P
Basin Prosp
pective Shale Gass and Shale Oil Areeas
S
Source: ARI, 2013.
JJune, 2013
Source: ARI, 20013.
IIII 21
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Fig
gure III-11. Thee Woodada-1 Deep
D
Well Tessted the Carynnginia Shale
Tight
T
sandsto
one reservo
oirs in the Perth
P
Basin include the
e Eneabba and Yarrag
gadee
formation
ns. These re
eservoirs we
ere sourced by the Triasssic and Permian source
e rock shaless and
coals, wh
hich modelin
ng indicates are within th
he oil window
e Perth Basin
n and
w in the far north of the
enter the
e gas window
w toward the
e southeast.
The
T
sedimen
ntary sequen
nce in the Perth
P
Basin comprises tthree successions: a) L
Lower
Permian largely argilllaceous glaciomarine to
o deltaic roccks (including
g the prospe
ective Caryn
nginia
Shale); b)
b Upper Pe
ermian nonm
marine and shoreline ssiliciclastics to shelf carrbonates; an
nd c)
Triassic to Lower Cretaceous
s nonmarine
e to shallo
ow marine siliciclasticss (including
g the
prospective Kockatea
a Shale) dep
posited in a predominan
ntly regressivve phase, Fiigure III-12.17
Other
O
marine
e shales in the
t
Perth Ba
asin that we
ere evaluate
ed but rejectted as prospects
include the Triassic Woodada
W
and Jurassic Cadda form
mations (too lean), the JJurassic Parmelia
ation (lacusttrine origin, located onl y in the offfshore), and
d the Cretacceous
(Yarragadee) Forma
South Pe
erth Formatio
on (immaturre, offshore only).
o
June, 2013
III-22
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Figure III--12. Stratigrap

phy of the Pertth Basin Show
wing the Prosppective Lowerr Triassic Kocckatea and Perrmian
Caryynginia Shaless
June, 2013
III-23
III. Australiaa
3.3
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T Lower Trriassic Kock
katea Shale is considere
ed the prima
ary oil source
e-rock as we
ell as
the main hydrocarbo

on seal in the
e basin. It co
onsists of da
ark shale, m
micaceous silltstone and m
minor
sandston
ne and limes
stone. The Kockatea Shale
S
interva
al thickens tto the south within the Perth
Basin, re
eaching a maximum
m
thic
ckness of 3,500
3
ft in th
he Woolmullla-1 well, Figure III-13. The
most organic-rich portion of this unit (Hovea Member) ha
as recorded TOC valuess up to 8%.188
wing 2,300 ft tthick Kockateaa and 820 ft Thick
Figure IIII-13. Structuraal Cross-Section of the Pertth Basin Show
Carynginia Shales at Prrospective 5,0000 9,200 ft D
Depth
Core
C
samples
s of the Hov
vea Memberr of the Kockkatea Shale
e, obtained ffrom the Hovvea-3
petroleum
m exploratio
on well, prov
vide data on reservoir qu
uality.19 The
e base of thiis unit conta
ains a
distinct organic-rich
o
zone of foss
siliferous da
ark grey mud
dstone, sand
dy siltstone and shelly sstorm
beds. These
T
sediments were deposited
d
att a relativelyy low paleo--latitude in a shallow m
marine
environm
ment during the earliest stage of a marine transsgression. TOC of the
e Kockatea S
Shale
sampled from this we
ell ranged frrom 2.31% to 7.65% (avverage 5.6%
%), consisting
g of inertinite
e-rich
(Type III)) kerogen.20
June, 2013
III-24
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
The
T
clay con
ntent of the
e Hovea Me
ember of the
e Kockatea Shale in th
he Hovea-3
3 well
ranged from
f
24% to
o 42% (averrage 33%). Separatelyy, AWE core
ed a high-T
TOC, 160 ft thick
Hovea Member
M
of th
he Kockatea
a Shale in th
he conventio
onal Redbacck-2 explorattion well in 2
2010,
but reporrted discouragingly high
h clay conten
nt. The Kocckatea is the
ermally matu
ure for gas in the
Dongara Trough, but less maturre and possiibly oil-prone
e on the Do
ongara Sadd
dle and the fflanks
of the Be
eagle Ridge
e. CO2 and N2 contents tested low
w (0.5% and
d 0.4%, resp
pectively) from a
4,750 ft deep
d
Kockattea Shale zo
one in the Do
ongara-24 w
well.21
The
T
Permian
n Carynginia
a Shale, a shallow
s
-ma
arine deposiit present o
over much o
of the
northern Perth Basin
n. The Cary
ynginia Shalle conforma
ably underlie
es the Kocka
atea Shale. AWE
r
repo
orted encourraging organ
nic-shale cha
aracteristicss for this 800
0 to 1,100 ft thick
Limited recently
unit. A deeper-wate
d
er shale member occurs
s near the b
base of the Carynginia Shale, inclu
uding
thin interrbeds of silts
stone, sandstone, and lim
mestone.
Overlying
O
the
e Carynginia
a Shale is a shallow-w
water, shelf limestone u
unit that con
ntains
conventio
onal gas res
servoirs. Co
onventional gas is prod
duced from tthe Carynginia Limestone at
Woodada
a field, sealed by the overlying
o
Koc
ckatea Shalle. CO2 and
d N2 tested fairly low (a
about
2.5%) fro
om a 8,000 ft
f Caryngia Fm
F zone in the Elegans--1 well.
While
W
TOC va
alues of up to
t 11.4% ha
ave been reccorded, the T
TOC in the C
Carynginia S
Shale
averages
s 4%. The kerogen
k
is Type
T
III, dom
minated by i nertinite derrived from la
and plants. Gasprone, th
he Carynginia Shale is in the dry gas
g window over most of the Perth
h Basin. So
ource
rocks are
e less mature on the Dongara
D
Sad
ddle and the
e flanks of th
he Beagle R
Ridge, wherre the
shale is partly
p
replac
ced by shallo
ow-water, lim
mestone facie
es.
Geothermal
G
gradients in
n the Perth
h Basin can
n be elevatted, ranging
g from 2.0C to
5.5C/100 m, but the
t
thermal gradient in
n the Dand
daragan Tro
ough is lesss extreme (2to
2.5C/100 m). Vitrin
nite reflectan
nce data show poor rel ationship with depth, w
with extreme data
scatter probably caus
sed by sube
ertinite and bitumen
b
supp
pression.
3.4
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T prospecttive areas of the Beagle
e Ridge and
d Dandaraga
an Trough a
are located in the
northern portion of th
he Perth Bas
sin, where th
he Caryngin
nia and Kockkatea Shale source rockks are
thick, dee
ep and therm
mally mature
e, Figure III-1
10.
June, 2013
III-25
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
An
A estimated
d 1,030-mi2 area is pro
ospective forr wet shale gas and co
ondensate in the
Kockatea
a Shale, de
efined using minimum and
a
maximu
um depth crriteria (3,300-16,500 ft)) and
vitrinite reflectance
r
(R
( o of 1.0%
% to 1.3%). A smaller 860-mi2 are
ea, up-dip frrom the wet gas
prospective area, de
efined by Ro values betw
ween 0.7% a
and 1.0% an
nd a minimum
m depth of 3
3,300
ars prospective for shale oil in the Ko
ockatea Sha
ales. The de
eeper Caryng
ginia Shale h
has a
ft, appea
dry gas prospective area of 2,2
200 mi2. Additional porttions of the
e southern half of the Perth
Basin ma
ay be prospe
ective but ins
sufficient da
ata were ava ilable for a q
quantitative a
assessmentt.
The
T
Permian
n Carynginia
a Shale has
s a resource
e concentra
ation of 94 B
Bcf/mi2 with
hin its
2,200-mi2 dry gas prospective area.
a
It holds a risked gas in-placce of 124 Tccf, with a rissked,
ble shale gas resource of
o 25 Tcf, Ta
able III-1B.
The
T Triassic Kockatea Sh
hale has a resource con
ncentration o
of 59 Bcf/mi2 within its 1,030mi2 wet gas
g prospec
ctive area. Including
I
as
ssociated ga
as, the Kockkatea Shale has a risked
d gas
in-place of 36 Tcf, with
w a risked, technically
y recoverable
e shale gas resource off 7 Tcf, Tab
ble III1B.
Sh
hale oil reso
ource conce
entrations in
n the Kocka
atea Shale are estimatted at 19 m
million
barrels/m
mi2 in the oil prospective
e area and 6 million ba
arrels/mi2 in the conden
nsate prospe
ective
area. Riisked shale oil in-place in the two prospective
p
a
areas is 14 billion barre
els, with a rissked,
ble shale oil//condensate
e resource off 0.5 billion b
barrels, Table III-2A.
3.5
Recent
R
Activity
In
n April 2010, AWE Limitted cut five cores
c
in the
e Carynginia Shale in itss Woodada Deep
exploratio
on well in northern
n
Perrth Basin. The
T
compan
ny found the
e upper and
d lower zones to
have high clay conte
ent. Howeve
er, the middle
e zone was considered more prospe
ective, with lower
clay (value not repo
orted), 1 to 4%
4 TOC an
nd estimated
d 3 to 6% p
porosity at a depth betw
ween
7,780 an
nd 7,960 ft. Zones in th
he Upper and Middle Ca
arynginia we
ere successffully hydraullically
fractured
d in August 2012,
2
with gas
g being produced durring well flow
w-back and clean-up. AWE
estimated
d a total 13 to 20 Tcf of gas in-place
e on its perm
mit for the m
middle zone o
of the Caryn
nginia
Shale.22
June, 2013
III-26
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Australian
A
ind
dependent, Norwest Energy which produces oiil and gas frrom conventtional
fields in the Perth Basin,
B
is eva
aluating the shale poten
ntial on its E
EP413 permit area, about 20
oodada Dee
ep well. Norw
west is partn
nered with AW
AWE and hass also farme
ed-out
miles norrth of the Wo
an intere
est in EP413 to an Indian
n firm, Bhara
at PetroReso
ources. The
e companiess have comm
mitted
up to A$
$15 million for
f shale ex
xploration an
nd drilling. T
The consortiium drilled tthe Arrowsm
mith-2
well in Ju
une 2011 an
nd fractured five
f
stages in shale and
d tight sand intervals. Inittial results d
during
flowback
k reported ga
as flows from
m all zones including
i
the
e Upper and
d Middle Carrynginia and
d both
oil and ga
as flows from
m the Kocka
atea Shale.
June, 2013
III-27
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
CANNING
C
BASIN
B
(WE
ESTERN AU
USTRALIA
A)
4.1
In
ntroduction
n
The
T
large, lig
ghtly explorred Canning
g Basin in n
northwestern
n Australia contains se
everal
organic-rrich shales, including the Laurel and Lowerr Anderson shales and
d the signifficant
Goldwyer Shale, Figure III-14.
ning Basin Pro
ospective Shaale Gas and Shhale Oil Areass
Figure III-14. Cann
Source: ARI, 2013.

June, 2013
III-28
III. Australiaa
4.2
EIA/ARI W
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T
234,000-mi2 Cannin
ng Basin (18
81,000 mi2 onshore) is Western A
Australias la
argest
sedimenttary basin. A broad in

ntracratonic rift basin, th
he Canning contains up to 11 miles of
Ordovicia
an- to Creta
aceous-age sedimentary
s
y rocks. The
e basin is sseparated fro
om the Ama
adeus
Basin to the east by a Precambrrian arch. A series of no
orthwest-trending, fault-bounded tro
oughs
within the
e basin, such as the Fitz
zroy Trough,, may hold d
deep shale re
esource pote
ential.23
Conventional
C
exploration in the Cann
ning Basin h
has focused on the Lenn
nard Shelf, w
where
petroleum
m occurs in the Hoya an
nd Anderson
n formationss. Only abo
out 60 wells have interse
ected
the princ
cipal source rocks in the
e basin, and most of the
e wells have been locate
ed on the up
plifted
terraces between th
he deeper troughs. Sou
urce rock d
data in the basin is lim
mited, but th
he oil
ennard Shelf are source
ed from Carb
and Devonia
an formation
ns. In
discoveriies on the Le
boniferous a
basin are
eas south of the Fitzroy Trough,
T
the oil shows arre sourced ffrom Ordoviccian formatio
ons24.
Figure III-15 shows the stratigraphy
s
of the Cann
ning Basin. The primarry shale targ
get in
Formation.
the basin is the orrganic-rich Ordovician Goldwyer F
The Carboniferous L
Laurel
on could nott be rigorou

usly assesse
ed due to iinsufficient d
data control.
Formatio
Other m
marine
shales in
n the Canning Basin, suc
ch as the Ca
alytrix Forma
ation, appear to be too le
ean.
4.3
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T
Middle Ordovician
O
Goldwyer
G
Formation wa
as deposited mainly in open marine to
intertidal conditions.
Highly fossiliferous, the formatio

on varies frrom mudsto
one-dominate
ed in
basinal areas
a
to lime
estone-domiinated in pla
atform and tterrace area
as. The Goldwyer Form
mation
averages
s about 1,30
00 feet thick
k, reaching a maximum thickness o
of 2,414 feet in the Willara-1
well in the Willara sub-basin.25
The
T
Goldwye
er Shale is dominated by mudston
ne and carb
bonate, with
h ratios of tthese
compone
ents varying widely acro
oss the basin
n. The colo r of the shalle ranges fro
om grey-gre
een to
black, ind
dicating anoxic reducing
g conditions.
The
T
Goldwye
er Shale co
ontains horiz
zons with h
high concen
ntrations of the marine alga
Gloeocap
psomorpha prisca, cons
sidered to have
h
excelle
ent source-rrock potential, similar to
o the
Amadeus
s, Baltic, an
nd Williston basins.26
The Goldw
wyer Shale is oil prone
e on the up
plifted
platforms
s and terrace
es as shown
n by shallower exploratio
on wells, butt likely mature and gas p
prone
in the adjjacent deep troughs.
June, 2013
III-29
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Figure III-15. Canning

g Basin Stratiigraphic Colum
mn
June, 2013
III-30
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
The
T depth of the Goldwy
yer Shale in the Canning
g Basin variies from gre
eater than 16
6,500
feet in the southern Kidson
K
sub-basin to less
s than 3,000
0 ft on the up
plifted blocks of the Barbwire
gurra Terrac
ces, Figure III-16. In the
e northern, very deep Fitzroy Trou
ugh and Gre
egory
and Jurg
sub-basin, the Goldw
wyer is at depths greaterr than 16,50 0 ft.
TOC
T
in the Goldwyer
G
Shale genera
ally ranges ffrom 1% to 5% (mean 3%), with ssome
values in
n excess of
o 10%, Figure III-17.27
The upp er memberr of the Go

oldwyer Sha
ale is
particularly rich, with

h TOC up to 6.40%. Rock-Eval pyro
olysis indica
ates this source rock is w
within
the oil window
w
overr much of th
he southern
n Canning B
Basin and th
he mid-basin platform. The
Kidson Sub-basin,
S
where
w
the Goldwyer
G
dee
epens to 5,0
000 m, is in
n the dry ga
as window ((Ro >
1.3%). In
n general, th
he Goldwyerr Shale is in the oil wind
dow at depth
hs less than 7,200 feet, iin the
wet gas and conden
nsate window
w between 7,200
7
and 10
0,500 feet a
and in the drry gas windo
ow at
28
f
depths over 10,500 feet.
4.4
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
ARI
A identified
d a prospecttive area in the Kidson sub-basin in
n the southe
ern portion o
of the
Canning Basin. He
ere, the Gold
dwyer Shale
e is thick, d
deep (7,200--16,500 feet), and therrmally
mature. An estimatted 22,860-m
mi2 area ma
ay be prosp
pective for d
dry gas devvelopment w
with a
2
second 19,620-mi
1
area
a
prospective for we
et gas and ccondensate. A smaller 14,900-mi2 area
appears prospective
e for shale oil.
o
The bou
undaries an d depth con
ntours for th
he undrilled deep
trough arreas were ex
xtrapolated from
f
informa
ation at adjo ining uplifts..
In
n the dry and wet gas
g
prospec
ctive areass, the Gold
dwyer Shale
e has reso
ource
concentrrations of 10
09 Bcf/mi2 and 67 Bcff/mi2, respe
ectively.
Inccluding asso
ociated gass, the
Goldwyer Shale in th
he Canning Basin has a risked sha le gas in-pla
ace of 1,227
7 Tcf, with rissked,
ble shale ga
as of 235 Tc
cf. The prosspective area
as for oil and condensate for
the Gold
dwyer Shale
e have reso
ource conce
entrations off 41 million
n barrels/mi2 and 10 m
million
barrels/m
mi2, respectively.
Inclu
uding both the oil an
nd condensate prospecctive areas, the
Goldwyer Shale, ha
as risked shale oil/cond
densate in-p
place of 244
4 billion barrels, with rissked,
ble shale oil//condensate
e resources o
of 9.8 billion barrels.
June, 2013
III-31
III. Australia
EIA/ARI W
Figure III-16. North-South

h Cross Section off the Canning Bassin
S
Source: Haines, 20044
JJune, 2013
IIII 32
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Figure
F
III-17. TOC
T Values in the Ordoviciaan Goldwyer FFormation
2
Source: Ghoori and Haines, 2007
4.5
Recent
R
Activity
Buru
B
Energy, an Australian E&P co
ompany, hold
ds significan
nt exploratio
on permits in the
Canning Basin.
Bu
uru reported
d gas-mature
e, organic-rrich shale frrom cores in the Yulleroo-1
onal explora
ation well drrilled in 1967
7 on permit EP-391. In
n 2010, Mitssubishi agreed to
conventio
fund an A$152.4
A
million explorattion and dev
velopment p
program to e
earn a 50% interest in B
Burus
permits. The two co
ompanies ha
ave plans to
o evaluate tthe Goldwye
er Shale in the Kidson subbasin.
New
N
Standarrd Energy (N
NSE), the other principa
al operator in the Cann
ning Basin, holds
exploratio
on licenses covering 17,300 mi2 in the north
hern edge o
of the Kidso
on sub-basiin. In
Septemb
ber 2011, NS
SE formed a joint ventu
ure with Con
nocoPhillips to accelera
ate exploration of
the Goldw
wyer Shale. ConocoPhillips has ann
nounced tha
at it will fund an exploration program
m over
four yearrs for up to $US119 milllion. Three wells will be
e drilled verrtically and n
not fractured
d, but
will have a detailed program
p
of mud
m logging, full coring and wireline
e logs over the shale secction.
p
the
e Nicolay #1,, was spud o
on August 8, 2012 and is proposed to be
The first well in the program,
pth of 11,300
0 feet.29
drilled to a target dep
June, 2013
III-33
III. Australiaa
5.
GEORGINA
G
A BASIN
5.1
In
ntroduction
n
EIA/ARI W
2
The
T
Georgin
na Basin is a large, 125,000-mi
1
mainly une
explored ba
asin in Norrthern
Australia straddling the Northerrn Territory/Q

Queensland border.30 T
Twenty-nine
e test wells have
been drilled, all in the southerrn third of the
t
basin in
n the vicinitty of the ba
asins two m
major
depositio
onal centers,, the Toko an
nd Dulcie Sy
ynclines, Fig
gure III-18.
Figu
ure III-18. Geo
orgina Basin LLocation Map
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
III-34
III. Australiaa
5.2
EIA/ARI W
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T
Georgia
an Basin is
s filled with
h sedimentss deposited
d in a resttricted anae
erobic
environm
ment which supports
s
the
e accumulatiion and presservation off organic ma
atter. Two m
major
depocenters consisting of down
nfaulted bloc
cks and halff-grabens on
n the southe
ern margin o
of the
ontain up to 7,200 feet of Cambria
an to Devo nian section
n, Figure IIII-19.31 The basin
basin co
shallows northwards
s with the de
epth to top of
o the Camb
brian Arthur Creek Shalle becoming
g less
than 3,00
00 feet along
g its northea
astern border.
Figure III-19.. Southern Georgina Basin Stratigraphic Column
Source: Ambrose annd Putnam, 20077, modified afterr Ambrose et al 22001
June, 2013
III-35
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
The
T
lower se
ection of the
e Cambrian sediments in the soutthern synclin
nes contains the
Arthur Creek
C
hot black
b
shale, so called because
b
of its high gam
mma ray re
esponse see
en on
electric lo
ogs. The thic
ckness of th
he hot shale, derived frrom seismicc interpretatio
on and well data,
thickens from west to
t east, Figu
ure III-20. Th
he shale secction is interrbedded with higher porosity
clastic an
nd carbonate
e intervals, somewhat
s
co
omparable to
o the Bakke
en Shale in th
he U.S.
5.3
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T
Arthur Creek Shalle is a Mid
ddle Cambrrian sequen
nce comprissed of dolo
omitic
sands/silts, shales, dolomites

d
an
nd a basal black
b
anoxic hot shale.32,33 Modern
n electric log
gs run
e hot shale
e show log porosities up to 22% for the silt//sand
over the vertical section of the
stringers, averaging 10% over the whole section. T
The larger A
Arthur Cree
ek Shale intterval
oportion of carbonates
c
and has low
w clay conttent. Logs a
also show w
water
contains a high pro
saturations of less th
han 25% and
d intervals with
w natural frractures and
d small faultss.
Geoscience
G
Australia
A
stu
udied thirtee
en samples of core from
m four wellss in the Geo
orgina
Basin, mainly from th
he Lower Arrthur Creek Shale.
S
The TOC of thesse samples ranged from
m 2%
to 16%, with an ave
erage TOC of
o 5.5%.34 The
T
organic matter is co
omposed off oil and we
et gas
ype I and II kerogen.
k
prone Ty
5.4
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T prospecttive oil and gas
g shale arreas for the Lower Arthu
ur Hot Shale were con
nfined
by a minimum shale thickness of

o 30 feet on the southerrn side of th
he Dulcie and Toko syncclines
and by a vitrinite (Ro) value of 0.7%
0
on the northern sid
de of these two depositional centerr. The
south-eastern bound
dary of the Toko
T
Synclin
ne prospectiive area is u
uncertain be
ecause of la
ack of
data, Figure III-22.
Oil
O and gas resources were
w
estima
ated for two
o prospectivve areas: an
n eastern re
egion
covering the Dulcie Syncline an
nd surrounding area, an
nd a westerrn region co
overing the Toko
nding area. Total riske
ed wet and d
dry shale ga
as in-place ((in both syncclines
Syncline and surroun
and inclu
uding associated gas) is estimated at
a 67 Tcf, witth a risked, ttechnically recoverable sshale
gas resource of 13 Tcf,
T Table III--1C. Total risked shale oil and cond
densate in-p
place is estim
mated
ble shale oil and conden
nsate resourrce of
at 25 billion barrels, with a risked, technicallly recoverab
n barrels, Ta
able III-2B.
1.0 billion
June, 2013
III-36
III. Australia
EIA/ARI W
Figure III-20.. East-West Crosss-Section of the Southern

S
Georginaa Basin
S
Source: Ambrose andd Putnam, 2007
JJune, 2013
IIII 37
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Figure III-221. Log Response of Lowerr Arthur Hot S

Shale
Source: ARI 2012
June, 2013
III-38
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Figurre III-22. Georg

gina Basin Pro
ospective Shaale Gas and S
Shale Oil Areass
Source: ARI, 2013.
5.5
Recent
R
Acttivity
PetroFrontier
P
r Corporation
n, a Canadia
an company , holds seve
eral exploratiion permits iin the
southern portion of th
he Georgina
a Basin. A fa
arm-in with S
Statoil Austrralia was esttablished in 2012
with both
h companie
es committin
ng to spend
ding $25 m
million on an
n exploration program. Two
horizonta
al exploration
n wells testin
ng the Lowe
er Arthur Cre
eek hot shale section w
were drilled iin the
first half of 2012. The
e Baldwin-2Hst1 and the MacIntyre
e-2H were drrilled in the g
gas-prone D
Dulcie
3 well is currrently (Augu
ust 2012) drrilling its horrizontal leg in the
Trough. A third well, the Owen-3
oil-prone
e area of the
e Arthur Cre
eek hot shale on the flank of the
e Toko Trou
ugh. The ve
ertical
section of
o the Owen-3 was drille
ed to a meas
sured depth
h of 3,870 fe
eet and overr 100 feet off core
was cut from
f
the ho
ot shale and
d deeper Tho
orntonia Carrbonate secttion. The co
ore seeped o
oil on
retrieval and had ex
xtensive flore
escence thro
oughout. W
Wireline logging indicated
d over 80 fe
eet of
3
hydrocarrbon bearing
g formation. 35
June, 2013
III-39
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
6.
BEETALOO
B
O BASIN (N
NORTHERN
N TERRITO
ORY)
6.1
In
ntroduction
n
The
T
Beetaloo Basin is a 14,000--mi2 rift bassin located in the No
orthern Terrritory,
approxim
mately 400 miles
m
southeast of Darwin, Figure II I-23. The ba
asin outline is defined b
by the
Walton High
H
to the north, the Helen
H
Spring
gs High in th
he south, and the Batte
en Trough in the
east. Its western ma
argin is proje
ected to exte
end to the Da
aly Waters A
Arch.36
Figure III-23. Beeetaloo Basin LLocation Map
Source: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
III-40
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Well
W
tests an
nd cores from twelve exploratory wells, of la
ate 1980s a
and early 1990s
vintage, have identified oil and
d gas bearin
ng organic-rrich shales in the Pre-Cambrian R
Roper
F
III-24. The Roperr Group is up
u to 9,000 feet thick in
n the centerr of the Bee
etaloo
Group, Figure
Basin. Oil
O and gas shows
s
have been obserrved in the K
Kyalla and M
Middle Velke
erri shales, a
along
with sho
ows in adjoining conven
ntional sand
dstone form
mations. The
ese two sha
ale formations, if
prospective, would be
b some of the oldest prroducing sou
urce-rock forrmations in tthe world, on par
with sourrce rocks fou
und in Oman
n and Siberia
a.
Figure III-24. Beetalo
oo Basin Stratiigraphic Column
Source: Silverrman et al, 20055
June, 2013
III-41
III. Australiaa
6.2
EIA/ARI W
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T structura
al characteristics of the Beetaloo Ba
asin have been determined from gravity
and mag
gnetic data, along with recent reprrocessing an
nd reinterprretation of 2
2D seismic lines.
Latest in
nterpretations
s classify th
he basin as a rift basin337, formed during the la
ate Pre-Cam
mbrian
and unco
onformably overlying the western portion
p
of th e McArthur Basin. Nortth-south tren
nding
faults, ob
bserved in th
he McArthurr Basin, are thought
t
to e
extend into th
he Beetaloo
o Basin Figure III25. A 110 mile long regional gra
avity high bo
ounding the west side o
of the basin, the Daly W
Waters
Arch, is a thrust belt with over 3,000 feet of relief.
r
Figure III-25. East-West Cross-Section
C
of the Beetalooo Basin
Source: Ambrose and Silverman, 200638
The
T Velkerri and the Kya
alla shales have
h
dry gass, wet gas/ccondensate and oil wind
dows,
based prrimarily on fo
ormation depth. The drry gas prosp
pective area
a is 2,480 mi2 for the Ve
elkerri
Shale an
nd 1,310 mi2 for the Ky
yalla Shale. The wet g
gas/condensate prospecctive area co
overs
2,130 mi2 for the Ve
elkerri Shale and 2,400 mi2 Kyalla S
Shale. The shale oil pro
ospective arrea is
2,650 mi2 for the Velkerri Shale and
a 4,010 mi
m 2 for the Kyyalla Shale, F
Figures III-26 and III-27.
June, 2013
III-42
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Figure III-26. Beetaloo Basin Prospeective Velkerrii Shale Gas annd Shale Oil A
Areas
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
III-43
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Figure III-277. Beetaloo Baasin Prospectiive Lower Kyaalla Shale Gass and Shale Oiil Areas
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
III-44
III. Australiaa
6.3
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T Velkerri Formation
F
is
s composed of black org
ganic-rich sh
hales layered
d with gray-g
green
organic-lean shales and

a interbed
dded with thiin siltstone a
and sandstone units. Th
he Middle Ve
elkerri
Shale, a marine sha
ale deposite
ed in shallow to moderrate depth e
environmentts, is consid
dered
prospective based on exploration wells drille
ed in the bassin.39 The d
depth of the prospective area
e Velkerri Sh
hale ranges from 3,300 ft
f on the Wa
alton High to
o 8,700 ft in the basin ce
enter.
of Middle
The orga
anic-rich net pay of the Middle
M
Velke
erri Shale ave
erages 100 feet across the basin.
The
T
Middle Velkerri has a maximum total orrganic carbon (TOC) ccontent of 12%,
averaging 4%. The organic
o
mattter is compo
osed of oil p rone Type I and II kerogens. The U
Upper
and Low
wer Velkerri shales,
s
with TOC conte
ents of less tthan 2%, ha
ave not been included in the
resource
e assessmen
nt.
The
T
Kyalla Formation
F
ha
as an upperr and a low
wer shale se
ection, separrated by the
e thin
Kyalla Sa
andstone. The combined section is 600 to 2,50
00 ft thick, w
with the Uppe
er Kyalla thin
nning
considera
ably from we
est to east. Only the Lo
ower Kyalla S
Shale has b
been included in the reso
ource
assessm
ment. Shale depth in the
e prospective
e area rang es from 3,30
00 feet in th
he north and
d east
to the 8,0
000 ft in the
e basin cente
er. The Kyalla Shale is mature with
h Ro values of 0.7% to 1.6%
dependin
ng on depth
h. While so
ome organic--rich section
ns of the Lo
ower Kyalla shale reach
h 9%
TOC in th
he basin cen
nter, the TOC
C of the sha
ale averagess 2.5%.
The
T prospecttive areas in
n the Velkerrri and Kyalla
a shales werre estimated
d using data from
well logs, thermal ma
aturity mode
els and seism
mic data, Fig
gure III-28. The Middle Velkerri Shale is
d to be in the oil window
w (with Ro between 0.7%
% and 1.0%
%) from a depth of 3,300
0 ft to
projected
5,000 ft. At depth
hs greater than 5,000
0 ft the M
Middle Velke
erri Shale enters the wet
gas/cond
densate win
ndow with Ro between 1.0% and 1.3
3%. As the formation d
deepens to b
below
7,000 fee
et, the Velke
erri Shale enters the dry gas window
w with Ro > 1.3%.
The
T
Lower Kyalla
K
Shale
e is in the oil window from 3,300
0-5,000 feet, enters the
e wet
gas/cond
densate wind
dow below 5,000
5
feet, and
a reachess the dry ga
as window b
below 6,000 feet.
The area
as are constrained by the
t
extent of
o the seism
mic data from
m which dep
pths to form
mation
were derrived. Pay th
hickness an
nd reservoir properties w
were estima
ated from we
ell log data,, with
emphasis
s on the mos
st recently drilled
d
Shena
andoah-1A w
well.
June, 2013
III-45
III. Australiaa
EIA/ARI W
Figure III-228. Thermal Maaturity Model for Jamison ##1 Well
Source: Silverrman and Ahlbraandt, 2011
6.4
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
e Middle Ve
The
T risked drry, wet and associated
a
shale
s
gas in--place for the
elkerri Shale is 94
Tcf, with a risked, technically re

ecoverable shale gas rresource of 22 Tcf, Table III-1C.
The
hale oil/cond
densate in-p
place for the
e Middle Ve
elkerri Shale
e is 28 billion barrels, w
with a
risked sh
risked, te
hale oil/cond
densate reso
ource of 1.4 billion barre
els, Table III--2B.
The
T Lower Kyalla
K
Shale is calculated to have rissked dry, w
wet and asso
ociated shale
e gas
in-place of
o 100 Tcf, with
w a risked
d, technically
y recoverable
e shale gas resource off 22 Tcf, Tab
ble III1C.
Th
he risked sh
hale oil and
d condensatte in-place and the risked, techniccally recove
erable
resource
e from the Lo
ower Kyalla Shale are 65
6 billion ba rrels and 3.3
3 billion barrrels respecttively,
Table III--2B.
June, 2013
III-46
III. Australiaa
6.5
EIA/ARI W
Recent
R
Activity
Falcon Oil and Gas Ltd
d has four exploration
e
permits covvering most of the Bee
etaloo
Basin. In
n 2009, the company de
eepened the
e Shenando
oah-1, a verrtical test we
ell located in the
center off the basin. Drilled
D
in 2007 by PetroHunter Enerrgy, the orig
ginal well had
d a total dep
pth of
5,084 ft and
a intersec
cted the Upp
per Kyalla Shale.
S
Falco n deepened
d the well to 8,900 ft thrrough
the Lowe
er Kyalla Shale, the Morroak Sandstone and the
e Velkerri Sh
hale with gass shows notted in
each form
mation.40 The well was fractured
f
an
nd tested in November 2
2011, with rreported gass and
condensa
ate flows fro
om the Kyalla
a and Velkerri shales.
Falcon entere
ed a Joint Venture with Hess in Julyy 2011, cove
ering the ma
ajority of the area
in the exploration pe
ermits. Hess has committted up to $5
57.5 million to acquire 2
2,200 miles o
of 2D
seismic. Two seismic
c crews are currently de
eployed in th
he basin with
h plans to fin
nish surveyin
ng by
o 2012. Hes
ss has until June
J
2013 to commit to drilling five exploratory wells and e
earn a
the end of
62.5% in
nterest in thrree of Falco
ons explorattion permitss.41 Falcon iss seeking an
nother partn
ner to
explore their fourth permit
p
area which
w
covers
s 700,000 accres.
REFERE
ENCES
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Blue Enerrgy Ltd, 2012. Q

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Cadman, S.J. Pain, L. and Vuckovic, V., 1994.

1
Australiaan Petroleum Acccumulations Reeport 10: Perth B
Basin, Western
Australia.. 116 p.
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Cawood, P.A. and Nemchhin, A.A., 2000. Provenance Reecord of a Rift B

Basin: U/Pb Agess of Detrital Zircoons from the Perth
Basin, Weestern Australia.. Sedimentary Geology, vol. 1334, p. 209-234.
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Mory, A.J. and Iasky, R.P

P., 1996. Stratiggraphy And Struccture Of The Onnshore Northern Perth Basin Weestern Australia.
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of Minerals
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and Eneergy, Report 46, 126 p.
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Thomas, B.M., 1979. Geeochemical Anallysis of Hydrocarbon Occurrencees in Northern P

Perth Basin, Ausstralia. Americaan
Associatioon of Petroleum Geologists, vol.. 63, p. 1092-11007.
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Nabbefeldd, B., Grice, K., Schimmelmann,

S
, A., Summons, R.E., Troitzsch, U., Twitchett, R
R.J., 2010. A Coomparison of Thermal
Maturity Parameters
P
Betw
ween Freely Extrracted Hydrocarrbons (Bitumen II) and a Second Extract (Bitumeen II) from Withinn the
Kerogen Matrix of Permiaan and Triassic Sedimentary
S
Rocks. Organic G
Geochemistry, vool. 41, p. 78-87.
20
Dawson, D., Grice, K., annd Alexander, R., 2005. Effect of

o Maturation onn the Indigenous dD Signatures oof Individual
Hydrocarrbons in Sedimennts and Crude Oils
O from the Perrth Basin (Westeern Australia). O
Organic Geocheemistry, vol. 36, pp. 95104.
21
Boreham,, C.J. and Edwards, D.S., 2008. Abundance annd Carbon Isotoppic Compositionn of Neo-Pentanee in Australian N
Natural
Gases. Organic Geocheemistry, vol. 39, p. 550-566.
22
AWE, annnouncement, Noovember 9, 20100.
23
Cadman, S.J. Pain, L., Vuuckovic, V., and le Poidevin, S.R

R., 1993. Austrralian Petroleum
m Accumulations Report 9: Cannning
Basin, Weestern Australia.. 88 p.
24
Ghori, K.A
A.R. and Hainess, P.W., 2007. P
Paleozoic Petroleum Systems off the Canning Baasin, Western A
Australia: A review
w.
Americann Association of Petroleum Geoloogists, Search and
a Discovery Arrticle No. 10120, 7 p.
25
Haines, P.
P W., 2004. Deepositional Faciees And Regional Correlations Off The Ordoviciann Goldwyer And Nita Formationss,
Canning Basin, Western Australia, with Im
mplications for Petroleum
P
Explorration. Westernn Australia Geological Survey, R
Record
4
2004/7, 45p.
26
Foster, C. B., OBrien, G. W., and Watsonn, S. T., 1986, Hydrocarbon

H
Souurce Potential of the Goldwyer FFormation, Barbw
wire
Terrace, Canning
C
Basin, Western Australlia. APEA Jourrnal, vol. 26, p. 1 42155.
27
Ghori, K.A
A.R. and Hainess, P.W., 2007. P
Paleozoic Petroleum Systems off the Canning Baasin, Western A
Australia: A review
w.
Americann Association of Petroleum Geoloogists, Search and
a Discovery Arrticle No. 10120, 7 p.
28
New Sataandard Energy, 2011.

2
Potential Liquids Rich Zone Identified in G
Goldwyer Projecct. ASX Announncment, Februaryy 10,
2011.
29
New Stanndard Energy, 20012. Nicolay #1 Weekly Drilling Update ASX A

Announcement, A
August 20, 2012.
30
Pegum, D.M.
D 1997. An Inntroduction to the Petroleum Geeology of the Norrthern Territory oof Australia. Department of Mines and
Energy, Northern
N
Territorry Geological Suurvey. 46 p.
31
Dunster JN,
J Kruse PD, Duffett ML and Am
mbrose GJ, 20077. Geology andd resource potenntial of the southeern Georgina Baasin.
Northern Territory Geologgical Survey, Diggital Information Package DIP0007.
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32
Bennett, P.J.,
P Philpchuk, Freeman, A. 2010. Arthur Creeek Hot Shale: A Bakken Unconnventional Oil Annalogy in the Geoorgina
Basin of Northern
N
Territorry, Australia. Am
merican Associaation of Petroleum
m Geologists, Search and Discoovery Article # 800125,
Decembeer 31, 2010.
33
Volk et al, 2005.
34
Vu Thi Annh Tiem, Brian Horsfield

H
and Rollando di Primio.,, 2011. Gas shalle potential of thhe Amadeus andd Georgina Basinns,
Australia:: preliminary insights, Geosciencce Australia Reccord 2011/10, 399pp.
35
PetroFronntier Corp, 2012. PetroFrontier Corp.

C
provides Owen-3
drillingg update in Southhern Georgia Baasin, Australia. TTSX

Announceement August 9,, 2012.
36
Silvermann, M.R., Landon,, S.M., Leaver, J.S.,

J Mather, T.J., and Berg, E. 22005. No Fuel LLike an Old Fuel: Proterozoic Oill and
Gas Poteential in the Beettaloo Basin, Nortthern Territory, Australia.
A
Proceeedings of the Ceentral Australiann Basins Sympossium,
Special Publications
P
2, p.. 205-215. Editedd by TJ Munson and GJ Ambrosse. Northern Terrritory Geologicaal Survey.
37
Silvermann, M. and Ahlbraandt, T. 2011. M

Mesoproterozoic Unconventiona l Plays in the Beeetaloo Basin, A
Australia: The Woorlds
Oldest Peetroleum System
ms. American Asssociation of Pettroleum Geologi sts (AAPG), Seaarch and Discovvery Article #102295,
January 21,
2 2011.
38
Ambrose and Silverman, 2006. Onshoree Hydrocarbon Potential of the B eetaloo Sub-Bassin. Northern Teerritory Geologiccal
Survey. Record
R
2006-0033.
39
Warren ett al, 1998. Proteerozoic Source Rocks:

R
Sedimentology and Orgaanic Characteristtics of the Velkeerri Formation,
Northern Territory, Austraalia. AAPG Bulletin Vol 82 (19998), Issue 3, Pagges 442-463
40
Silvermann, M. and Ahlbraandt, T. 2011. M

Mesoproterozoic Unconventiona l Plays in the Beeetaloo Basin, A
Australia: The Woorlds
Oldest Peetroleum System
ms. American Asssociation of Pettroleum Geologi sts (AAPG), Seaarch and Discovvery Article #102295,
January 21,
2 2011.
41
Falcon Oiil and Gas, 20122. Falcon Oil and Gas Ltd. Annoounces Australiaan Operational U
Update. August 20, 2012
June, 2013
III-49
IV. Northern South America
IV. NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA

SUMMARY
Northern South America has prospective shale gas and shale oil potential within marinedeposited Cretaceous shale formations in three main basins: the Middle Magdalena Valley and
Llanos basins of Colombia, and the Maracaibo/Catatumbo basins of Venezuela and Colombia,
Figure IV-1.
The organic-rich Cretaceous shales (La Luna, Capacho, and Gacheta) sourced
much of the conventional gas and oil produced in Colombia and western Venezuela, and are
similar in age to the Eagle Ford and Niobrara shale plays in the USA.
Ecopetrol,
ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell, and others have initiated shale exploration in Colombia.
Colombias petroleum fiscal regime is considered attractive to foreign investment.
Figure IV-1: Prospective Shale Basins of Northern South America
Source: ARI 2013
June, 2013
IV-1
For the current EIA/ARI assessment, the Maracaibo-Catatumbo Basin was re-evaluated
while new shale resource assessments were undertaken on the Middle Magdalena Valley and
Llanos basins. Technically recoverable resources (TRR) of shale gas and shale oil in northern
South America are estimated at approximately 222 Tcf and 20.2 billion bbl, Tables IV-1 and IV2. Colombia accounts for 6.8 billion barrels and 55 Tcf of risked TRR, while western Venezuela
has 13.4 billion barrels and 167 Tcf. Eastern Venezuela may have additional potential but was
not assessed due to lack of data.
Colombias first publicly disclosed shale well logged 230 ft of over-pressured La Luna
shale with average 14% porosity. More typically, the black shales within the La Luna and
Capacho formations total about 500 ft thick, 10,000 ft deep, calcareous, and average 2-5%
TOC. Thermal maturity comprises oil, wet-gas, and dry-gas windows (Ro 0.7-1.5%). Shale
formations in the Llanos and Maracaibo/Catatumbo basins have not yet been tested but also
have good shale oil and gas potential.
INTRODUCTION
As first highlighted in EIA/ARIs 2011 assessment, Colombia and Venezuela both have
excellent potential for shale oil and gas.. In particular, Colombias shale potential appears
considerably brighter today based on the results of initial shale drilling as well as the entry of
major oil companies (ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Shell) as well as several smaller
companies.
Colombias Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (ANH) regulates oil and gas exploration
and development.
The countrys model contract for unconventional gas includes 8-year
exploration and 24-year production terms.
Preferential terms are in place for shale gas
investment, including a 40% reduction in royalties and higher oil prices. In 2011 the National
University of Colombia conducted a shale gas resource evaluation for ANH, estimating a total
33 Tcf of potential in the Eastern Cordillera, Eastern Llanos and Caguan-Putumayo regions.
The study and methodology have not been disclosed; apparently shale oil resources were not
assessed. ANH conducted Colombias first auction of shale gas blocks in 2012.
June, 2013
IV-2
Table IV-1: Northern South America Shale Gas Reservoir Properties and Resources.
BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Basin/Gross Area
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
(84,000 mi )
(23,000 mi )
La Luna/Tablazo
U. Cretaceous
Marine
Gacheta
U. Cretaceous
Marine
La Luna/Capacho
U. Cretaceous
Marine
1,820
600
210
13,000 - 16,400
14,500
7,280
4,290
5,840
1,000
1,000
1,000
500
500
500
5,000 - 15,000 5,500 - 15,000 6,000 - 15,000
10,000
11,000
12,000
2,390
200
Organically Rich
1,000
1,000
Thickness (ft)
Net
300
300
Interval
3,300 - 16,400 3,300 - 10,000
Depth (ft)
Average
10,000
8,000
Highly
Highly
Reservoir Pressure
Overpress.
Overpress.
5.0%
5.0%
Average TOC (wt. %)
0.85%
1.15%
Low
Low
Clay Content
Gas Phase
Maracaibo/Catatumbo
Llanos
(13,000 mi )
Mod. Overpress.
Normal
Normal
Normal
2.0%
0.85%
Low
5.0%
0.85%
Low
5.0%
1.15%
Low
5.0%
1.60%
Low
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Assoc. Gas
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
88.0
150.3
40.4
71.8
176.1
255.7
Risked GIP (Tcf)
117.8
16.8
18.2
183.0
264.4
522.6
14.1
4.2
1.8
18.3
52.9
130.7
Table IV-2: Northern South America Shale Oil Reservoir Properties and Resources.
BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Basin/Gross Area
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
(13,000 mi )
(84,000 mi )
(23,000 mi )
La Luna/Tablazo
U. Cretaceous
Marine
Gacheta
U. Cretaceous
Marine
La Luna/Capacho
U. Cretaceous
Marine
1,820
600
210
13,000 - 16,400
14,500
7,280
4,290
1,000
1,000
500
500
5,000 - 15,000 5,500 - 15,000
10,000
11,000

2,390
200
Organically Rich
1,000
1,000
Thickness (ft)
Net
300
300
Interval
3,300 - 16,400 3,300 - 10,000
Depth (ft)
Average
10,000
8,000
Highly
Highly
Reservoir Pressure
Overpress.
Overpress.
Average TOC (wt. %)
5.0%
5.0%
0.85%
1.15%
Clay Content
Low
Low
Oil Phase
Maracaibo/Catatumbo
Llanos
Mod. Overpress.
Normal
Normal
2.0%
0.85%
Low
5.0%
0.85%
Low
5.0%
1.15%
Low
Oil
Condensate
Oil
Oil
Condensate
57.0
26.1
28.0
92.3
41.0
Risked OIP (B bbl)
76.3
2.9
12.6
235.1
61.6
4.58
0.18
0.63
11.75
3.08
June, 2013
IV-3
Venezuelas government and oil companies have not disclosed shale oil or shale gas
exploration activities, although the potential in western Venezuela appears to be large and of
high quality. Overall, three main basins are present in northern South America that contain
prospective marine-deposited shales and were assessed in this report, Figure IV-2. These
basins include:
Middle Magdalena Valley Basin (Colombia): The focus of shale exploration leasing
and drilling activity in the region thus far, the MMVB near Bogota also is Colombias
main conventional onshore production area. It contains thick deposits of the organic-rich
Cretaceous La Luna Formation, mostly in the oil to wet gas windows.
Llanos Basin (Colombia): This large basin in eastern Colombia has prospective
Gacheta Formation source rock shales of Cretaceous age that are equivalent to the La
Luna Fm. TOC and Ro generally appear low, but the western foothills region may be
richer and more thermally mature.
Maracaibo/Catatumbo Basin (Venezuela and Colombia): One of South Americas

richest petroleum basins, the Maracaibo (Venezuela) and Catatumbo (Colombia) basins
have extensive oil and gas potential in thick, widespread Cretaceous La Luna Shale.
A fourth basin, the Putamayo Basin in southern Colombia, also may contain shale
potential but was not assessed due to lack of data. The Putamayo contains organic-rich
Cretaceous shales in the Macarena Group.1 While relatively shallow (3,000 ft) in this upthrusted basin-edge location, the Macarena shales deepen towards the center of the
basin where they may become less faulted. Hydraulic fracturing already is being used in
the Putamayo Basin for conventional reservoirs.2
June, 2013
IV-4
Figure IV-2: Stratigraphic Chart Showing Source Rocks And Conventional Reservoirs In Northern
South America.
BASIN
ERA
PERIOD
EPOCH
QUATERNARY
Pleistocene
Pliocene
COLOMBIA & VENEZUELA BASINS

MID MAGDALENA VALLEY MARACAIBO-CATATUMBO
LLANOS
F O R M A T I O N
Alluvium
Mesa
Real
CENOZOIC
Miocene
TERTIARY
Oligocene
Colorado
Mugrosa
Necesidad
Guayabo
Guayabo
Leon
Leon
Carbonera
Eocene
Upper
La Paz
Mirador
Mirador
Los Cuervos
Los Cuervos
Lisama
Barco
Catatumbo
Barco
Umir
Mito Juan
Colon
La Luna
Simiti
CRETACEOUS
Tablazo
Lower
Paja
Rosablanca
La Luna
Capacho
Aguardiente
Apon
Rio Negro
Arcabuco/
Giron
Giron
Conventional Reservoir
Absent/Unknown
TRIASSIC
Source Rock
Source: ARI 2013
IV-5
Guadalupe
Gacheta
Une
Cumbre
JURASSIC
June, 2013
Carbonera
Esmeraldas
Paleocene
MESOZOIC
Alluvium
1.
MIDDLE MAGDALENA VALLEY BASIN (COLOMBIA)
1.1
Introduction and Geologic Setting

The 13,000-mi2 Middle Magdalena Valley Basin (MMVB) is a north-south trending inter-
montane basin in central Colombia, situated between the Eastern and Central cordilleras and
located 150 miles north of Bogota, Figure IV-3.
The MMVB is Colombias most explored
conventional oil and gas producing basin, with over 40 discovered oil fields that produce mainly
from Tertiary sandstone reservoirs.
Although within the Andes Mountains region, with its
complex tectonics including numerous thrust and extensional faults, the interior of the MMVB
has simpler structure with relatively flat surface topography, Figure IV-4.3 The western side of
the basin is structurally more complex and overthrusted, Figure IV-5.4
Figure IV-3: Middle Magdalena Valley Basin, Shale-Prospective Areas and Shale Exploration
Source: ARI 2013
June, 2013
IV-6
Figure IV-4: Schematic Cross-Section of the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin Showing U. Cretaceous Umir
and La Luna And L. Cretaceous Simiti Shales Totaling 750-1,000 Ft Thick (Correlate With Eagle Ford Shale).
Source: Sintana Energy, Q3 2012
Figure IV-5: Schematic Cross-Section of Western Margin of the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin in Central
Colombia, Showing Thrusted Fault Blocks with La Luna Shale.
Source: Platino Energy, 2013
The Cretaceous La Luna Formation is the principal source rock in the MMVB. A marinedeposited black shale, the organic-rich La Luna was formed in a widespread epicontinental sea
and is time-equivalent (Santonian) with the Niobrara Shale in the USA.5
However,
sedimentation and facies distribution of the La Luna Fm were strongly controlled by the paleotopography, while post-depositional tectonics caused erosional events that truncated its
thickness in places. For example, much of the Campanian and lower Maastrichtian sections
were eroded in the southern Upper Magdalena Valley and Putumayo Basins.6
The La Luna Formation comprises three members: the Salada, Pujamana, and
Galembo.7 The most organic-rich (3-12% TOC) is the 150-m thick Salada Member, which
consists of hard, black, thinly bedded and finely laminated limy shales (40% CaCO3), along with
thin interbeds of black fine-grained limestone. Pyrite veins and concretions are common, as are
June, 2013
IV-7
planktonic (but not benthonic) foraminifera and radiolaria. The lower-TOC Pujamana Member
consists of gray to black, thinly bedded and calcareous shale (43% CaCO3). The 220-m thick
Galembo Member has moderate TOC (1-4%) and also consists of black, thinly bedded,
calcareous shale, but with only thin argillaceous limestone interbeds. The Galembo also has
abundant blue to black chert beds.8
The underlying Cretaceous Tablazo/Rosablanca Fm,
about 480-920 ft thick, also contains high TOC (2-8%) that is in the oil to wet gas windows (Ro
0.6% to 1.2%).
1.2

The 1,000-ft thick Cretaceous La Luna Formation ranges from 3,000 ft to slightly over
15,000 ft deep across the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin. However, the La Luna is truncated
in places by an erosional unconformity, which juxtaposes Paleogene La Paz Fm on top, Figure
IV-6. The La Luna shale is organic rich (average 5%) with mainly Type II kerogen.9 We
mapped a larger (2,390-mi2) oil-prone prospective window for the La Luna shale, with a much
smaller (200 mi2) wet gas window to the south (Ro 0.7% to 1.2%).
Calgary-based Canacol Energy Ltd. has noted that the La Luna and Tablazo/
Rosablanca shales are 4,000 to 12,000 ft deep across its blocks in the MMVB . The La Luna
ranges from 1,200 to 1,800 ft thick while the underlying Tablazo/Rosablanca is 480 to 920 ft
thick. TOC of the two units ranges from 2% to 8% and is mostly at oil-prone thermal maturity
(Ro 0.6% to 1.2%). Shale porosity is estimated by Canacol to be 3% to 14%.10 In 2012 Canacol
drilled the Mono Arana-1 well on its VMM 2 block, where it is partnered with ExxonMobil. The
well tested shallow conventional targets as well as deeper shale and carbonate potential in the
La Luna and Tablazo oil source rocks. Heavy mud, up to 16.5 pounds per gallon, was required
to safely drill across these over-pressured shales, indicating they are at nearly twice the normal
hydrostatic pressure. The well encountered the top of the La Luna Formation at a depth of
9,180 ft and penetrated 760 ft into the formation, logging oil and gas shows across the entire
shale interval. Logs run across the La Luna reportedly indicated 230 ft of potential high-quality
net oil pay with 14% average porosity.
June, 2013
IV-8
Figure IV-6: Seismic Line in the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin Showing Cretaceous La Luna and Simiti
Shales Truncated by Erosional Unconformity.
Source: Sintana Energy, Q3 2012
According to Texas-based Sintana Energy the La Luna Formation averages about 1,500
ft thick (gross), has 950-1,900 ft of net pay, 5-10% TOC, 15% effective porosity, and favorably
low 17% clay content (should be quite brittle) on the companys blocks in the western MMVB.
The underlying Tablazo Formation averages about 600 ft thick (gross), has 150-450 ft of net
pay, 5.5-7.0% TOC, 8% effective porosity, and higher 30% clay content.
The La Luna in
Sintanas area is in the oil window (Ro 0.7-1.0%), while the Tablazo is in the oil to wet gas
windows (Ro 1.1%). The pressure gradient ranges from 0.55-0.80 psi/ft in the La Luna to 0.65
psi/ft in the Tablazo.11
1.3
Resource Assessment
The risked, technically recoverable shale gas and shale oil resources in the combined
Cretaceous La Luna and Tablazo shales of the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin are estimated to
be 18 Tcf and 4.6 billion barrels, out of risked shale gas and shale oil in-place of 135 Tcf and 79
billion barrels. By comparison Ecopetrol has estimated the MMV Basin has 29 Tcf of shale gas
potential (methodology not disclosed, nor was oil potential noted).
June, 2013
IV-9
1.4
Recent Activity
A number of companies -- including Ecopetrol, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Nexen, and
Shell -- have initiated shale oil and gas exploration programs at existing conventional oil and
gas lease positions in Colombia during the past two years. Activity has been concentrated in
the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin, close to the Bogota market. More than 12 vertical and
horizontal shale exploration wells were planned for 2012, including several re-entries.
State-owned Ecopetrol S.A., which controls about one-third of the oil and gas licenses in
Colombia, first announced its shale exploration program in early 2011 and drilled the La Luna-1
stratigraphic test in the MMVB later that year (results not disclosed). Ecopetrol already has
been drilling horizontal wells in the MMVB for non-shale targets during the past several years,
providing a good foundation for future horizontal shale development in the basin.12
Canacol holds three conventional exploration licenses in Colombia, which the company
estimates have a total 260,000 gross acres with shale oil potential. The company has disclosed
a Mean Estimate of 2.9 billion barrels of recoverable resource potential within their lease
position.
In recent months Canacol has signed separate joint-venture agreements with
ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and Shell to conduct shale exploration within Canacols acreage.
These companies plan to drill a total of 19 shale exploration wells at an estimated cost of $123
million. ConocoPhillips expects to drill its first exploration well to test the La Luna Shale in the
second quarter of 2013.13 Canacol continues to review the shale potential of two of its other
blocks.
Nexen was one of the first companies to report exploring for shale gas in Colombia. The
company reports it holds several shale blocks in Colombia for a total 1.5 million acres with shale
gas potential.14 In late 2011 Nexen began drilling the first of four planned shale gas wells.
These wells, located in Sueva and Chiquinquira blocks in the Sabana de Bogota high savannah
plateau of the Eastern Cordillera mountain range, reportedly target the La Luna Formation. No
further details are available.
Sintana Energy has reported that its third-party consultant estimated 210 million bbl of
prospective recoverable resources in shale formations at the companys VMM-37 block in the
MMVB, which cover 44,000 acres (Mean Estimate). Sintana estimated initial horizontal well
costs at about $13 million.
June, 2013
IV-10
2.
LLANOS BASIN (COLOMBIA)
2.1

The large (84,000-mi2) Llanos Basin, located in eastern Colombia, has only recently
become a focus of shale exploration and thus is less well understood than the Middle
Magdalena Valley Basin, Figure IV-7. The Gacheta Fm shale source rocks are equivalent to
the La Luna Fm in the MMV and Maracaibo/Catatumbo basins. The northeast-trending Llanos
Basin represents the northern extent of the Sub-Andean Mountain Belt. Figure IV-8 shows the
generally simple geologic structure in the interior of the Llanos Basin, as well as the
overthrusting on the western margin.
Figure IV-7: Llanos Basin Showing Shale-Prospective Area.
Source: ARI 2013
June, 2013
IV-11
Figure IV-8: Schematic Cross Section of the Llanos Basin in Colombia
Source : ANH, 2007
Up to 30,000 ft of Cambrian to Ordovician strata are unconformably overlain by thick

Cretaceous marine shale deposits. These in turn were partially eroded by uplift during the early
Tertiary. Other potential source rocks in the Llanos Basin include the Cretaceous Los Cuervos
Fm and Tertiary shales (Carbonera and Leon formations).15 Conventional reservoirs are found
in the Paleogene Carbonera and Mirador sandstones as well as Cretaceous sandstones.
2.2

The Cretaceous Gacheta Fm, time-equivalent to the La Luna Fm and averaging 600 ft
thick, is the principal source rock in the Llanos Basin. The Gacheta reaches a depth of more
than 15,000 ft along the basins western margin, shoaling to only 2,000 feet in the east. The
central axis has the Gacheta shale ranging from 4,000 to over 10,000 ft deep.
The 1,820-mi2 depth-prospective area is entirely in the oil window. The effective source
rock thickness of the Gacheta shale ranges from 150 to 300 ft (average 210 ft net), with TOC of
1% to 3% consisting of Type II and III kerogen.16 Thermal maturity of the Gacheta ranges from
the oil to wet gas windows, with Ro ranging from 0.3% in the shallow east to 1.1% in the deeper
western foothills region where the shale oil potential is greatest.17 Porosity is uncertain but
assumed to be relatively high (7%) based on initial data on the correlative La Luna Shale in the
MMVB. The basin is slightly over-pressured, averaging about 0.5 psi/ft gradient.
June, 2013
IV-12
2.3
Resource Assessment
Risked, technically recoverable shale gas and shale oil resources in the Llanos Basin
are estimated to be 2 Tcf of associated shale gas and 0.6 billion barrels of shale oil and
condensate, out of risked shale gas and shale oil in-place of about 18 Tcf and 13 billion barrels,
Tables IV-1 and IV-2.
Within the prospective area, the play has a moderate resource
concentrations of about 40 Bcf/mi2 and 28 million bbl/mi2.
2.4
Recent Activity
No shale exploration leasing or drilling has been reported in the Llanos Basin. Sintana
Energy previously mentioned the shale potential of its leases in the Llanos Basin in the
companys 2011 investor presentation.
3.
MARACAIBO-CATATUMBO BASIN (VENEZUELA, COLOMBIA)
3.1

The Maracaibo Basin extends over 23,000 mi2 in western Venezuela and eastern
Colombia, the latter area known locally as the Catatumbo Sub-basin, Figure IV-9.18
The
Maracaibo/Catatumbo Basin contains a rich sequence of organic-rich marine-deposited

Cretaceous shales that are the principal source rocks for prolific conventional fields.19 These
Cretaceous shales, especially the La Luna and Gapacho, appear to be prospective targets for
shale oil and gas exploration.
Depth to the Precambrian-Jurassic basement in the Maracaibo Basin reaches over
20,000 feet in southern Lake Maracaibo and its onshore eastern edge, Figure IV-10. On the
west side of the basin, basement and Cretaceous shale deposits become shallower again,
Figure IV-11. Depth to the La Luna Fm ranges from less than 5,000 to over 15,000 feet,
generally deepening from northeast to southwest. The eastern edge of the shale play is limited
by maximum 15,000-ft depth, inferred from the structure of the Late Jurassic basement.20
The Catatumbo Sub-basin, located on the rugged east flank of the Andes in eastern
Colombia, has similar shale targets but is structurally more complex than the rest of the
Maracaibo Basin, with thrust faulting in the west and less severe wrench-faulting in the east,
Figure IV-12.21
Much like the northern Maracaibo Basin, the Catatumbo Sub-basin has
numerous conventional oil fields.
June, 2013
IV-13
Figure IV-9: Prospective Area for Shale Exploration in the Maracaibo/Catatumbo Basin.
Source : ARI, 2013
June, 2013
IV-14
Figure IV-10: Seismic Time Section of the Maracaibo Basin in Western Venezuela.
Modified from Escalona and Mann, 2006
Source : ARI, 2013
June, 2013
IV-15
Figure IV-10: Schematic Cross-Section Showing Depth to Cretaceous Source Rocks in the Maracaibo Basin,
Western Venezuela.
Modified from Escalona and Mann, 2006
Figure IV-12: Schematic Cross-Section of the Catatumbo Sub-Basin in Eastern Colombia.
Modified from Yurewicz et al., 1998
June, 2013
IV-16
La Luna Formation.
The Maracaibo-Catatumbo Basin hosts some of the worlds
richest source rocks and conventional oil and gas reservoirs.
The Late Cretaceous
(Cenomanian-Santonian) shale of the La Luna Formation, the primary source rock in the basin22
and time-equivalent with the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas, appears to be the most prospective
target for shale oil and gas exploration. The black calcareous La Luna Shale ranges from 100
to over 400 feet thick across the basin, thinning towards the south and east. 23,24
Total organic carbon (TOC) varies across the basin, with values ranging from 3.7% to
5.7% in the northwest to 1.7% to 2% in the south and east. Maximum TOC values can reach
16.7%. A large portion of this shale-gas-prospective area includes part of Lake Maracaibo itself.
ARI chose to include this submerged area because water depths are shallow (less than 100
feet) and there are numerous conventional production platforms that could provide access to
shale drilling and development.
Thermal maturity of the La Luna Fm increases with burial depth from west to east across
the Maracaibo Basin, from less than 0.7% Ro to over 1.7% Ro southeast of Lake Maracaibo.25
Vitrinite reflectance data indicate the unit is mainly in the oil generation window, with a narrow
sliver of dry-gas maturity in the east. Note that no significant free gas accumulations have been
discovered in the Maracaibo Basin; all natural gas production has been associated gas.
In the much smaller Catatumbo Sub-Basin of Colombia, the La Luna Fm is about 200 ft
thick, comprising dark-gray, laminated, limey mudstones and shales with high TOC averaging
4.5% (maximum 11%), mainly Type II with some Type III kerogen.26 Total organic carbon in
core samples reaches a maximum of 11.2% in the La Luna, but more typically averages a still
rich 4 to 5% TOC. Figure IV-13 shows a slight increase in TOC concentration towards the base
of the La Luna Fm in the Cerrito 1 well, southeastern Catatumbo Sub-basin.
The La Luna is at relatively shallow depth in the Catatumbo Sub-basin, ranging from
6,000 to 7,600 feet.
27
Based on available vitrinite samples, thermal maturity ranges from 0.85
to 1.21% Ro, with generally higher reflectance in the central and northern areas of the basin.
Samples from the Cerro Gordo 3 well in the southeast portion of the Catatumbo Sub-basin
averaged 0.85% Ro, indicating that this area is oil prone.
June, 2013
IV-17
Figure IV-13: Calculated TOC Profile from Well Log in the Catatumbo Sub-Basin.
Modified from Yurewicz et al., 1998
June, 2013
IV-18
Capacho Formation. The Capacho Formation (Cenomanian-Coniacian) is a distinct

unit from the overlying La Luna, although its upper portion is fairly similar. In the Maracaibo
basin the Capacho Fm consists of dark-gray to black shales and limestones and is much thicker
than the La Luna, ranging from 590 to nearly 1,400 feet in total thickness. However, less data
are available on the Capacho. Thus, for this assessment we combined the 200-ft thick, TOCrich upper portion of the Capacho with the stratigraphically adjacent La Luna for analysis.
Depth to the Capacho ranges from 6,500 feet to 8,500 feet in the Catatumbo Sub-basin,
with greater measured depth in the north and east at 8,275 feet in the Socuavo 1 well. TOC
reaches 5% in the Socuavo 1 well, northeastern Catatumbo Sub-basin, but more typically is
about 1.5%. Kerogen is Type II and III. Vitrinite reflectance ranges from 0.96% Ro in the
northern Rio de Oro 14 well to 1.22-1.24% Ro in southeastern well samples.
3.2

Three thermal maturity windows were mapped in the Maracaibo/ Catatumbo Basin: dry-
gas, wet-gas, and oil. Geologic modeling shows that the present-day temperature gradient in
the area ranges from 1.7 and 2.0 F per 100 feet of depth.
Dry Gas Window.
Within the 5,840-mi2 depth-screened, dry-gas thermal maturity
window (average 1.6% Ro) of the Maracaibo/Catatumbo Basin, the Cretaceous La Luna Fm and
the adjoining upper portion of the Capacho Fm averages about 500 ft thick net, about 12,000 ft
deep, and is estimated to have average 5% TOC.
Reservoir pressure is uncertain thus
assumed to be normal (hydrostatic).

Wet Gas Window.
Within the 4,290-mi2 depth-screened, wet-gas thermal maturity
window (average 1.15% Ro), the La Luna and upper Capacho formations average about 11,000
ft deep. Other parameters are similar to the dry gas window.
Oil Window. The La Luna and upper Capacho shales in the thermally less mature
portion of the Maracaibo/Catatumbo basin are oil-prone, with average 0.85% Ro. The oil window
extends over an area of about 7,280 mi2 and averages about 10,000 ft deep.
June, 2013
IV-19
3.3
Resource Assessment
Total risked, technically recoverable shale gas and shale oil resources in the La Luna
and Capacho formations of the Maracaibo and Catatumbo basins are estimated to be 202 Tcf
and 14.8 billion barrels, out of risked shale gas and shale oil in-place of 970 Tcf and 297 billion
barrels, Tables IV-1 and IV-2. The play has high a resource concentration of up to 256 Bcf/mi2
within the dry gas prospective area.
Dry Gas Window. Risked, technically recoverable shale gas resources in the dry-gas
window of the Maracaibo/Catatumbo Basin are estimated at 131 Tcf, from a risked shale gas inplace of 523 Tcf. Resource concentration is high (average 256 Bcf/mi2) due in part to favorable
shale thickness and porosity.
Wet Gas Window. The slightly shallower and less thermally mature wet gas window of
the Maracaibo/Catatumbo Basin has risked, technically recoverable resources of approximately
53 Tcf of shale gas and 3.1 billion barrels of shale condensate. Risked in-place resources are
estimated at 264 Tcf of wet shale gas and 62 billion barrels of shale condensate.
Oil Window. The still shallower and oil-prone window of the La Luna formation and
upper Capacho formation in the Maracaibo/Catatumbo basins has an estimated risked,
technically recoverable resource of 11.8 billion barrels of shale oil and 18 Tcf of associated
shale gas. Risked in-place shale resources are about 235 billion barrels of shale oil and 183 Tcf
of shale gas.
3.4
Recent Activity
Junior Canadian E&P Alange Energy Corporation is evaluating the prospectivity of the
eastern area of the Catatumbo Sub-basin. However, this exploration activity appears to be
focused on conventional reservoirs within the La Luna Shale interval. No shale exploration
leasing or drilling has been reported in the Maracaibo Basin.
June, 2013
IV-20
REFERENCES
PetroNova, Inc., Investor Presentation, November 2012, 26 p.
Torres, F., Reinoso, W., Chapman, M., Han, X., and Campo, P., 2012. Field Application of New Proppant Detection
Technology - A Case History of the Putumayo Basin of Colombia. Society of Petroleum Engineers, SPE Paper #152251,
Latin America and Caribbean Petroleum Engineering Conference, 16-18 April 2012, Mexico City, Mexico.
Cooper, M.A., Addison, F.T., Alvarez, R., Coral, M., Graham, R.H., Hayward, A.B., Howe, S., Martinez, J., Naar, J., Peas, R.,
Pulham, A.J., and Taborda, A., 1995. Basin Development and Tectonic History of the Llanos Basin, Eastern Cordillera, and
Middle Magdalena Valley, Colombia. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, vol. 79, no. 10, p. 1421-1443.
Platino Energy, Investor Presentation, March 2013, 22 p.
Mann, U. and Stein, R., 1997. Organic Facies Variations, Source Rock Potential, and Sea Level Changes in Cretaceous Black
Shales of the Quebrada Ocal, Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin,
vol. 81, p. 556-576.
Mora, A., Mantilla, M., and de Freitas, M., 2010. Cretaceous Paleogeography and Sedimentation in the Upper Magdalena and
Putumayo Basins, Southwestern Colombia. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Search and Discovery Article
#50246.
Torres, E., Slatt, R.M., OBrien, N., Phip, R.P., and Rodrigues, H.L., 2012. Characterization of the Cretaceous La Luna
Formation as a Shale Gas System, Middle Magdalena Basin, Colombia. Houston Geological Society Conference on
Unconventional Resource Shales, poster.
8 Ramon, J.C. and Dzou, L.I., 1999. Petroleum Geochemistry of Middle Magdalena Valley, Colombia. Organic Geochemistry,
vol. 30, p. 249-266.
9 Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos, Republic of Colombia, 2005. Middle Magdalena Valley, MMV Basin. 8 p.
10 Canacol Energy Ltd., Investor Presentation, March 2013, 22 p.
11 Sintana Energy, Investor Presentation, Q1 2013, 35 p.
12 Ecopetrol S.A., Investor Presentation, March 2013, 72 p.
13 ConocoPhillips, News Release, April 25, 2013, 5 p.
14 Nexen Energy, Colombia: Nexen Explores for Shale Gas in Colombia. June 2012, 4 p.
15 Moretti, I, Mora, C., Zamora, W., Valendia, M., Rodriguez, G., and Mayorga, M., 2009. Llanos N-S Petroleum System
Variation (Columbia). American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Search and Discovery Article #10208.
16 Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos (ANH), 2007. Colombian Sedimentary Basins: Nomenclature, Boundaries, and
Petroleum Geology, a New Proposal. Bogota, Colombia, 91 p.
17 Bachu, S., Ramon, J.C., Villegas, M.E., and Underschultz, J.R., 1995. Geothermal Regime and Thermal History of the
Llanos Basin, Colombia. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, vol. 79, p. 116-129.
18 Escalona, A. and Mann, P., 2006. An Overview of the Petroleum System Of Maracaibo Basin. American Association of
Petroleum Geologists, vol. 90, p. 657-678.
19 Erlich, R. N., Macostay, O., Nederbragt, A.J., and Lorente, M.A., 1999. Palaeoecology, Palaeogeography and Depositional
Environments Of Upper Cretaceous Rocks Of Western Venezuela. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology,
vol. 153, p. 203-238.
20 Castillo, M.V. and Mann, P., 2006. Deeply Buried, Early Cretaceous Paleokarst Terrane, Southern Maracaibo Basin,
Venezuela. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, vol. 90, no. 4, p. 567-579.
21 Rangel, A. and Hernandez, R., 2007. Thermal Maturity History and Implications for Hydrocarbon Exploration in the
Catatumbo Basin, Colombia. Ecopetrol, CT&F Ciencia, Tecnologia y Futuro, vol. 3, p. 7-24.
June, 2013
IV-21
22 Goddard, D.A. and Talukdar, S.C., 2002. Cretaceous Fine-Grained Mudstones Of The Maracaibo Basin, Venezuela. Gulf
Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, Volume 52, p. 1093-1101.
23 Goddard, D.A., 2006. Venezuela Sedimentary Basins: Principal Reservoirs & Completion Practices. Venezuela Society of
Petroleum Engineers, 60 pages.
24 Lugo, J. and Mann, P., 1995. Jurassic-Eocene Tectonic Evolution of Maracaibo Basin, Venezuela. in A.J. Tankard, R. S.
Soruco, and H.J. Welsink, eds., Petroleum Basins of South America. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir
62, p. 699725.
25 Blaser, R. and White, C., 1984. Source-Rock and Carbonization Study, Maracaibo Basin, Venezuela. in American
Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 35, p. 229-252.
26 Yurewicz, D.A., Advocate, D.M., Lo, H. B., and Hernandez, E.A., 1998. Source Rocks and Oil Families, Southwest
Maracaibo Basin (Catatumbo Subbasin), Colombia. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, vol. 82, p. 13291352.
27 Yurewicz, D.A. et al.,1998.
June, 2013
IV-22
V. Argentina
V.
EIA/ARI W
ARGEN
A
TINA
SUMMA
ARY
Argentina
A
ha
as world-cla
ass shale gas
g
and sh
hale oil pottential po
ossibly the most
prospective outside of North Am
merica primarily within
n the Neuqu
uen Basin. Additional sshale
resource
e potential ex
xists in three
e other untes
sted sedimen
ntary basinss, Figure V-1.
Figure V-1.
V Prospecttive Shale Bassins of Argenttina
Sourcee: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
V-1
V
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
Significant
S
ex
xploration programs and early-stage
e commercia
al production
n are underw
way in
the Neuq
quen Basin by Apache
e, EOG, Ex
xxonMobil, T
TOTAL, YP
PF, and smaller compa
anies.
Thick, organic-rich,
o
marine-dep
posited blac
ck shales in the Los Molles an
nd Vaca Muerta
formation
ns have been tested by
b approxim
mately 50 w
wells to date
e, with mostly good results.
Vertical shale
s
wells are
a producin
ng at initial ra
ates of 180 tto 600 bbl/day following typically 5-sstage
fracture stimulation.
s
Horizontal wells
w
also arre being testted although
h initial resullts have not been
uniformly
y encouragin
ng.
Cretaceous
C
shales
s
in the
e Golfo San Jorge and A
Austral basin
ns in southerrn Argentina
a also
have good potentia
al, although higher clay
y content m
may pose a risk in these lake-fo
ormed
deposits.. Marine-deposited Dev
vonian shale
es in the Parrana Basin a
are prospective over a lim
mited
area of northeast
n
Arrgentina. Arrgentina has
s an estimate
ed 802 Tcf of risked, sh
hale gas in-place
out of 3,,244 Tcf of risked, tech
hnically reco
overable sha
ale gas reso
ources, Tab
ble V-1. In-place
risked sh
hale oil resou
urces are es
stimated at 480
4 billion ba
arrels, of which about 27
7 billion barre
els of
shale oil may be tech
hnically reco
overable, Tab
ble V-2.
Tablee V-1A. Shale Gas Reservoiir Properties aand Resources of Argentinaa
BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Neuquen
Basin/Grosss Area
(66,900 mi )
Shale Formation
A
Geologic Age
2
Prrospective Area (m
mi )
Orgaanically Rich
Th
hickness (ft)
Net
Interrval
Deepth (ft)
Averrage
Reeservoir Pressure
%
Th
hermal Maturity (%
% Ro)
Clay Content
Gaas Phase
Loss Molles
M. Jurassic
M
Marine
2,750
800
300
6,5500 - 9,500
8,000
Highly
Overpress.
2.0%
0.85%
Lo w/Medium
Vaca Muerta
M
U. Jurassic - L.
L Cretaceous
Marrine
2,380
8
8,140
800
800
300
300
9,5000 - 13,000 13,0000 - 16,400
1
11,500
144,500
H
Highly
H
Highly
Overpress.
Oveerpress.
2.0%
2
2.0%
1.15%
2.20%
Low
w/Medium
Low//Medium
4,840
5
500
3
325
3,000 - 9,000
5,000
Higghly
Overrpress.
5.0%
0.885%
Low/M
Medium
3,2270
5000
3225
4,500 - 9,000
6,5500
Hig hly
Overppress.
5.00%
1.15%
Low/M
Medium
3,5550
500
325
5,500 - 10,000
8,0000
Highhly
Overprress.
5.0%
%
1.500%
Low/Meedium
Asssoc. Gas
W Gas
Wet
Dry
ry Gas
Asso c. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
G
GIIP Concentration (Bcf/mi

(
)
49.3
118.0
190.1
66.1
1855.9
3022.9
Risked GIP (Tcf)
67.8
140.4
7
773.8
1992.0
3644.8
6455.1
Risked Recoverablee (Tcf)
8.1
35.1
2
232.1
23.0
911.2
1933.5
June, 2013
V-2
V
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
Tablee V-2B. Shale Gas Reservoiir Properties aand Resources of Argentinaa

B i D t
BasicData
(46,000 mi )
Sh
hale Formation
G
Geologic
Age
Deposiitional Environm
ment
Agu
uada Bandera
U. Jurasssic - L. Cretaceoous
Lacustrine
Pozo D-129
L. Cretaceouss
Lacustrine
8,380
1,600
400
6,,500 - 16,000
13,000
920
540
4,120
1,200
1,200
1,200
420
420
420
6,600 - 8,0000 8,000 - 10,000 10,000 - 16,400
12,000
7,300
9,000
Ph i l E t t
PhysicalExtent

Organicallly Rich
Thicknesss (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
Reservoir
Properties
R
Resource
San Jorgee
Baasin/Gross Area
Reservoir Pressure
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
2.2%
3.00%
Med./High
2.0%
0.85%
Med./High
2.0%
1.15%
Med./High
2.0%
2.00%
Med./High
Dry Gas
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
151.7
41.2
103.4
163.3
Risked GIP (Tcf)
254.2
9.1
13.4
161.5
Risked Reecoverable (Tcf)
50.8
0.5
2.0
32.3
Average TOC
T (wt. %)
Thermal Maturity
M
(% Ro)
Clay Conttent
Gas Phase
2
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Tablee V-3C. Shale Gas Reservoiir Properties aand Resources of Argentinaa
June, 2013
Austral-Magalllanes
Gross Area
Basin/G
Parana
Shale Formation
ogic Age
Geolo
Depositionaal Environment
2
Prospective Arrea (mi )

Organically Ricch
Thickness (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
(65,000 mi )
(7747,000 mi )
I
nas Verdes
L. Inoceramus-Magn
L. Cretaceo us
Marine
onta Grossa
Po
Devonian
Marine
4,620
800
400
6,600 - 11,000
8,000
Slightly
Overpress.
3.5%
0.85%
m
Low/Medium
4,600
800
400
9,000 - 14,5500
11,500
Slightly
Overpresss.
3.5%
1.15%
Low/Mediuum
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gass
Wet Gass
Dry Gas
GIP Concentraation (Bcf/mi )
32.5
113.8
155.9
34.9
56.9
Risked GIP (Tccf)
67.5
235.6
302.4
1.1
15.2
Risked Recoveerable (Tcf)
6.8
47.1
75.6
0.2
3.0
Reservoir Presssure
Average TOC (wt.
( %)
Thermal Maturrity (% Ro)
Clay Content
Gas Phase
2
V-3
V
4,310
270
2,230
800
400
400
400
200
200
11,500 - 166,400 9,000 - 10,000 10,000 - 11,5500
13,5000
9,500
10,500
Slightlyy
Normal
Normal
Overpresss.
3.5%
2.0%
2.0%
1.60%
1.15%
1.40%
Low/Med ium
Low/Medium Low/Medium
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
Tablee VI-2A. Shalee Oil Reservoir Properties aand Resourcess of Argentinaa

Basic Data
BasicData
(66,900 mi
m )
Physical Extent
PhysicalExtent
Vaca Muerta
M
U. Jurassic - L.. Cretaceous
Marinne
Los Molless
M. Jurassicc
Marine
Sh
hale Formation
n
Geologic Age
Depositional Environ
nment
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Neuqueen
Baasin/Gross Areaa

2
2,750
Organicaally Rich
800
Thicknesss (ft)
Net
300
Interval
6,5000 - 9,500
Depth (ft)
Average
8
8,000
H
Highly
Reservoirr Pressure
Oveerpress.
Average TOC
T (wt. %)
2
2.0%
Thermal Maturity
M
(% Ro))
0
0.85%
Clay Conttent
Low//Medium
2,380
800
300
9,5000 - 13,000
11,500
Highly
Ovverpress.
2.0%
1.15%
Low
w/Medium
4,840
500
325
3
3,000
- 9,000
5,000
Highly
O
Overpress.
5.0%
0.85%
L
Low/Medium
3,270
500
325
4,500 - 9,000
6,500
Highly
Overpress.
5.0%
1.15%
Low/Medium
Oil
Coondensate
Oil
Condensate
OIP Conccentration (MMb

bbl/mi )
3
36.4
9.2
77.9
22.5
Risked OIIP (B bbl)
5
50.0
11.0
226.2
44.2
Risked Reecoverable (B bbl)

b
3
3.00
0.66
13.57
2.65
Oil Phasee
2
Resource
Reservoir
p
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Tablee VI-2B. Shalee Oil Reservoir Properties aand Resourcess of Argentinaa
June, 2013
San
n Jorge
Basin/Gross Area
Austral-Magallanes
Shalee Formation
Geo
ologic Age
Deposition
nal Environmentt
(46,0000 mi )
(65,000 mi )
(747,000 mi )
Pozo D-129
L. Creetaceous
Laccustrine
L. Cretaaceous
Marrine
Ponta Grossaa
Devonian
Marine
4,600
800
400
9,000 - 14,500
11,500
Slightly
Overpress.
3.5%
1.15%
Low/Medium
270
400
200
9,000 - 10,0000
9,500
Oil
Condensate
Condensate
Prospective Area
A (mi )
920
540
4,620
Organically Rich
R
1,200
1,200
800
Thickness (ft))
420
Net
420
400
6,600 - 8,0000 8,000 - 10,000 6,600 - 11,000
Interval
Depth (ft)
7,300
9,000
Average
8,000
Slightly
Reservoir Preessure
Normal
Normal
Overpress.
Average TOC
C (wt. %)
2.0%
2.0%
3.5%
Thermal Matu
urity (% Ro)
0.85%
1.15%
0.85%
Med./High
Med./High
Clay Content
Low/Medium
Oil Phase
Parana
Normal
2.0%
1.20%
Low/Medium
Oil
Condensate
OIP Concentrration (MMbbl/mi )
63.7
20.3
48.4
14.8
8.1
Risked OIP (B
B bbl)
14.1
2.6
100.6
30.6
0.3
Risked Recovverable (B bbl)
0.42
0.08
5.03
1.53
0.01
V-4
V
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
INTROD
DUCTION
Argentina
A
has
s large and potentially high-quality
h
sshale gas and oil resources in four main
sedimenttary basins, Figure V-1. Basins ass
sessed in thiis chapter in
nclude:
Neuquen
N
Ba
asin: The main
m
focus of
o shale exp
ploration in Argentina, some 50 m
mostly
ve
ertical wells
s drilled sin
nce 2010 in
ndicate goo
od productio
on potentiall in the ma
arinedeposited Los
s Molles and
d especially Vaca Muertta shales of JJurassic age
e.
Golfo
G
San Jo
orge Basin:: Containing mostly non
n-marine lacu
ustrine shale
e source roccks of
Ju
urassic to Cretaceous
C
age,
a
this bas
sin has untessted but pro
ospective, prrimarily shale
e gas
re
esources in a structurally
y simple setting.
Austral
A
Basiin: Known as
a the Magallanes Basin
n in Chile, th
he Austral B
Basin of southern
Argentina
A
con
ntains marin
ne-deposited
d black shale
e in the Low
wer Cretaceo
ous, considered a
major
m
source rock in the basin.
Paran
P
Basin: Although more exten
nsive in Brazzil and Para
aguay, Argen
ntina has a small
area of the Paran
P
Basin
n with Devonian black sshale potenttial. The strructural setting is
simple but th
he basin is partly
p
obscu
ured on surfface by flood
d basalts, a
although they are
ess prevalen
nt in Argentin
na than in Brrazil.
le
NEUQUEN
N
BASIN
1.1
In
ntroduction
Located in west-central
w
Argentina, the
t
Neuque n Basin con
ntains Late Triassic to Early
c strata that were depos

sited in a back-arc tecto
onic setting.1 Extending over a total area
Cenozoic
of 66,900
0 mi2, the ba
asin is borde
ered on the west by the
e Andes Mountains and
d on the easst and
southeas
st by the Co
olorado Basin and North
h Patagonian
n Massif, Fiigure V-2. The sedime
entary
sequence
e exceeds 22,000 ft in thicknes
ss, comprisiing carbona
ate, evaporrite, and m
marine
siliclastic
c rocks.2 Co
ompared with
h the thruste
ed western p
part of the b
basin, the ce
entral Neuqu
uen is
deep an
nd structurallly less deformed.
Alrready a ma
ajor oil and
d gas produ
uction area from
conventio
onal and tig
ght sandston
nes, the Neu
uquen Basin
n is emergin
ng as the prremier shale
e gas
and shale
e oil develop
pment area of
o South Am
merica.
June, 2013
V-5
V
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
Figure V-2. Neuq

quen Basin Sttructure Map
Source: AR
RI, 2013.
June, 2013
V-6
V
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
The
T stratigrap
phy of the Neuquen
N
Bas
sin is shown
n in Figure V
V-3. Of particular explorration
interest are
a the shalles of the Middle
M
Jurass
sic Los Mol les and Late Jurassic-E
Early Cretacceous
Vaca Mu
uerta formations. These
e two thick deepwater m arine seque
ences source
ed most of th
he oil
and gas fields in the basin and are
a considere
ed the prima
ary targets fo
or shale gas development.
Fig
gure V-3: Neuquen Basin Sttratigraphy.
VA
ACA MUERTA FM
M
LO
OS MOLLES FM
Modifieed from Howell, J., et al., 2005
Sourcee: Howell et al., 2005.

2
June, 2013
V-7
V
V. Argentina
1.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Los
L
Molles Shale.
S
The
e Middle Jurrassic (Toarrcian-Aalenia
an) Los Molles Formatiion is
considere
ed an impo
ortant source
e rock for conventiona
c
l oil and ga
as deposits in the Neu
uquen
Basin. Thermal
T
matturity modeliing indicates
s that hydroccarbon gene
eration took place in the
e Los
Molles att 50 to 150 Ma, with the
e shallower Lajas Form
mation tight ssands servin
ng as reservvoirs.3
The overlying Late Jurassic Aq
quilco Form
mation evapo
orites effecttively seal tthis hydroca
arbon
system, resulting
r
in overpressuri
o
ing (0.60 psii/ft) in parts o
of the basin..
The
T Los Mollles shale is distributed across
a
much of the Neuquen Basin
n, reaching more
than 3,30
00 ft thick in
n the centrall depocenter. Available
e data show
ws the shale thinning tow
wards
the east.4 A southe
east-northwe
est regional cross-sectiion, Figure V-4, showss the Los M
Molles
deposit particularly
p
thick in the basin
b
trough
hs. Well logss reveal a b
basal Los Mo
olles shale a
about
500 feet thick.5
Figure V-4: Neuquen Bassin SW-NE Reggional Cross S
Section
Source: Mossquera et al., 20009.
June, 2013
V-8
V
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
On
O average, the prospec
ctive Los Molles shale occurs at d
depths of 8,0
000 to 14,500 ft,
with max
ximum depth
h surpassing
g 16,000 ft in
n the basin ccenter. In th
he south, the
e shale occu
urs at
depths of
o 7,000 feett or shallowe
er within the
e uplifted Hu
uincul Arch. The Los M
Molles shale
e is at
shale-pro
ospective de
epth across much
m
of the Neuquen Ba
asin.
Total
T
organic
c carbon forr the Los Molles shale was determ
mined from vvarious loca
ations
across th
he Neuquen
n Basin. Samples from five outcrop
ps in the southwestern part of the basin
showed average
a
TO
OC ranging frrom 0.55 to 5.01%.6 In the southea
ast, TOC avveraged 1.25
5% at
shallowe
er depths of 7,000 feet at
a one locatio
on. Furtherr east, anoth
her interval o
of the Los M
Molles
Formatio
on, sampled from depths
s of 10,500 to 13,700 fee
et, yielded T
TOCs in the range of 0.5
5% to
nearly 4.0%. The lo
owermost 80
00-ft section here record
ded a mean
n TOC of ab
bout 2%. Lim
mited
e for the ce
entral and northern
n
reg
gions, where
e shale is deeper and
d gas
data werre available
potential appears hig
ghest. One well in the basins cen
nter penetratted two seve
eral-hundred
d-foot
thick inte
ervals of Los Molles shalle, with average 2% and
d 3% TOC, re
espectively.7
The
T
thermal maturity of the Los Mo
olles shale vvaries acrosss the Neug
guen Basin, from
highly im
mmature (Ro = 0.3%) in the
t shallow Huincul Arcch region, to
o oil-prone (R
Ro = 0.7%) iin the
eastern and southern parts of the basin, to fully dryy-gas mature
e (Ro > 2.0
0%) in the basin
t Los Mollles is in the
e wet gas w
window (Ro > 1.0%) in a well
center.8,99 The lowerr portion of the
located north of the
e Huincul Arch.
A
Gas shows are

e prevalent throughout the Los M
Molles
Formatio
on.
The
T prospecttive area of the
t Los Molles, Figure V
V-5, is define
ed by low vittrinite reflecttance
cutoff in the north, th
hinning in th
he east, and
d complex fa
aulting and sshallow dep
pth at the Hu
uincul
Arch in th
he south. The
T oil-prone
e thermal ma
aturity windo
ow within the
e prospective area cove
ers an
area of 2,750
2
mi2; the
e wet gas window 2,380
0 mi2; and th e dry gas window 8,140
0 mi2.
ARI
A extended
d the westerrn play edge
e beyond the
e main productive Neuq
quen area, w
where
most of the
t conventio
onal oil and gas fields are
a located, iinto the Agriio Fold and T
Thrust Belt a
along
the footh
hills of the Andes
A
Moun
ntains. While there is ssome geolo
ogic risk asssociated with
h this
region, th
he thermal maturity
m
is favorable.
June, 2013
V-9
V
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
Fig
gure V-5: Prosspective Shalee Gas and Shaale Oil Areas, LLos Molles Foormation, Neuquen Basin.
Source: ARI,
A 2013.
Vaca
V
Muerta
a Shale. The
e Late Juras
ssic to Early Cretaceouss (Tithonian--Berriasian) sshale
of the Vaca
V
Muerta
a Formation is considered the prim
mary source
e rocks for conventional oil
productio
on in the Neuquen Basin
n. The Vaca
a Muerta sh
hale consistss of finely-strratified blackk and
dark gre
ey shale and
d lithograph
hic lime-mud
dstone that totals 200 to 1,700 fe
eet thick.10
The
organic-rrich marine shale was deposited

d
in reduced oxxygen enviro
onment and contains Tyype II
kerogen. Although somewhat thinner than
n the Los M
Molles Fm, the Vaca M
Muerta shale
e has
higher TO
OC and is more
m
widesprread across the basin.
June, 2013
V--10
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
The
T
Vaca Muerta Forma
ation thicken
ns from the south and east toward
ds the north
h and
west, ran
nging from absent to over
o
700 fee
et thick in tthe basin ce
enter.11 De
epth ranges from
outcrop near
n
the bas
sin edges to over 9,000 feet
f
deep in the central ssyncline.12
The
T Vaca Mu
uerta Forma
ation generally is richer in TOC than the Los M
Molles Forma
ation.
Sparse available
a
TO
OC data were
e derived fro
om wells an
nd bitumen vveins sample
ed from min
nes in
the north
h.13
These asphaltites
s are very rich
r
in orga
anic carbon,, increasing northward to a
maximum
m of 14.2%.
In the sou
uth, mapped
d TOC data ranges from
m 2.9 to 4.0%
%. TOC of up to
6.5% is reported
r
in th
he lower bitu
uminous sha
ale units of th
he Vaca Muerta.
While
W
the Va
aca Muerta Formation is
i present a
across much
h of the Ne
euquen Basin, its
thermal maturity
m
cha
anges, increasing from east
e
to westt. Figure V
V-4 is a crosss-section fo
or the
Vaca Mu
uerta illustrating the oil and
a gas reg
gions of thiss formation. Thermal m
maturity incre
eases
from less
s than 0.7%
% Ro along the eastern border of tthe basin to
o over 1.5%
% Ro in the deep
northwes
st trough.14 Northeast of the Huincu
ul Arch, Ro o
of 0.8% was measured, placing this area
in the oil window.
The
T Vaca Mu
uerta Formation has thre
ee distinct p
prospective a
areas of hyd
drocarbons iin the
Neuquen
n Basin, as shown
s
on th
he thermal maturity
m
and prospective
e area map, Figure V-6. The
oil-prone
e thermal ma
aturity windo
ow within the
e prospectivve area cove
ers an area of approxim
mately
4,840 mi2; the wet ga
as window covers 3,270 mi2; and the
e dry gas window coverss 3,550 mi2.
1.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Risked,
R
technically recoverable sha
ale gas and
d shale oil resources ffrom black sshale
within the
e Los Molle
es Formation
n of the Neu
uquen Basin
n are estima
ated at 275 Tcf of shale
e gas
and 3.7 billion
b
barrels of shale oil
o and conde
ensate, from
m 982 Tcf an
nd 61 billion barrels of rissked,
in-place shale gas and
a
shale oil resources
s, Tables 1 and 2. The
e Los Molle
es Formation
n has
e to high res
source concentrations of 49 to 190 Bcf/mi2 for sshale gas an
nd 9 to 36 m
million
moderate
bbl/mi2 fo
or shale oil, depending
d
on
o the thermal maturity w
window.
The
T Vaca Mu
uerta Formation has risk
ked, techniccally recoverrable shale g
gas and sha
ale oil
resource
es of 308 Tcff of gas and 16 billion ba
arrels of oil a
and condenssate, from 1,202 Tcf and
d 270
billion ba
arrels of riske
ed, in-place shale gas and shale oil resources. T
The Vaca M
Muerta has hiigh to
very high
h resource concentration
ns of 66 to 303
3 Bcf/mi2 ffor shale gass and 23 to 78 million bb
bl/mi2
for shale oil, depending on therm
mal maturity window.
w
June, 2013
V--11
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
Figure V-6. Prosp

pective Shale Gas and Shale Oil Areas, V
Vaca Muerta Formation, Neuuquen Basin.
Source: ARI, 2013.
1.4
Recent
R
Activity
Early
E
drilling and producttion testing are
a underwa
ay in the Ne
euquen Basiin, evaluating the
Vaca Mu
uerta Formattion mostly at depths off 6,000 to 1 1,000 ft. YPF reported
d it holds ab
bout 3
million ne
et acres in the
t basin an
nd is negotia
ating with C
Chevron, TOTAL, Statoill, Dow Chem
mical,
and othe
er companies to jointly develop
d
its shale
s
resou rces. Includ
ding earlier Repsol ope
erated
wells, YP
PF has drille
ed 37 Vaca Muerta
M
wells
s through 20
012.15 Chevron has repo
ortedly agre
eed to
June, 2013
V--12
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
invest up
p to $1 billion
n to drill 100
0 wells with YPF
Y
in the N
Neuquen Basin, although the deal a
awaits
final approval. CNO
OOC signed a joint ventu
ure deal wit h YPF to invvest up to $
$1.5 billion to
o drill
s in the basin.
130 wells
Repsol,
R
which
h previously
y operated YPFs
Y
positio
on in the Neu
uquen Basin
n, drilled som
me 20
vertical wells
w
targetin
ng the Vaca Muerta Sha
ale that prod
duced at encouraging in
nitial rates o
of 180
to 600 bb
bl/day on res
stricted 4-mm choke. In
n 2012, Rep
psol estimate
ed that its le
eases held a total
of 92 Tcff and 7.0 billion barrels of
o contingentt and prospe
ective shale gas and oil resources.166
Apache
A
has 1.3 million net acres in the Neu
uquen Basiin with Vacca Muerta S
Shale
potential, of which th
he company estimates 586,000
5
net acres is liquids-rich. A
Apache estim
mates
ecoverable potential
p
at 0.8
0 billion barrels. The ccompany com
mpleted its ffirst Vaca Muerta
its net re
horizonta
al well durin
ng 2012, a relatively
r
short 1,900-ft lateral treatted with a 7
7-stage hydraulic
stimulatio
on, describe
ed by Apach
he as very encouraging
g.17 The co
ompanys earlier Los M
Molles
horizonta
al, drilled intto the dry ga
as thermal maturity win
ndow at a depth of 4,40
00 m, IPd a
at 4.5
MMcfd frrom a 2100 lateral that was stimula
ated by a 9--stage fractu
ure treatmen
nt. Apache plans
to invest $200 MM during 2013 to
t drill 16 ne
et wells focu
using on the Vaca Muertte within the
e TDF
N
blocks.18
and Rio Negro
EOG
E
Resourrces estimattes it holds about
a
100,0
000 net acre
es with shale
e potential in the
Neuquen
n Basin. The company reported low
wer-than-exp
pected results from its ffirst horizonttal oil
well in th
he Vaca Muerta Formattion, with pro
oduction sim
milar to its n
nearby verticcal well. EO
OG is
evaluatin
ng the results
s of the two wells and pllans to proce
eed cautioussly during 20
013.19
Calgary-base
C
ed Americas
s Petrogas operates
o
15
5 blocks covvering nearly 1.4 million
n net
acres in the Neuque
en Basin. To
T date the company ha
as drilled four shale exp
ploration we
ells to
V
Muerta
a Formation. Its LTE.x1
1 vertical we
ell on the Los Toldos II b
block, drilled
d with
test the Vaca
partner ExxonMobil,
E
9 boe/day (3
30-day avera
age rate; 82
2% oil) from
m the 343-m thick
IPd at 309
Vaca Mu
uerta Forma
ation followiing a 5-stag
ge hydraulicc stimulation.
The co
ompanys se
econd
vertical shale
s
well, drilled on the
t
Los To
oldos I blocck, intersected 562 m of Vaca Muerta
Formatio
on at depths
s of 2,570-2,,929 m. This well prod
duced up to 3.2 million ft3/day of na
atural
gas with 9 to 18 bbl/d
day of conde
ensate follow
wing a 4-stag
ge fracture sstimulation.20
June, 2013
V--13
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
GOLFO
G
SAN
N JORGE BASIN
2.1
In
ntroduction
Located in ce
entral Patagonia, the 67
7,000-mi2 Go
olfo San Jorrge Basin acccounts for a
about
ntinas conve
entional oil and gas pro
oduction.21 A
An intra-cratonic extenssional
one-quarrter of Argen
basin, the San Jorge
e extends ac
cross the wid
dth of south
hern Argentin
na, from the
e Andean foo
othills
on the west
w
to the offshore
o
Atla
antic contine
ental shelf in
n the east. Excluding its small offsshore
extent, th
he onshore Golfo
G
San Jo
orge Basin covers
c
appro
oximately 46
6,000 mi2.
The
T
basin is
s bordered by the De
eseado Grab
ben and M
Massif to the
e south, byy the
Somuncu
ura Massif to the nortth, and the
e Andes Mo
ountains in the west.
structure
es of the San
n Bernardo Fold Belt tra
ansect the w
west-central region.
22
Compresssional
E
Extensional ffaults
are wide
espread in th
he northeas
stern and so
outhern flan ks, while th
he northwestern edge o
of the
2
basin is less faulted.23
Extensional
E
events
e
marked by the fo
ormation of g
grabens and
d half-graben
ns in the pre
esentday loca
ation of the Golfo San Jorge Basiin began in
n the Triasssic to Early Jurassic ass the
Gondwan
na supercon
ntinent began to break up.
u 24 A sepa
arate period
d of extensio
on followed in the
Middle Jurassic, as the Lonco Trapial Volc
canics were deposited via northwe
est-striking fa
faults.
nd of the Jurassic
J
and
d extensive, mainly laccustrine dep
posits
The regiion subsided by the en
formed, including
i
the
e thick black
k shale and mudstone ssource rockks of the Neo
ocomian Ag
guada
Bandera Formation.
2.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Aguada
A
Ban
ndera Shale.
The Late
L
Jurasssic-Early Crretaceous A
Aguada Ban
ndera
Formatio
on comprises fine gray sandstones
s that grade
e upward into a tufface
eous matrix,, with
black sha
ales and mu
udstones inc
creasing tow
wards its basse, Figure V
V-7.25 Much
h of the form
mation
is lacustrine in origin, although foraminifera
a found in w
western are
eas suggest possible m
marine
ar beds.26
sources in particula
Towards
T
the
e north, oth
her biota ind
dicative of an outer m
marine
nt were obse
erved in wel l samples ne
ear Lago Co
olhue Huapi..27
platform depositional environmen
June, 2013
V--14
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
Figuree V-7: Golfo San

S Jorge Bas in Stratigraphhy
Source: Sylw
wan, 2001.
The
T Aguada Bandera Fo
ormation is a heterogen
neous unit ccomprising sshale, sandsstone,
and occa
asional limestone. Tota
al formation thickness vvaries widely, from morre than 15,0
000 ft
thick in th
he southwes
st to 0-2,000
0 ft thick abo
out 60 miles offshore in tthe east. A similar thickkness
variation also is seen in the wes
st. Limited data is pressent south o
of Lago Colh
hue Huapi tto the
ormation gen
nerally is 1,0
000 to 5,000
0 ft thick in tthe central b
basin,
north. The Aguada Bandara Fo
probably only a fraction of which is high-quality organic sshale.
Depth
D
to the top of the Aguada Band
dera Formatiion was map
pped based on the top o
of the
underlyin
ng Middle Ju
urassic Lonc
col Trapial vo
olcanics. Bu
urial depth re
eaches a ma
aximum 20,0
000 ft
along the
e onshore coast in the center
c
of the
e basin. De
epocenters iin the weste
ern portion o
of the
basin typ
pically avera
age a more prospective
p
10,000 to 1 2,000 ft dee
ep. The Ag
guada Bande
era is
June, 2013
V--15
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
much shallower, 2,000 to 8,000 ft deep, alo

ong the north
hern and we
estern flankss. In the ea
astern
o
porttion of the ba
asin, the Aguada Bande
era Shale is about 1,500
0 to 2,500 ft thick
coastal onshore
and 20,000 ft deep.
Limited geoc
chemical datta were ava
ailable for an
nalyzing the
e Aguada Bandera, whiich is
considera
ably deeperr than the conventiona
al reservoirss and thus rarely sam
mpled.
Onlyy two
available
e wells have TOC and Ro data, both
h located in tthe basins w
western area
a. Average TOC
ranged frrom 1.44% to 3.01% at depths of 12,160
1
ft and
d 11,440 ft, respectivelyy.28 Organicc-rich
intervals reached 4.1
19% TOC. Vitrinite
V
refle
ectance indiccated a dry-g
gas thermal maturity of 2.4%
R o.
Petroleum
P
ba
asin modeling indicates that
t
the miniimum gas ge
eneration threshold (Ro = 1.0
to 1.3%)) is typically
y achieved across
a
the basin at de
epths below
w about 6,60
00 ft. Thuss, the
Aguada Bandera Formation app
pears to be mature
m
for g
gas generatio
on across m
most of the b
basin,
V
The unit is likely to be over ma
ature in the d
deep basin center, whe
ere Ro is mod
deled
Figure V-8.
to exceed
d 4%.
maximum Ro cutoffs, A
Using
U
depth distribution
n and appro
opriate mini mum and m
ARIs
prospective area for the Aguada
a Bandera Shale covers approximattely 8,380 m
mi2 of the onsshore
Golfo Sa
an Jorge Ba
asin. The central
c
coastal basin (>
>16,000 ft de
eep) and th
he northern Lake
region (<
<6,000 ft dee
ep) were exc
cluded as no
ot prospectivve.
Pozo
P
D-129 Shale. The Early Cre
etaceous Po
ozo D-129 F
Formation comprises a wide
range of lithologies, with
w the dee
ep lacustrine sediments --- organic black shales a
and mudston
nes
ed most prrospective for
f hydrocarrbon genera
ation.29
considere
Th
he presence
e of pyrite, dark
laminatio
ons, and the absence off fossil burro
ows in the m
marine shale portions of this unit all point
to favorably anoxic depositional
d
conditions.300 Siltstones, sandstoness, and ooliticc limestoness also
were dep
posited in the
e shallower water enviro
onments of tthe Pozo D-1
129.
The
T Pozo D-1
129 Shale is
s consistently thicker tha
an 3,000 ft in
n the centrall basin, with local
maxima exceeding
e
4,500
4
ft thick
k. Along the northern fla
ank the intervval is typicallly 1,000 to 2
2,000
ft thick. A locally th
hick deposit occurs in th
he western part of the basin, but thins rapidly from
about 1,0
000 ft thick to
o absent.
June, 2013
V--16
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
Figuree V-8: Aguadaa Bandera Fm Prospective A

Area, Golfo Saan Jorge Basiin
Sourcce: ARI, 2013.
Northeast
N
of Lago Colhu
ue Huapi, the
e Pozo D-12
29 shoals ra
apidly from 6,000 ft to a
about
2,800 ft deep.
d
Just southwest
s
off the lake, de
epth increasses from abo
out 5,000 ft tto nearly 9,5
500 ft.
To the so
outh, depths
s range from
m 5,000 to 6,400 ft, with similar depths in the we
est. The Pozzo D129 deep
pens along the eastern
n coastal flank of the ba
asin to nearrly 15,900 ftt near the ccity of
Comodorro Rivadavia
a.
Available
A
data indicates organic
o
richn
ness in the ssouthwest, 1
1.42% to 2.4
45% TOC, w
with a
correspo
onding early gas maturity
y of 1.06% Ro. In the no
orth-central rregion a low 0.32% TOC
C was
recorded
d, with slightly higher 0.5
5% Ro near Lago Colhu
ue Huapi.31 Towards the basin center in
the east, organic carrbon (TOC) rises
r
to arou
und 1.22%. The thermal maturity in this deep se
etting
uth, thermal maturity drops to oil-p
spondingly high,
h
2.49 to
o 3.15% Ro. In the sou
prone
is corres
levels, 0.83% Ro with a measu
ured TOC here of abou
ut 0.84%, e
excluding thiis area from
m the
resource
e assessmen
nt.
June, 2013
V--17
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
ARI
A defined the
t shale prrospective areas for the
e Pozo D-12
29 Formation
n based prim
marily
on depth
h and available (but in
ncomplete) vitrinite refllectance da
ata, Figure V-9.
The total
2
prospective area for the Pozo D-129

D
Shale
e is estimate
ed at approxximately 5,58
80 mi , main
nly in
the dry gas
g window (4,120 mi2), with much
h smaller we
et gas (540 mi2) and oill-prone (920
0 mi2)
areas.
Figu
ure V-9: Pozo D-129 Fm, TO
OC, Thermal Maturity,
M
and P
Prospective Arrea, Golfo Sann Jorge Basin
Source: ARI, 2013.
2.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Aguada
A
Ban
ndera Forma
ation. Risk
ked, technica
ally recovera
able shale g
gas resource
es for
the Agua
ada Bandera
a Formation in the Golfo
o San Jorge Basin are e
estimated at 51 Tcf of na
atural
gas, from
m risked sha
ale gas in-p
place of 254
4 Tcf, Table
e 1. The p
play has a h
high net ave
erage
resource
e concentration of 152 Bc
cf/mi2.
June, 2013
V--18
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
Pozo
P
D-129 Formation. The Pozo D-129
D
Form
mation has rissked, technically recove
erable
shale resources esttimated at 35
3 Tcf of shale
s
gas a
and 0.5 billio
on barrels of shale oill and
ate, from 18
84 Tcf and 17 billion barrels
b
of ri sked, in-pla
ace shale ga
as and sha
ale oil
condensa
resource
es, Tables 1 and 2. The
e Pozo D-129 has mode
erate to high net resourcce concentra
ations
of 41 to 163 Bcf/mi2 of shale gas
g
and 20 to 64 millio
on bbl/mi2 o
of shale oil a
and conden
nsate,
ng on the the
ermal maturiity window.
dependin
2.4
Recent
R
Activity
No
N shale activity has bee
en reported in the Golfo S
San Jorge B
Basin.
AUSTRAL
A
BASIN
B
3.1
In
ntroduction
2
Located in so
outhern Pata
agonia, the 65,000-mi
6
A
Austral-Mag
gallanes Bassin has prom
mising
sted shale gas

g potentia
al, Figure V-10.
V
Most o
of the basin
n is in Argen
ntina, where
e it is
but untes
usually called
c
the Au
ustral Basin. A small so
outhernmost portion of th
he basin is llocated in C
Chiles
Tierra de
el Fuego reg
gion, where iti is referred to as the M
Magallanes B
Basin. Oil and gas has been
produced
d in the bas
sin for decad
des from de
eltaic to fluvvial sandston
nes in the E
Early Cretacceous
Springhill Formation at depths off about 6,000
0 ft.
The
T
Austral Basin comp
prises two main structural regionss: a normall faulted ea
astern
region and a thrustt faulted we
estern area.
quence of U
Upper
The basi n contains a thick seq
ous and Terttiary sedime

entary and volcaniclastic
v
c rocks whicch unconform
mably overlie the
Cretaceo
deformed
d metamorp
phic baseme
ent of Paleo
ozoic age.
Total sedim
ment thickne
ess ranges from
3,000 to 6,000 ft alon

ng the easte
ern coast to a maximum 25,000 ft allong the bassin axis. Jurrassic
and Low
wer Cretaceo
ous petroleu
um source rocks
r
are p
present at m
moderate de
epths of 6,00
00 to
10,000 ft
f across larrge areas, Figure V-11
1.32
The o
overlying Cre
etaceous se
ection comp
prises
mainly de
eepwater turbidite clastiic deposits up
u to 4 km th
hick which a
appear to lacck shale gass and
oil potenttial.33
The
T
organic--rich shales of Jurassic
c and Early Cretaceouss age forme
ed under anoxic
marine conditions
c
within
w
a Neo
ocomian sag on the e dge of the Andes marrgin.
The basal
sequence
e consists of Jurassic
c source ro
ocks that acccumulated under resttricted lacusstrine
condition
ns within sma
all half-grabe
ens. Interbe
edded shale and sandsttone of the Z
Zapata and P
Punta
Barrosa formations were
w
depos
sited in a sh
hallow-waterr marine envvironment.344 The mid-lower
June, 2013
V--19
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
Jurassic Tobifera Formation

F
contains
c
1%
% to 3% TO
OC (maxim
mum 10% in
n coaly sha
ales),
gen. Howev
ver, carbon in this unit iis mainly co
oaly and probably
consisting of Types I to III kerog
ently brittle fo
or shale explloration.
insufficie
Figure V-10:
V
Stratigraphy of the Austral-Magallannes Basin, Arggentina and C
Chile
Source: Rosseello et al., 2008
June, 2013
V--20
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
Fig
gure V-11: Inoceramus Shalle, Depth, TOC
C, and Thermaal Maturity, A
Austral / Magalllanes Basin
Source: ARI,, 2013.
Overlying
O
the Tobifera Formation are more prospectivve shales w
within the Early
Cretaceo
ous Lower In
noceramus or
o Palermo Aike
A
formatiions (Estrato
os con Favrrella Formatiion in
Chile).
The Tobife
era was dep
posited under shallow water mariine conditions.
The L
Lower
mus Formatio
on is 50 to 400
4 m thick. In the Arge
entina portion
n of the basin, the total sshale
Inoceram
June, 2013
V--21
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
thickness
s (including the Magnas Verdes Formation) ra
anges from 800 ft thickk in the norrth to
4,000 ft thick in the
e south, representing ne
eritic facies deposited in a low-en
nergy and anoxic
ment.35
environm
Total organic content

c
of th
hese two ma
ain source rrocks generrally ranges from
1.0% to 2.0%,
2
with hydrogen
h
ind
dex of 150 to
o 550 mg/g.336 Based on
n analysis in
n Chile reporrtedly
conducte
ed by Chesapeake Ene
ergy, the Lo
ower Cretacceous Estra
atos con Fa
avrella Form
mation
contains marine-deposited shale
e with consis
stently good to excellentt (up to 6%) TOC, particularly
37
near its base.
b
ws the 180--m thick Esttratos

Figure V-12, a seismic time
t
section
n across the
e basin, show
ely simple sstructural settting. ENAP
P has
con Favrrella Formation dipping gently west in a relative
estimated
d porosity of
o 6% to 12%, but we
e assumed a more co
onservative estimate off 6%.
Thermal maturity inc
creases grad
dually with depth
d
in a ha
alf-moon pa
attern, rangin
ng from oil-p
prone
%) to dry gas
s prone (Ro 2.0%).
2
The transition fro
om wet to dry gas (Ro 1
1.3%) occurss at a
(Ro 0.8%
depth of about 3,600
0 m in this ba
asin.38
Figure V-12: Seeismic Time Section
S
in the Magallanes B
Basin, Chile
Source: Metthanex, September 27, 2012.
June, 2013
V--22
V. Argentina
3.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Argentinas
A
portion
p
of the
e Austral Ba
asin has an estimated 13,530-mi2 prospective area
with organic-rich sh
hale in Low
wer Cretace
eous formattions.
Of tthis total p
prospective area,
mately 4,620
0 mi2 is in th
he oil windo
ow; 4,600 m i2 is in the w
wet gas/con
ndensate the
ermal
approxim
maturity window; and 4,310 mi2 is in the drry gas windo
ow. These shales averrage about 8
800 ft
ganic-rich), 8,000
8
to 13,500 ft deep, and have e
estimated 3.5% average
e TOC. The
ermal
thick (org
maturity (Ro) ranges
s from 0.7% to 2.0% de
epending ma
ainly on dep
pth. Porosityy is estimatted at
%. The Estan
ncia Los Lag
gunas gas condensate
c
field in souttheast Argen
ntina measured a
about 5%
0.46 psii/ft pressure
e gradient with elevatted tempera
ature gradie
ents in the
e Serie Tob
bifera
Formatio
on, immediattely underlyin
ng the Lowe
er Inoceramu
us equivalen
nt.39
3.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Risked,
R
techn
nically recov
verable shale
e gas and o
oil resourcess from the Lo
ower Cretacceous
formation
ns in the Arg
gentina porttion of the Austral
A
Basin
n are estima
ated at 130 Tcf of shale
e gas
and 6.6 billion
b
barrells of shale oil
o and condensate, Tab
bles V-1 and
d V-2. Riske
ed shale gass and
oil in-pla
ace is estima
ated at 606
6 Tcf and 13
31 billion ba
arrels. The
e play has m
moderate to high
resource
e concentratiions of 33 to
o 156 Bcf/mi2 of shale g
gas and 15 tto 48 million
n bbl/mi2 of sshale
oil and co
ondensate, depending
d
on
o the thermal maturity w
window.
3.4
Recent
R
Activity
No
N shale leas
sing or explo
oration activity has been
n reported in
n the Australl Basin. In C
Chile,
Methanex had partnered with ENAP in conventional oi l and gas exxploration in

n the Magallanes
basin an
nd also had expressed interest in shale gas exploration during 2011-12. How
wever,
recently the company decided to relocate
e about hallf of its me
ethanol capa
acity in Chile to
a, USA.40
Louisiana
UK-based
U
Ge
eoPark hold
ds conventio
onal petrole
eum leases in the Magallanes Bassin of
Chile, wh
hich the com
mpany notes
s contains shales in the
e Estratos co
on Favrella Formation w
which
previously have prod
duced oil. In
n 2012, GeoP
Park conduccted diagnosstic fracture injection tessts on
ell Block to determine res
servoir prope
erties of the
e shale.41
eight wellls on the Fe
June, 2013
V--23
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
PARAN
P
BA
ASIN
4.1
In
ntroduction
The
T
Paran Basin is a large (747,0
000 mi2) de
epositional ffeature that covers areas of
Brazil, Pa
araguay, and Uruguay, as well as a small area of northeasstern Argentiina, Figure V
V-13.
The basin contains up
u to 5 km (llocally 7 km) of Paleozo
oic and Meso
ozoic sedim
mentary rockss that
range fro
om Late Orrdovician to Cretaceous
s.
The bassins westerrn border iss defined byy the
Asuncion
n Arch, relatted to Ande
ean thrusting
g, while the east is trun
ncated by th
he South Attlantic
tectonic margin.42 Much
M
of the Brazilian
B
portion of the basin is covvered by floo
od basalts, p
partly
g the underlying geolo
ogy from se
eismic and increasing tthe cost of drilling, bu
ut the
obscuring
Argentina
a portion is largely free of
o basalt.
Fig
gure V-13: Pro
ospective Shaale Area in thee Parana Basinn, Argentina
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
V--24
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
The
T main pettroleum sourrce rock in th
he Paran B
Basin is the Devonian (E
Emsian/Frassnian)
black sha
ale of the Ponta Grossa
a Formation. The entire
e formation ranges up tto 600 m thick in
the cente
er of the bas
sin, averagin
ng about 300
0 m thick. T
TOC of the P
Ponta Grossa
a Fm reache
es up
to 4.6% but more ty
ypically is 1.5% to 2.5%
%. The mosttly Type II kkerogen sou
urced natura
al gas
s
re
eservoirs.43
that migrrated into conventional sandstone
Figure V-14, a cross-sec
ction of the Paran
P
Basi n, illustratess the thick an
nd gently dip
pping
n source roc
cks that pass
s through th
he oil window
w into the ga
as window.444 A conventtional
Devonian
well log in the Paraguay portion of the basin penetrated Devonian source rocks and interbe
edded
nes with oil and
a gas sho
ows.45 In outcrop, the D
Devonian Cordobes Form
mation range
es up
sandston
to 160 m thick, including up to
o 60 m of organic-rich
o
C ranges from 0.7 to 3
3.6%,
shale. TOC
consisting mainly of Type II marrine kerogen
n. Based on
n the low the
ermal maturity at outcro
op (Ro
A
has estimated the boundary
y between d
dry and wett gas to occcur at a dep
pth of
0.6%), ANCAP
about 3,2
200 m.46
The
T
Paran Basin has remained at moderatte burial de
epth throug
ghout its hisstory.
Consequ
uently, the bulk
b
of therrmal matura
ation took p
place during
g the late JJurassic to early
Cretaceo
ous igneous episode. Most
M
of the basin rema
ains thermallly immature
e (Ro <0.5%), but
there are
e sizeable co
oncentric win
ndows of oil-, wet-gas-, and dry-gass maturity in the central deep
portion of
o the basin.
4.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Depth
D
and th
hermal matu
urity of the Devonian
D
P
Ponta Grossa
a Formation
n are moderrately
constrain
ned by data in the Argen
ntina portion
n of the Para
an Basin. T
The total pro
ospective arrea in
Argentina
a is estimatted at 2,500
0 mi2, of wh
hich 270 mi2 is in the w
wet gas/con
ndensate the
ermal
maturity window, an
nd 2,230 mi2 is in the dry
d gas wind
dow (the oil window is negligible in
n this
a shale averages aboutt 300 m thicck (net), 11,000 to 14,0
000 ft
basin). Devonian Ponta Grossa
ated 2.0% average
a
TOC
C. Thermal m
maturity (Ro) ranges from
m 0.85% to 1.5%
deep, and has estima
ng mainly on
n depth.
dependin
For example, Amerisur reported tha
at the Devo
onian Lima Formation h
has good (2
2-3%)
d is oil-prone
e (Ro 0.87%)) at their con
nventional exxploration bllock in Parag
guay. Porossity is
TOC and
estimated
d at about 4% and the pressure
p
gradient is assu
umed to be h
hydrostatic.
June, 2013
V--25
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
Figure V-14:
V
Cross-Seection of the Paran
P
Basin of
o Paraguay, S
Showing Thickk and Gently D
Dipping Devonian
Source Roccks Passing Through
T
the O il and Gas Windows.
Source: Chaaco Resources PLC,

P 2004.
4.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Risked,
R
techn
nically recov
verable shale
e gas and sh
hale oil resources from b
black shale iin the
Devonian
n Ponta Grossa Formation in the Arg
gentina porttion of the Pa
aran Basin
n are estimatted at
3.2 Tcf of
o natural ga
as and minim
mal (0.01 biillion barrelss) shale oil a
and condensate, Tabless V-1
and V-2. Risked sha
ale gas and shale oil in-place is esttimated at 16 Tcf and 0
0.3 billion ba
arrels.
y has low to moderate net resource concentratio
ons of 35 to 57 Bcf/mi2 of shale gass and
The play
8 million bbl/mi2 of sh
hale oil and condensate, depending on the therm
mal maturityy window.
4.4
Recent
R
Activity
No
N shale leas
sing or explo
oration activ
vity has been
n reported in
n the Argentina portion o
of the
Paran Basin.
B
In Uruguay
U
TOT
TAL, YPF, and
a
small A
Australia-bassed Petrel E
Energy hold large
exploratio
on licenses with Devonian shale pottential but ha
ave not drille
ed.
June, 2013
V--26
V. Argentina
EIA/ARI W
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40
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n, P.V., 1999
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9-205.
43
Vesely
y, F.F., Rosttirolla, S.P., Appi, C.J., Kraft, E.P., 2007. Late Paleozoic Glacially Re
elated
ation of Petrroleum Geolo
Sandsto
one Reservoirs in the Parrana Basin, Brazil. Ame
erican Associa
ogists,
Bulletin, vol. 91, p. 15
51-160.
44
Chaco Resources PLC,

P
2004. Proposed
Ac
cquisition of A
Amerisur S.A
A. and Bohem
mia S.A., Nottice of
Extraord
dinary Genera
al Meeting. 83
8 p.
45
46
Guapex
x S.A., 2012. Unconventio
onal Gas in Paraguay.
P
21
1 p.
US Ge
eological Surv
vey, 2011. A
Assessment of Potential S
Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resources o
of the
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asin, Uruguay
y, 2011. 2 p.
June, 2013
V--29
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
VI. BRAZIL
B
L
SUMMA
ARY
While
W
Brazils
s most prolific petroleu
um basins l ie offshore, the countryy has 18 m
mostly
undevelo
oped and lig
ghtly explore
ed sedimenttary basins onshore, Figure VI-1. Three of tthese
basins --- the Paran in the south and the
e Solimes and Amazo
onas in the north pro
oduce
significan
nt conventio
onal oil and gas from demonstrate
ed source rrock system
ms.
These three
basins allso have suffficient geolo

ogic data to be
b assessed
d for shale gas and shale
al.
e oil potentia
Figuree VI-1: Prospeective Shale B
Basins of Brazzil
Source: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
VI-1
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
The
T
main shale target is the De
evonian (Fra
asnian) ma
arine black shale, whicch is
extensive
ely develope
ed in the three structura
ally simple b asins but ha
as relatively modest TO
OC (22.5%). Several
S
othe
er basins in
n Brazil may
y have shale
e gas and o
oil potential but lack prroven
source ro
ock systems
s, are therma
ally immature
e, and/or lacck sufficient public data ffor assessm
ment.
Brazils
B
risked
d, technically recoverab
ble shale gass and shale oil resource
es in the Pa
aran,
Solimes
s and Amaz
zonas basins
s are estima
ated at 245 Tcf and 5.4
4 billion barrrels, Tabless VI-1
and VI-2. Risked, in
n-place shale
e resources are estimate
ed to be 1,2
279 Tcf of sh
hale gas and
d 134
arrels of shalle oil. No sh
hale-focused
d exploration
n leasing or drilling has been annou
unced
billion ba
to date in
n Brazil.
Taable VI-1. Shale Gas Reservoir Propertiess and Resourcces of Brazil
BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Parana
Basin/Gross Areea
Solimoes
2
Shale Formatio
on
Geologic Age
Amazonas
2
(747,000 mi )
(350,000 mi )
(
(230,000
mi )
Ponta Grossa
Devonian
Marine
Jandiatuba
Devonian
Marine
Barreirinha
Devonian
Marine
Pro
25,600
18,050
22,840
8
8,560
54,750
5,520
3,260
44,8890
Organiccally Rich
1,000
1,000
300
3000
1,000
160
160
260
Thickness (ft)
Net
225
2225
300
300
300
120
120
195
Interval
9,500 - 13,0000 10,000 - 14,000 12,000 - 16,400 3,3000 - 10,000 10,000 - 16,400 6,500 - 13,000 88,000 - 14,000 3,300 - 16,400
Deepth (ft)
12,000
Averagee
11,000
14,000
7
7,500
12,000
9,500
11,500
12,0000
Reeservoir Pressure
Thermal Maturity (% Ro
o)
Claay Content
Gaas Phase
Normal
Normal
Normal
Noormal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
2.0%
0.85%
Low/Mediuum
2.0%
1.15%
Low/Medium
2.0%
1.50%
Low/Medium
2
2.2%
1.15%
Meedium
2.2%
1.60%
Medium
m
2.5%
0.85%
Medium
2.5%
1.15%
Medium
2.55%
1.600%
Meddium
Dry Gas
Assoc. Gaas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
Weet Gas
Dry Gass
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
GIP
P Concentration (Bcf/f/mi )
25.5
55.7
91.3
2
20.1
36.1
15.2
45.4
700.2
Rissked GIP (Tcf)
78.5
120.7
250.4
2
25.8
296.8
12.6
22.2
4722.4
Rissked Recoverable (Tccf)
6.3
24.1
50.1
5.2
59.4
1.0
4.4
944.5
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Taable VI-2. Shale Oil Reservo

oir Properties and Resourcees of Brazil
June, 2013
Parana
Basin/Gross Area
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
D
Depositional
Environm
ment
2
Prosspective Area (mi )

Organically Rich
Thicckness (ft)
Net
Interval
Deptth (ft)
Average
Reseervoir Pressure
Averrage TOC (wt. %)
Therrmal Maturity (% Ro)
Clayy Content
Oil Phase
P
Amazonas
Solimoes
2
(7447,000 mi )
(350,000 mi )
(230,000 mi )
onta Grossa
Po
Devonian
Marine
Jandiatuba
Devonian
Marine
Barreirinha
Devonian
Marine
25,600
1,000
300
9,500 - 13,0000
11,000
18,050
1,000
300
10,000 - 14,000
12,000
8,560
160
120
3,300 - 10,000
7,500
5,520
260
195
6,500 - 13,000
9,500
3,2260
3000
2225
8,000 - 14,000
11,500
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Norrmal
2.0%
0.85%
m
Low/Medium
2.0%
1.15%
Low/Medium
2.2%
1.15%
Medium
2.5%
0.85%
Medium
2.55%
1.15%
Meddium
Oil
Condensate
Condensate
Oil
Condeensate
OIP Concentration (MMbb

bl/mi )
26.8
11.4
5.5
18.3
8.7
Riskked OIP (B bbl)
82.4
24.7
7.1
15.1
4.3
Riskked Recoverable (B bb
bl)
3.30
0.99
0.28
0.61
0.17
VI-2
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
INTROD
DUCTION AND
A
GEOL
LOGIC OVE
ERVIEW
Brazil
B
has 18
8 onshore sedimentary
s
y basins, of which 14 b
basins may have petro
oleum
source ro
ocks. Howe
ever, since the
t 1980s Brazil has foccused mainlly on its offsshore oil and
d gas
resource
es, while the
e onshore ba
asins have seen less a
activity. On
nly two onsh
hore basins have
significan
nt oil and ga
as output (Am
mazonas an
nd Paran). Relatively ffew conventtional oil and
d gas
wells hav
ve been drilled to the deep
d
source
e rock intervvals in these
e basins. S
Shale explorration
drilling ha
as not yet occurred.
o
As
s a result, ge
eologic data
a on the sha
ale source ro
ocks in Brazzil are
relatively
y scant.
Brazils
B
Natio
onal Oil and Gas Agency (ANP) hass conducted
d exploration
n surveys, m
mostly
gravity and
a
magnetics with min
nimal drilling
g, on four o nshore basiins: the Am
mazonas, Pa
arana,
1
Parnaiba
a, and part of
o the Sao Francisco.
F
ed that Brazzil may have
e 208
Recently A NP estimate
Tcf of shale gas re

esources, ba
ased on a rough anallogy of thre
ee onshore Brazilian basins
a, Parecis, Recncavo) with the Barnett
B
Sha
ale in the F
Fort Worth B
Basin of Te
exas.2
(Parnaiba
Petrobras, the nation
nal oil comp
pany, recenttly drilled itss first shale oil well in A
Argentina bu
ut has
not anno
ounced plans
s for shale drilling in Brazil.
EIA/ARI
E
has assessed th
he shale res
source pote ntial of three of Brazilss onshore basins
(Paran, Solimes, and Amazo
onas).
The
ese basins have prosp
pective shalles that sou
urced
commerc
cially produc
ctive conven
ntional oil an
nd gas fieldss as well as sufficient a
available geo
ologic
data for resource an
nalysis. In addition,
a
Bra
azil has a h alf-dozen otther basins which may have
otential, but their sourc
ce rock sys
stems are le
ess proven and/or the
ey lack suffficient
shale po
available
e geologic data.
d
Thes
se six otherr basins -- which were
e reviewed but not forrmally
assessed
d in this stud
dy -- include
e the Potigua
ar, Parnaiba
a, Parecis, R
Recncavo, S
Sergipe-Alag
goas,
Sao Fran
ncisco, Taub
bat, and Ch
haco- Paran
.
1.
PARAN
P
BA
ASIN
1.1
In
ntroduction
Located in Brrazils econo
omically mos
st developed
d southern rregion, the P
Paran Basin
n is a
5 million km2) deposition

nal feature that
t
covers 7
747,000 mi2 within Brazzil, with addittional
large (1.5
area in Paraguay,
P
Uruguay,
U
and
d northern Argentina,
A
F
Figure VI-2.
Major infrrastructure in the
region includes the Brazil-Bolivia

B
a and Urugua
aiana-Porto Alegre pipe
elines.
June, 2013
VI-3
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
Figuree VI-2: Prospecctive Shale Gaas and Shale O

Oil Areas in thhe Paran Bassin
Source: ARI,
A
2013
Conventional
C
petroleum exploration began in th
he Paran B
Basin during
g the 1890ss, but
the first (and
(
thus far only) comm
mercial disco
overy came in 1996, witth the low-pe
ermeability B
Barra
Bonita gas field of limited outpu
ut (36 Bcf to
otal through
h 2009).3 A
Approximately 124 petro
oleum
ve been drillled in the Brrazil portion of the Para
an Basin, a low drilling density of 1 well
wells hav
per 10,000 km2. In addition, some
s
30,000
0 km of 2D seismic ha
ave been accquired.4 O
Only a
fraction of
o this data set
s has been
n published and
a made avvailable for o
our study.
The
T
Paran Basin conttains up to 5 km (loca
ally 7 km) o
of Paleozoic and Mesozoic
sedimenttary rocks th
hat range fro
om Late Ordo
ovician to C retaceous. Its western border is de
efined
by the Asuncion
A
Arc
ch, related to
t Andean thrusting,
t
w
while the easst is truncatted by the S
South
Atlantic tectonic
t
marrgin.5 On th
he north the
e basin onla ps Precamb
brian basem
ment. Some
e twothirds of the basin is covered by
b flood bas
salts, partly obscuring tthe underlying geology from
seismic and
a increasing the cost of
o drilling.
June, 2013
VI-4
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
The
T structure
e of the Para
an Basin appears
a
to b
be moderate
ely simple, a
at least base
ed on
available
e data, consiisting of a ge
entle synclin
ne with mino
or faulting an
nd secondarry folding, Fiigure
VI-3.
Faults, predo
ominately no
ormal in oriientation, arre controlled
d by older basement ffaults
(aulocogens) which separate

s
larrge undeform
med tracts off the basin interior. How
wever, nume
erous
igneous sills and dikes,
d
related to emp
placement o
of the flood
d basalts d
during the Early
ous, intrude the sedimen
ntary sequen
nce. More d
detailed seissmic revealss the presen
nce of
Cretaceo
numerou
us smaller faults, Figures
s VI-4 and VI-5.
V
The
T main pettroleum sourrce rock in the
t Paran B
Basin is the Devonian b
black shale o
of the
Ponta Grrossa Forma
ation (Emsia
an/Frasnian)), Figure VII-6. This formation rang
ges up to 600 m
thick in the
t
center of
o the basin, averaging about 300 m thick. TO
OC of the P
Ponta Grossa
a Fm
reaches up to 4.6% but more ty
ypically is 1.5% to 2.5%
%. The mosstly Type II kerogen sou
urced
g that mig
grated into conventional
c
sandstone reservoirs o
of the Late Carbonifero
ous to
natural gas
Early Perrmian Itarar
Group.6
The
T
Paran Basin has remained at moderatte burial de
epth throug
ghout its hisstory.
Consequ
uently, the bulk
b
of therrmal matura
ation took p
place during
g the late JJurassic to early
Cretaceo
ous igneous episode. Most
M
of the basin rema
ains thermallly immature
e (Ro <0.5%), but
there are
e sizeable co
oncentric win
ndows of oil-, wet-gas-, and dry-gass maturity in the deep ce
entral
basin are
ea.
A second less prolific source
s
rock
k in the Pa
aran Basin is the Perrmo-Triassicc Irati
Formatio
on. This non-marine bittuminous un
nit sourced o
oil trapped in biodegrad
ded conventtional
sandston
nes (tar sand
ds) of the Pe
ermian and Triassic
T
Rio
o Bonito and Pirambia fformations.7 The
Irati Form
mation is wid
despread an
nd can be organic-rich, a
averaging 8--13% TOC o
of Type I kerrogen
with peak
ks to 24%, but
b the shale
es are quite thin and the
ermally immature (Ro <0
0.5%). Petro
obras
is mining
g Irati oil sh
hale from the
e surface att So Mateu
and processsing it using rock
us do Sul a
pyrolysis. Although the Irati Fm
m may be the
ermally matu
ure in the deep Paragu
uay portion o
of the
8
Paran Basin,
B
its Brrazil extensio
on was not assessed
a
du
ue to low the
ermal maturitty.
June, 2013
VI-5
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
Figure VII-3. Cross-Secction of the Paaran Basin, B

Brazil
Source: ANP, 2012
Figure VI-4:
V Seismic Time
T
Section Showing Regional Moderatte Block Faultting of the Parran Basin, Brrazil
Source: Pettersohn, 2003
June, 2013
VI-6
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
Figure VI-5:
V Seismic Time Section of the Paran Basin Showiing Small Fauults.
B
Showin
ng Source Rocck Shales, Devvonian Ponta Grossa Formaation
Figure VII-6: Stratigraphy of Paran Basin
June, 2013
VI-7
VI. Brazil
1.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T prospecttive area of organic-rich
h shale in th
he Devonian
n Ponta Grosssa Formation of
the Para
an Basin is
s estimated at approxim
mately 66,50
00 mi2, of which 25,600
0 mi2 is in th
he oil
window; 18,050 mi2 is in the wett gas/conden
nsate therm
mal maturity w
window; and
d 22,840 mi2 is in
the dry gas
g window. The Devon
nian shale av
verages abo
out 300 m th
hick (net), 11
1,000 to 14,0
000 ft
deep, and has estima
ated 2.0% average
a
TOC
C. Thermal m
maturity (Ro) ranges from
m 0.85% to 1.5%
ng mainly on
n depth. Porosity is es
stimated at about 4% a
and the presssure gradie
ent is
dependin
assumed
d to be hydro
ostatic.
1.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Risked,
R
techn
nically recov
verable shale
e gas and sshale oil reso
ources from Devonian P
Ponta
Grossa (Frasnian) bllack shale in

n the Paran
Basin are e
estimated att 81 Tcf of sshale gas an
nd 4.3
arrels of shalle oil and condensate, Tables
T
VI-1 a
and VI-2. Riisked shale gas and sha
ale oil
billion ba
in-place is estimated
d at 450 Tcff and 107 billion barrelss. The playy has moderrate net reso
ource
6 to 91 Bcff/mi2 for sha
ale gas and
d 11 to 27 million bbl//mi2 for sha
ale oil
concentrrations of 26
dependin
ng on therma
al maturity window.
w
1.4
Recent
R
Activity
No
N shale gas
s/oil exploration activity has
h been rep
ported in the
e Brazil portiion of the Pa
aran
Basin, although Ame

erisur Energy
y has discus
ssed the sha
ale potential of the Creta
aceous Irati F
Fm in
the Parag
guay portion
n of the basin
n.
June, 2013
VI-8
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
2.
SOLIMES
S
S BASIN
2.1
In
ntroduction
Located in northern Brazil, the Solimes Basin
n extends ovver 350,000
0 mi2 of Am
mazon
p
than Brazils offs hore fields, tthe Solime
es is the countrys
jungle, Figure VI-7. While less prolific
oductive ons
shore basin, with outputt of about 50
0,000 bbl/d of oil and 12 million m3/d of
most pro
natural gas from the Carbonifero
ous Juru Fo
ormation san
ndstone.9
Figure VI-7:
V Prospecttive Shale Gass and Shale O
Oil Areas in thee Solimes Baasin
Source: AR
RI, 2013
These
T
conve
entional rese
ervoirs direc
ctly overlie a
and were so
ourced by m
marine-depo
osited
source rocks
r
within the Devon
nian Jandiattuba (mostlyy), Jaraqui and Uer fformations.
The
Jandiatuba Fm (Fras
snian) conta
ains a 50-m thick sectio n of radioacctive (hot) black shale, with
verage 2.2%
%; maximum 8.25%), Fig
gure VI-8. Thermal ma
aturity
TOC ranging from 1% to 4% (av
y in the dry gas
g window (Ro >1.35%), apart from
m a small are
ea in the easst that is we
et-gas
is mostly
prone (R
Ro 1.0% to 1.3%).10
June, 2013
VI-9
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
Figure VI-8:
V Black Shaale in the Devo
onian Jandiattuba Formatioon of the Solim
mes Basin is about 40 m Thick
with 1% to 4%
% TOC at this Location
Source: Claark, 2003
Figure VI-9, a regional cross-sectio

c
n oriented in
n the basins strike dire
ection, show
ws the
mostly fla
at-lying but still
s moderattely faulted Devonian sh
hale at depths of 2 to 3 km. Note tthat a
dip-oriented cross-se
ection would
d reveal the steeper dip
ps. Structura
al uplifts define several subbasins.
The easterrnmost Juru

Sub-basin
n, with up to
o 3.8 km of ssedimentaryy rocks, acco
ounts
for most of the con

nventional oiil and gas found
f
in the
e Solimes Basin, inde
eed in the e
entire
Paleozoic sequence
e of South America.
The
T
shales thermal history is con
ntrolled morre by
proximity
y to igneous intrusions ra
ather than siimple burial depth.
June, 2013
VI-10
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
Figure VI-9: Cross-S

Section (Strikee Direction) of the Solimess Basin, Show
wing Flat-lyingg but Moderateely
Faulted Devonian
D
Shalee (Green) at D
Depths of 2 to 3 km.
Source: Claark, 2003
2.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T
total estimated pros
spective area
a of organicc-rich shale in the Devo
onian Jandia
atuba
Formatio
on of the Solimes Basin
n is estimate
ed at 63,000 mi2, of whicch 8,560 mi2 is in the we
et gas
thermal maturity win
ndow and 54,750
5
mi2 is in the drry gas wind
dow.
The JJandiatuba sshale
averages
s about 120
0 ft thick (ne
et), 7,500 to
o 12,000 ft d
deep, and h
has estimate
ed 2.2% ave
erage
TOC. Po
orosity is esttimated at 4%
% and the pressure grad
dient is assu
umed to be h
hydrostatic.
2.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Risked,
R
tech
hnically reco
overable shale gas an
nd shale oil resourcess from Devo
onian
Jandiatuba black sh
hale in the Solimes
S
Ba
asin are esttimated at 6
65 Tcf of sh
hale gas and
d 0.3
billion ba
arrels of shalle oil, out of risked shale
e gas and sh
hale oil in-pla
ace of 323 T
Tcf and 7.1 b
billion
barrels, Tables
T
VI-1 and VI-2. The
T play has
s a moderate
e net resourrce concentrration of 20 to 36
Bcf/mi2 fo
or shale gas
s and 5.5 million bbl/mi2 for
f shale oil.
2.4
Recent
R
Activity
No
N shale gas
s/oil exploration activity has
h been rep
ported in the
e Solimes B
Basin.
June, 2013
VI-11
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
3.
AMAZONA
A
AS BASIN
3.1
In
ntroduction
Extending
E
ov
ver more tha
an 230,000 mi
m 2 of Amazzon forest in
n remote northern Braziil, the
Amazona
as Basin is an
a ENE-WSW trending structural tro
ough bounded by the Purus and Ga
arupa
arches, Figure
F
VI-10. The firs
st conventional petroleu
um fields we
ere discovered in 1999
9 and
commerc
cialized startting in 2009
9, when the Urucu-Coarri-Manaus ga
as and LPG
G pipeline syystem
was com
mmissioned. By late 2010, this pipeline was tran
nsporting abo
out 0.2 Bcfd
d, mainly from
m the
nearby Solimes
S
Bas
sin, along with smaller volumes
v
from
m the Amazo
onas Basin.
Figure VII-10: Prospecttive Shale Gass and Shale O
Oil Areas in thee Amazonas B
Basin
Source: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
VI-12
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
The
T Amazona
as Basin con
ntains up to 5 km of mo
ostly Paleozo
oic sedimenttary rock tha
at are
covered by Mesozoiic and Ceno
ozoic strata, Figure VI- 11. While n
not structura
ally complexx, the
Amazona
as Basin was
w
extensiv
vely intrude
ed by igneo
ous activity during the
e Early Jura
assic,
particularly in the eastern
e
half of the ba
asin.
This was follow

wed by Cen
nozoic strucctural
k and strike--slip faulting

g and salt te
ectonics. Fiigure
deformattion that included extensional block
VI-12 illustrates the relatively
r
sim
mple local strructure in on
ne portion off the basin.
Figure VII-11: Devonian
n (Frasnian) Marine
M
Black Shale
S
Ranges from 2 to 4 Km
m Deep in thee Amazonas Basin.
Faultts Appear to be
b Widely Spacced but Igneoous Intrusionss are Commonn.
Source: Dignart and Vieira, 2007
Figure VI-12: Seismic Time Section in

n the Amazonas Basin Show
wing Simple S
Structure of thhe Devonian M
Marine
Black Shale.
Source: Dignart and Vieira, 2007
June, 2013
VI-13
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
The
T petroleum
m system in
n the Amazo
onas Basin i s broadly similar to thatt in the Solim
mes
Basin. Up
U to 160 m (average 80
0 m) of lamiinated marin
ne-deposited
d black shale
es are prese
ent in
the Devo
onian Barreirinha Formation (Frasn
nian), which
h was the ssource rock for conventtional
sandston
nes of the overlying
o
No
ova Olinda Formation.1 1
Ranging from 2 to 4 km deep

p, the
Devonian
n shale has 2% to 5% TOC
T
that con
nsists of Typ
pe II kerogen
n. The Devo
onian is therrmally
immature
e (Ro < 0.5%
%) in the shallow and western
w
port ions of the basin, increasing to we
et gas
prone in the deeperr center and
d dry gas prrone in the more heaviily intruded east. Addittional
marine black
b
shales
s occur in th
he Silurian Pitinga
P
Form
mation, but these conta
ain less than
n 2%
TOC and
d thus were not
n assessed.
3.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Based
B
on th
he limited geologic
g
con
ntrol availab
ble for the Amazonas Basin, the total
estimated
d prospectiv
ve area of organic-rich
h shale in tthe Devonia
an Barreirin
nha Formatio
on is
estimated
d at about 54,000
5
mi2, of which 5,5
520 mi2 is in
n the oil window; 3,260 mi2 is in the
e wet
gas and condensate
e window; and 44,890 mi
m 2 is in the
e dry gas wiindow. The
e Devonian sshale
s 195-225 ftt thick (net), 9,500-12,00
00 ft deep, and has estimated 2.5%
% average T
TOC.
averages
Porosity is estimated
d at 4% and the pressure
e gradient iss assumed to
o be hydrosttatic.
3.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Risked,
R
techn
nically recov
verable shale gas and shale oil re
esources fro
om the Devo
onian
Barreirinha Formatio
on (Frasnian)) black shale
e in the Ama
azonas Basin are estima
ated at 100 T
Tcf of
s of shale oil and conden
of risked sha
ale gas and sshale
shale gas and 0.8 biillion barrels
nsate, out o
ce of 507 Tc
cf and 19 billion barrels, Tables VI-1 and VI-2. T
The play has a moderatte net
oil in-plac
resource
e concentrations of approximately 15
1 to 70 Bccf/mi2 for sh
hale gas and
d 9 to 18 m
million
bbl/mi2 fo
or shale oil.
3.4
Recent
R
Activity
No
N shale ga
as/oil exploration leasing or drilli ng activity has been reported in
n the
Amazona
as Basin.
June, 2013
VI-14
VI. Brazil
4.
EIA/ARI W
OTHER
O
BAS
SINS
More
M
than a dozen othe
er sedimenta
ary basins o
occur in onsshore Brazill. Most havve no
commerc
cial oil and
d gas production and some lackk identified petroleum generation and
maturatio
on systems. Some of these
t
basins
s may have
e shale pote
ential but public data arre not
currently sufficient fo
or detailed characteriza
c
ation and asssessment b
by EIA/ARI. However, tthese
c
be pro
ospective fo
or shale exp
ploration an d should be
e assessed once addittional
basins could
geologic data becom
me available. Six of the more
m
promissing basins include:
Potiguar Basin. This Neocomia

an rift basin
n in northeasstern Brazil extends ove
er an
2
onshore area
a
of abou
ut 33,000 km
m plus a m
much larger area offshorre. The onsshore
portion off the basin contains
c
up to 4 km of mostly Creta
aceous deposits. The basin
comprises
s a number of smaller fa
ault blocks, w
with major sstructures tre
ending north
heastsouthwes
st, Figure VI-13. Oil pro
oduction currrently averag
ges 125,000
0 bbl/day, ma
aking
the Potigu
uar Basin Brrazils secon
nd largest pro
oduction are
ea after the o
offshore Cam
mpos
Basin. Th
he 5,000 mo
ostly onshore
e wells have
e recovered a total of 0.5
5 billion barre
els of
12
oil and 0.5
5 Tcf of natu
ural gas.
Figuree VI-13: Cross-Section of the Potiguar Baasin, Showing the Pendnciia and Alagam
mar Formationns.
Source: ANP, 2003
June, 2013
VI-15
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
The Upper Cretaceo

ous (Barrem
menian) to P
Paleocene P
Pendncia Formation, a rift
sequence
e, is conside
ered the main petroleu
um source rock in the Potiguar B
Basin,
containing
g about 4% TOC of Typ
pe I kerogen
n. The Alag
gamar Forma
ation contain
ns up
to 6% TO
OC of Type
es I and II kerogen,
k
bu
ut is shallow
w (<1 km) in the onsho
ore.13
However, shale reso
ources were
e not assesssed in the
e Potiguar B
Basin due tto its
apparent structural co
omplexity an
nd the lack of available data contro
ol on source
e rock
d thermal ma
aturity.
depth, thickness, and
Parnaiba
a Basin. Also
o located in northeastern
n Brazil, thiss large (600,000-km2) cirrcular
basin con
ntains up to 3.5 km of sedimentary
s
rocks within
n a relativelyy simple -- a
albeit
heavily in
ntruded -- structural settting. The De
evonian Pim
menteiras Fo
ormation con
ntains
marine black shale up to 300 m thick witth 2.0-2.5%
% TOC. Lo
ocal indepen
ndent
operator MPX Energ
gia S.A. has
s reported the compan
ny logged g
gas shows while
m thick natu
urally fracturred Devonia
an shale inte
erval.14
drilling thrrough a 23-m
Figure VI-14 shows the distributtion of thickn
ness, depth, TOC, and thermal ma
aturity
of the Pim
menteiras at a conventio
onal explorattion well in a
an undisclossed portion o
of the
basin. Organic-rich shale
s
in this
s well totals about 50 m thick at a d
depth of 2,000 to
r
up to
o 4%, averag
ging 2.5%, b
but is therma
ally immaturre (Ro
2,200 m. The TOC ranges
on. ANP ha
as projected
d that therm
mal maturity reaches oil-- and
~0.5%) at this locatio
y gas-prone levels in the
e deeper pa
arts of the ba
asin (1,600 to 2,500 m)), and
eventually
estimated
d 64 Tcf of recoverable
e shale gas resources, based on a
analogy with the
15
Barnett Shale play in the Fort Wo
orth Basin.
However, as just no
oted available data sug
ggests the P
Pimenteiras Fm is therrmally
immature (Ro 0.5%) at a depth of 2,200 m and may o
only just be
e entering th
he oil
a 2,500 m. Other res
searchers h
have reporte
ed this unit to be therrmally
window at
immature, apart from
m local contact zones near the abundant ign
neous intrussions.
o that the ba
asin lacks co
ommercial o
oil and gas p
production. G
Given the sp
parse
Note also
data available for th
his study, EIA/ARI
E
did not assesss the shale potential o
of the
Parnaiba Basin.
June, 2013
Parecis Basin.
B
A fro
ontier non-prroductive se dimentary b
basin in north
hern Brazil. ANP
has noted
d that radioa
active dark shale
s
avera ges some 5
50 m thick in
n the deep basin
grabens. As much as
a 106 m was
w logged a
at a depth o
of 4 km in o
one conventtional
petroleum
m well. AN
NP recently
y estimated that 124 Tcf of sha
ale gas ma
ay be
recoverab
ble based on
o the Barne
ett Shale co
omparison. However, d
data availab
ble to
EIA/ARI were
w
not su
ufficient for assessing
a
th
he shale potential of the Parecis B
Basin,
which doe
es not produ
uce oil and gas.
VI-16
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
Figuree VI-14: Sourcce Rock Thickkness, Depth, TOC,

T
and Theermal Maturityy of the Pimiennta Shale in thhe
Parrnaiba Basin
Source: AN
NP, 2003
June, 2013
Recncavo Basin. One of man

ny failed rift basins in ea
astern Brazil, the Recn
ncavo
Basin wa
as the counttrys first pro
oductive pe
etroleum bassin. Over 6
6,000 wells have
drilled, of which some
e 1,800 exte
ent producin g wells makke 50,000 bb
bl/day of oil. The
Gomo Member of the
t
Lower Cretaceous Candeias Formation, deposited in a
e environme
ent during early
e
rifting, is considerred the maiin source ro
ock.16
lacustrine
Although quite thick (200-1,000
0 m), the G
Gomo Memb
ber has rela
atively low T
TOC,
erable
mostly ranging from 1% to 2%, Figure VI-1 5. ANP reccently estimated recove
s resources in the Rec
cncavo Bassin to be 20 Tcf. How
wever, base
ed on
shale gas
EIA/ARIs
s screening criteria,
c
the Gomo
G
Memb
ber appearss to be below
w the 2% ave
erage
TOC cuto
off and its shale potential was not asssessed.
VI-17
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
Figure VII-15: The Gom

mo Member of the Lower Creetaceous Can deias Formatiion in the Reccncavo Basinn can
be Thick (>1 km) but is Low
L in TOC (<22%) and Mostly Thermally IImmature (Ro < 0.6%)
Source: ANP, 2003
June, 2013
Sergipe-A
Alagoas Ba
asin. Anoth
her Neocom ian rift basin in northea
astern Brazil, the
Sergipe-A
Alagoas Bas
sin extends over an onsshore area of 12,600 kkm2 as well as a
considera
ably larger area offshore
e. The basin
n comprises a number o
of relatively ssmall,
isolated and
a
tilted fault blocks, with
w major sstructures trrending northeast-southwest,
17
Figure VI-16.
V
To
o date some
e 57 conve
entional oil and gas fiields have been
discovere
ed in the ba
asin, with nearly 5,000
0 wells drille
ed, primarilyy in the onsshore
portion off the basin. Figure VI-1
17 shows a detailed cro
oss-section o
of the Camp
po de
Pilar Field
d, showing th
he numerous closely sp aced faults.
VI-18
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
The Crettaceous Ma
acei Forma
ation (Neoap
ptian) is the main sou
urce rock in
n the
Sergipe-A
Alagoas Bas
sin. The Ma
acei Fm co
ontains orga
anic-rich bla
ack shales, m
marls
and calcilutites that were
w
depos
sited in a laccustrine, no
on-marine se
etting which may
exhibit du
uctile behaviior during hy
ydraulic stim
mulation. Th
he higher-qu
uality source
e rock
shales within the Ma
acei Fm av
verage abou
ut 200 m th
hick (maxim
mum 700 m)) and
18
average 3.5%
3
TOC (m
maximum 12
2%; Type II kkerogen). However, th
his basin wa
as not
assessed
d due to its structural com
mplexity and
d lack of ava
ailable geolog
gic data.
So Fran
ncisco Bas
sin. Very little conven
ntional explo
oration has occurred in
n this
frontier basin in Mina
as Gerais and
a
there iss no significcant commercial oil and
d gas
19
Potenttial source rocks
r
are off Proterozoic age, mucch older than the
production.
e shales of North
N
America, which arre about 400
0 m thick witthin a moderrately
productive
faulted structural setting at depth
hs of 2 to 5 kkm. Shell re
eportedly pla
ans to drill itss first
Brazilian exploration well for unconvention
u
nal gas in the So F
Francisco B
Basin,
ppears to be
e targeting tig
ght sandstone and carb
bonate forma
ations
although this effort ap
20
rather tha
an shale. The So Fra
ancisco bassin was not a
assessed byy EIA/ARI due to
the lack of an esta
ablished hyd
drocarbon g
generation ssystem and
d the pauciity of
available geologic data.
Taubat Basin. Lo
ocated in so
outheast Bra
azil, the Tau
ubat Basin
n is a north
heastsouthwes
st trending trrough relate
ed to the Attlantic Ocean continenta
al breakup. The
Oligocene
e Trememb
Formation contains up
p to 500 m of organic-rrich depositss that
were deposited within
n a non-mariine lacustrin
ne environme
ent. Within tthis interval there
is a 50-m thick sectio
on of laminatted black sh ale with ave
erage 10% T
TOC.21 How
wever,
2
22
ally immaturre oil shale and is no
ot considered
d prospectivve for
this deposit is therma
shale gas
s and oil exp
ploration.
Chaco-Pa
aran Basin. Not to be confuse
ed with the Paran Ba
asin, the Ch
haco2
Paran Basin is a larg
ge (500,000-km ) ellipticcal-shaped d
depositional feature mainly in
northern Argentina, Paraguay
P
an
nd Uruguay . However,, only a veryy small area
a lies
uthern Brazil. The basin
n contains u p to 5 km off early Paleo
ozoic (Ordovvician
within sou
to Devoniian) sedimen
ntary and ign
neous rockss, overlain in
n the northea
ast particularly by
Cretaceou
us basalt flo
ows. Aboutt 1.2 km of Devonian m
marine-depossited sandsttones
(Cabure Formation)
F
and
a black sh
hales (Rinco n Fm) is pre
esent. Thesse are overla
ain by
up to 2.3 km of Perm
m-Carbonife
erous sandsttones and b
black shaless (Sachayoj Fm).
The Chac
co-Paran Basin
B
was no
ot assessed due to its ssmall extent and lack off data
control wiithin Brazil.
June, 2013
VI-19
VI. Brazil
EIA/ARI W
Figure VI-16:
V
Cross-ssection of the Alagoas
A
Sub-basin, Showinng Faulted Peendncia and A
Alagamar Souurce
Ro
ock Shales.
Source: ANP, 2007 (no verttical scale)
Figure VI-17: Detailed

d Cross-sectio
on of the Cam
mpo de Pilar Fiield in the Serrgipe-Alagoass Basin, Show
wing
Numerous Closely
C
Spacedd Faults.
Source: ANP, 2007
REFERE
ENCES
Neves, A.,
A De Sordi, D., and Egorov, V.I., 2010. Frontier Basins Onsh
hore Brazil. A
AAPG Searcch and
Discove
ery Article #1
10237, Adapted from ora
al presentatio
on at American Associa
ation of Petro
oleum
Geologis
sts, Internatio
onal Conferen
nce and Exhibition, Rio de
e Janeiro, Bra
azil, Novembe
er 15-18, 200
09, 16
p.
June, 2013
VI-20
VI. Brazil

EIA/ARI W
Nationall Oil and Gas

s Agency (ANP), Reservas Brasileiras de Gs Convvencional e P
Potencial Para
a Gs
No Con
nvencional, undated
u
prese
entation acce
essed April 14
4, 2013.
Amerisu
ur Resources PLC, Investor Presentation, Decemberr 2009, 36 p.
Petersoh
hn, E., 2008. Bid Round 10: Parana Basin. Nation
nal Oil and Ga
as Agency (A
ANP), 59 p.
Milani, E.J.
E and Zaln
n, P.V., 1999. An Outline
e of the Geolo
ogy and Petro
oleum System
ms of the Pale
eozoic
Interior Basins
B
of Sou
uth America. Episodes, vol. 22, p. 199
9-205.
Vesely, F.F., Rostirolla, S.P., Appii, C.J., Kraft, E.P., 2007. Late Paleozo
oic Glacially R
Related Sand
dstone
Reservo
oirs in the Parrana Basin, Brazil.
B
Americ
can Associatio
on of Petroleu
um Geologistts, Bulletin, vo
ol. 91,
p. 151-160.
Arajo, C.C., Yamam

moto, J.K., Ro
ostirolla, S.P.,, Malagutti, W
W., Dourado, J.C. and Ferrreira, F.J.F., 2003.
An Inte
Basin, Brazzil. 8th Interrnational Con
egrated Analy
ysis of Tar Sa
and Occurrences in Paran
ngress
of the Brazilian Geop
physical Socie
ety, Rio de Ja
aneiro, Brazil, 14-18 Septem
mber 2003.
Amerisu
ur, Investor Prresentation, March,
M
2013, 30
3 p.
Garcia, G.,
G Arajo, L..M., and Wan
nderley Filho, J.R., 2013. Basin Modeling Uncertain
nties Related to the
Hybrid Devonian
D
Petroleum Syste
em (Conventio
onal Plus Atyp
pical) of the S
Solimes Bassin (Brazil). A
AAPG
Search and Discoverry Article #120106, Adapte
ed from AAPG
G Hedberg Conference, Petroleum Sysstems:
Modeling The Past, Planning
P
The Future, 1-5 October
O
2012,, Nice, France
e, 5 p.
10
Clark, J.,
J 2003. Bra
azil Round 4: Solimes Bas
sin. Nationa
al Oil and Gass Agency (AN
NP), 38 p.
11
Dignartt, A. and Vieirra, J.R., 2008

8. Round 10: Amazonas Basin. Natio
onal Oil and G
Gas Agency (A
ANP),
52 p.
12
Lovatini, A., Myers, K., Watterson

n, P., and Cam
mpbell, T., 20
010. An Inte
egrated Appro
oach to Explo
oration
Data in the
t Potiguar Basin,
B
Offsho
ore Brazil. Fiirst Break, Ma
ay, p. 55-59.
13
de Tars
so Araripe, P. 2003. Brazil Round 4: Potiguar Basin
n. National O
Oil and Gas Ag
gency (ANP), 38 p.
14
MPX En
nergia S.A., News
N
release, September 2, 2010.
15
Nationa
al Oil and Ga
as Agency (AN
NP), Unconv
ventional Hyd
drocarbons, u
undated pressentation acce
essed
April 13,, 2013.
16
De Tars
so Araripe, P.., 2003. Bras
sil Round 4: Recncavo
R
B asin. ANP, 5
54 p.
17
Fontes,, C. and Rann

na, R., 20087. Brazil Round 10: Sergip
pe-Alagoas B
Basin. ANP, 7
70 p.
18
PGS Reservoirs, 2007. Compettent Persons Report on th

he Petroleum Interests of M
Mercury Brazzil Ltd,
a Wholly
y Owned Sub
bsidiary of Ero
omanga Hydro
ocarbons NL.. Prepared ffor Mercury B
Brazil Ltd., 51 p.
19
Clark, J.,
J 2003. Bra
azil Round 4: So Francisc
co Basin. AN
NP, 38 p.
20
Orihuela, R., 2013. Brazil Prepares to Surpris

se Drillers thiss Time with G
Gas. Bloomb
berg, Februaryy 8.
21
Bergam
maschi, S., Ro
odrigues, R., and
a Pereira, E.,
E 2010. Sh
hale from the Trememb F
Formation, Ta
aubat
Basin, Brazil.
B
AAP
PG Search and Discove
ery Article #8
80080, Adap
pted from ora
al presentation at
America
an Association
n of Petroleum
m Geologists, Internationa
al Conference
e and Exhibitio
on, Rio de Ja
aneiro,
Brazil, November
N
15--18, 10 p.
22
Mendo
ona Filho, J..G., Chagas, R.B.A., Men
nezes, T.R., Mendona, J.O., da Silvva, F.S., Sab
badiniSantos, E., 2010. O
Organic Facies of the Oligo
ocene Lacusttrine System in the Cenozo
oic Taubat B
Basin,
Southerrn Brazil. Inte
ernational Jou
urnal of Coal Geology, vol . 84, p. 166-178.
June, 2013
VI-21
VII. Other South America
VII. OTHER SOUTH AMERICA

SUMMARY
Four other countries in South America (Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay) have
prospective shale gas and shale oil potential within marine-deposited Cretaceous and Devonian
shale formations in three large basins: the Paran Basin of Paraguay and Uruguay; the Chaco
Basin of Bolivia and Paraguay; and the Magallanes Basin of Chile, Figure VII-1. (Extensions of
these basins within neighboring Argentina and Brazil were assessed in separate chapters.)
Figure VII-1: Prospective Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resources in Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Source: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
VII-1
Risked, technically recoverable shale gas and shale oil resources in these four other
South American countries are estimated at 162 Tcf and 7.2 billion barrels, Tables VII-1 and VII2. The geologic setting of this region generally is favorably simple, with mostly gentle structural
dip and relatively few faults or igneous intrusions (apart from surface basalt flows). Technically
recoverable shale resources by country are: Bolivia (36 Tcf; 0.6 billion barrels); Chile (49 Tcf;
2.4 billion barrels); Paraguay (75 Tcf; 3.7 billion barrels); and Uruguay (2 Tcf; 0.6 billion barrels).
Initial shale-related leasing and evaluation has been reported in Paraguay and Uruguay within
existing conventional petroleum license areas.
Table VII-1A. Shale Gas Reservoir Properties and Resources of Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Parana
Basin/Gross Area
(747,000 mi )
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Ponta Grossa
Devonian
Marine
Cordobes
Devonian
Marine

3,830
3,260
2,350
2,690
Organically Rich
800
800
800
800
Thickness (ft)
Net
240
240
240
240
Interval
10,000 - 11,000 11,000 - 12,000 12,000 - 13,000 3,300 - 5,000
Depth (ft)
Average
10,500
11,500
12,500
4,000
Reservoir Pressure
Average TOC (wt. %)
Clay Content
Gas Phase
1,230
800
240
5,000 - 7,000
6,000
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
2.0%
0.85%
Low/Medium
2.0%
1.15%
Low/Medium
2.0%
1.50%
Low/Medium
3.6%
0.85%
Low/Medium
3.6%
1.15%
Low/Medium
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
19.9
44.1
71.2
9.7
46.3
Risked GIP (Tcf)
9.1
17.3
20.1
4.2
9.1
0.7
3.5
4.0
0.3
1.8
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table VII-1B. Shale Gas Reservoir Properties and Resources of Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
June, 2013
Austral-Magallanes
Chaco
Basin/Gross Area
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
(157,000 mi )
(65,000 mi )
Los Monos
Devonian
Marine

L. Cretaceous
Marine

6,870
9,890
14,210
1,580
Organically Rich
1,500
1,500
1,500
800
Thickness (ft)
Net
450
450
450
400
Interval
3,300 - 9,000 7,000 - 12,000 10,000 - 16,400 6,600 - 10,000
Depth (ft)
Average
7,000
10,000
13,000
8,000
Slightly
Reservoir Pressure
Normal
Normal
Normal
Overpress.
2.5%
2.5%
2.5%
3.5%
Average TOC (wt. %)
0.85%
1.15%
1.50%
0.85%
Low
Low
Low
Low/Medium
Clay Content
1,920
1,500
800
800
400
400
10,000 - 14,500 11,500 - 16,400
12,000
13,500
Slightly
Slightly
Overpress.
Overpress.
3.5%
3.5%
1.15%
1.60%
Low/Medium
Low/Medium
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
27.8
86.8
140.5
32.5
114.8
155.9
Risked GIP (Tcf)
28.7
128.7
299.5
23.1
99.2
105.2
2.9
25.7
74.9
2.3
19.8
26.3
Gas Phase
2
VII-2
Dry Gas
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table VII-2A. Shale Oil Reservoir Properties and Resources of Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Parana
Basin/Gross Area
(747,000 mi )
Ponta Grossa
Devonian
Marine
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Cordobes
Devonian
Marine

3,830
3,260
2,690
Organically Rich
800
800
800
Thickness (ft)
Net
240
240
240
Interval
10,000 - 11,000 11,000 - 12,000 3,300 - 5,000
Depth (ft)
Average
10,500
11,500
4,000
Reservoir Pressure
Average TOC (wt. %)
Clay Content
1,230
800
240
5,000 - 7,000
6,000
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
2.0%
0.85%
Low/Medium
2.0%
1.15%
Low/Medium
3.6%
0.85%
Low/Medium
3.6%
1.15%
Low/Medium
Oil Phase
Oil
Condensate
Oil
Condensate
21.8
9.3
27.7
12.0
Risked OIP (B bbl)
10.0
3.6
11.9
2.4
0.40
0.15
0.48
0.09
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table VII-2B. Shale Oil Reservoir Properties and Resources of Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
June, 2013
Chaco
Basin/Gross Area
Austral-Magallanes
2
(157,000 mi )
(65,000 mi )
Los Monos
Devonian
Marine

L. Cretaceous
Marine
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
2

6,870
Organically Rich
1,500
Thickness (ft)
Net
450
Interval
3,300 - 9,000
Depth (ft)
Average
7,000
Reservoir Pressure
Normal
Normal
Average TOC (wt. %)

Clay Content
2.5%
0.85%
Low
2.5%
1.15%
Low
1,580
800
400
6,600 - 10,000
8,000
Slightly
Overpress.
3.5%
0.85%
Low/Medium
Oil
Condensate
Oil
Condensate
Oil Phase
2
9,890
1,500
450
7,000 - 12,000
10,000
1,920
800
400
10,000 - 14,500
12,000
Slightly
Overpress.
3.5%
1.15%
Low/Medium
46.0
18.7
48.4
14.5
Risked OIP (B bbl)
47.4
27.7
34.4
12.6
2.37
1.39
1.72
0.63
VII-3
INTRODUCTION
This chapter discusses the shale potential of the other countries in South America
(Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia-Venezuela are assessed in separate chapters).
As first
highlighted in EIA/ARIs 2011 assessment, these other South American countries (Bolivia, Chile,
Paraguay, and Uruguay) have significant shale gas and oil resource potential in favorable
structural settings. Exploration shale drilling has not yet begun in the region although initial
shale leasing and evaluation are underway.
Bolivia. A significant natural gas exporter to Argentina and Brazil, Bolivia produces
natural gas from conventional reservoirs, mainly in the Chaco Basin in the southeast part of the
country.
Following 2006 nationalization, YPFB administers investment and production in
Bolivia's oil and gas sector, while the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energy (MHE) and the
National Hydrocarbons Agency establish overall policy. Shale exploration or leasing have not
been reported in Bolivia.
Chile. ENAP, the national oil company of Chile, produces about 5,000 bbl/day mainly
from conventional reservoirs in the Magallanes basin.1 In March 2011 ENAP announced that it
will require companies bidding for conventional oil and gas exploration blocks to also explore for
shale gas. While exploration is underway for tight gas sandstone reservoirs in the basin, no
shale-specific exploration has been reported in Chile.
Paraguay.
Paraguay does not produce oil and gas, although extensions of its
sedimentary basins are productive in both Argentina and Bolivia.
Only two conventional
petroleum wells have been drilled in Paraguay during the past 25 years. Shale drilling has not
occurred in the country but President Energy is investigating the shale potential at its
conventional petroleum licenses in the Chaco Basin.
Uruguay.
Uruguay also does not produce oil and gas, although extensions of its
sedimentary basins are productive in neighboring Brazil and Argentina. ANCAP (Administracin
Nacional de Combustibles, Alcoholes y Portland), the state-owned oil company in Uruguay,
administers the countrys petroleum licensing. TOTAL, YPF, and others hold leases in the
onshore Paran Basin and are evaluating the shale potential.
June, 2013
VII-4
Three major sedimentary basins with prospective organic-rich and marine-deposited

black shales are present in Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, Figure VII-1. These basins,
which were assessed in this chapter, are:
Paran Basin (Paraguay, Uruguay): The Paran Basin contains black shale within the
Devonian Ponta Grossa Formation. The structural setting is simple but the basin is
partly obscured at surface by flood basalts, although this igneous cap is less prevalent
here than in the Brazil portion of the basin.
Chaco Basin (Paraguay, Bolivia): Black shale in the Devonian Los Monos Formation is
present within a relatively simple structural setting in northwest Paraguay. The shale
becomes increasingly deep and thrust faulted in southeast Bolivia, where they source
that countrys prolific conventional reservoirs.
Magallanes Basin (Chile): Known as the Austral Basin in Argentina, the Magallanes
Basin of southern Chile contains marine-deposited black shale in the Lower Cretaceous
Estratos con Favrella Formation, considered a major source rock in the basin.
PARAN BASIN (PARAGUAY, URUGUAY)
1.1

The Paran Basin is a large depositional feature in south-central South America. Most
of the basin is located in southern Brazil, but there are significant extensions into Paraguay,
Uruguay, and northern Argentina, Figure VII-2. This section focuses on the Paraguay and
Uruguay portions of the basin.
The Paran Basin contains up to 5 km (locally 7 km) of
Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks that range from Late Ordovician to Cretaceous. Its
western border is defined by the Asuncion Arch, related to Andean thrusting, while the east is
truncated by the South Atlantic tectonic margin.2 Much of the Brazilian portion of the basin is
covered by flood basalts, partly obscuring the underlying geology from seismic and increasing
the cost of drilling, but the Paraguay portion is largely free of basalt.
The main petroleum source rock in the Paran Basin is the Devonian (Emsian/Frasnian)
black shale of the Ponta Grossa Formation. The entire formation ranges up to 600 m thick in
the center of the basin, averaging about 300 m thick. TOC of the Ponta Grossa Fm reaches up
to 4.6% but more typically is 1.5% to 2.5%. The mostly Type II kerogen sourced natural gas
that migrated into conventional sandstone reservoirs.3
June, 2013
VII-5
Figure VII-2: Prospective Shale Gas and Shale Oil Areas in the Paran Basin of Paraguay and Uruguay
Figure VII-3, a cross-section of the Paran Basin, illustrates the thick and gently dipping
Devonian source rocks that pass through the oil window into the gas window.4 Figure VII-4, a
conventional well log in the Paraguay portion of the basin, shows Devonian source rocks and
interbedded sandstones with oil and gas shows.5 In outcrop, the Devonian Cordobes Formation
ranges up to 160 m thick, including up to 60 m of organic-rich shale. TOC ranges from 0.7 to
3.6%, consisting mainly of Type II marine kerogen.
Based on the low thermal maturity at
outcrop (Ro 0.6%), ANCAP has estimated the boundary between dry and wet gas to occur at a
depth of about 3,200 m.6
June, 2013
VII-6
Figure VII-3: Cross-Section of the Paran Basin of Paraguay, Showing Thick and Gently Dipping Devonian
Source Rocks Passing Through the Oil and Gas Windows.
Source: Chaco Resources PLC, 2004
Figure VII-4: Asuncion-1 Well Log from the Paran Basin of Paraguay, Showing Devonian Source Rocks and
Interbedded Sandstones with Oil and Gas Shows.
Source: Guapex S.A., 2012
June, 2013
VII-7
The Paran Basin has remained at moderate burial depth throughout its history.
Consequently, the bulk of thermal maturation took place during the late Jurassic to early
Cretaceous igneous episode. Most of the basin remains thermally immature (Ro <0.5%), but
there are sizeable concentric windows of oil-, wet-gas-, and dry-gas maturity in the deep central
portion of the basin.
1.2

Depth and thermal maturity of the Devonian Ponta Grossa Formation are relatively well
constrained in the Paraguay portion of the Paran Basin. The prospective area in Paraguay is
estimated at 9,440 mi2, of which 3,830 mi2 is in the oil window; 3,260 mi2 is in the wet
gas/condensate thermal maturity window; and 2,350 mi2 is in the dry gas window.
However, Devonian depth and thermal maturity are much less certain in Uruguay.
Uruguays shale-prospective area is estimated at 3,920 mi2, of which 2,690 mi2 is in the oil
window and 1,230 mi2 is in the wet gas/condensate thermal maturity window (no evidence the
Devonian attains dry-gas thermal maturity in Uruguay). The Ponta Grossa shale averages
about 240 m thick (net), 10,500 to 12,500 ft deep in Paraguay but only 4,000 to 6,000 ft deep in
Uruguay, and averages 2.0% to 3.6% TOC.
Thermal maturity (Ro) ranges from 0.85% to 1.5% depending mainly on depth. For
example, Amerisur reported that the Devonian Lima Fm has good (2-3%) TOC and is oil-prone
(Ro 0.87%) at their conventional exploration block. Porosity is estimated at about 4% and the
pressure gradient is assumed to be hydrostatic.
1.3
Resource Assessment
Risked, technically recoverable shale gas and oil resources from the Devonian Ponta
Grossa Shale in the Paraguay portion of the Paran Basin are estimated at 8 Tcf of shale gas
and 0.6 billion barrels of shale oil and condensate, Tables VII-1 and VII-2. Uruguay has further
estimated resources of 2 Tcf of shale gas and 0.6 billion barrels of shale oil and condensate in
this play. Risked shale gas and shale oil in-place in Paraguay and Uruguay are estimated at 60
Tcf and 28 billion barrels. The play has low-moderate net resource concentrations of 10 to 71
Bcf/mi2 for shale gas and 9 to 28 million bbl/mi2 for shale oil, depending on thermal maturity
window.
June, 2013
VII-8
The USGS recently estimated that Uruguays portion of the Paran Basin (Norte Basin)
has 13.4 Tcf of shale gas and 0.5 billion barrels of shale oil resources in the Devonian Cordobes
Formation. They noted that the sub-basalt extent of inferred deep grabens for their study was
imaged by ANCAP using geophysical methods, with no well control.7 Petrel Energy recently
noted that new data indicates the Devonian is less thermally mature than mapped by the
USGS.8 The EIA/ARI thermal windows were adjusted accordingly.
1.4
Recent Activity
TOTAL, YPF, and small Australia-based Petrel Energy hold large exploration licenses
with Devonian shale potential in the Uruguay portion of the Paran Basin (Norte Basin). No
shale-focused drilling has occurred in Uruguay, nor has shale leasing or drilling activity been
reported in the Paraguay portion of the Paran Basin.
CHACO BASIN (BOLIVIA, PARAGUAY)
2.1

The large (157,000-mi2) Chaco Basin is an intra-cratonic foreland basin broadly similar in
origin to the Neuquen and other South American basins east of the Andes Mountains, Figure
VII-5. The Chaco Basin extends across southeast Bolivia and northwest Paraguay, as well as
southern Brazil and northern Argentina (please see separate chapters for these countries).
Structural highs (Ascuncion Arch) separate the Chaco Basin from the Parana Basin to the
southeast. Structure is relatively simple, with scattered mainly vertical normal faults and none of
the thrusting typical of Andean tectonics further to the west.
Sub-basins include the Pirity, Carandayty, and Curupayty troughs.
Oil and gas
production occurs in Bolivia and Argentina but not in Paraguay, which has experienced much
less drilling.
Fewer than 10 petroleum wells have been drilled in the Pirity Sub-basin of
Paraguay, all pre-1987, where no commercial production has occurred. However, the Argentina
portion of the Basin (Olmedo Sub-basin) has produced over 110 million bbls of oil from the
Upper Cretaceous Yacoraite and Palmer Largo formations and that basin continues to be
productive.9 Apart from the international border, no geologic discontinuity separates the two
sub-basins.
June, 2013
VII-9
Figure VII-5: Prospective Area of the Devonian Los Monos Formation, Chaco Basin, Paraguay and Bolivia
The main source rocks include the Silurian Kirusillas Formation and the Devonian Los
Monos and Icla formations.10 The Devonian, considered the main source rock for the worldclass conventional gas fields in the Tarija Basin foothills of southeast Bolivia, appears to have
shale gas potential in northwest Paraguay where structure is considerably simpler, Figure VII-6.
The gas window in this basin reportedly is at about 2 km depth.
Significant shale gas potential exists within the 8,000- to 12,000-foot thick Devonian Los
Monos Formation in the Carandaity and Curupaity sub-basins of Paraguay. The Devonian is
exceptionally thick in southern Bolivia but consists mainly of coarse-grained sandstones there.
The Devonian is also deeper and structurally more complex in much of Bolivia, Figure VII-7.
Within the Los Monos, the San Alfredo Shales appear to be most prospective, comprising a
lower sandy unit and an upper thick, monotonous black shale that formed under shallow marine
conditions.11 The thickest Devonian section (8,339 feet) penetrated in the Chaco Basin was in
the Pure Oil Co. Mendoza-1 well. The Los Monos marine shale accounted for about 8,200 feet
of this section.12
June, 2013
VII-10
Figure VII-6: Regional Seismic Time Section Across the Chaco Basin of Bolivia and Paraguay, Showing
Thick and Mostly Flat-Lying Silurian and Devonian Source Rocks.
Source: Wade, 2009
Figure VII-7: Regional Cross-Section Across the Chaco Basin of Bolivia and Paraguay, Showing Thick and
Mostly Flat-Lying Silurian and Devonian Source Rocks.
Source: CDS Oil and Gas Group, PLC, 2006
Scarce geochemical data suggest 2.5% overall average TOC for the entire Los Monos,
but richer zones are likely to be present within this thick and poorly documented unit. An
exploration well in the Curupaity sub-basin measured up to 2.1% TOC in the Los Monos.
Independent E&P Amerisur reports TOC of 1.44% to 1.86% in the Devonian Los Monos Fm in
the Curupaity sub-basin.13 Depth to the Los Monos Shale can exceed 10,000 feet (3,000 m) in
deep synclines such as the San Pedro Trough.14,15 Structural uplifts within the Chaco Basin
have high geothermal gradients and are gas-prone.
Another potential source rock is the Puesto Guardian Member in the lower portion of the
U. Cretaceous Yacoraite Formation. The Puesto Guardian reportedly contains about 78 m of
black shale within a 6,000-km2 area of the Pirity Sub-basin of the Cretaceous Basin.16 TOC is
up to 12%, consisting of Type II / III amorphous and algal kerogen that was deposited in
June, 2013
VII-11
lacustrine to restricted marine environments.
Peak hydrocarbon maturation and charge is
estimated to have occurred 34-40 million years ago, with current maturity in the oil window.
However, the potential of the Cretaceous shale was not assessed due to insufficient geologic
control.
2.2

The Devonian Los Monos Formation is exceptionally thick (as much as 12,000 feet) in
the Chaco Basin, of which 2,000 feet (San Alfredo Shales) was conservatively assumed to be
organic-rich. Faulting is not extensive, thus relatively little area is sterilized due to structural
complexity.
The shale matrix reportedly consists primarily of brittle minerals such as calcite,
dolomite, albite feldspar, ankerite, quartz as well as significant rutile and pyrite. Some clay is
present -- mainly illite, kaolinite and chlorite but is considered less common.17 Temperature
gradients range from elevated 1.9F/100 feet on structural highs to 1.0F/100 feet in the
Carandaity sub-basin.
Depth and thermal maturity of the Devonian Los Monos Formation are relatively well
constrained in the Paraguay portion of the Chaco Basin. The prospective area in Paraguay is
estimated at 22,210 mi2, of which 6,200 mi2 is in the oil window; 7,450 mi2 is in the wet
gas/condensate thermal maturity window; and 8,560 mi2 is in the dry gas window. An additional
8,760 mi2 is prospective in Bolivia, of which 670 mi2 is in the oil window; 2,440 mi2 is in the wet
gas/condensate thermal maturity window; and 5,650 mi2 is in the dry gas window.
2.3
Resource Assessment
Risked, technically recoverable shale gas and shale oil resources from the Devonian Los
Monos black shale in the Paraguay portion of the Chaco Basin are estimated at 67 Tcf of shale
gas and 3.2 billion barrels of shale oil and condensate, Tables VII-1 and VII-2. Bolivia has
further estimated resources of 37 Tcf of shale gas and 0.6 billion barrels of shale oil and
condensate. Risked shale gas and shale oil in-place are estimated at 457 Tcf of shale gas and
75 billion barrels of shale oil for the two countries. The play has moderate to high net resource
concentrations of 28 to 141 Bcf/mi2 for shale gas and 19 to 46 million bbl/mi2 for shale oil,
depending on thermal maturity window.
June, 2013
VII-12
2.4
Recent Activity
Initial shale evaluation is occurring on existing conventional petroleum exploration leases
in the Chaco Basin, but no shale-specific drilling or testing has occurred yet. President Energy
PLC (UK) holds eight conventional petroleum exploration licenses which it considers to have
shale gas/oil potential.
MAGALLANES BASIN (CHILE)
3.1

Located in southern Patagonia, the 65,000-mi2 Austral-Magallanes Basin has promising
but untested shale gas potential, Figure VII-8. While most of the basin is in Argentina, where it
is called the Austral Basin, a portion of the basin is located in Chiles Tierra del Fuego region,
where it is referred to as the Magallanes Basin. The Chile portion of the basin, which started
producing conventional natural gas over 60 years ago, currently accounts for most of that
countrys oil and gas output, produced primarily from deltaic to fluvial sandstones in the Early
Cretaceous Springhill Formation at depths of about 6,000 feet.
The Magallanes Basin comprises two main structural regions: a normal faulted eastern
region and a thrust faulted western area.
The basin contains a thick sequence of Upper
Cretaceous and Tertiary sedimentary and volcaniclastic rocks which unconformably overlie
deformed metamorphic basement of Paleozoic age.
Total sediment thickness ranges from
3,000 to 6,000 feet along the eastern coast to a maximum 25,000 feet along the basin axis.
Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous petroleum source rocks are present at moderate depths of
6,000 to 10,000 feet across large areas.18 The overlying Cretaceous section comprises mainly
deepwater turbidite clastic deposits up to 4 km thick, which appear to lack shale gas and oil
potential.19
June, 2013
VII-13
Figure VII-8: Prospective Area of the L. Cretaceous Estratos con Favrella Formation, Magallanes Basin, Chile
June, 2013
VII-14
The organic-rich shales of Jurassic and Early Cretaceous age formed under anoxic
marine conditions within a Neocomian sag on the edge of the Andes margin, Figure VII-9. The
basal sequence consists of Jurassic source rocks that accumulated under restricted lacustrine
conditions within small half-grabens. Interbedded shale and sandstone of the Zapata and Punta
Barrosa formations were deposited in a shallow-water marine environment.20 The mid-lower
Jurassic Tobifera Formation contains 1% to 3% TOC (maximum 10% in coaly shales),
consisting of Types I to III kerogen.
However, this unit is mainly coaly and probably
insufficiently brittle for shale exploration.
Figure VII-9: Stratigraphy of the Austral-Magallanes Basin, Argentina and Chile
MARGAS
VERDES FM
LOWER
INOCERAMUS
FM
Source: Rossello et al., 2008
June, 2013
VII-15
Overlying the Tobifera Fm are more prospective shales within the Early Cretaceous
Estratos con Favrella Formation (or Lower Inoceramus or Palermo Aike in Argentina), deposited
under shallow water marine conditions. The Lower Inoceramus Formation is 50 to 400 m thick.
In the Argentina portion of the basin, the total shale thickness (including the Magnas Verdes
Formation) ranges from 800 feet thick in the north to 4,000 feet thick in the south, representing
neritic facies deposited in a low-energy and anoxic environment.21
Total organic content of
these two main source rocks have been reported to range from 1.0% to 2.0%, with hydrogen
index of 150 to 550 mg/g.22 More recent analysis conducted by Chesapeake Energy of the
Lower Cretaceous Estratos con Favrella Formation in Chile indicates this unit contains marinedeposited shale with consistently good to excellent (up to 6%) TOC, particularly near its base.23
Figure VII-10, a seismic time section across the basin, shows the 180-m thick Estratos
con Favrella Formation dipping gently west in a relatively simple structural setting. Net organicrich shale thickness was estimated by ENAP to be only 40 to 120 ft, although this appears
conservative and we assumed 280 net ft. ENAP also estimated porosity of 6% to 12%, but we
assumed a more conservative estimate of 6%. Thermal maturity increases gradually with depth
in a half-moon pattern, ranging from oil-prone (Ro 0.8%) to dry gas prone (Ro 2.0%). The
transition from wet to dry gas (Ro 1.3%) occurs at a depth of about 3,600 m in this basin.24
3.2

Chiles portion of the Magallanes Basin has an estimated 5,000-mi2 prospective area
with organic-rich shale in the Estratos con Favrella and adjoining Lower Cretaceous formations.
Of this total prospective area, about 1,580 mi2 is in the oil window; 1,920 mi2 is in the wet
gas/condensate thermal maturity window; and 1,500 mi2 is in the dry gas window. The Estratos
con Favrella and adjoining shales average about 800 ft thick (organic-rich), 8,000 to 13,500 ft
deep, and have estimated 3.5% average TOC. Thermal maturity (Ro) ranges from 0.7% to 2.0%
depending mainly on depth. Porosity is estimated at about 5%. The Estancia Los Lagunas gas
condensate field in southeast Argentina measured a 0.46 psi/ft pressure gradient with elevated
temperature gradients in the Serie Tobifera Fm, immediately underlying the Lower Inoceramus
equivalent.25
June, 2013
VII-16
Figure VII- 10: Seismic Time Section Across the Magallanes Basin, Showing Marine Source Rock Shales in
the 180-m Thick L. Cretaceous Estratos con Favrella Formation within a Relatively Simple Structural Setting.
Source: Methanex, September 27, 2012
3.3
Resource Assessment
Risked, technically recoverable shale gas and oil resources from the Estratos con
Favrella and adjoining Lower Cretaceous formations in the Chile portion of the Magallanes
Basin are estimated at 48 Tcf of shale gas and 2.4 billion barrels of shale oil and condensate,
Tables VII-1 and VII-2. Risked shale gas and shale oil in-place are estimated at 228 Tcf and 47
billion barrels, respectively. The play has moderate to high net resource concentrations of 33 to
156 Bcf/mi2 for shale gas and 15 to 48 million bbl/mi2 for shale oil, depending on thermal
maturity window.
3.4
Recent Activity
No shale leasing or exploration activity has been reported in the Magallanes Basin.
Methanex operates a methanol manufacturing plant in the basin which is running at about 10%
of its 2 million t/year capacity due to local shortages of natural gas supply.26 During 2011-2,
Methanex had partnered with ENAP on conventional oil and gas exploration in the Magallanes
Basin and also had expressed interest in shale gas exploration.
However, recently the
company decided to relocate about half of its methanol production capacity in Chile to
Louisiana, USA.27
June, 2013
VII-17
UK-based GeoPark holds conventional petroleum leases in the Magallanes Basin of

Chile, which the company notes contains shales in the Estratos con Favrella Formation which
previously have produced oil. In 2012 GeoPark conducted diagnostic fracture injection tests on
eight wells on the Fell Block to determine reservoir properties of the shale.28
REFERENCES
1
ENAP (Empresa Nacional del Petrleo), 4Q 2012 Results, April 2013, Santiago, Chile, 28 p.
Milani, E.J. and Zaln, P.V., 1999. An Outline of the Geology and Petroleum Systems of the Paleozoic
Interior Basins of South America. Episodes, vol. 22, p. 199-205.
Vesely, F.F., Rostirolla, S.P., Appi, C.J., Kraft, E.P., 2007. Late Paleozoic Glacially Related Sandstone
Reservoirs in the Parana Basin, Brazil. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, vol. 91,
p. 151-160.
Chaco Resources PLC, 2004. Proposed Acquisition of Amerisur S.A. and Bohemia S.A., Notice of
Extraordinary General Meeting. 83 p.
Guapex S.A., 2012. Unconventional Gas in Paraguay. 21 p.
US Geological Survey, 2011. Assessment of Potential Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resources of the
Norte Basin, Uruguay, 2011. 2 p.
US Geological Survey, 2011. Assessment of Potential Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resources of the
Norte Basin, Uruguay, 2011. 2 p.
Petrel Energy Limited, Investor Presentation, November 2012, 22 p.
President Energy PLC, Resource Evaluation prepared by DeGoyler and MacNaughton, December 15,
2012, 27 p.
10
Wade, J., 2009. Nonproducing Paraguays Potential Conventional and Unconventional. Oil and Gas
Journal, April 6, p. 39-42.
11
Petzet, A., 1997. Nonproducing Paraguay to get Rare Wildcats. Oil and Gas Journal, April 21.
12
Wiens, F., 1995. Phanerozoic Tectonics and Sedimentation in the Chaco Basin of Paraguay, with
Comments on Hydrocarbon Potential. ln A. J. Tankard, R. Suarez S., and H. J. Welsink, eds.,
Petroleum Basins of South America. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 62, p. 185205.
13
Amerisur Resources PLC, 2009. Interim Results Presentation, December, 36 p.
14
Kuhn, C.A.C., 1991. The Geological Evolution of the Paraguayan Chaco. Ph.D. dissertation, Texas
Tech.
15
Grupo Montecristo, 2012. Unconventional Gas in Paraguay. 21 p.
16
President Energy PLC, Investor Presentation, January 2013, 32 p.
17
Kern, M., Machado, G., Franco, N., Mexias, A., Vargas T., Costa, J., and Kalkreuth, W. 2004. Source
Rock Characterization of Paran Basin, Brazil: Sem and XRD Study of Irati and Ponta Grossa
Formations Samples. 3 Congresso Brasileiro de P&D em Petrleo e Gs, 2 a 5 de outubro de 2005,
Salvador, Brasil.
18
Rodriquez, J. and Cagnolatti, M.J., 2008. Source Rocks and Paleogeography, Austral Basin,
Argentina. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Search and Discovery Article #10173, 24 p.
June, 2013
VII-18
19
Romans, B.W., Fildani, A., Hubbard, S.M., Covault, J.A., Fosdick, J.C., and Graham, S.A., 2011.
Evolution of Deep-water Stratigraphic Architecture, Magallanes Basin, Chile. Marine and Petroleum
Geology, vol. 28, p. 612-628.
20
Fildani, A. and Hessler, A.M., 2005. Stratigraphic Record Across a Retroarc Basin Inversion: Rocas
VerdesMagallanes Basin, Patagonian Andes, Chile. Geological Society of America, vol. 117, p.
1596-1614.
21
Ramos, V.A., 1989. Andean Foothills Structures in Northern Magallanes Basin, Argentina. American
Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, vol. 73, no. 7, p. 887-903.
22
Pittion, J.L. and Arbe, H.A., 1999. Sistemes Petroleros de la Cuenca Austral. IV Congreso
Exploracion y Desarrollo de Hidrocarburos, Mar del Plata, Argentina, Actas I, p. 239-262.
23
Methanex, Investor Presentation, September 27, 2012, 129 p.
24
Legarreta, L. and Villar, H.J., 2011. Geological and Geochemical Keys of the Potential Shale
Resources, Argentina Basins. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Search and Discovery
Article, Adapted from AAPG Geoscience Technology Workshop, Unconventional Resources: Basics,
Challenges, and Opportunities for New Frontier Plays, Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 26-28, 2011.
25
Venara, L., Chambi, G.B., Cremonini, A., Limeres, M., and Dos Lagunas, E., 2009. Producing Gas
And Condensate From a Volcanic Rock In The Argentinean Austral Basin. 24th World Gas Congress,
5-9 October, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
26
Methanex, Investor Presentation, March 2013, 37 p.
27
Methanex, news release, April 2013.
28
GeoPark Holdings Limited, Second Quarter 2012 Operations Update, July 23, 2012, 6 p.
June, 2013
VII-19
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
VIII. POLAN
P
D (INCLU
UDING LIT
THUANIA A
AND KAL
LININGRAD)
SUMMA
ARY
Poland
P
has some
s
of Euro
opes most favorable
f
inffrastructure and public support for sshale
developm
ment. The Baltic
B
Basin in northern Poland rem
mains the mo
ost prospecttive region w
with a
relatively
y simple stru
uctural settin
ng. The Pod
dlasie and L
Lublin basinss also have potential bu
ut are
structurally complex, with closely
y spaced fau
ults which m ay limit horizzontal shale drilling. A ffourth
area, the
e Fore-Sude
etic Monoclin
ne in southw
west Poland , is less reccognized butt has non-m
marine
coaly sha
ale potential similar to Australias
A
Co
ooper Basin..
Figure VIII-1: Location of Assessed Sh ale Basins in Poland.
Sourcee: Modified from

m San Leon Enerrgy, 2012
June, 2013
VIII-1
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
Polands
P
risk
ked, technica
ally recoverrable shale resources a
are estimate
ed at 146 T
Tcf of
shale gas and 1.8 billion
b
barrels
s of shale oil in four asssessed basiins, Tables VIII-1 and V
VIII-2.
a adds 0.4 Tcf
T and 0.3 billion barre
els of risked
d, technicallyy recoverablle shale gass and
Lithuania
shale oil resources, Table VIII-3. Kalining
grad adds 2 .0 Tcf and 1.2 billion b
barrels of rissked,
ble shale ga
as and shale
e oil resourcces, Table V
VIII-3. Initia
al exploration
n has
confirmed the shale
e resource potential but
b
suggestts that rese
ervoir cond
ditions are more
ginally anticipated by ind
dustry. New
w data colleccted since ou
ur 2011 reso
ource
challengiing than orig
assessm
ment resulted
d in a 20% reduction
r
in EIA/ARIs e
estimate of P
Polands sha
ale resource
es, on
an energ
gy-equivalent basis.
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table VIII-1: Shalee Gas Reservo

oir Properties and Resourcces of Poland.
Baaltic/Warsaw Trough
Basin/Gross Area
Podlasie
Fore Sudetic
S
(16,200 mi )
(4,980 mi )
(6,600 mi )
(19,7000 mi )
Llandovery
L. Sil - Ord. - U. Cambriann
Marine
Llando
overy
L.Sil-Ord-U.C
Cambrian
Marinne
Llandovery
L. Sil - Ord. - U. Cambriian
Marine
Carbon
niferous
Carbonniferous
Lacusstrine
Shale Formation
n
Geologic Age
D
Depositional
Environ
nment
2
830
2,070
Lublin
2
5
5,680
1,000
1,100
860
540
540
540
297
297
297
6 - 9,0000 6,500 - 11,500 10- 16,000
7,500
12,500
9,500
Mod.
Slightly
M
Mod.
Slightly
Mod.
Slightly
Slightly Oveerpress.
Overpress. Overpress. Overpress
O
Overpresss. Overpress Oveerpress.
3.9%
3.9%
3
3.9%
3.0%
%
3.0%
3.0%
3.0%
1.15%
1.80%
1.355%
0.85%
1.80%
0.85%
1.15%
m
Medium Meedium
Mediuum
Medium
m
Medium
Medium
Medium
Organicaally Rich
820
820
8
820
Thicckness (ft)
Net
451
4
451
451
Interval
6,500 - 9,8800 7 - 13,000 9 - 16,000
Deptth (ft)
Average
8,200
10,000
122,500
Reseervoir Pressure
Therrmal Maturity (% Ro))
Clayy Content
2,3990
4155
2288
7,000 - 16,000
1
11,0000
9,0070
3330
1882
8 - 166,000
12,0000
Slightly
Overppress.
3.00%
1.60%
Meddium
Assoc. Gaas
Wet Gas
Drry Gas
Dry Gas
G
Assoc. Gaas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
GIP Concentration (Bcf/m

mi )
36.6
131.0
181.1
91.22
27.4
82.3
122.4
677.2
Riskked GIP (Tcf)
12.1
1.2
108.5
21.7
4411.5
8
82.3
45.88
9.22
6.6
0.7
21.7
4.3
25.3
5.1
1066.7
21.3
Gas Phase
2
Riskked Recoverable (Tcff)
Source: ARI, 2013

2
June, 2013
VIII-2
Dry Gas
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Tab
ble VIII-2: Shalle Oil Reservo
oir Properties and Resourcees of Poland.
Baltic/Warsaw Trrough
Basin/Grosss Area
Podlasie
Shale Form
mation
Geologic Age
A
(16,200 mi )
(6,600 mi )
Llandoveryy
L Sil - Ord. - U. Caambrian
L.
Marine
Llandovery
L. Sil
S - Ord. - U. Cambbrian
Marine
mi )
830
820
Orgaanically Rich
Th
hickness (ft)
Net
451
6,5500 - 9,800
Interval
Deepth (ft)
8,200
Average
Mod.
Reeservoir Pressure
O
Overpress.
%
3.9%
Th
hermal Maturity (%
% Ro)
0.85%
Cllay Content
Medium
2,070
820
451
7,0000 - 13,000
1
10,000
Mod.
Oveerpress.
3.9%
1
1.15%
M
Medium
1,,000
5
540
2
297
6,0000 - 9,000
7,,500
Slightly
Overrpress.
3..0%
0.885%
Meedium
1,1000
5440
2997
6,500 - 11,500
9,5000
Slighhtly
Overp ress.
3.00%
1.155%
Med ium
Oil
Conndensate
O
Oil
Condeensate
OIIP Concentration (MMbbl/mi )
42.2
12.8
3
36.2
11..1
Riisked OIP (B bbl)
14.0
10.6
8
8.7
2.99
Riisked Recoverablee (B bbl)
0.70
0.53
0
0.43
0.115
Oiil Phase
2
Source: ARI, 2013.

2
Table VIII-3: Shalee Gas and Shaale Oil Reservo

oir Properties and Resourcces of Lithuania/Kaliningradd
Polands
P
shale industry is still at an early explorratory, pre-ccommercial p
phase. Abo
out 30
vertical exploration
e
wells
w
and a half-dozen
h
vertical
v
and ttwo horizonttal productio
on test wells have
been drillled to date.. However, early resultts have not met industrrys high inittial expectattions.
Last year, ExxonMobil abandoned the fault-prone Lubl in and Podlasie basins after drilling
g two
June, 2013
VIII-3
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
vertical test
t
wells. ConocoPhillips and Ch
hevron are moving cau
utiously towa
ards drilling their
initial tes
st wells in the
t
Baltic and Lublin basins,
b
respe
ectively. A
And even in the geolog
gically
favorable
e Baltic Basin, Marathon
n and Talism
man recently exited after expressing disappointm
ment
with rese
ervoir qualitty and bein
ng not partticularly entthused by rresults we'vve had to d
date.
Meanwhile, the gove
ernment deb
bates rolling
g back some
e favorable shale invesstment term
ms, by
introducing higher taxes and mandating gove
ernment bacck-in rights.
Yet,
Y it is too soon
s
to dism
miss Polands
s extensive shale potential. Derisking shale pla
ays in
North Am
merica typically requires
s drilling about 100 we lls, while acchieving eco
onomies of scale
requires many hundrreds more. E&P compa
anies continu
ue to explorre Polands sshale potenttial in
over 100
0 geologically
y diverse lic
censes. State oil compa
any PGNiG, which contrrols the countrys
largest shale lease position,
p
rep
ported test gas
g productio
on from its ffirst stimulatted vertical sshale
ontal offset well.
w
Determ
mining best-p
practices op
perations rem
mains
well and recently drillled a horizo
n zones within the thick shale seque
ence,
a key challenge, including locatiing the bestt completion
g better exe
ecution of hy
ydraulic fracture stimula
ations, and rreducing the
e current sevveralachieving
fold highe
er well cost differential compared
c
with North Am
merica.
INTROD
DUCTION
With
W
an esta
ablished ons
shore conve
entional oil a
and gas pro
oduction ind
dustry as we
ell as
recent ex
xperience with coalbed methane ex
xploration, P oland offerss Europes b
best prospeccts for
developin
ng a viable shale gas/oil industry. Shale leasin
ng and deve
elopment in Poland beg
gan in
2007 wh
hen the Ministry of Env
vironment im
mplemented highly favo
orable policie
es for shale
e gas
developm
ment, including a simple tax and royalty fiscal syystem.
The
T current investment te
erms for sha
ale gas deve
elopment incclude a 1,20
00-km2 maxiimum
block siz
ze, minimal signature fees
f
of 50 Euros/block,
E
, freedom ffrom manda
atory govern
nment
back-in rights,
r
and reduced prod
duction roya
alties of $0.0
06/Mcf and $
$1.60/bbl. T
The typical sshale
contract comprises an
a initial 5-y
year explora
ation period,, which can be extende
ed, followed by a
30-year production
p
period.
p
Indus
strys respon
nse has bee
en strong: ovver 100 shale
e gas explorration
licenses have been awarded, covering
c
mo
ore than 35, 000 km2, no less than one-third o
of the
countrys
s area.
June, 2013
VIII-4
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
However,
H
mo
ore recently the governm
ment is disccussing mod
difications to
o the shale fiscal
terms which may increase pro
ofit taxes on
o shale ga
as productio
on to 40% or more, while
establish
hing a gove
ernment-owned entity to gain a minority e
equity stake
e in shale gas
developm
ment projectts.
These changes, iff implementted, could ssignificantly reduce ind

dustry
investme
ent in shale exploration
e
at
a a time of disillusionme
d
ent with earlyy well resultts.
The
T initial res
sults from so
ome 30 verttical and two
o horizontall shale wellss have been
n less
successfful than hope
ed. Producttion rates an
nd reservoir quality have
e been lowe
er than expe
ected,
with one
e operator te
esting ~4% porosity an
nd ~40% cla
ay content in several w
wells. Hydraulic
fracturing
g operations
s to stimulate
e production
n from the sh
hale also ha
ave been sub-par. How
wever,
as exploration contin
nues, opera
ators may su
uccessfully iidentify the geologic sw
weet spots, while
c
are
a likely to
o improve th
heir impleme
entation of North Amerrican drilling
g and
service companies
stimulatio
on technolog
gy.
GEOLO
OGIC OVER
RVIEW
Poland
P
has four
f
main ba
asins where
e Paleozoic shales are prospective
e and explorration
activity is
s taking plac
ce, Figure VIII-1.
V
Discu
ussed separrately in Secctions 1-4, tthese include the
Baltic Ba
asin and Wa
arsaw Troug
gh in northern Poland, tthe Podlasie
e Depressio
on and the L
Lublin
Basin in east Poland, and the Fore-Sudetic Monocline
e in the sou
uthwest.1 A fifth region
n, the
an Foreland
d belt of sou
utheastern Poland,
P
cou ld be prosp
pective for o
oil-prone Jurrassic
Carpathia
shales, but
b this area is structurallly complex and
a has not yet been targeted for sh
hale leasing.
The
T
Paleozo
oic sedimentary sequen
nce in Pola
and contain
ns several m
marine-depo
osited
shale deposits which
h in places are
a thick, org
ganic-rich an
nd buried at prospective
e depths of 1
1,000
t gas-pron
ne thermal m
maturity wind
dow, with sm
maller liquidss-rich
to 5,000 m. Most arreas are in the
areas oc
ccurring in the
t
north and east.
Organic
O
mattter generallly is domin
nated by Tyype II
kerogen. Abundant geologic datta exists on these Paleo

ozoic shaless. They have
e been subje
ected
sive study as
a they are considered
c
the
t main so
ource rocks ffor Polandss convention
nal oil
to extens
and gas fields. Basic
c shale exploration map
ps can be ac curately con
nstructed in m
most regionss.
However,
H
th
he distribution of favo
orable shal e rock pro
operties -- particularlyy the
combinattion of high
h porosity and
a
brittle mineralogy
m
w
with low cla
poorly
ay content -- is still p
understo
ood.
Severa
al of the ea
arly shale exploration
e
wells have tested lower-than-expe
ected
porosity. And where

eas quartz content in se
elected areass can be favvorably high (40-80%), ssome
June, 2013
VIII-5
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
recent sh
hale drilling has tested high
h
clay content (30-40
0%), which is less conducive to effe
ective
fracture stimulation.
s
In addition,, the local sttructural geo
ology often iis poorly kno
own, in particular
the exten
nt and precis
se location of
o problema
atic faults wh
hich may interfere with sshale drilling
g and
completio
on.
Conse
equently, co
onsiderable exploration drilling and seismic ssurveys are
e still
needed to
t define pottential sweett spots.
The
T
main strratigraphic targets
t
for shale
s
gas/o
oil exploratio
on in Poland
d are the L
Lower
Silurian and Ordovician marine
e-deposited shales.
T
The thinner but therma
ally more m
mature
marine Carb
boniferous shales
Cambrian shale is emerging as a secondarry objective, while non-m
e potential.
also have
Lower
L
Silurrian (Llando
overy-Wenlo
ock) graptol itic black sshale is the
e primary sshale
ex
xploration ta
arget in Pola
and. The Silurian sectio
on comprisess several hu
undred to se
everal
th
housand me
eters of sha
ale and silts
stone, with TOC generrally increassing towardss the
bottom of the
e section. The
T
most prospective p
portion is ap
pproximatelyy 500 m of highre
esistivity, hig
gh-TOC sec
ction in the Llandovery,
L
Wenlock an
nd lowest Lu
udlow, consisting
off dark gray to black, de
ense siltston
nes and sha les. Natura
al fractures a
are common
n and
usually filled with calcitte, although
h the matrixx is non-ca
alcareous. The Llando
overy
erages 1.5%
% to 2.5% TO
OC but is riccher in the ccentral Balticc Basin, whille the
generally ave
Podlasie
P
Bas
sin averages
s 6% TOC and
a TOC ca
an be high in
n the northw
west Lublin B
Basin
as well. The Wenlock is richest in the
e eastern Ba
altic and sou
utheastern L
Lublin basinss.
Marine-dep
Ordovician.
O
posited grap
ptolitic black shales in P
Poland are p
part of a reg
gional
2
deposit extending from Scandinav
via to Russsia.
These
e include E
Early Ordovvician
Shale, whic
Dictyonema
D
ch comprise
es fine-grained, non-m
metamorphossed, organicc-rich
deposits.
Cambrian.
C
Although not evaluated in the prrevious 2011 EIA/ARI assessmentt, the
Cambrian
C
also contains
s organic-ric
ch shale th
hat increasingly is being targeted
d for
ex
xploration. PGNiG an
nd Lane Energy have reported te
est gas prod
duction from
m the
Cambrian.
C
Up
U to 700 m of Cambrian
n section is present, mo
ostly tight sa
andstone butt with
th
hin shales near
n
the top. Cambrian
n units includ
de the Zarn
nowiec and Upper Vend
dians,
which
w
repres
sent the tran
nsition from continental alluvial fan deposits to
o shallow m
marine
te
errigenous sedimentary environments.
The
T Lower Cambrian
C
is dominated
d
by
b quartz sa ndstones interbedded w
with shales, while
th
he relatively
y thin Mid-C
Cambrian Alum
A
Shale
e is a transsgressive, ssediment-sta
arved
3
se
equence containing high TOC. Th
he Upper C
Cambrian to Tremadocia
an shale, pre
esent
only in the no
orthern part of the Baltic
c Basin, con
ntains high a
average TOC
C of 3-12% b
but is
veral to 50 m).
m
quite thin (sev
June, 2013
VIII-6
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
Carboniferou
C
us Coaly Shales.
S
Non
n-marine, la
acustrine-deposited carb
bonaceous sshale
4
se
equences of
o Carboniferous age are widely p
present in P
Poland. Th
hese organicc-rich
units, such as the Anthra
acosia Shale
es, are asso
ociated with economicallly importantt coal
deposits. Altthough cons
sidered good source ro
ocks for natu
ural gas, as well as coa
albed
methane
m
exp
ploration targ
gets in theirr own right, these coal-shale packa
ages may not be
brittle enough
h for effectiv
ve shale de
evelopment. However, comparable
e deposits in the
Cooper
C
Basin of Austra
alia recently have produ
uced shale gas. San Leon Enerrgy is
te
esting the Ca
arboniferous
s shales in southwest Po
olands Fore
e-Sudetic Mo
onocline.
In
n addition to
t these fou
ur main strratigraphic ttargets that were asse
essed, addittional
organic-rrich shale candidates

c
exist
e
in Poland but we
ere exclude
ed from thiss study.
T
These
apparenttly less prosp

pective shales include:
Upper
U
Perm
mian Kupferrschiefer Shale. Strattigraphicallyy positioned between th
he L.
Permian
P
Rotliegendes tight sands
stone and the U. Pe
ermian Zechstein evap
porite
se
equence, the Kupfershie
efer Shale is
s present in
n the Fore-S
Sudetic Mono
ocline and L
Lublin
basins as we
ell as in other areas of Poland. The Kupferschie
efer is a blacck shale that was
nder anoxic
c marine co
onditions, tyypically con
ntaining 7% to 16% T
TOC.5
deposited un
However,
H
the
e economica
ally importan
nt metal sulffides (pyrite, spalerite, g
galena) thatt also
occur in high concentrations in this shale
s
may in
nterfere with fracture stim
mulation and
d gas
d shale op
perators ha
ave reporte
ed targeting
g the
production.
None of the Poland
Kupferschiefe
K
er.
Mesozoic
M
an
nd Tertiary Shales. Nu
umerous you
unger, organ
nically rich b
black shaless also
occur in the Carpathian Foredeep Basin
B
of sou
utheast Pola
and, but the
ese generallyy are
non-marine and
a
mostly thermally immature.6 For examp
ple, the Oliigocene to early
Miocene
M
Men
nilite black shale,
s
with 4-8%
4
TOC (m
mainly Type
e II kerogen)), is considered a
high-quality source
s
rock for
f conventio
onal oil and gas fields in
n the Carpatthian fold be
elt. In
t 200 m off organic-rich sandy mu
udstone and
d claystone w
with average
e 4%
addition, up to
TOC
T
is prese
ent in the Jurrassic (Bathonian-Aalen
nia) foreland platform. F
Finally, the U
Upper
Ju
urassic orga
anic-rich Mik
kulov marls, about 140
00-m thick w
with 0.2% to
o 10% TOC
C, are
co
onsidered world-class
w
source
s
rocks
s in the nearrby Vienna B
Basin.7 The
e Mikulov ma
ay be
present in the
e subthrust of
o the Polish
h Carpathian
ns but appea
ars too deep
p and structurally
co
omplex to be
e prospectiv
ve for shale developmen
d
nt.
June, 2013
VIII-7
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
PGI AND
D USGS ASSESSMENTS OF PO
OLAND SH
HALE GAS
S RESOURC
CES
In
n 2012 the Polish Geological Institute (PGI) a nd the U.S.. Geologicall Survey (US
SGS)
collabora
ated on a prreliminary sh
hale gas and
d shale oil a
assessmentt of Poland. PGI and U
USGS
released separate independent assessment
a
s of the tech
hnically reco
overable sha
ale gas and sshale
oil resources within Lower
L
Paleo
ozoic formattions in the B
Baltic, Podla
asie, and Lu
ublin basins. The
PGI stud
dy drew heav
vily on earlie
er detailed shale
s
mappiing and ana
alysis conduccted by Pop
prawa
and colle
eagues at PGI.8 Both th
he PGI and USGS stud
dies were ba
ased on con
nventional oiil and
gas logs,, core, and seismic
s
data
a collected during the 19
970-80s. Ne
either study cited recentt data
measured from shale
e industry ex
xploration prrograms in P
Poland.
PGI
P
estimate
ed technica
ally recovera
able shale gas resourrces in the onshore B
BalticPodlasie-Lublin regio
on to be 230
0.5 to 619.4
4 billion m3 ((8 to 22 Tcf)), with an ad
dditional 1.5
569 to
prob
bability range
e estimate).9 The corre
esponding U
USGS
1.956 billion barrels of oil (their higher
els (mean estimate), orr roughly 10
0% of
estimate was about 1.345 Tcf and 0.168 billion barre
PGIs esttimate.10
The
T
PGI and
d USGS re
esource estimates both are consid
derably lesss than EIA/A
ARIs
current estimate
e
of 146 Tcf and
d 1.8 billion barrels for Paleozoic sshale gas and oil in Po
oland,
Tables VIII-1
V
and VIII-2. Part of the difference arises b
because PG
GI excluded the Lublin B
Basin,
while PG
GI and USGS
S both excluded the Forre-Sudetic M
Monocline, tw
wo large regions where sshale
gas drilling and gas
s production are underw
way. But m
most of the difference iss because tthese
ology and u
used differe
ent assumpttions.
researchers followed a different methodo
The
e key
he PGI, USG
GS, and EIA//ARI studiess are as follo
ows:
differences among th
Methodology
M
y. PGI and
d the USGS
S followed th
he methodo
ology used b
by the USG
GS for
assessing sh
hale gas and shale oil resources iin the Unite
ed States, w
wherein emp
pirical
11
ction data arre analyzed to estimate per-well reccoveries. In Polands case
shale produc
here are no empirical sh
hale productiion data. PG
GI considere
ed but rejectted individua
al US
th
shale plays as
a analogs for
f Poland, instead sele
ecting for itss mean estiimate a range of
EURs
E
on the
e lower end
d of 26 sha
ale gas playys evaluated
d by the USGS. The U
USGS
methodology
m
for its Polan
nd assessme
ent has not b
been publish
hed but appe
ears similar..
EIA/ARI
E
followed a different (volume
etric) approa
ach: calcula
ating the pro
ospective ga
as inplace and th
hen estimatin
ng likely rec
covery facto
ors based o
on multiple analogous N
North
American
A
sha
ale plays.
June, 2013
VIII-8
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
Per-Well
P
Rec
covery. PG
GI and USGS
S estimated that per-well recoveriess in Poland w
would
be lower than those calculated by the USGS ffor many sh
hale plays in the USA. For
Poland,
P
the USGS
U
estim
mated average shale ga
as and oil E
EURs of 0.2
245 Bcf/well and
34,000 bbl/well on 160-a
acre spacing
g. PGI estim
mated an avverage 0.4 B
Bcf/well reco
overy
or Poland on
n implied 150
0-acre well spacing,
s
with
h maximum of 1.0 Bcf/w
well and miniimum
fo
off 0.04 Bcf/well.
increased p
However,
H
imp
proved techn
nology has significantly
s
per-well reco
overy in mosst US
shale plays in
n recent yea
ars. For exa
ample, recent Marcelluss Shale wellls are perforrming
much
m
better than
t
the wells initially drrilled in this p
play during 2
2007-10. In addition, ve
ertical
wells
w
have no
ot been emp
ployed for Marcellus
M
devvelopment ssince about 2
2009, after w
which
new developm
ment has be
een entirely based
b
on ho
orizontal wells.
Using
U
produc
ction data av
vailable at the time, whicch included m
many early vvertical wellss, the
2011 USGS Marcellus sttudy estimatted a mean 1.15 Bcf ga
as recovery per 149-acre
e cell
12
within
w
their main
m
Interior Marcellus play.
p
This equates to approximattely 0.82 Bccf/well
re
ecovery on the
t tighter 107-acre well spacing (6 wells per m
mi2) that is co
ommonly ussed in
th
he Marcellus
s today.
However,
H
Marcellus
M
op
perators rec
cently are reporting tthat improvved drilling and
co
ompletion te
echnology has steadily boosted the
eir average horizontal w
well recoveries to
between 5 an
nd 11 Bcf/w
well at present. Indeed, the average per-well re
ecovery rep
ported
by 10 large Marcellus
M
op
perators, wh
hich accoun
nt for most o
of the gas p
production in
n this
13
en to 7.1 Bcff/well, Table VIII-4. Ot her US shale plays have
e seen incre
eases
play, has rise
in
n per-well re
ecovery in re
ecent years due
d to impro
oved techno
ology, underrscoring the need
fo
or continuous appraisal of
o even prov
ven shale pla
ays.
The
T EIA/ARI study does not explicitly estimate per-well reccovery for Po
oland, but w
we do
estimate rec
covery efficiiency. Ass
suming 80--acre spacing and rellatively low
w gas
re
ecoveries of 10% to 20%
%, our equiva
alent per-we
ell recoveriess in Poland rrange from 1 to 4
Bcf/well.
B
This
s has not ye
et been confiirmed by we
ell testing in P
Poland but tthe industry there
is
s still in the
e early explloration pha
ase. Our a
assumption of higher p
per-well reco
overy
potential, bas
sed in part on more current US da
ata, is a ma
ajor reason w
why the EIA
A/ARI
shale resourc
ce estimate is
i so much larger than th
he PGI and USGS estim
mates.
Basins
B
Asse
essed. The PGI assessment is limitted to the Ba
altic and Pod
dlasie basinss; the
Lublin Basin was exclude
ed due to low TOC. Ho
owever, PGN
NiG, Chevro
on, Marathon
n and
other compan
nies are con
ntinuing to ex
xplore for sh
hale gas in tthe Lublin Basin. PKN O
Orlen
ecently drille
ed the first horizontal
h
we
ell there and
d is preparin
ng to fracture
e stimulate. The
re
USGS
U
Poland
d map indica
ates they as
ssessed the Baltic, Podla
asie, and Lu
ublin basins. The
cu
urrent EIA/A
ARI assessm
ment covers
s the Baltic , Podlasie, and Lublin basins but also
in
ncludes the Fore-Sudetic
F
c Monocline, where sha le gas leasin
ng and drillin
ng are underrway.
June, 2013
VIII-9
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
Table
T
VIII-4 : Comparison
C
off Marcellus an
nd Poland Shaale Gas Per-W
Well Recovery Estimates
matedUltimate
CurrentNet
MeanEstim
RecoveryBcff/107acreWell Production
Millionft3/d
Bcf/well
Source
Chesapeake
5.2
Chesapeake
800
RaangeResources
8.5
Range
600
Shell
295
Statoil
451
ExxonMobil
EQTCorp.
7.3
EQT
800
Consol/NobleEnergyy
5.9
Consol
280
ChevvronAtlasReliancce
158
TaalismanEnergy
5.0
Talisman
450
UltraPetroleum
6.0
Ultra
194
A
AnadarkoCorp.
8.0
Anadarko
330
CabotOil&Gas
11.0
Cabot
930
hevronChiefOil
Ch
140
BGExcoJV
SoutthwesternEnergyy
8.0
Southwestern
300
6.0
NaationalFuelGas
NFG
194
Ope
eratorMarcellus
7.1
M
MeanorTotal
Operators
5,922
USGSInteriorMarcellus
Equivv107AcMeanEEst
USGS
0.82
PG
GIPolandMean
ShalleGas150AcEstt
0.40
PGI
0
USG
GSPolandMean
ShalleGas160AcEstt
USGS
0
0.25
Source
ProvedReservves
+RiskedResourrces
Tcf
Sourrce
39.0
Chesap
peake
30.0
Rangge
24.1
ARIeest
18.9
Statoil
ARIeest
17.6
15.0
EQT
QT
14.8
Nob
ble
13.0
Atlaas
8.0
Talism
man
7.4
Ultrra
6.0
Anadaarko
5.3
ARIeest
5.0
Chevrron
4.8
Excco
4.7
ARIeest
4.1
ARIeest
Report
Date
Location
inplay
2/21/2013
PA&WV
NEPA
PA&WV
PA&WV
PA&WV
PA&WV
PA&WV
SWPA
NEPA
NEPA
NEPA
NEPA
SWPA
CentralPA
NEPA
CentralPA
3/4/2013
5/28/2010
2/28/2013
8/23/2012
2/5/2013
2/7/2013
5/6/2010
2/13/2013
3/4/2013
2/20/2013
2/28/2013
5/4/2011
5/10/2010
3/1/2013
2/7/2013
218
PA&WV
81.4
11/23/2011
PA&WV
8to22
3/1/2012
BalticPodlasie
1.3
7/1/2012
BalticPodlasie
TOC.
T
PGI screened
s
ou
ut the Lublin
n Basin beccause their log analysiss did not ide
entify
significant shale layers th
hicker than 15
1 m with TO
OC above 2%. Howeve
er, they note
ed the
easy an
nd straightfo
orward due to the poor quality of the 40evaluation process was not
o 50-year-old
d core and lo
og data. EIA
A/ARI, relyin
ng on more rrecent shale
e exploration
n data
to
and publishe
ed source ro
ock studies, developed a more op
ptimistic view
w that shallower
prospective shale targetts.
portions of the deep Lublin Basin stilll may have p
In
n summary, the EIA/ARII shale gas/o
oil resource estimate fo
or Poland is larger becau
use it
includes two addition

nal shale pla
ays (Podlas
sie and Fore
e-Sudetic Mo
onocline), in
ncorporates more
hale industry
y data, and assumes higher recove
ery factors m
more consisttent with (bu
ut still
recent sh
considera
ably less tha
an) actual Marcellus Sha
ale well perfo
ormance.
June, 2013
VIII-10
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
1.
BALTIC
B
BA
ASIN
1.1
In
ntroduction
The
T 16,200-m
mi2 Baltic Ba
asin in northern Poland, Lithuania a
and Kalining
grad is a rare
e (for
Europe), relatively tectonically quiescent area that contains a sequence of Paleozo

oic to
c deposits, including Low
wer Paleozo
oic organic-rrich shales that are prosspective for sshale
Mesozoic
gas and oil development.14 The
ese mostly marine-depo
osited shale
es are separrated by reg
gional
ed to Caledonian, Varis
scan, and A
Alpine tecton
nics. A sma
all portion o
of the
unconforrmities relate
basin exttends into Lithuania and
d the Kalining
grad Oblast..
Figure VIII-2 illustrates the
t
depth to
o the Lowerr Silurian Llandovery S
Shale, one o
of the
e
in
i the Baltic Basin, high
hlighting the 1 to 5 km p
prospective d
depth
principal targets for exploration
mpler than m
most other a
areas in Pola
and and Europe.
window. The basins structure is much sim
paced and le
ess severe. In addition, the shale sstrata
Faulting does occur but it is more widely sp
sin, Figure VIII-3.
V
Detaile
ed seismic ssections iden
ntify fairly brroad areas w
which
dip gently in this bas
o be intact and
a free of faulting in places,
p
Figurre VIII-4. F
Faulting in th
he Baltic Bassin is
appear to
most like
ely related to
o uplift durin
ng the Devo
onian (Caled
donian Orog
geny), couple
ed with rela
atively
rapid dep
position during the late Paleozoic
P
an
nd Mesozoicc.
The
T
Baltic Basin
B
forme
ed as a res
sult of late Precambria
an rifting fo
ollowed by early
Paleozoic post-rift downwarpin
d
g of the East
E
Europe
ean Platform
m.
The ba
asins south
hwest
boundary
y is defined by the north
hwest-southe
east trendin g Trans-Eurropean Sutu
ure Zone (TE
ESZ),
a deform
med fault zon
ne, while the Mazury-Belarus High d
defines the e
eastern boun
ndary. The basin
extends to
t the north into the Balttic Sea.
June, 2013
VIII-11
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
Figure VIII-2: Baltic Basin Map Showing Depth To LLower Siluriann Llandovery Shale.
Source: Modified
M
from Poolish Geological Institute, 2012
Figure VIII-3: Structurall Cross-Sectio

on in North Po
oland Baltic Baasin Showingg Relatively Sim
mple Structurre and
Widelyy Spaced Faultts.
Source: Moodified from San Leon Energy, 2012
June, 2013
VIII-12
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
Fig
gure VIII-4: Deetailed Seismic Section in N
North Poland B
Baltic Basin
Sho
owing Simple Structure andd Few Faults.
Source: LNG
G Energy Ltd.
Organic-rich
O
shales of Pa
aleozoic age
e within the Baltic Basin
n are relative
ely flat lying,, high
in TOC, thermally
t
ma
ature in the gas to oil windows,
w
and
d among the
e most prosp
pective in Eu
urope
for shale development. Figure VIII-5
V
exhibits
s organic-ricch shales tha
at are typica
ally present w
within
the Lowe
er Silurian, Ordovician,
O
and Cambrrian strata. TOC distrib
bution in the
e Zarnowiec IG-1
conventio
onal well, northern Balttic Basin, sh
hows severa
al high TOC
C zones tota
aling about 75 m
thick, witth good corrrelation of ga
amma ray lo
og and core data. Thesse Lower Pa
aleozoic dep
posits
form a package
p
of quite thick, laterally extensive, darrk grey to b
black organiic-rich rockss that
contain marine
m
(type II/III) keroge
en. The main shale targ
gets in the B
Baltic Basin include:
Cambrian.
C
Up to 700 m of Cambrrian sandsto
one and sha
ale is prese
ent, including
g the
Zarnowiec
Z
an
nd other Upp
per Vendian units. Thesse representt a transition
n from contin
nental
alluvial fan de
eposits to sh
hallow marine terrigenou
us sedimenta
ary environm
ments.
Ordovician.
O
Deposited under deep water mari ne condition
ns, the Ordo
ovician is thiinner,
ra
anging from 80 to 200 m.
m The Lowe
er Ordovicia
an Arenig an
nd Lower Ca
aradoc forma
ations
are predomin
nately marly
y limestone
e interbedde
ed with clayystone and siltstone. The
overlying Upp
per and Midd
dle Caradoc
c Formation cconsists of g
graptolite-ricch black shalle.
Silurian.
S
Th
he overlying
g Silurian sequence is extremely thick at up to 3 km in
n the
so
outhwest ne
ear the TESZ
Z, but more typically 1 km thick in the shale e
exploration a
areas.
June, 2013
VIII-13
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
The
T
Silurian shale is locally interbe
edded with dolomitic lim
mestone. T
The thick m
middle
Silurian
S
Wen
nlock and th
hin Lower Silurian Lland
dovery form
mations conttain dark grey to
black organic
c shale that commonly
c
ex
xhibits stron
ng gas show
ws in explorattion wells.
The
T Ordovician and Silurian shales are overlain
n by more than 200 m of anhydrite
e and
halite (sa
alt) of the Permian
P
Zec
chstein Form
mation, a we
eak zone th
hat frequently decouples the
younger overlying section
s
from
m the Paleoz
zoic strata.
Finally a 1,200-m th
hick sequencce of
overlying
g Mesozoic sandstones
s
and claysto
one is cappe
ed by a thin veneer of T
Tertiary sand
d and
gravel. Additional
A
potential
p
sou
urce rock sh
hales are prresent in the
e Upper Jurrassic and L
Lower
Cretaceo
ous in the Baltic
B
Basin but were not
n assesse
ed due to lo
ow thermal maturity. T
These
Mesozoic
c shales locally have TO
OC >1.5% but are therm
mally immatu
ure (Ro 0.5%
% to 0.7%) at well
depths of 1.5 to 3.2 km.
k 15
Figure VIII-5:
V
TOC Distribution in L.
L Paleozoic, Zarnowiec
Z
IG- 1 Conventional Well, Northern Baltic Bassin,
Shows Seeveral High TO
OC Zones Tottaling About 75
7 m Thick. Noote Good Corrrelation of Gaamma Ray Logg and
Core
C
Data.
Source: Pooprawy, 2010
June, 2013
VIII-14
VIII. Poland
1.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T
combine
ed Lower Silurian, Ordo
ovician, and
d Cambrian section in the Baltic B
Basin
totals fro
om 1,000 to 3,500 feet thick. The organic-rich
o
sshale interva
al for the Lo
ower Paleozoic is
estimated
d to averag
ge 820 ft thick, of whic
ch approxima
ately 55% iis considere
ed net thickness.
TOC ave
erages about 3.9%. Silica content from
f
two old
der western Baltic Basin
n wells meassured
relatively
y high (40-80%), Figure
e VIII-6, indiicating brittl e rock cond
ditions. How
wever, high
h clay
content (33-44%)
(
has been repo
orted from tw
wo of BNKs recent shale
e exploration
n wells.
Thermal
T
maturity ranges
s from oil- to
o gas-prone
e, Figure VIII-7, increassing steadilyy with
depth in the basin as
a illustrated
d in the Gdansk IG-1 w
well, Figure VIII-8. The
e average d
depth
w
to 10,000 ft in t he wet gas window are
ea, to 12,500
0 ft in
ranges frrom 8,200 ftt in the oil window,
the oil window. Poro
osity is estim
mated at 4%
% based on recent explo
oration results. The basin is
o
ed with an estimated
e
0.5
50 psi/ft grad
dient. Gas impurities su
uch as CO2 or N2
slightly over-pressure
appear lo
ow in most of
o the basin.
Figure VIII-6: Silica Conten
nt in the Lower Paleozoic Frrom Two Wesstern Baltic Baasin Wells
is Relatively High
H (40-80%)), Indicating B rittle Rock Coonditions.
Sourrce: Krzemiskiego & Poprawy,, 2006 in Popraw

wy, 2010
June, 2013
VIII-15
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
Figure VIII-7: Baltic Basin Map Show

wing Thermal Maturity
M
Winddows and Prosspective Area for Lower Silurian
Llandoveery Shale, Polland
Sourrce: Contours modified

m
from Saan Leon Energy, 2012 and Polishh Geological Insstitute, 2012
Figure VIII-8: Thermal Maaturity Increasses Steadily w

with Depth in tthe Gdansk IG
G-1 Well
Central Baaltic Basin, Reeaching Oil- and
a Then Gas--Prone Maturitty in the Paleoozoic.
Source: Popraawa, 2010
June, 2013
VIII-16
VIII. Poland
1.3
EIA/ARI W
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Total
T
risked, technically recoverable shale resou
urces in the
e Poland porrtion of the B
Baltic
Basin an
nd Warsaw Trough
T
are estimated
e
at 105 Tcf of sshale gas an
nd 1.2 billion
n barrels of sshale
oil and co
ondensate.
Dry
D Gas Win
ndow. The mapped prrospective a
area for Pola
ands dry ga
as window in the
Baltic Ba
asin is estim
mated at 5,6
680 mi2.
Lower
L
Paleo
ozoic shale (comprising
g the L. Silu
urian,
Ordovicia
an, and Ca
ambrian) ha
as a favorable resourcce concentra
ation of ap
pproximatelyy 181
Bcf/mi2. Risked, tec
chnically recoverable shale gas reso
ources are e
estimated att 82 Tcf, outt of a
risked sh
hale gas in-p
place of 412 Tcf.
Wet
W Gas Wiindow. The
e wet gas prospective
p
area coverss about 2,070 mi2. Rissked,
ble resource
es are estima
ated at 22 T
Tcf of shale gas and 0.5
5 billion barre
els of
shale condensate fro
om 109 Tcf and 14 billio
on barrels off risked, in-p
place shale g
gas and sha
ale oil
resource
es.
Oil
O Window. The much smaller oil window with
hin the north
hern Baltic B
Basin prospe
ective
area covers about 83
30 mi2. Risk
ked technica
ally recovera
able resource
es are estim
mated to be a
about
0.7 billion barrels off shale oil and
a
condens
sate and 1.2
2 Tcf of asssociated sha
ale gas, outt of a
risked in--place shale
e oil and condensate resource of 14 billion barre
els.
1.4
Exploration
E
n Activity
Poland,
P
and in particularr the Baltic Basin,
B
has a large existing data sett of well logss and
seismic to
t guide shale explorattion. Over 200 petrole
eum exploration wells h
have been d
drilled
targeting conventional oil and ga
as plays in Poland, pen
netrating sha
ale formations and provviding
ss, depth, TOC
T
and the
ermal maturrity. Seismically, the L
Lower
general information on thicknes
an be difficult to image due to acou
ustic interference cause
ed by the 2
200-m
Paleozoic shales ca
erlying Zechstein salt. Regional modern 2D a nd localized
d 3D seismic data are b
being
thick ove
acquired by shale op
perators over their licens
ses to aid in siting well lo
ocations, particularly to a
avoid
problema
atic faults.
Since
S
2010 th
he smaller independentt E&P comp anies have pioneering sshale explorration
in the Ba
altic Basin, in
ncluding Lan
ne Energy, BNK
B
Petroleu
um, San Leo
on Energy, a
and others. More
recently large oil companies (C
ConocoPhillip
ps, Marathon
n, Talisman
n) have farm
med into som
me of
these positions or ac
cquired their own blocks. PGNiG is active but h
has focused mainly outsiide of
June, 2013
VIII-17
VIII. Poland
the Baltic Basin.
EIA/ARI W
Thus
T
far the
e Poland sh
hale test pro
ograms havve had limitted successs with
g
flow rattes. Key ch
hallenges se
eem to be locating the
e best stratig
graphic zones in
modest gas
which to
o position the
t
lateral, as well as
s successfu
ully impleme
enting hydrraulic stimulation
programs
s.
A brief summ
mary of opera
ator activities
s in the Balttic Basin is p
provided below, includin
ng the
limited pu
ublic geologic and reserrvoir results released to d
date:
PGNiG,
P
the national oil and gas co
ompany of P
Poland, hold
ds 15 shale
e gas explorration
lic
censes. La
ast year the
e company reported pla
ans to inve
est $0.5 billiion in shale
e gas
development with severa
al Polish state-owned pa
artners. PG
GNiG has drrilled at least four
shale gas ex
xploration we
ells to date in the Balt ic Basin, prroducing sha
ale gas from
m the
Cambrian
C
in two
t
vertical wells from depths
d
of ab
bout 3,000 m
m, while logg
ging gas sho
ows in
th
he Ordovicia
an and L. Silurian.
S
Th
he companyy recently drilled its firsst horizontall well
nearby (Lubo
ocino-2H) and targets commercial
c
arting
production in the Balttic Basin sta
2016.16
ConocoPhill
C
armed into three of Lane Enerrgys (subssidiary of 3
3Legs
ips has fa
Resources
R
PLC) shale blocks
b
in the western Ba
altic Basin. Lane Energ
gy has tested
d low
gas rates (90
0 and 500 Mcfd) from tw
wo stimulated
d horizontal shale wells. ConocoPh
hillips
ecently beca
ame the ope
erator of thes
se blocks, sh
hifting focuss to the liquid
ds-rich window in
re
th
he north. Th
he company recently spu
ud its first Po
oland shale well, the vertical Strzeszewo
LE-1, in an arrea with 3D seismic coverage.17
en LE-2H well,
w
a verttical well sstimulated w
with a singlle-stage fra
acture
Lanes Lebie
oduced an average
a
27 Mcf from th e Upper Ord
dovician durring a 5-dayy test.
trreatment, pro
The
T well was
s re-entered in 2011 and
d a 1-km latteral was drrilled into the
e Ordovician
n and
sttimulated with a large 13-stage fra
ac treatmen t. This horrizontal well produced a
at an
in
nitial 2.2 MM
Mcfd, stabiliz
zing at abo
out 500 Mcfd
d on nitroge
en lift during a 17-day test,
making
m
it the highest prod
duction for a shale well in Poland to
o date.
Lanes Warb
blino LE-1H well encountered ho le instabilityy while drilling into th
he U.
Cambrian
C
shale. The well was re-d
drilled with a 500-m late
eral and stim
mulated with
h a 7sttage gel frac
c, testing 18 to 90 Mcfd on
o lift assist .
Marathon
M
an
nd partner Nexen
N
have acquired ne
ew seismic a
and drilled a
at least one sshale
18
8
well
w in the Ba
altic Basin. Marathons
s most rece
ent remarks ((May 2012) on Poland n
noted
d
disappointme
ent with the
e reservoir quality.
q
Currrently, Marathon is cond
ducting injecctivity
te
ests to deterrmine whethe
er to procee
ed with hydra
aulic stimulation.
June, 2013
VIII-18
VIII. Poland
1.5
EIA/ARI W
Talisman
T
an
nd San Leo
on Energy have
h
drilled three verticcal shale w
wells in the B
Baltic
Basin,
B
logging gas and some
s
liquids
s shows thro
roughout the
e Cambrian, Ordovician, and
Silurian
S
section. San Le
eon reported
d that it mayy drill its firstt horizontal sshale well d
during
2Q-2013, with a planned
d 1,000+ m lateral
l
comp
pleted with a multi-stage
e frac. How
wever,
Talismans
T
most
m
recent remarks
r
(Oc
ctober 2012
2) noted we
e're not partiicularly enth
hused
19
by results we
e've had to date. It's a diifficult thing.
BNK
B
Petrole
eum has drilled five vertiical shale we
Baltic Basin (($12 million//well).
ells in the B
Porosity
P
(3-4
4%) was low
wer than ex
xpected in o
over-pressurred L. Paleo
ozoic shale;; clay
co
ontent was fairly
f
high (3
30-40%). Th
he companyy estimated ttotal GIP concentration of up
to
o 135 Bcf/mi2, including 86 Bcf/mi2 in the targett Ordovician
n and L. Silu
urian shale zzones
(ttotal 110 m thick).
t
The Lebork S-1 well flared g
gas from sevveral interva
als, but a fra
acture
sttimulation was unsucces
ssful due to high stress a
and inadequ
uate pump ccapacity.
Lithuania
L
For the northeastern exte
ension of the
e Baltic Bassin into Lithu
uania, we esstimate a riskked 6
billion ba
arrels of sha
ale oil and 4 Tcf of ass
sociated sha
ale gas in-pllace in the prospective area
(Figure VIII-9),
V
with 0.3 billion barrels
b
of sh
hale oil and 0.4 Tcf of a
associated sshale gas a
as the
risked, te
hale resourc
ces.
1.6
Russia
R
(Kalliningrad Oblast)
O
For the north
heastern extension of th
he Baltic Bassin into Russsias Kalinin
ngrad Oblasst, we
els of shale oil

o and 20 Tccf of associa
ated shale ga
as in-place iin the
estimate a risked 23 billion barre
prospective area (Fig
gure VIII-9), with 1.2 billion barrels o
of shale oil a
and 2 Tcf of associated sshale
gas as th
he risked, tec
chnically rec
coverable sh
hale resource
es.
June, 2013
VIII-19
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
Figure VIII-9.
V
Baltic Basin Map Sho
owing Thermaal Maturity Winndows and Prrospective Areea for Llandovvery
Shale, Lithu
uania and Kali ningrad
June, 2013
VIII-20
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
2.
LUBLIN
L
BA
ASIN
2.1
In
ntroduction
The
T 5,000-mi2 Lublin Bas
sin may be considered the southea
astern extension of the B
Baltic
Basin, with
w
which it shares gen
nerally similar shale strratigraphy a
and lithologyy, Figure VIII-10.
Howeverr, the Lublin
n Basins structural ge
eology is sig
gnificantly m
more complex, with se
eismic
sections showing nu
umerous clo
osely spaced
d faults. In addition, th
he basin is mostly too deep
while sha
ale TOC app
pears to be relatively
r
low
w.
Although
A
the Lublin Basiin is experie
encing early--stage shale
e gas explorration, it app
pears
somewha
at less prosp
pective and was
w assesse
ed separate
ely from the B
Baltic Basin.. Several ve
ertical
shale we
ells have be
een drilled, while the first horizonttal well wass drilled in late 2012 and is
planned to be stimula
ated soon. PGNiG,
P
Che
evron, Maratthon, and other companies are activve.
Figure VIII-11 illustrates the extent of faulting a
and sub-sallt tectonic d
decoupling o
of the
P
in the Lublin Basin.20
Lower Paleozoic
Figure VIII- 12 shows h

hydrologicall flow within
n the
Devonian
n strata, inc
cluding close
ely spaced faults
f
and ssteep dips.21 Major fault systems in the
basin inc
clude the no
orthwest-southeast trend
ding Kock, Izzbeca-Zamo
osc, Ursynow
w-Kazimierzz, and
Holy Cross faults. Clearly,
C
the Lublin Basin is structurallly more com
mplex than th
he Baltic Bassin.
Several
S
small convention
nal natural gas
g fields ha
ave been disscovered in the Lublin B
Basin,
such as the Ciecierrzyn-Megiew
w Field which produce s from Devvonian carbo
onate reservvoirs.
r
include
e Silurian an
nd Ordovicia
an shales, b
but marine liimestones a
and clayston
nes of
Source rocks
the Devo
onian Bycha
awa Formation are con
nsidered mo
ore significan
nt.22 The L
Lublin Basin also
contains significant coal
c
and coa
albed metha
ane depositss in Carbonifferous strata
a, which con
ntinue
olhynia Basin of Ukraine
e.23
to the southeast into the Lvov-Vo
2.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T
combine
ed Lower Siilurian, Ordo
ovician, and
d Cambrian section in the Lublin B
Basin
totals fro
om 330 to 1,100 feet thick. The orrganic-rich sshale interva
al for the Lo
ower Paleozoic is
estimated
d to average
e 415 ft thick
k, of which about
a
55% iss considered
d net pay. A good example is
the Lopie
ennik IG-1 well,
w
Figure VIII-13, sho
owing aboutt 150 m of g
gas-bearing Paleozoic sshale
with TOC
C of 0.2% to 1.4%.24
June, 2013
VIII-21
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
Figu
ure VIII-10: Lub
blin and Podlaasie Basin Map Showing Deepth to Lowerr Silurian Llanddovery Shale..
Source: Moodified from Polissh Geological Institute, 2012
Figure VIII-11: Seismic Section in Lublin Basin Sho

owing Relativvely Complex Structure andd Numerous FFaults,
as Well ass Poor Image Quality
Q
in Deeep Lower Paleozoic.
Source: Zyw
wiecki and Lewis, 2011
June, 2013
VIII-22
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
Figu
ure VIII-12: Hydrological Cro
oss-Section inn the Lublin B
Basin, Poland.
Source: Zawisza, 2006
Figure VIII-13: Well Log

L Showing Approximately
A
y 150 m of Gaas-Bearing Shale
with
w TOC of 0.2 to 1.4% in the Lopiennik IG-1 Well, Lubblin Basin
Sourcee: Zywiecki and Lewis, 2011
June, 2013
VIII-23
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
However,
H
TO
OC often is
s higher in core analyyses than ccalculated ffrom older logs,
averaging about 3% in the Lublin
n Basin. Th
he thermal m
maturity of th
he Paleozoicc is in the dryy gas
t overmaturre, increasin
ng steadily with
w depth ass illustrated in the Polik IG-1 well, F
Figure
window to
VIII-14. Depth to the shale ave
erages appro
oximately 11
1,000 ft. Po
orosity is esstimated at a
about
e pressure gradient in the Devonia
an section iis slightly ovver-pressure
ed, about 2-10%
5%. The
above the hydrostatic
c gradient.255 Gas impurrities such ass CO2 or N2 appear to be negligible..
2.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T 2,390-mii2 prospectiv
ve area map
pped in the L
Lublin Basin is entirely w
within the dryy gas
thermal maturity
m
win
ndow. The Lower Paleo
ozoic shale (L. Silurian,, Ordovician
n, and Camb
brian)
has a moderate
m
re
esource concentration of
o approxim
mately 91 B
Bcf/mi2.
Rissked, techn
nically
as is estimatted at 9 Tcf, out of risked
d, shale gass in-place of 46 Tcf.
Fiigure VIII-14: Thermal
T
Maturrity In The Palleozoic Increaases Abruptly Below the Unnconformity
in the Pollik IG-1 Well, Lublin
L
Basin, Reaching
R
Gass-Prone and TThen Over-Matturity.
Source: Pooprawy, 2010
June, 2013
VIII-24
VIII. Poland
2.4
EIA/ARI W
Exploration
E
n Activity
PGNiG,
P
Exxo
onMobil, Ch
hevron, Marrathon and other comp
panies have
e been purssuing
shale ga
as exploratio
on in the Lub
blin basin. In March 20
012 PGNiG
G began drilling the Lub
bycza
Krlewska well in th
he Tomaszw
w Lubelski license. The
e vertical we
ell is planned
d for 4,300-m
m TD
using a 2000-HP
2
Driillmec 2000 Walking Rig
g, currently P
Polands mo
ost advanced drilling rig, and
targets Lower
L
Paleoz
zoic shales at
a depths of 2,300 to 4,3
300 m.26
In
n 2009 Exxo
onMobil lea
ased six lice
enses in the
e Lublin and
d Podlasie b
basins of ea
astern
Poland. The compan
ny drilled two vertical sh
hale gas testt wells (Krup
pe 1 and Siennica 1), loccating
one well in each ba
asin. Howe
ever, ExxonMobil termin
nated its Po
oland shale
e gas explorration
efforts in mid-2012 after
a
failing to
o demonstra
ate sustaine
ed commerciial hydrocarb
bon flow rate
es.27
In
n late 2012 ExxonMobil sold two off the license
es (Wodynie
e-Lukow and
d Wolomin in the
Podlasie Basin) to PKN
P
Orlen. PKN Orlen
n holds 10 sshale gas liccenses totaling nearly 9
9,000
wo former Ex
xxonMobil blocks).
b
In l ate Octoberr 2012, PKN
N reported drilling
km2 (including the tw
the first horizontal
h
we
ell in the Lub
blin Basin, which
w
it planss to hydraulically stimula
ate.
In
n 2009 Che
evron acquired and currently operrates four shale gas exxploration b
blocks
totaling 4,433
4
km2 in the Lublin Basin
B
of southeast Polan
nd. In Octob
ber 2011 Ch
hevron comp
pleted
a 12-mon
nth 2-D seis
smic acquisiition program
m across th e four licensses to help plan a multti-well
exploratio
on drilling campaign.
c
The compa
any complete
ed its first w
wells in the
e Grabowiecc and
Frampol licenses durring Q1 2012
2; results ha
ave not been
n disclosed.
Marathon
M
Oil also holds shale
s
explorration blockss in the Lublin Basin. T
The companyy has
acquired seismic data but has not
n reported
d testing ressults. PGNiG
G also holds licenses in the
ertical Marko
owola-1 sh ale well in the in the Pionki-Kazim
mierz
Lublin Basin and drrilled the ve
d
2010.. The well was
w fracture
e stimulated by Halliburrton and rep
portedly achieved
license during
mixed results.
r
June, 2013
VIII-25
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
3.
PODLASIE
P
BASIN
3.1
In
ntroduction
Like the Lublin Basin, the 6,600-mi2 Podlasie D
Depression (Basin) may be considered a
stern extens
sion of the Baltic Bas
sin, with wh
ares generally similar sshale
southeas
hich it sha
stratigrap
phy and litho
ology. How
wever, where
eas the Pod
dlasie is stru
ucturally mo
ore complex than
the Baltic
c Basin, it is less comple
ex than the Lublin
L
Basin
n and thus iss separately assessed. Eight
key older convention
nal exploration wells hav
ve been drillled in the basin, includiing the Wysszkw
2
m) which penetratted organic--rich Silurian
n, Ordovician
n, and Cam
mbrian
IG 1 borrehole (TD 2388
shale de
eposits.28 Organic
O
matter measurements in old
der core we
ere low, butt some operrators
have noted that fresh
h shale core samples yie
eld higher va
alues.
3.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T
combine
ed organic-rrich shale in
nterval withi n the Lowe
er Paleozoicc is estimate
ed to
average 540 ft thick

k, of which about
a
55% is
i considere
ed net. TOC
C averages about 3%. The
m
of the Lower Pa
aleozoic sha
ale ranges frrom dry gass in the deep
per portion o
of the
thermal maturity
basin, to wet gas and eventually
y oil at shallo
ower levels. Depth to sh
hale averages about 7,5
500 ft
0 ft. Porosity is estima
ated at abou
ut 5%. The basin is slig
ghtly over-pressured with an
to 12,500
estimated
d 0.50 psi/ftt gradient. Gas
G impuritie
es such as C
CO2 or N2 a
appear to be
e minimal in most
of the basin.
3.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Dry
D Gas Win
ndow. The
e mapped prospective
p
area within the dry ga
as window o
of the
Podlasie Basin is es
stimated at 860 mi2. Lower
L
Paleo
ozoic shale ((L. Silurian, Ordovician, and
m
re
esource concentration of 122 Bccf/mi2.
Cambrian) has a moderate
Rissked, techn
nically
as is estimatted at 5 Tcf, out of risked

d shale gas in-place of a
about 25 Tcff.
Wet
W Gas Wiindow. The
e wet gas window
w
is p rospective w
within an arrea of 1,100
0 mi2.
Risked te
echnically re
ecoverable shale resou
urces are esstimated at 4 Tcf of sh
hale gas and
d 0.2
billion ba
arrels of shale condensa
ate from risk
ked, in-place
e resources o
of 22 Tcf an
nd nearly 3 b
billion
barrels, respectively.
r
.
June, 2013
VIII-26
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
Oil
O Window.. The oil window,
w
map
pped in the eastern Po
odlasie Basin, is prospe
ective
within an
n area of app
proximately 1,000 mi2. Risked, tech
hnically reco
overable sha
ale resource
es are
estimated
d at 0.4 billion barrels of shale oil and conde
ensate along
g with 0.7 T
Tcf of assocciated
shale gas
s, from an in
n-place riske
ed shale oil resource
r
of n
nearly 9 billio
on barrels.
3.4
Exploration
E
n Activity
Several
S
operrators hold shale gas exploration licenses in
n the Podla
asie Depresssion.
Marathon
n drilled one
e vertical sha
ale exploratio
on well in the
e basin but h
has not relea
ased resultss.
June, 2013
VIII-27
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
4.
FORE-SUDE
F
ETIC MONOCLINE
4.1
In
ntroduction
Unconvention
U
nal gas plays
s, mainly tight sandston e but potenttially includin
ng shale gass, are
being pursued in the

e Fore-Sudettic Monocline of southwe
estern Polan
nd, Figure V
VIII-15. Whille the
deposited Lo
ower Paleoz
zoic shales are too dee
ep to be pro
ospective in
n this region
n, the
marine-d
overlying
g Carboniferrous non-ma
arine shales
s may be p resent at de
epths of 2 to 5 km. S
Shale
exploratio
on is less active here th
han in the Baltic
B
Basin, but at leastt two compa
anies (San L
Leon,
PGNiG) have reporte
ed leasing and drilling.
The
T nearly 20
0,000-mi2 Fo
ore-Sudetic Monocline iis considere
ed a southerrn continuation of
the Mid-P
Polish Troug
gh, where Paleozoic
P
an
nd younger sstrata shoal to shale-pro
ospective de
epths
of about 2 to 5 km.29 The Lowe
er Permian Rotliegend ssandstone h
has been de
eveloped forr tight
duction in this province for several decades, Fiigure VIII-16
6. Figure V
VIII-17, a reg
gional
gas prod
southwes
st-northeast cross-section, indicate
es that the structural g
geology is rrelatively sim
mple,
although additional faults
f
are like
ely to be pre
esent. Indee
ed, San Leo
on Energy ha
as noted tha
at the
ality seismic available in this region masks
m
the trrue geologicc structure, th
hus the com
mpany
poor qua
recently acquired
a
fou
ur 3D seismic surveys to
otaling 650 kkm2 and overr 1,000 km o
of 2D seismic.
Figu
ure VIII-15: Forre-Sudetic Mo
onocline of Southwestern P oland, Showinng Shale Prosspective Area..
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
VIII-28
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
Figure VIII-16:
V
Stratig
graphy of the Carboniferous
C
s and Younger Formations in the Fore-Suudetic Monocline.
Source:
S
San Leeon Energy, 20122
Figure VIII-17:
V
Structu
ural Cross-Secction In The Fore-Sudetic
F
M
Monocline Of S
Southwest Pooland Baltic Baasin
Sh
howing Relativvely Simple Structure
S
And Widely
W
Spaceed Faults (verttical exaggeraation = 10x).
Source: Sann Leon Energy, November

N
2012
June, 2013
VIII-29
VIII. Poland
EIA/ARI W
A thick non--marine, coal-bearing Carboniferou

C
us sequencce is present, with mu
ultiple
targets of
o tight sand
dstone, deep
p coal seam
ms, and carrbonaceous shales. Th
he Carbonife
erous
underlies
s the Rotlieg
gend sandstone and sou
urced it with
h natural gass, which FX Energy rep
ported
averages
s about 80%
% methane and 20% carb
bon dioxide..30 The overrall stratigraphic sequen
nce in
the Carboniferous ap
ppears broad
dly similar to
o that of the REM shale--sandstone-coal sequen
nce in
per Basin of Australia, where
w
initial shale gas p roduction ha
as been reported. San Leon
the Coop
Energy, FX Energy, PGNiG and
d other comp
panies are a
actively explloring for sh
hale gas herre but
scant datta have been released.
San
S Leon En
nergy disclos
sed that it is evaluating tthe Carboniferous shale
e gas potenttial of
the Pre-S
Sudetic Mon
nocline, whic
ch reportedly is structurrally simple and over-prressured.31 Note
that the organic-rich
h shales in the Pre-Su
udetic Mono
ocline were deposited in a non-m
marine
a
are ass
sociated witth coal dep
posits, thus may be cla
ay-rich and ductile.
setting and
L
Lower
Paleozoic marine-de
eposited roc
cks, similar to those prresent in the Baltic Basin, underlie
e the
erous in thiis region, but
b are likely
y too deep to be prosspective and
d thus were
e not
Carbonife
assessed
d.
4.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
San
S
Leon Energy estim
mates the Carboniferouss shale in tthe Fore-Su
udetic Mono
ocline
contains 1% to 5% TOC,
T
is in the dry gas thermal
t
matturity window
w (Ro of 1.3
3% to 2.0%)), and
% silica with 2% to 8% total
t
porositty. ARI estim
mated the o
organic-rich sshale
contains 20% to 60%
t be 330 ftt thick, with
h about half considered
d as net payy (165 ft). Depth averrages
interval to
o be slightlyy over-presssured.
12,000 ftt, ranging fro
om 8,000 to 16,000 ft. The basin iss reported to
Significant levels of
o nitrogen contaminattion (20%) are expeccted, based on the tyypical
composittion of produ
uced gas from the overly
ying Rotliege
end sandstone.
4.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T large butt poorly cons
strained 9,07
70-mi2 prosp
pective area
a mapped in the Fore-Su
udetic
Monoclin
ne based on
n depth appe
ears to be entirely
e
withiin the dry gas thermal maturity win
ndow.
The Ca
arboniferous shale is estimated to have moderate resource cconcentratio
on of
approxim
mately 67 Bcf/mi2. Riske
ed technically
y recoverab le resourcess are estimated at 21 Tccf, out
of risked shale gas in
n-place of 10
07 Tcf.
June, 2013
VIII-30
EIA/ARI W
VIII. Poland
4.4
Exploration
E
n Activity
The
T
only sha
ale gas exp
ploration well announce
ed to date in the region is San Le
eons
vertical well,
w
which tested
t
the Carboniferou
C
s shales. T
The 3,520-m
m deep Sicin
niy-2 well lo
ogged
continuous gas sho
ows across the 1-km th
hick Carbon
niferous secction.
Two tight sandsstone
intervals totaling 185

5 m thick and
a
three sh
hale zones w
were identiffied, both hiighly fracturred in
core. Th
he quartz co
ontent of the shale was described
d
ass high. San
n Leon estim
mated total g
gas in
place at 450 Bcf/mi2, of which 280
2
Bcf/mi2 is in sandsstone and 170 Bcf/mi2 iin shale. A
At last
report, th
he company planned to frac
f
the well.
REFERE
ENCES
Hadro, J., 2009. Shale-G

Gas Potential inn Poland. Geophysical Researrch Abstracts, vvol. 11, EGU20009-7241, EGU G
General
Assemblyy 2009.
Soesoo, A.
A and Hade, S., 2009. U-Rich Graptolite
G
Shales of Baltoscandiia. Goldschmiddt Conference Abbstracts, p. A12445.
Nielsen, A.T.
A and Schovvsbo, N.H., 20110. The Loweer Cambrian off Scandinavia: Depositional Ennvironment, Seqquence
Stratigrapphy and Palaeoggeography. Earrth Science Reviiews, vol. 107, pp. 207-310.
Nowak, G.J.,
G
2007. C
Comparative Stuudies of Organic Matter Petroography of the Late Palaeozooic Black Shales from
Southwesstern Poland. Innternational Journal of Coal Geoology, vol. 71, p.. 568-585.
Oszczepalski, S., 1999. Origin
of the Kuupferschiefer Poolymetallic Minerralization in Polaand. Mineralium

m Deposita, vol. 34, p.
599613..
Kotarba, M.
M J., and Koltuun, Y.V., 2006. The Origin annd Habitat of Hyydrocarbons of tthe Polish and Ukrainian Partss of the
Carpathiaan Province. in J. Golonka andd F. J. Picha, eds., The Carpatthians and theirr Foreland: Geoology and Hydroocarbon
Resourcees. American Asssociation of Pettroleum Geologissts, Memoir 84, p. 395 442.
Golonka, J.,
J Krobicki, M., Omka, T.S., Waaakowska-Oliwaa, A., Kiessling, W
W., Bocharova, N.J., Edrich, M., Ford, D., Paukken, R.
and Wildharber, J., 20066. Prediction of
o Source Rockss: Jurassic Casse Study. 7th Innternational Conngress on the Jurassic
System, September 6-188, Krakw, Polaand. Abstract Volume,
V
Sessioon 7: Organic G
Geochemistry Jurassic Hydroocarbon
Potential..
Poprawa, P., 2010. Shale Gas Potential of the Lower Paalaeozoic Compplex in the Baltic and Lublin-Podlasie Basins (Pooland).
Przeglad Geologiczny, voolume 58, p. 2266249 (in Polish)).
Polish Geoological Institutee, 2012. Assesssment of Shale Gas

G and Shale O
Oil Resources oof the Lower Paleeozoic Baltic-PoodlosieLublin Baasin in Poland. March, Warsaw, Poland, 29 p.
10
U.S. Geoological Survey, 2012. Potentiaal for Technicallyy Recoverable U

Unconventional Gas and Oil Reesources in the PolishUkrainiann Foredeep, Polaand. Fact Sheeet 2012-3102, Juuly, 2 p.
11
Coleman, J.L., Milici, R.C

C., Cook, T.A., Charpentier, R.R., Kirschbaum,, M.A., Klett, T.R
R., Pollastro, R.M., and Schenkk, C.J.,
2011. A
Assessment of Undiscovered
U
Oil
O and Gas Ressources of the Devonian Marceellus Shale of tthe Appalachiann Basin
Province,, 2011. U.S. Geeological Surveyy Fact Sheet 201113092, 2 p.
12
USGS Marcellus Shale Assessment

A
Teaam, 2011. Infoormation Relevaant to the U.S. G
Geological Survvey Assessmentt of the
Middle Deevonian Shale of
o the Appalachian Basin Provinnce, 2011. U.S
S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 201112298, 22
p. and Apppendix 2.
June, 2013
VIII-31
EIA/ARI W
VIII. Poland
13
Corporatee Presentations and Analyst Caall Transcripts: Anadarko

A
Petroleeum (February 220, 2013), Caboot Oil & Gas (Feebruary
21, 2013)), Chesapeake Energy
E
(Februarry 21, 2013), Consol Energy (Feebruary 7, 2013), EQT Corporatiion (February 5, 2013),
National Fuel Gas (Febrruary 7, 2013), Range Resourcces (February 266, 2013), Southhwestern Energyy (February 21, 2013),
Talisman Energy (Februaary 13, 2013).
14
Poprawa, P., Sliaupa, S., Stephenson, R., and Lazauskieene, J., 1999. LLate Vendian Early Palaeozoic Tectonic Evoluution of
the Balticc Basin: Regionaal Tectonic Impliccations from Subbsidence Analyssis. Tectonophyysics, vol. 314, pp. 219-239.
15
Wolkowiccz, K., Polonskaa, M., and Grootek, I., 2006. Hydrocarbon G

Generating Poteential and their Migration Verssus the
Diagenetic Changes in Upper
U
Jurassic and
a Lower Cretaceous Sedimen ts in the Polish Lowlands. 7th International Coongress
on the Juurassic System, September 6-18, Krakw, Polaand. Abstract V
Volume, Sessionn 7: Organic Geeochemistry Jurassic
Hydrocarrbon Potential.
16
PGNiG, News
N
Release, November
N
15, 20012.
17
ConocoPhillips, Corporatee Presentation, February 7, 2013.
18
Kuchinskiy, V., Gentry, K.,

K and Hill, R., 2012.
2
Source Rock
R
Evaluationn Technique: A P
Probabilistic Appproach for Deterrmining
Hydrocarrbon Generationn Potential and In-Place Volume for Shale Plaays. American Association of Petroleum Geologists,
Annual Convention
C
& Exhhibition, Long Beeach, California, April, 18 p.
19
Talisman Energy Inc., Q33 2012 Earnings Call, October 300, 2012.
20
Universityy of Utah, 20133. Basin Analyysis of the Polissh-Ukrainian Siluurian Depositionnal Region with Focus on Shaale Gas
Controllinng Factors. Unppublished brochuure, 13 p.
21
Narkiewiccz, K. and Narkieewicz, M., 2008. The Mid-Frassnian Subsidencce Pulse in the LLublin Basin (SE
E Poland): Sedim
mentary
Record, Conodont
C
Biostraatigraphy and Regional Significaance. Acta Geoologica Polonicaa, vol. 58, p. 287--301.
22
Zywiecki,, M.M., 2005. Oil Charging and

a Gas Formattion Episodes inn the Devonian Carbonates off the Lublin Bassin (SE
Poland). Mineralogical Society
S
of Poland Special Papers, vol. 26, 8 p..
23
Waksmunndzka, M.I., 2010. Sequence Stratigraphy

S
of Carboniferous
C
Paaralic Deposits in the Lublin Bassin (SE Poland).. Acta
Geologicaa Polonica, vol. 60,
6 p. 557597.
24
Zywiecki, M.M. and Lewiss, M.P., 2011. R

Remarks from thhe Recent Recoggnition of Oil & G
Gas Potential in Poland. American
Associatioon of Petroleum Geologists, Seaarch and Discovery Article #103 56, posted Septtember 19, 2011, adapted from ooral
presentattion at AAPG Annnual Conventionn and Exhibition, Houston, Texaas, USA, April 100-13.
25
Zawisza, L., 2006. Hydrrodynamic Modeeling of the Hydrrocarbon Migrattion and Accumuulation in the Lublin Basin. Socciety of
Petroleum
m Engineers, SP
PE 100296, 11 p.
26
PGNiG, News
N
Release, March
M
26, 2012.
27
ExxonMobil, Q2 2012 Earrnings Call, July 26, 2012.
28
Koslowskki, W., 2008. Litthostratigraphy and

a Regional Significance of thee Nowa Supia G
Group (Upper Siilurian) of the yysogry
Region (H
Holy Cross Mounntains, Central Poland).
P
Acta Geologica
G
Poloniica, vol. 58, p. 433-74.
29
Krzywiec,, P., 2006. Triaassic-Jurassic Evolution of the Pomeranian

P
Seggment of the Midd-Polish Trough
Basement Tectonics
and Subssidence Patternss. Geological Quarterly,
Q
vol. 50, p. 139150.
30
FX Energy, Corporate Preesentation, Febrruary 6, 2013.
31
San Leonn Energy, Quarteerly Corporate Presentation, Q3 2012, 64 p.
June, 2013
VIII-32
IX. Russia
EIA/ARI W
IX. RUSSIA
R
A
SUMMA
ARY
Our
O shale ga
as and shalle oil resources assesssment for R
Russia addre
esses the U
Upper
Jurassic Bazhenov Shale in th
he West Siberian Basiin, Figure IX-1.
This organically rich,
siliceous shale is the

e principle source
s
rock for the convventional ga
as and oil prroduced from
m the
West Sib
berian Basin. We also examined
e
oth
her shale ba
asins (e.g., T
Timan-Pecho
ora) but werre not
able to assemble suffficient, publicly available
e data for a quantitative resource asssessment.
Fig
gure IX-1. Pro
ospective Shaale Gas and Shhale Oil Basinns of Russia
Source: ARI,
A 2013
June, 2013
IX
X-1
IX. Russia
EIA/ARI W
For the Bazh

henov Shale
e, we estima
ate 1,243 billion barrelss of risked sshale oil in-p
place,
with 74.6
6 billion barrels as the risked, technically recove
erable shale
e oil resource
e, Table IX-1. In
addition, we estima
ate 1,920 Tc
cf of risked
d shale gas in-place, w
with 285 Tccf as the rissked,
ble shale gas resource, Table IX-2.
Taable IX-1. Shale Oil Reservo
oir Properties aand Resourcees of Russia
BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
West Siberian
Basin/Gross Area
(1,350,000 mi )
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Depo
ositional Environm
ment
Bazh
henov Central
U. Jurasssic - L. Cretaceous
Marine
B
Bazhenov
North
U. Juraassic - L. Cretaceouus
Marine
116,200
100
85
6,5500 - 12,000
8,200
74,400
14,800
10,540
100
100
100
85
85
85
6,500 - 13,000 8,500 - 15,000 10,,000 - 16,000
13,500
9,800
12,000
Highly
Highly
Highly
Overpress.
O
Overpress.
Overpress.
5.0%
5.0%
5.0%
0.85%
1.45%
1.15%
Low
Low
Low

Organically Rich
Thickneess (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (fft)
Average
Reservo
oir Pressure
Highlly Overpress.
Averagee TOC (wt. %)

Thermaal Maturity (% Ro)
Clay Co
ontent
10.0%
0.85%
Low
Assoc. Gas
Assoc. Gas
Gas Phase
2
GIP Concentration (Bcf/m

mi )
Risked GIP (Tcf)
Dry Gas
Wet Gas
22.9
19.4
42.0
66.0
1,196.0
378.9
163.0
182.5
143.5
45.5
40.8
54.8
Source: ARI, 20013
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Tab
ble IX-2. Shalee Gas Reservo
oir Properties and Resourcees of Russia
West Siberian
Basin/Grosss Area
(1,350,000 mi )
Shale Form
mation
Geologicc Age
Depositional En
nvironment
Bazhenov Central
U Jurassic - L. Cre taceous
U.
Marine
Bazhenov North
U. Jurrassic - L. Cretaceoous
Marine
116,200
100
85
6,500 - 12,0000
8,200
74,4400
14,8000
1000
100
855
85
6,500 - 13,000 6,500 - 133,000
12,0000
9,8800
Highly
Hig hly
Overpreess.
Overppress.
5.00%
5.0%
%
0.855%
1.15%
%
Loow
Low
w
P
Prospective
Area (mi
( )
Org
ganically Rich
T
Thickness
(ft)
Nett
Interval
D
Depth
(ft)
Average
R
Reservoir
Pressure
Highly Overpreess.
Average TOC (wt. %)

A
%
T
Thermal
Maturity (%
( Ro)
C Content
Clay
10.0%
0.85%
Low
Oil
O
Oil
O Concentration
OIP
n (MMbbl/mi )
18.5
133.4
4.3
R
Risked
OIP (B bbl))
964.8
2611.5
16.88
R
Risked
Recoverable (B bbl)
57.89
15.69
1.01
O Phase
Oil
2
Sourrce: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
IX
X-2
Condensate
IX. Russia
EIA/ARI W
1.
WEST
W
SIBE
ERIAN BAS
SIN
1.1
In
ntroduction
The
T 850,000--mi2 West Siberian
S
Bas
sin is the larrgest petrole
eum basin in
n the world1. The
basin lies between the

t
Ural Mo
ountains to the west an
nd the Yenissey River to
o the east, while
g north offsh
hore under the Kara Sea
a and reach ing south to the border w
with Kazakh
hstan,
extending
Figure IX
X-1.
Conventional
C
s production has taken p
place in the basin since
e the 1960s, with
oil and gas
reservoirrs found pre
edominately
y in Cretace
eous sandsttone formattions. Oil prroduction occcurs
mainly in
n the southe
ern and central regions of the basi n, with gas fields more
e prevalent in the
north. Th
he West Siberian Basiin contains tens of gia
ant and sup
per-giant fie
elds such ass the
Samotlorr oil field (28
8 billion barrrels of origin
nal oil reservves) in the ccentral Midd
dle Ob petro
oleum
region an
nd the 350-T
Tcf Urengoy gas field no
orth of the A
Arctic Circle. Although th
he West Sib
berian
Basin stiill delivers over
o
60% off Russias annual
a
oil prroduction, itts output pe
eaked in the
e late
1980s. Declining
D
co
onventional production is stimulati ng interest in finding n
new oil and
d gas
productio
on from unco
onventional resources.
The
T Upper Ju
urassic Bazh
henov Shale
e, a marine sshale rich in TOC, is con
nsidered the main
source ro
ock for the Western
W
Siberian Basins conventio nal oil reserrvoirs. The Bazhenov S
Shale,
the prima
ary shale addressed in this
t
resource
e assessmen
nt, has been
n selectively drilled, provviding
shows an
nd variable quantities
q
off oil productio
on.
Other
O
formattions that may
m
contain shales with
h gas and oil potentia
al are the L
Lower
Jurassic Tyumen and Lower Cretaceous
C
Achimov fo
ormations, Figure IX-2
2.
The Tyu
umen
on is not con
nsidered prospective in the
t northern
n areas of th
he basin whe
ere it is proje
ected
Formatio
to be at depths grea
ater than 16,400 ft (5,00
00 m). The publicly available data for the Ach
himov
Formatio
on is not su
ufficient for a quantita
ative resourcce assessm
ment.
formation
ns were exclluded from our
o shale gas and shale oil assessm
ment.
June, 2013
IX
X-3
As ssuch, these
e two
IX. Russia
EIA/ARI W
Figure IX-2: Stratigraphic

S
Column of thee West Siberiaan Basin
Source: Modified from Ulmisheek, 2003
June, 2013
IX
X-4
IX. Russia
EIA/ARI W
The
T West Sib
berian Basin
n is an intra--cratonic sag
g basin conttaining over 4,000 m (13
3,000
ft) of Mes
sozoic and Cenozoic
C
sediments. Ba
asement roccks of Paleozzoic age were deeply erroded
prior to the Triass
sic period, with subse
equent earlyy Triassic continental rifting prim
marily
responsible for the formation of
o the basin. Major Triiassic rifts a
and faults a
are oriented in a
predomin
nantly north--south alignm
ment, influen
ncing the strructural align
nment of larg
ge anticliness and
synclines
s that forme
ed in the latte Mesozoic
c. The centtral tectonic element of the basin is the
Triassic Koltogor-Ure
engoy grabe
en, which ex
xtends 1800
0 km north-tto-south and
d is 10 to 8
80 km
wide.2
The
T
majority
y of discove
ered conven
ntional oil a
and gas resserves are found in g
gentle
anticlinal uplifted structural trap
ps, located on regiona
al arches, F
Figure IX-3.
Faults, w
where
placement of
o only a few
w tens of m
meters and sseldom penetrate above
present, have a disp
e the
sic Tyumen Formation.
F
Lower-Middle Jurass
Figure
F
IX-3. Cross-Section Across
A
Centraal West Siberiian Basin.
(See Figure
F
4 for locaation; vertical exaaggeration 100xx)
(Layer J3 iss the Bazhenov S
Shale)
Source: Ulmishek, USGS 20033.
June, 2013
IX
X-5
IX. Russia
EIA/ARI W
We
W have parrtitioned the Bazhenov Shale
S
in the
e Western S
Siberian Basin into two a
areas
henov Centtral.,.
based on TOC and
d thermal maturity:
m
Baz
zhenov Nortth and Bazh
Bazh
henov
w
a prospe
ective area of 99,740 mi
m and an average TO
OC of 5%, contains oil, wet
North, with
gas/cond
densate and dry gas. Bazhenov
B
Ce
entral, with a prospectivve area of 11
16,200 mi2 a
and a
high average TOC off 10%, is the
ermally matu
ure for shale
e oil, Figure IIX-4.3,4
Figure IX
X-4. West Sibeerian Basin, Prrospective Areeas for Shale Gas and Shale Oil
Source: ARI,
A 2013.
June, 2013
IX
X-6
IX. Russia
1.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T Upper Ju
urassic Bazh
henov Shale
e is present a
across much
h of the Wesst Siberian B
Basin,
outcropp
ping at the basin
b
edges and reachin
ng depths off over 16,40
00 ft (5,000 m) in the ce
entral
northern region. The
e shales gro
oss thickness typically ra
anges from 6
65 to 160 ft (20 to 50 m), but
can reach up to 200 ft (60 m) in localized
l
are
eas.
The
T
Bazheno
ov Shale was
w
deposite
ed in a dee
ep marine, anoxic envvironment and is
compose
ed primarily of siliceous
s argillites, rich in plan
nktonic Typ
pe II organicc matter.5
TOC
contents are genera

ally highest in the centtral region o
of the Basin, typically exceeding 15%,
X-5.6 TOC values
v
decre
ease towards the periph
hery of the b
basin and to
o the north w
where
Figure IX
the TOC
C typically ra
anges from 2 to 7%. TOC
T
averag
ges 5% in B
Bazhenov North and 10
0% in
Bazheno
ov Central.5
Figure IX-5.
I
Reservoiir Properties of
o the Bazhenoov Shale from
m Maslikhov W
Well.
Source:
S
Lopatin ett al., 2003.
June, 2013
IX
X-7
IX. Russia
EIA/ARI W
The
T
literaturre describes
s the Bazh
henov as being overr-pressured, caused b
by oil
generatio
on and expu
ulsion as th
he shales passed throu
ugh the oil window. M
Measured sh
hut-in
bottom-h
hole pressure
es in the Sa
alym oil field region are rreported in ssome wells to be abnorrmally
high, up to 70% ab
bove normal hydrostatic
c pressure.7 Temperatu
ure gradientts are also high.
Clay content is usually reported as less than
n 20%.
The
T Bazheno
ov reservoir structure co
onsists of layyers of high--TOC shale interbedded
d with
carbonatte/dolomite layers.8 The
e shales are
e the source
e of the oil, with the fracctured carbo
onate
layers prroviding additional reserv
voir capacity
y. This is so
omewhat ana
alogous to the Bakken S
Shale
play of North
N
Dakotta, which co
omprises a carbonate rreservoir sa
andwiched between tw
wo oil
rich/saturated shales
s.
Bazhenov
B
No
orth is prosp
pective for oil, wet gas/co
ondensate a
and dry gas.. The 74,400-mi2
area prospective forr shale oil in
n Bazhenov North is de
efined by vitrrinite reflecta
alues
ance (Ro) va
c
grea
ater than 2%
%, and reservvoir depth grreater than 3
3,300
between 0.7% and 1.0%, TOC content
2
1
area
a
prospec
ctive for wett gas and co
ondensate in
n Bazhenovv North is de
efined
ft. The 14,800-mi
by Ro values betwee
en 1.0% and
d 1.3%. The
e 10,540-mi2 area prosp
pective for d
dry gas is de
efined
by Ro values greaterr than 1.3%, Figure IX-6
6A. The Bazzhenov Nortth prospectivve area is fu
urther
ned on the east
e
side off the basin, where the Bazhenov S
Shale chang
ges from a deep
constrain
marine shale to shalllow clastic deposit,
d
Figure IX-6B.
Bazhenov
B
Central conta
ains a 116,,200-mi2 pro
ospective a
area for oil, with a the
ermal
maturity (Ro) of 0.7 to 1.0%.
The TOC content

c
of tthe shale iss high in Ba
azhenov Ce
entral,
milarly, the Bazhenov

B
Ce
entral prosp
pective area is limited on
n the east b
by the
averaging 10%. Sim
ange.
marine shale to clasttic sediments facies cha
June, 2013
IX
X-8
IX. Russia
EIA/ARI W
Figure IX
X-6A. West Siberiaan Basin - Vitrinitee Reflectance
S
Source: ARI, 2013.
JJune, 2013
Figure IX-6B. W
West Siberian Basinn - Lithofacies Maap
Source: ARI, 2013.
IX-9
IX. Russia
1.3
EIA/ARI W
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T
shale oil
o in the Ba
azhenov No
orth prospecctive area has an esttimated reso
ource
concentrration of 13
3 million ba
arrels/mi2 plus associa
ated gas in
n the oil w
window; reso
ource
concentrrations of 4 million
m
barre
els/mi2 and 42
4 Bcf/mi2 in
n the wet gass/condensatte window; a
and a
resource
e concentration of 66 Bcff/mi2 in the dry
d gas wind
dow. The sh
hale in the B
Bazhenov Ce
entral
prospective area ha
as an estim
mated resou
urce conce ntration of 18 million barrels/mi2 plus
associate
ed gas in the
e oil window
w.
For the total Bazhenov
B
sh
hale prospec
ctive area in
n the West S
Siberian Basin, we estim
mate a
hale oil in-pla
ace of 1,243
3 billion barre
els, with 74.6
6 billion barrrels as the risked, techn
nically
risked sh
recoverable shale oil resource, Table
T
IX-1. In addition, for this prosspective are
ea, we estim
mate a
risked sh
hale gas in-p
place of 1,92
20 Tcf, with 285 Tcf as tthe risked, ttechnically re
ecoverable sshale
gas resource, Table IX-2.
In
n its 2011 Annual
A
Repo
ort, Rosneftt estimated the compan
ny had 4.4 billion barre
els of
recoverable oil resou
urces from th
he Bazhenov
v suite on iits license areas in Wesstern Siberia.9
1.4
Recent
R
Activity
The
T majority of Russias current oil production
p
(n
nearly two th
hirds) comess from large fields
in the West
W
Siberia
an Basin, lo
ocated betwe
een the Ura
al Mountain
ns and the Central Sib
berian
Plateau, with the re
emaining oill production
n coming m
mainly from the Volga-U
Urals region
n, the
Timan-Pe
echora Basin, the north Caucasus Region,
R
and the Sakhelin
n Basin.
The
T
oldest fields have produced
p
sin
nce the 194
40s and pro
oduction rate
es are declining,
even with
h the new te
echnical focu
us on secon
ndary recove
ery and hydrro-fracturing
g. Exploratio
on for
conventio
onal oil and gas is in the
e more remo
ote East Sib
berian Basin and in the h
higher cost A
Arctic
region. As
A such, Ru
ussian oil co
ompanies are
e becoming interested iin the drilling
g and produ
uction
technique
es used in the U.S. to develop the
eir unconve
entional oil a
and gas ressources. Rossneft,
Russias national oil company, has
h signed agreements
a
w
with ExxonM
Mobil and Sttatoil with the
e aim
d
and large scale stimulation
s
ttechniques tto unlock the vast shale
e gas
of using horizontal drilling
e oil resourc
ces of Russia
a.
and shale
June, 2013
IX-10
IX. Russia
EIA/ARI W
To
T date, Rosneft and Exx
xon Mobil ha
ave announ ced plans to
o begin drilling the Bazh
henov
Shale in 2013, after completion of
o their geolo
ogic study. Gazprom N
Neft and She
ell, as part off their
beria JV, pro
oposed to start drilling th
he Bazhenovv Shale in e
early 2014 ne
ear the Salyym oil
West Sib
field, whiich has a his
story of Bazhenov Shale
e oil producttion. Lukoil has announ
nced plans to
o test
10
the Bazh
henov reserv
voir in two arrea of West Siberia.
S
Development
D
t of the Baz
zhenov Sha
ale is compllicated by R
Russias currrent tax reg
gime,
which is geared towa
ards conven
ntional reserv
voirs. The R
Russian govvernment is ccurrently wo
orking
oposal to change the mineral exttraction tax (MET) for tight oil rreservoirs w
with a
on a pro
permeab
bility of less than 2 millidarcies (m
mD).11 It is possible th
hat shale ga
as and shale oil
reservoirrs would be incorporated
i
d into the pro
oposed chan
nge in the M
MET.
June, 2013
IX-11
IX. Russia
2.
EIA/ARI W
TIMAN-PEC
T
CHORA BA
ASIN
The
T
Timan-P
Pechora Bas
sin covers an onshore a
area of abou
ut 122,000 m
mi2 on the A
Arctic
Circle off northern Russia,

R
Figure IX-1. Th
he principle source rock in this ba
asin is the U
Upper
Devonian
n (Frasnian) organic-rich
h shale in the
e Domanik F
Formation.12
These
T
source
e rocks, com
mposed of thin-bedded
t
, dark silice
eous shales, limestoness and
marls, we
ere deposite
ed in a deep
p water marine setting. The source
e rocks conttain Type I a
and II
kerogen with total organic
o
content (TOC) ranging
r
from
m 1% to 15%, typically averaging 5%13.
ource rocks are present,, with adequate thicknesss and maturity, over mu
uch of the TiimanThese so
Pechora Basin exce
ept for the southwestern
s
n margin. W
With therma
al maturity o
of 0.6% to 1
1.0%,
a primarily
y in the oil window.
w
The
e mineralogyy of the sha
ale appears to be
these source rocks are
1
e, with low (<
<10%) clay.14
favorable
While
W
the gro
oss thickness of the Dom
manik intervval can range from 100 m to 300 m (330
to 1,000 ft), publicly available in
nformation is
s lacking on its net orga
anic-rich inte
erval, its porosity
ssure. The Domanik
D
Forrmation has been correl ated with the
e Duvernay Formation/S
Shale
and pres
in Weste
ern Canada Sedimentary
S
y Basin.13
At
A current tim
me, the pub
blicly availab
ble geologicc and reserrvoir data a
are insufficie
ent to
prepare a quantitativ
ve shale oil and gas re
esource asssessment fo
or the Doma
anik Shale in the
Timan-Pe
echora Basiin. Other so
ource rocks and shaless also exist in this basin
n, but have been
excluded
d from the assessment. The Late Jurassic
J
to E
Early Cretacceous (Kimm
meridgian) shales
in this ba
asin have hig
gh TOC but are reported
d to be therm
mally immatu
ure. The Silurian-Ordovvician
shales in
n this basin appear
a
to ha
ave low TOC
C of 0.5% to 1.5%.12
June, 2013
IX-12
IX. Russia
EIA/ARI W
REFERE
ENCES
Ulmishek, G.F., 2003. Petroluem Geology and Resouurces of the Weest Siberian Baasin, Russia. U
U.S. Geological Survey
Bulletin 2201-G, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginiaa.
Littke, R., Cramer, B., Gerrling,P., Lopatin,, N.V., Poelchauu, H.S., Schaeferr, R.G., and Weelte, D.H., 1999.. Gas Generatiion and
Accumulaation in the Westt Siberian Basin. AAPG Bulletinn, vol. 83, no. 100, p. 1642-1665.
Peters, K.E., Ramos, L.S

S., Zumberge, J.E., Valin, Z.C.,, Scotese, C.R.,, and Gautier, D
D.L., 2007. Circum-Arctic Pettroleum
Systems Identified Using Decision-tree Chemometrics.
C
AAPG
A
Bulletin, V
V. 91, No. 6 (Junne 2007), pp. 8777-913.
Lopatin, N.V.,
N
Zubairaev, S.L., Kos, I.M
M., Emets, T.P., Romanov, E.A
A. And Malchikhhina, O.V., 20033. Unconventioonal Oil
Accumulaations in the Uppper Jurassic Bazhenov
B
Blackk Shale Formatiion, West Siberrian Basin: A S
Self-Sourced Reeservoir
System. Journal of Petrooleum Geology, vol. 26, p. 225-2244.
Gavshin and
a Zakharov, 1996.
1
Geochem
mistry of the Uppper Jurassic-Low
wer Cretaceouss Bazhenov Form
mation, West Siberia Abstract. Economic Geoology, vol. 91, p. 122-133
Grace, J.D., and Walch, D.B., 1996. The
Bazhenov--Noecomian Peetroleum System

m of West Siberia. AAPG Buulletin Abstract, vol. 5.
Limbergerr, Y. et al., 20000. SW Siberiass Jurassic, Bazhhenov May Conttain Much Largeer Oil Reserves. Oil and Gas JJournal,
May 20, vol.
v 98, Issue 21.
Nemova, V.D.,
V 2012. Bazhenov Formatioon: Structure, Prroperties and Meethods of Laboraatory Research. Society of Pettroleum
Engineerss Moscow sectioon meeting, Novv 13, 2012. Retrieeved from http:///www.spe-mosccow.org/meetingss/ 01/09/13.
Rosneft Oil Company, 20111. Annual Repoort.
10
http://www
w.lukoil.com/
11
Rodova, N., 2012. Will Russia Replicate US Success in Tight Oil Deveelopment? Plattts Online, Auguust 23, 2012. Reetrieved
from http::/www.platts.com
m/newsfeature/2012/oi/russianoil/index 01/10/133.
12
Lindquist, S.J., 1999. T

The Timan-Pechora Basin Province of Northwesst Arctic Russiaa: DomanikPaleeozoic Total Pettroleum
System. U.S. Geologicaal Survey Open-F
File Report 99550G, 40 p.
13
Abrams, M.A.
M et al. 1999.. Oil Families and
a Their Potenttial Sources in thhe Northeastern Timan Pechora Basin, Russia. AAPG
Bulletin, vol.
v 83, no. 4, Appril, p. 553-577.
14
Fossum, B.J. et al., 20001. New Frontiers for Hydroccarbon Producti on in the Timan-Pechora Basiin, Russia. Pettroleum
Provincess of the Twenty-First Century: AAPG
A
Memoir 744, Chapter 13, p . 259-279.
June, 2013
IX-13
X. Eastern Europe
E
(Bulgariaa, Romania, Ukrraine)
X.
EIA/ARI W
EASTER
E
RN EUR
ROPE (B
BULGAR
RIA, ROMA
ANIA, UK
KRAINE)
SUMMA
ARY
Eastern
E
Euro
ope (ex. Pola
and, assesse
ed separate
ely) has significant prosp
pective shale
e gas
and oil resources in
i three se
edimentary basins:
b
the Dniepr-Don
nets Basin, the Carpa
athian
d Basin, and
d the Moes
sian Platform
m, Figure X
X-1.
Foreland
Shale exploration
n is underway in
Ukraine and
a Romania, while Bulgaria curren
ntly has a mo
oratorium on
n shale deve
elopment.
Figure X-11: Prospectivee Shale Basinss of Eastern E
Europe
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
X-1
X
X. Eastern Europe
E
EIA/ARI W
The
T total risk
ked, technica
ally recovera
able shale re
esource pottential for the three basins is
estimated
d at 195 Tcff of shale gas and 1.6 billion barrels of shale oil and conden
nsate, Tables X-1
and X-2. Our new, larger interpretation of th
he shale ressource is ba
ased on rece
ent shale lea
asing,
a seismic activities
a
tha
at were stimu
ulated in parrt by the 201
11 EIA/ARI sstudy.
drilling, and
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table X-1:
X Shale Gaas Reservoir Properties
P
andd Resources, E
Eastern Europpe.
Dniepr-Donets
Carpathian
n Foreland
Basin/Gross Areea
Shale Formation
n
Geologic Age
D
Depositional
Environ
nment
2

Organicaally Rich
Thicckness (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
Moeesian Platform
(70,000 mi )
(23,200 mii )
L. Silurian
L. Silurian
Marrine
L. Carboniferous
L. Carboniferrous
Marine
L. Siluriaan
L. Siluriaan
Marine
6,010
840
760
7,9940
600
650
700
600
450
260
350
450
3,300 - 16,400 6,600 - 16,400 13,0000 - 16,400 5,000 - 16,400
11,000
14,000
10,,000
13,000
Mod.
Higghly
Normal
Normal
Overpress.
Overpress.
4.5%
3.0%
3.0%
3.0%
2.00%
2.00%
1.115%
1.15%
Low
Medium
Meddium
Medium
(445,000 mi )
16,0080
1,0000
4000
3,300 - 16,400
10,0000
1,4660
7000
3500
3,300 - 16,400
1
11,0000
Reseervoir Pressure
Norrmal
Norm
mal

Therrmal Maturity (% Ro))
Clayy Content
2.00%
2.50%
Meddium
4.5%
%
0.900%
Low
w
2,680
700
350
3,300 - 16,4400
12,000
Mod.
Overpresss.
4.5%
1.15%
Low
Etro
opole
L. Juurassic
Maarine
Dry Gas
Assoc . Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
Wett Gas
1122.7
49.2
118.5
195.2
121.9
154.4
1006.7
Riskked GIP (Tcf)
3622.5
14.4
63.5
234.6
22.5
25.8
1448.2
Riskked Recoverable (Tcff)
722.5
1.44
15.9
58.6
4.5
5.2
377.1
Gas Phase
2
Source: ARI 2013.
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table X-2: Shale Oil Reservoir Prroperties and Resources, E

Eastern Europe.
Dniepr-Doneets
A
Basin/Gross Area
(23,200 mi )
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Deepositional Enviro
onment
(45,000 mi )
L. Carbonifero
ous
L. Carboniferoous
Marine
Prosp
pective Area (mi )
Organiically Rich
Thickkness (ft)
Net
Intervaal
Depth
h (ft)
Averag
ge
1,460
700
350
3,3000 - 16,400
11,000
Reserrvoir Pressure
N
Normal
Averaage TOC (wt. %)

Therm
mal Maturity (% Ro)
R
Clay Content
C
4.5%
0.90%
Low
L. Silurian
L Silurian
L.
Marine
E
Etropole
L. Jurassic
M
Marine
7,940
840
650
600
260
450
6,600 - 16,400 5,0000 - 16,400
10,000
11,000
Highly
Normal
Mod . Overpress.
Ovverpress.
4.5%
3.0%
3.0%
1.15%
1.15%
1.15%
Low
Medium
M
Medium
2,680
700
350
3,3300 - 16,400
12,000
Oil
Coondensate
Coondensate
Co ndensate
C
(MM
Mbbl/mi )
OIP Concentration
45.3
18.1
8.9
5.0
Riskeed OIP (B bbl)
13.2
9.7
1.6
7.9
Riskeed Recoverable (B
B bbl)
0.66
0.48
0.08
0.40
Oil Phase
2
Source: ARI 2013.
June, 2013
orm
Moesian Platfo
X-2
X
X. Eastern Europe
E
EIA/ARI W
The
T main sha
ale targets in Eastern Europe
E
are m
marine-depo
osited black shales within the
Lower Carboniferous
s of the Dniepr-Donets Basin (TRR
R of 76 Tcf and 1.2 billlion barrels)); the
o the Carpa
athian Forela
and Basin (7
73 Tcf); and the Silurian and Jurasssic Etropole sshale
Silurian of
deposits of the Moes
sian Platform
m (47 Tcf an
nd 0.5 billion
n barrels). B
By country, tthe estimate
es are
d 1.2 billion barrels); Ro
omania (51 T
Tcf and 0.3 billion barre
els); and Bullgaria
Ukraine (128 Tcf and
a
0.2 billio
on barrels). Compared
d with North America, th
he shale ge
eology of Ea
astern
(17 Tcf and
Europe is
s more comp
plex, althoug
gh faulting appears
a
less prevalent th
han in other parts of Eurrope.
Shale
S
resourrce assessm
ments are re
eported to b
be underwayy in Ukraine
e, Romania, and
Bulgaria but no official assessments have been
b
publish ed yet. To date only on
ne shale-foccused
exploratio
on core we
ell has been
n drilled in the region (Bulgaria); no producction testing
g has
occurred. In Ukrain
ne, Shell rec
cently signe
ed a Producction Sharing
g Agreemen
nt in the Dn
nieprB
comm
mitting at lea
ast $200 million for exp
ploration, w
while Chevron reportedlyy has
Donets Basin,
been neg
gotiating for a block in th
he Ukraine portion
p
of the
e Carpathian
n Foreland B
Basin. Chevvrons
previously awarded shale
s
blocks
s in Romania
a and Bulgarria have bee
en put on hold.
INTROD
DUCTION
Since
S
EIA/AR
RIs initial shale
s
assessment first defined the
e potential in 2011, se
everal
Eastern European countries hav
ve begun to
o investigate
e their shale gas/ and shale oil reso
ource
nies, includi ng Chevron
n and Shell, have negottiated
potential. International oil and gas compan
enses in Bulgaria, Roma
ania, and Po
oland. The countries off Eastern Eu
urope
shale exploration lice
ng various approaches
s to shale exploration
n.
are takin
Ukraine currently welcomes sshale
investme
ent. On the other hand,, Bulgaria an
nd Romania
a have place
ed shale exp
ploration on hold,
after initia
ally proceed
ding with sha
ale leasing.
Ukraine.
U
The Ukraine State Service
e of Geologyy and Minera
al Resources (Gosgeonedra)
has anno
ounced shale gas resou
urces in the country of 7 trillion m3 ((Tm3) or 247
7 Tcf.1 How
wever,
the basis
s for this estimate
e
has
s not been released a
and the figu
ure includes some tightt gas
resource
es. The new
wly created Geological
G
Research
R
an
nd Productio
on Center in Poltava pla
ans to
coordinate shale ga
as studies in Ukraine, while mon
nitoring watter quality iin drilling a
areas.
s current Pro
oduction Sha
aring Agreem
ment (PSA) involves a 5
5-year exploration period
d and
Ukraines
up to 45 years for de
evelopment.. Tender fees are mode
est: $60,000
0 for the ten
nder and $10
0,000
eologic inforrmation pack
kage.
for the ge
June, 2013
X-3
X
X. Eastern Europe
E
EIA/ARI W
On
O February 23, 2012 the
e Ukraine go
overnment a
announced a tender for sshale explorration
and dev
velopment in
n the Oleska and Yu
uzovska blo cks of wesstern and e
eastern Ukrraine,
respectiv
vely. Shell, ExxonMobill, Chevron, ENI, and TN
NK-BP initia
ally responde
ed to the te
ender.
In Janua
ary 2013, Ukraine awarrded the firs
st shale gass PSA, sign
ning with Sh
hell at the W
World
Economic Forum in Davos,
D
Switzerland. Sh
hells 50-yea
ar PSA perm
mit at Yuzovsska in the ea
astern
Donets Basin
n covers an area
a
of 7,886 km2 and a
assigns oil an
nd gas rightss to all strata
a to a
Dniepr-D
depth of 10 km, including tight and
a basin-centered gass. The conttract allows for 70% invvestor
% governme
ent revenue share.
recovery and a 16.5%
Chevron
C
has been in neg
gotiations with
w the gove
ernment for a PSA at th
he Oleska fie
eld in
western Ukraine. Th
his block is along strike with Poland
ds Lublin ba
asin, where Chevron alrready
holds sha
ale licenses.. Duration and
a terms lik
kely would be
e similar to tthose grante
ed to Shell.
Bulgaria.
B
While
W
the country
c
lack
ks a shale--specific invvestment re
egime, Bulga
arias
conventio
onal oil and
d gas production terms are attractiive. Producction license
es extend fo
or 35
years, wiith royalties ranging from
m 2.5% to 30
0% on a slid
ding scale, w
with a 10% ccorporate inccome
tax. The
e Economy and Energy
y Minister has
h
suggestted that Bulgarias shale gas resou
urces
could be
e in the range of 0.3 to
o 1.0 Tm3 (11
(
to 35 T
Tcf), but no supporting study has been
released. The Shale
e Gas Research Group,, a newly forrmed consortium of Soffia Universityy and
y and Organic Chemisstry, is cond
ducting long
g-term studie
es of
Bulgarias Institutes of Geology
eposits in Bu
ulgaria.2
organic-rrich shale de
However,
H
durring the pastt year public
c opposition tto shale gass developme
ent has incre
eased
dramatically in Bulga
aria. This opposition
o
has
h been led
d by environmental org
ganizers, witth no
effective counter-balancing info
ormation campaign offe
ered by the
e petroleum industry or the
government, such as
s exists in Poland.
P
In January
J
201 2 the goverrnment bann
ned all shale
e gas
exploratio
on and prod
duction, whe
ether or not it involves h
hydraulic fraccturing. The
e performan
nce of
the shale
e industry in Poland and
d the UK is expected
e
to influence th
he future pollitical accepttance
and gove
ernment policies in Romania and Bu
ulgaria.3
Romania.
R
Romania also recently

y banned sshale gas e
exploration and producction,
although some local observers believe its ban

b
would b
be easier to reverse tha
an Bulgariass. In
y elected Romanian gov
vernment beg
ot legislated) ban
May 2012 the newly
gan an inforrmal (i.e., no
e gas explo
oration activities, pendin
ng the outccome of Eurropean-leve
el studies on
n the
on shale
health, sa
afety, and environmenta
al aspects off shale gas d
development.
June, 2013
X-4
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E
EIA/ARI W
Romania
R
lack
ks specific regulations
r
for
f shale ga
as developm
ment, thus shale applica
ations
fall under the country
ys conventional petrole
eum terms. In 2011 the National Ag
gency for Miineral
es, which re
egulates petrroleum operrations in Ro
omania, initia
ated a studyy of the countrys
Resource
shale ga
as deposits, in cooperattion with the
e national re
esearch insttitute GeoEccoMar and three
universitiies (Buchare
est, Iasi and Cluj). No fu
urther detailss are availab
ble.
More
M
than a dozen com
mpanies hav
ve expresse
ed interest in shale ga
as exploratio
on in
Romania
a. Beginning
g in March 2012
2
Chevro
on was awa rded four sh
hale gas exp
ploration lice
enses
totaling 9,000
9
km2, three blocks located in Dobruja
D
and
d one in the Moldova re
egion. Hung
garys
MOL wa
as awarded three shale
e gas perm
mits in north
hwestern Ro
omania (Voiivozi, Adea,, and
Curtici). Sterling Res
sources and
d partner Tra
ansAtlantic P
Petroleum jo
ointly hold th
he 5,800-km2 Sud
l
of so
outhwest Ro
omania. Finally, state-o
owned energ
gy firm Romg
gaz reported
d that
Craiova license
it discove
ered shale gas
g resource
es in 5 out of
o 20 of its e
exploration w
wells in Transylvania, n
noting
that it had applied hy
ydraulic fracturing technology in Rom
mania as ea
arly as the m
mid-1990s. All of
these pro
ojects are on
n hold due to
o Romanias
s shale ban.
GEOLO
OGIC OVER
RVIEW
Eastern
E
Euro
ope has three distinct shale-prosspective are
eas with shale gas an
nd oil
potential in Paleozoic and Mesozoice marine-deposited black shale
es. Within th
he Paleozoicc, the
erous and Silurian
S
black
k shales are most prospe
ective, while
e the mid-Jurassic shale
es are
Carbonife
most pro
ospective forr oil and gas within the Mesozoic.
M
O
Other organicc-rich shaless exist locallly but
these ten
nd to be less
s widespread
d and/or are thermally le
ess mature, a
and thus we
ere not assesssed.
Carpathian
C
Foreland Basin.
B
The moderatelyy complex L
Lviv-Volyn B
Basin of we
estern
Ukraine
U
is sim
milar to the Lublin Basin
n in southea
ast Poland. However, tthe Silurian black
shale belt becomes strructurally sim
mpler as it trends tow
wards the ssoutheast accross
outhwestern
n Ukraine an
nd northern Romania un
ntil it reache
es the Black Sea. This deep
so
Paleozoic
P
belt north of the Carpathian Foldbelt iss called the C
Carpathian F
Foreland Ba
asin.
Dniepr-Done
D
ets Basin. This well-de
efined Late Paleozoic b
basin in easttern Ukraine
e and
so
outhern Bela
arus contain
ns prospectiv
ve organic-ri ch L. Carboniferous black shales.
Moesian
M
Platform. Silurrian and Jurrassic black shales are p
present acro
oss Romania
a and
Bulgaria.
B
No
ote that the Moesian Platform
P
sha
ale plays are
e less well defined than the
previous two plays and may
m be considerably larg
ger than asse
essed here.
June, 2013
X-5
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E
EIA/ARI W
Other
O
basins in Eastern Europe contain organicc-rich source
e rock shales but these were
deemed to be less
s prospectiv
ve.
The la
arge Panno
onian-Transyylvanian ba
asin of Hun
ngary,
a, Serbia and
d Montenegro, Slovenia
a, and Bosniia and Herzo
ogovina hass Paleozoic sshale
Romania
which ap
ppears too deep for shale development. The C
Carpathian, B
Balkan, and related fold belts
appear much
m
too stru
ucturally com
mplex to be prospective..
1.
CARPATHIA
C
AN FOREL
LAND BASIN (UKRAI NE-ROMA
ANIA-MOLD
DOVA)
1.1
In
ntroduction
Prosp
pective marin
ne black sha
ales of Siluriian age exte
end continuo
ously within a 50-
k wide Pale
eozoic belt, from Poland
d all the wayy to the Blacck Sea. In w
western Ukrraine,
to 200- km
Silurian deposits of southeast Polands Lu
ublin Basin continue in
nto the adjo
oining Lviv-V
Volyn
nventional oiil and gas fie
elds have b een develop
ped. Much of the Lviv-V
Volyn
Basin, where 62 con
ppears to be too deep an
nd faulted for shale deve
elopment.
Basin ap
However,
H
the
e Silurian belt becomes wider and s tructurally simpler as it continues fu
urther
to the southeast ac
cross weste
ern Ukraine and northe
ern Romania
a, Figure X
X-2.
After ssome
nters southe rn Ukraine a

and eastern
n Romania in the
tectonic disturbance, the Silurian belt re-en
Scythian Platform be
efore heading out into the Black Sea
a. It then briefly re-emerrges onto lan
nd on
ula near Od
dessa before
e continuing offshore. T
The North D
Dobrogea Orrogen
the Crimean Peninsu
es this belt from the Silurrian of the Moesian
M
Platfform to the ssouth4, which was separrately
separate
assessed
d. We refer to the Silurian belt as th
he Carpathia
an Foreland Basin, but o
other researcchers
have nam
med it the Lv
viv-Moldava Slope.5
The
T
Carpathian Foreland
d Basin has
s good shale
e gas development pottential in Sillurian
black sha
ales. As the
e foreland basin
b
to the Carpathian thrust belt, this shale b
belt dips gen
ntly to
the southwest and is characterized by mo
ostly simple
e structure w
with few faults, Figure X-3.
t the south
h, the struc
cturally comp
plex Carpatthian region
n also conta
ains multiple
e rich
Further to
marine source rocks. These inc
clude the 500-m thick Ju
urassic Kokh
hanivka Form
mation with up to
C, the 200-m
m thick L. Crretaceous Spas and Shyypot formations with 2-7
7% TOC, an
nd the
12% TOC
Oligo-Mio
ocene Lowe
er Menilite Formation witth up to 20%
% TOC. How
wever, the C
Carpathian re
egion
is intense
ely faulted with
w complex
x nappe tecto
onics, Figure
e X-4,6,7 and was not asssessed.
June, 2013
X-6
X
X. Eastern Europe
E
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Figuree X-2: Carpath

hian Foreland Basin Showinng Shale-Prosspective Areass.
Source: ARI 2013
Figuree X-3: Cross-S

Section of Lvivv Slope Portio
on of the Carppathian Foreland Basin in W
Western Ukrainne
Source:
S
Sachsennhofer et al., 20112
June, 2013
X-7
X
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E
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Figure X-4: Cross-Seection of a Nap

ppe Structuree in the Carpatthian Thrust B
Belt
Source: Koltun et al., 1998
The
T Silurian is the main petroleum source
s
rock and shale g
gas exploration targets in the
Carpathia
an Foreland
d Basin, Figu
ure X-5. Co
ompared with
h Poland, th
he reservoir characteristics of
the Silurian shale in
n western Ukraine are less certain.. About 400 to 1,000 m of deep-w
water
s
is pre
esent, transiitioning easttward into t hinner, shalllow-water ccarbonates. The
Silurian shale
Ludlow member
m
of th
he Silurian is
s considered
d the most p
prospective interval. Th
he Ludlow ra
anges
from 400
0 to 600 m th
hick and occurs at depths of 2 to 3 kkm in western Ukraine.
n in Poland,, at least bassed on the ssingle
Silurian
S
shale
e TOC may be lower in Ukraine than
well data
a point availa
able (IS-1). Most TOC measuremen
m
nts at a depth range of 1,400 to 1,5
592 m
in this we
ell were less
s than 1%. However, th
he original T
TOC is estim
mated at 3%
% prior to the
ermal
alteration
n. Given th
he depositio
onal environmental of th
he Silurian, it is likely that higher TOC
exists in
n places.
Thermal
T
ma
aturity mapp
ping, calcul ated from conodant a
alternation in
ndex,
indicates
s the Silurian
n is entirely in the dry gas window ((Ro of 1.3% to 3.5%). S
Several (posssibly
spurious) over-mature values off 5% Ro als
so were mea
asured. Ma
aturation is believed to have
occurred prior to the
t
Mesozo
oic. As Sac
chsenhofer and Koltun
n (2012) noted: addittional
investiga
ations are needed to in
nvestigate la
ateral and vvertical varia
ations of TO
OC contentss and
refine the
e maturity pa
atterns in Lo
ower Paleozo
oic rocks.
June, 2013
X-8
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Figure X-5: Stratigraphy of Carpatthian Foreland

d Basin Show ing Thick Blacck Shales of S
Silurian and M
MidJuraassic-Age (leftt). L. Cretaceo
ous and Paleo
ogene Sourcee Rocks Occurr in the Carpatthians (right).
Source: Sacchsenhofer et al., 2012
The
T
Kovel-1 petroleum well
w is a ke
ey stratigrap hic test drillled during the late 198
80s in
western Volynia, northwestern Ukraine.
U
Th
he well is lo
ocated along
g the transittion between the
he west and the less de
eformed Volyynia region o
of the
structurally complex Lublin-Lviv basins on th
Slope. The
T Kovel-1 well cored Ordovician at a depth o
of about 250
0 m; Silurian
n apparentlyy had
been ero
oded in this uplifted
u
locattion.8
1.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Based
B
on ge
eologic contrrol from reg
gional cross--sections, th
he total estim
mated shale
e gas
prospective area in the

t Carpathian Foreland
d Basin is esstimated to b
be approxim
mately 16,080
0 mi2,
of which 11,520 mi2 is in Ukraine and 4,560
0 mi2 in Rom
mania. The target organ
nic-rich portiion of
the 500-m
m thick Ludllow Memberr of the Silurrian is estim ated to averrage 1,000 fft thick grosss and
10,000 ftt deep within
n the prospe
ective region
n, and have 4% porosityy. TOC averrages a rela
atively
June, 2013
X-9
X
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E
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low 2.0%
% and is in th
he dry gas window
w
(Ro average 2.5%
%). The presssure gradie
ent is assum
med to
be hydrostatic (0.43 psi/ft).
1.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Risked,
R
techn
nically recov
verable reso
ources from
m Silurian bla
ack shale in
n the Carpa
athian
Foreland
d Basin are estimated
e
to
o be 73 Tcf (52
( Tcf in U
Ukraine and 21 Tcf in Ro
omania), out of a
risked sh
hale gas in--place of 36
63 Tcf, Table X-1. The
e play has a moderate
ely high reso
ource
concentrration of abo
out 113 Bcf/m
mi2, reflectin
ng the signifficant thickne
ess of the o
organic-rich sshale
that is prresent.
Ukraines
U
Sta
ate Commiss
sion on Mine
eral Resourcces has estiimated that the Oleska sshale
gas licen
nse area in the
t Lviv-Voly
yn Basin ha
as about 0.8 to 1.5 trillio
on m3 (28 to
o 53 Tcf) of sshale
gas reso
ources.
Wh
hether this estimate re
eflects in-pla
ace or reco
overable ressources wass not
specified
d.
An
A independe
ent assessm
ment of Silurrian shale ga
as resourcess in the Rom
manian portion of
the Carpathian Forelland Basin arrived
a
at a Mean
M
Estima
ate of 5.6 Tccf technicallyy recoverablle out
T of gas in-place. This
T
estimate utilized EIA/ARIs 2
2011 metho
odology, butt key
of 279 Tcf
assumptions (thickne
ess, porosity
y, risk) were not specifie
ed, nor was U
Ukraine evalluated.9
1.4
Recent
R
Activity
Chevron
C
repo
ortedly is in negotiations
n
s with the go
overnment to
o develop a sshale gas prroject
in the Oleska block of western Ukraine. The

T
governm
ment recenttly removed its self-imp
posed
13 for comp
pleting this deal.
d
Chevrron also inittially acquire
ed the 6,257
7-km2
deadline of May 201
hale gas permit in north
heastern Rom
mania close
e to Moldova
a, but the sta
atus of this block
Barlad sh
is unclea
ar following the shale ban
n in Romania.
In
n 2012 ENI acquired ha
alf of LLC WestGasInve
W
est, which ccontrols nine
e unconventtional
gas licen
nses totaling
g 3,800-km2 in the Lviv Basin of we
estern Ukrain
ne, which m
may include sshale
gas pote
ential. The company
c
and its partnerrs, including
g UK-based Cadogan Pe
etroleum, plan to
spend ab
bout $55 million explorin
ng for shale gas
g in the Lvviv basin from 2012 thro
ough 2015.
June, 2013
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E
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2.
DNIEPR-DO
D
ONETS BAS
SIN (EAST
T UKRAINE
E)
2.1
In
ntroduction
The Dniepr-Done
D
ets Basin (D
DDB) in easttern Ukraine
e is a Mid-tto Late-Devo
onian
n European Craton, Fig

gure X-6.
failed riftt basin on the Eastern
The basin contains a thick
sequence
e of Lowerr Carboniferrous black shale
s
which
h may be p
prospective for oil and
d gas
developm
ment.
Econ
nomically im
mportant Ca
arboniferous coal depossits and tig
ght sands o
of the
Moscovia
an overlie th
hese shales,,10 but this co
oaly sequen
nce does not appear to be a prospe
ective
shale tarrget.
The
T
DDB accounts
a
fo
or most of Ukraines onshore p
petroleum rreserves an
nd is
comparatively well understood, with
w several thousand o
oil and gas w
wells, some o
of which rea
ached
depths of
o over 5 km
m. Lower Ca
arboniferous
s black shale
es and coal seams are the main so
ource
rocks, while overlyin
ng clastic Ca
arboniferous
s sandstoness provide co
onventional reservoirs w
within
ps. To the northwest
n
the
e DDB conti nues into the Pripyat Trrough of southern
mainly sttructural trap
Belarus, which appe
ears to be too shallow and low in
n TOC for sshale develo
opment. To
o the
southeas
st the basin continues
c
into the Donbas Foldbelt of southwesstern Russia.
Roughly
R
sym
mmetrical, the DDB is about
a
700 kkm long, 40 to 70 km w
wide, and trrends
northwes
st-southeast.11 It comprises a series of half g
grabens bou
unded by larrge-displace
ement
faults (h=
= 100 m to 2 km). The
e individual blocks
b
are q
quite sizeable (50-100 kkm by 20-40 km),
although numerous smaller
s
faultts are locally
y present. T
The basin co
ontains as m
much as 15 kkm of
n and youn
nger sedime
entary rocks
s, which inccludes 1 to 2 km of m
mostly Devo
onian
Devonian
(Frasnian
n) salt depos
sited under restricted
r
rift
ft conditions.. Figure X-7
7 is a structu
ural cross-se
ection
showing depth to the
e L. Carbonifferous (L. Visian) black sshale as well as salt flow
ws in the bassin.12
L. Carboniferrous black shale
s
overlie
es the Devo nian salt intterval. This black shale
e and
the overlying coal se
eams source
ed most of th
he conventio
onal oil and gas fields in
n the basin. The
arboniferous section ranges up to 11
1 km thick in
n the DDB a
and is up to 15 km deep near
entire Ca
its base along the basin axis.
In the no
orthwest porrtion of the
e DDB the Carboniferous is
continenttal in origin, but transitio

ons into partly shallow m
marine depossitional cycle
es, each of w
which
is typically 50 m thick
k and contains an organ
nic-rich shallo
ow marine sshale layer.
June, 2013
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E
EIA/ARI W
Fig
gure X-6: Dnieepr-Donets Baasin Showing Shale-Prospeective Areas
Source: ARI, 2013
Figure X-7: Cross-Secction of Dneiprr-Donets Basin Showing Deepth to the L. Carboniferouss (L. Visian) B
Black
Shale
Source: Stoovba et al., 1996
June, 2013
X--12
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Several
S
black
k shale targe
ets occur witthin the L. C
Carboniferous sequence, Figure 8.13 The
Upper Visean Rudov
v Beds are considered the best qu
uality source
e rock and sshale gas ta
arget.
These black shales are up to 70 m thick, but more typically 30-40 m, and particularlyy well
develope
ed in the Sre
ebnen and Zhdanivske
Z
depressions
d
s where theyy are quite d
deep and dryy gas
prone. The
T Rudov Beds
B
are rich
h in siliceous
s radiolaria, making them
m potentiallyy brittle, whille the
lower part of the form
mation is hig
gh in calcite as well as cclay. The o
organic-rich m
middle sectiion of
ov Beds has 3.0% to 10.7%
1
TOC (average 5
5%), mostly Type III wiith some Tyype II
the Rudo
kerogen. Additionall slightly lea
aner (TOC of
o 3.0% to 3
3.5%) but sstill quite pro
ospective so
ource
cur in the Up
pper Visean above the Rudov
R
Bedss, while the llower Serpukhovian con
ntains
rocks occ
black sha
ales with up to 5% TOC.
Figure X-8: Stratigraphy of Dnieprr-Donets Basin
n. Black shalees Occur in L. Carboniferouus Rudov andd U.
Visean.
Source: moddified from Sachhsenhofer et al., 2010
Thermal
T
matu
urity of the Rudov
R
Beds
s and the ovverlying Upper Visean iss mainly in th
he oil
window (R
( o 0.8-1.0%
%) in the cen
ntral and no
orthwestern DDB, increa
asing to dry gas maturitty (Ro
1.3-3.0%
%) in the southeast. For example, th
he Rud-2 pe
etroleum welll in the Dnie
epr-Donets B
Basin
penetrate
ed a nearly 1-km thick Carboniferou
C
us Upper Viisean shale interval at a depth of 4 to 5
km, Figu
ure X-9. TO
OC of up to 4% in this in
nterval is wiithin the oil thermal matturity window
w (Ro
0.8-1.0%
%). The oil window
w
in th
his basin ap
ppears to be
e normally to
o under-presssured, while the
June, 2013
X--13
X. Eastern Europe
E
EIA/ARI W
dry gas window

w
is lik
kely to be ov
ver-pressured due to ong
going gas ge
eneration, a
although presssure
data control is poor.14
Figure X-9:
X Rud-2 Welll in the Dniepr-Donets Basiin, Showing thhe Carboniferrous Upper Vissean Shale (C
C1v2)
with TOC
C up to 4% in the
t Oil Window
w (Ro 0.8 to 1.0%).
Source: Sacchsenhofer et al., 2012
The
T southwest flank of th
he Dneipr-Do
onets Basin is characterized by a structurally simple
dip slope
e, where thick L. Carbo
oniferous bla
ack shale tiltts gently to the NNE to
owards the basin
axis. The L. Carbon
niferous is att ideal depth
h for shale d
development (1-5 km) o
over a broad
d belt.
The northeast flank of the DDB has thinnerr L. Carbonifferous that iis structurally more com
mplex.
epth map on
n the Carbon
niferous, we
e constrained
d the depth--prospective area
Lacking a detailed de
using ba
asement con
ntours and multiple
m
pub
blished crosss-sections, yyielding goo
od control on the
prospective area. Note
N
that sa
alt intrusions up to 15 km thick m
may negative
ely impact sshale
potential along variou
us parts of th
he slope.
2.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Lower Carb
boniferous black shale
es (Rudov
Beds, Lo
ower Visea
an, and L
Lower
Serpukho
ovian) are prospective within
w
a 10,1
150-mi deptth-controlled
d belt that su
urrounds the
e axis
of the Dn
neipr-Donets
s Basin. The
ese shales are
a estimated
d to total about 1 km in tthickness bu
ut are
relatively
y deep (3-5 km).
June, 2013
They
y largely co
onsist of siliiceous or ccalcareous liithologies rich in
X--14
X. Eastern Europe
E
EIA/ARI W
radiolaria
an and thus are expecte
ed to be britttle with high porosity (6%
%). Gas reccovery ratess also
should be favorable (30%) due to
t the inferre
ed frackabilitty of the sha
ale. TOC ap
ppears favorrable,
%. Thermall maturity ra
anges from o
oil to dry gass. On the negative side
e, salt
averaging about 4.5%
s may sterilize some of the
t mapped prospective
e area (10%).
intrusions
2.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Dry
D Gas Wiindow.
The
e mapped prospective
p
he dry shale
e gas windo
ow in
area for th
southeas
stern Dnieprr-Donets Ba
asin is estim
mated at 6 ,010 mi2.
Lower Carb
boniferous sshale
(comprising the Rudo

ov Beds and
d portions off the overlyin
ng Upper Viisean) has a highly favo
orable
resource
e concentration of approx
ximately 195
5 Bcf/mi2. R
Risked, techn
nically recovverable shale
e gas
resource
es are estima
ated to be 59
9 Tcf, out of a risked sha
ale gas in-place of 235 T
Tcf.
Wet
W Gas Win
ndow. The wet gas pro
ospective are
ea of the DD
DB extends over about 2
2,680
2
mi . Ris
sked, technic
cally recove
erable resources are esstimated at 1
16 Tcf of sh
hale gas and 0.5
billion ba
arrels of con
ndensate from in-place shale
s
gas a nd shale oil resources o
nd 10
of 63 Tcf an
billion ba
arrels.
Oil
O Window. The smalle
er oil window
w in the nortthwestern Dniepr-Donetts Basin covvers a
prospective area of about
a
1,460 mi2. Risked
d technicallyy recoverable
e resources are estimatted to
be aboutt 0.7 billion barrels
b
of sha
ale oil and condensate
c
a
and 1 Tcf off associated shale gas, o
out of
risked in--place shale
e oil resource
es of 13 billio
on barrels.
Ukraines
U
Sta
ate Commis
ssion on Min
neral Resou
urces has e
estimated that the Yuzo
ovska
shale gas
s license in the
t eastern Dniepr-Done
ets Basin ha
as 2-3 Tm3 (71-107 Tcf) of shale gass and
tight gas resources. Whether th
his estimate
e reflects in- place or reccoverable re
esources wa
as not
specified
d.
2.4
Recent
R
Activity
In
n early 2013
3 Shell was awarded
a
Ukrraines first fformal shale
e gas exploration license
e, the
7,800-km
m2 Yuzovska
a PSA locate
ed on the so
outh flank off the Dnieprr-Donets Basin. Shellss firststage inv
vestment commitment is
s $200 millio
on. Previoussly in 2011, ENI acquire
ed from Cad
dogan
Petroleum
m portions of
o the Zagory
yanska and Pokroskoe conventiona
al licenses in
n the DDB, w
which
may inclu
ude shale po
otential.
June, 2013
X--15
X. Eastern Europe
E
EIA/ARI W
3.
MOESIAN
M
PLATFORM
P
M (ROMANIA, BULGA
ARIA)
3.1
In
ntroduction
The
T
Moesian
n Platform is a compa
aratively sim
mple (for E
Europe) fore
eland basin that
stretches
s across sou
uthern Romania and no
orth-central Bulgaria, Fiigure X-10. The Platform is
overthrus
sted by the Balkan
B
thrus
st system to the south, w
while the Ca
arpathian thrust system fforms
the north
hern boundary; both are Cenozoic fe
eatures relatted to Alpine
e tectonics. To the easst, the
Moesian Platform is
s separated from the Carpathian F
Foreland Bassin and on the north by the
obrogea Oro
ogen. The adjacent Getic
G
Basin of Romania
a, the forela
and of the S
South
North Do
Carpathia
ans, contain
ns similar source rocks but
b is more d
deformed byy Tertiary tecctonic eventss and
considere
ed less pros
spective.
Figurre X-10: Moesian Platform Region
R
Showinng Shale-Prosspective Areass.
Source: ARI 2013
June, 2013
X--16
X. Eastern Europe
E
EIA/ARI W
Up
U to 12 km
m of mostly flat-lying,
f
ca
arbonate-rich
h Paleozoicc and Mesozzoic sedime
entary
rocks are
e present on
n the Moesia
an Platform, Figure X-11 . The relativvely few con
nventional oil and
gas fields that have been discov
vered in this
s region pro
oduce mainlyy from mid-T
Triassic dolo
omite
and occa
asionally from
m basal Jura
assic sandsttone. 15,16
The
T
Moesian
n Platform contains multiple
m
orga
anic-rich so
ource rock shales thatt are
prospective for shale
e gas development, Fig
gure X-12. These inclu
ude the Ordovician to U
Upper
erous Tanda
arei, Vlasin, and Calaras
si formationss, including Silurian sha
ales; the Jurrassic
Carbonife
Etropole Shale; the Bathonian (Dogger)
(
shales (Bals F
Formation); and Mid-Mio
ocene marlss and
Badenian to
o Sarmatian)). The main
n targets fo r shale gas exploration
n are the Sillurian
shales (B
shale and
d Jurassic Etropole
E
Sha
ale.
The
T Silurian shale in the
e Moesian Platform
P
is b roadly simila
ar to that ta
argeted in Po
oland
and the Carpathian Foreland Basin
B
further to the norrth. Region
nal cross-se
ections show
w the
r
from 2 to over 5 km deep across
a
the M
Moesian Plattform. At th
he South Cra
aiova
Silurian ranges
Block in southwest Romania, th
he Silurian Llandovery
L
Shale is at least 160 m thick, 4,050 to
F
X-13
3 and X-14..17 At the B
Bulgarian Arrch in
4,200 m deep, and has about 3% TOC, Figures
eastern Bulgaria,
B
thic
ck (650-m), organic-rich Silurian sha
ales reported
dly are at prrospective de
epths
of 1 to 5 km, but data
a were not sufficient to map
m this port
rtion of the p
play.
The
T other ma
ain target in the
t Moesian
n Platform is the Jurassicc Etropole S
Shale, consid
dered
the main petroleum source
s
rock in northwes
st Bulgaria, F
Figure X-15. In particula
ar its organicc-rich
ains thick, ca
arbonate-ricch (40-50%) black shale
e with
lower portion, the Sttefanetz Member, conta
interbeds
s of marl an
nd limestone
e that was deposited in a marine environment, not dissimilar to
18 TO
the Uppe
er Jurassic Haynesville
H
Shale.
S
OC ranges fro
om 1.0% to 4.6%,19 with
h Type II kerrogen
predomin
nating.20 The
e Etropole Shale
S
generrally ranges from 2.5 to
o >5 km dee
ep21 and is overpressure
ed in much of
o the regio
on, with an elevated
e
pre
essure grad
dient of 0.78
8 psi/ft. The
ermal
maturity falls in the oil
o window in
n the north, increasing tto wet and d
dry gas in th
he south nea
ar the
hrust belt (Ro 1.0% to 1.5
5%).22
Balkan th
Oil
O and gas has
h been prroduced from
m conventio nal silty, san
ndy, and ca
arbonate inte
ervals
within the
e Etropole Formation,
F
su
uch as the Peshtene
P
R--5 well which
h reportedly flowed gas at an
unstimula
ated rate of 530,000 ft3/d.
/ In additio
on, oil produ
uced from th
he Jurassic D
Dolni Lukoviit and
Mid-Trias
ssic Dolni Da
abnik fields has been ch
hemically linkked back to the Etropole
e Shale.
June, 2013
X--17
X. Eastern Europe
E
EIA/ARI W
Figurre X-11: Regional Cross-Secctions in of the Moesian Plaatform In Rom

mania Showingg Jurassic and
Paleozoic Shale at Mostly
M
Moderaate Depth withh Relatively Simple Structure.
Source: Veliciu and Popesccu, 2012
ure X-12: Strattigraphic Colu

umn Showing L. Silurian Llaandovery Shales in Southw
west Romania.
Figu
Sourcce: Sterling Resoources, 2013
June, 2013
X--18
X. Eastern Europe
E
EIA/ARI W
Figure X-13: Well Logs Showing Paleozoic

P
Secttion Includingg L. Silurian Lllandovery Shaales at the Souuth
Craio
ova Block (EIII-7) in Southw
west Romania..
Source: Steerling Resources, 2013
Figure X-14: SW-NE Trending Seissmic Line Sho

owing Paleozooic Section Inccluding L. Siluurian Llandoveery
Shales at the South Craiova
C
Blockk in Southwesst Romania. S
Structure is Reelatively Simple But Faults aare
Present.
Souurce: Sterling Reesources, 2013
June, 2013
X--19
X. Eastern Europe
E
EIA/ARI W
Fig
gure X-15: Well log across the
t Jurassic E
Etropole Shalee in Bulgaria
Source: TraansAtlantic Petrooleum Ltd, Februuary 2011
At
A the Sud Craiova license in southwest Romania, operated b
by Sterling and
TransAtla
antic, the Ettropole Shale ranges from 115 to o
over 700 m thick and 3
3,700 to 4,500 m
deep acrross the blo
ock, Figure X-16.
X
At th
he Lovech b
block in nortthwest Bulga
aria the Etro
opole
Shale is about 3,800
0 m deep, Figure X-17. Structure is fairly simple
e in this regiion, with flat lying
b several fa
aults. Otherr portions of the Moesian
n Platform la
acking data ccontrol also were
dips cut by
assumed
d to have rela
atively simila
ar structure.
The
T
eastern continuation
n of the Jurrassic Etrop
pole Shale is unclear a
and could no
ot be
rigorously mapped.
Two time--structure trransects sug

Etropole ma
ay be prese
ent in
ggest the E
eastern onshore
o
Bulg
garia at two--way seismic times of 0 .5 to 3.0 secconds, deep
pening to the
e east
into the Black
B
Sea, Figure
F
X-18. The Centra
al Dobrogea
a Green Sch
hist Zone, co
omprising up
plifted
blocks off Proterozoic
c basement blocks north
h of the Pala
azu Fault, has only a th
hin or no Jurrassic
sequence
e. On the other hand, the North Bu
ulgarian Arch
h -- where C
Chevron initia
ally was awa
arded
a shale gas
g license holds preserved Jurassic to Tertia ry sedimenta
ary sequencces.23
June, 2013
X--20
X. Eastern Europe
E
EIA/ARI W
Figure X-16:
X
Regionaal Seismic Secction Showing
g Jurassic andd L. Silurian Llandovery Shaales at the Soouth
Craiovva Block in Southwest Romaania. The Stru
uctural Dip is Relatively Geentle but Numeerous Faults aare
Present.
Source: Steerling Resources, 2013
Figu
ure X-17: Jurasssic Etropole Shale is abou
ut 3,800 m Deeep with 1.0% tto 1.3% Ro at TransAtlanticc
Petroleeums Lovech Block in Nortthwest Bulgarria.
Source: TraansAtlantic Petrooleum, 2011
June, 2013
X--21
X. Eastern Europe
E
EIA/ARI W
Figure X-18:
X
Regional Cross-Sectio
on Showing Th
hick Jurassic Lias and Dogger Shale Depposits in Northhern
Bulgaria Which
W
Thin Markedly to the N
North into Romania.
Source: Tarri et al., 2011
3.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
L.
L Silurian Shale.
S
The mapped
m
pros
spective are a for black sshales in the
e L. Silurian ttotals
1,600 mii2, all of which is locate

ed in Roman
nia. No pro spective are
ea was iden
ntified in Bullgaria
due to da
ata limitation
ns, although there could be prospecctive Silurian
n areas in no
ortheast Bulg
garia.
Depth ra
anges from 2 to 5 km. Organic-rich
O
h thickness a
averages ab
bout 600 ft ((gross). The
ermal
maturity ranges from
m wet to dry gas.
g
TOC is
s estimated a
at 3%, porossity at aboutt 4%.
Jurassic
J
Etrropole Sha
ale.
Black shales in the Mid-Ju

urassic Etro
opole Shale
e are
prospective within an
n estimated 7,940-mi2 area
a
of the M
Moesian Pla
atform, in no
orthwest Bullgaria
and soutthwest Roma
ania. The most
m
organic-rich shales are estimatted to total a
about 250 m thick
(gross) at
a moderate depth of abo
out 10,000 ft.
f Porosity is assumed to be mode
erately high (5%).
Gas reco
overy rates also
a
could be
e favorable based on th e inferred brittle litholog
gy. TOC app
pears
moderate
e, averaging
g about 3% in the more prospective
e intervals. Thermal ma
aturity is we
et gas
(Ro 1.0%
% to 1.3%). The
T pressure
e gradient is
s estimated a
at 0.7 psi/ft.
3.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Risked,
R
technically reco
overable sha
ale resource
Moesian Pla
atform regio
on of
es in the M
Romania
a and Bulgarria are estim
mated to be 47 Tcf of sh
hale gas an
nd 0.5 billion
n barrels of sshale
condensa
ate, out of a risked sha
ale gas and shale oil in--place of 19
96 Tcf and 1
10 billion ba
arrels,
respectiv
vely. Romanias share is approximately 30 Tcff and 0.3 biillion barrelss while Bulga
arias
share is estimated
e
att 16 Tcf and 0.2 billion barrels.
b
June, 2013
X--22
X. Eastern Europe
E
EIA/ARI W
Silurian
S
Llan
ndovery Sha
ale. Risked, technically recoverable
e shale gas resources in
n the
Silurian shale
s
of the Moesian Pla
atform of Romania and B
Bulgaria are estimated tto be 10 Tcf,, out
of a riske
ed shale gas
s in-place of 48 Tcf.
Jurassic
J
Etrropole Sha
ale.
Risked, technically recovera

able shale resource in
n the
Jurassic Etropole Sh
hale within th
he Moesian Platform of Romania and Bulgaria are estimatted to
cf out of a ris
sked shale gas in-place of
o 148 Tcf, w
while shale o
oil/condensa
ate resource
es are
be 37 Tc
estimated
d at 0.4 billio
on barrels off condensate
e out of 7.9 b
billion barrells of risked o
oil in-place.
Separately,
S
in
n northeaste
ern Bulgaria, the govern
nment has e
estimated the 4,400-mi2 Novi
Pazar blo
ock has 0.3 to 1.0 Tm3 (11 to 35 Tcf) of shale gas resourcce potential in the Devo
onianSilurian silty
s
shale. The
T Devonia
an-Silurian was
w reported
d in the stud
dy to be up to
o 2 km thickk, 800
to 2,800 m deep, an
nd have 3.5%
% sapropelic
c organic ma
atter with TA
AI from 2 to
o 5.24 Howevver, it
was not possible
p
to map
m this play
y due to lack
k of data.
At
A the 1,500--mi2 Sud Cra
aiova license
e in southwe
est Romania
a, Sterling a
and TransAttlantic
have es
stimated tha
at the Silurrian shale has gross recoverable
e prospectivve resource
es of
approxim
mately 3 Tc
cf (Best Es
stimate). Inc
cluding the Jurassic E
Etropole, TransAtlanticc has
estimated
d its blocks
s hold a to
otal of 0.3 Tm
T 3 (11 Tccf) of unriskked, recove
erable shale
e gas
prospective resource
es (gross; Be
est Estimate
e).25
In
ndependent researchers
s in Roman
nia recentlyy estimated the techniccally recove
erable
resource
es in the Silu
urian shale of
o the southe
ern Romania
an portion off the Moesia
an Platform to be
26 Tcf, out
o of 1,295 Tcf
T of OGIP (Mean Estim
mate). The Jurassic wa
as not assesssed, nor wa
as the
26
Silurian potential
p
in Bulgaria.
B
3.4
Recent
R
Activity
Several
S
comp
panies have
e pursued sh
hale gas lea
asing in Bulg
garia but only one shale
e test
well has been drilled. In June 20

011, Chevro
on received a 5-year sha
ale gas explo
oration perm
mit for
0-km2 Novi Pazar block of northea
astern Bulga
aria. Howe
ever, since tthe shale ba
an of
the 4,400
January 2012 Chev
vron can on
nly pursue conventional
c
l targets in the block w
without hydraulic
fracturing
g.
June, 2013
X--23
X. Eastern Europe
E
EIA/ARI W
US-based
U
TrransAtlantic Petroleum, through itss subsidiaryy Direct Pettroleum Bulg
garia,
holds a shale
s
gas exploration
e
liicense at the 2,300-km2 Lovech blo
ock, located
d in the sou
uthern
Moesian Platform no
orth of the Balkan
B
forelands in norrthwest Bulg
garia. TranssAtlantic reccently
2
o awarded the adjacent 648-km
6
Koy
ynare block.
was also
In
n Novemberr 2011 Tran
nsAtlantic an
nd Canada--based partner LNG Energy drilled
d the
3,190-m deep Golja
amo Peshten
ne R-11 exp
ploration we
ell at Lovech to core a
and test the Midhale. The R-11
R
well wa
as drilled in
n 56 days an
nd cost $7.5
5 million. Itt was
Jurassic Etropole Sh
n
the Pes
shtene R-5 well,
w
which had
h flowed 5
530,000 ft3/d
d from a conventional intterval
located near
in the Ju
urassic Etrop
pole. The R-11
R
well pe
enetrated 35
54 m of Etro
opole argillite with nume
erous
gas show
ws (C1-C3) and cored 289
2
m of th
he Jurassic Etropole an
nd Ozirovo fformations. LNG
described
d rock prope
erties as sim
milar to thos
se of producctive US sha
ale plays. T
The well wa
as not
fracture stimulated as
a Bulgaria has a ban in place. T
TransAtlantic plans to ttest the Etro
opole
Shale els
sewhere on the Lovech block where
e it is about 3
3,800-m dee
ep.27
Canadas
C
Pa
ark Place Energy received an exp
ploration permit in nortthwest Bulga
arias
Dobruja province (blocks Vranin
no 1 to 11). In June 20 11 Chevron
n won a tend
der to explorre for
shale ga
as at the No
ovi Pazar fie
eld, also loc
cated in Do
obruja, but tthe permit w
was cancelled in
January 2012 when
n the shale
e gas ban came
c
into effect.
Bullgarias statte gas com

mpany
Bulgarga
az has not disclosed any
y shale-relate
ed activity.
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ENCES
Rudko, G.. and Lovyniukov, V.I., 2013. S

State Classificattion of Mineral R
Resources and Reserves of Ukraine as an Evaaluation
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Daborowski, T. and Groszzkowski, J., 20122. Shale Gas inn Bulgaria, the C
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Political Contextt, Legal
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D Nedelcu, M.I., Balint, I., Livvanov, O., Pom
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AA
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Saadre, T., Einasto, R., Nolvak, J., and Sttouge, S., 2004. Ordovician Sttratigraphy of thee Kovel-1 Well ((Volkhov-Haljala) in the
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Izart, A., Briand,

B
C., Vasleet, D., Vachard, D., Coquel, R., and Maslo, A., 11996. Stratigraaphy and Sequence Stratigraphyy of the
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Stephensson, R.A. et al., 1993. Contineental Rift Develoopment in Precaambrian and Phanerozoic Europpe: EUROPROB
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G
R., Horrsfield, B., and R
Reischenbacher, D., 2010. Paleozoic
Source Roocks in the Dniepr-Donets Basinn, Ukraine. Petrroleum Geosciennce, vol. 16, p. 3377-399.
14
Law, B.E., Ulmishek, G.F

F., Clayton, J.L.,, Kabyshev, B.P
P., Pashova, N.TT., and Krivosheeya, V.A., 1998. Basin-Centereed Gas
Evaluatedd in Dnieper-Donnets Basin, Donbbas Foldbelt, Ukraine. Oil and G
Gas Journal, Noovember.
15
Barbuliceeanu, N., Oterdoom, H., and Tulucan,

T
A., 20110. Identificatiion of Petroleum
m Systems in a Complex Geoological
Frameworrk, Moesian Plaatform and the Getic Basin, Romania.
R
AAP
PG Search andd Discovery Artticle 90109 (Abbstract),
P
Geoloogists, Europeann Region Annuall Conference, Kiiev, Ukraine, Occtober 17-19.
16
Tari, G., Ciudin, D., Kosstner, A., Raileaanu, A., Tulucann, A., Vacaresccu, G., and Vanngelov, D., 20111. Play Types of the
Moesian Platform
P
of Rom
mania and Bulgaaria. AAPG Seearch and Discoovery Article #10311, Adapted from AAPG European
Region Annnual Conferencce, Kiev, Ukrainee, October 17-199, 2010.
17
Sterling Resources,
R
20122. Onshore Rom
mania Craiova: UCG Silurian S
Shale Gas. Posster.
18
TransAtlaantic Petroleum Ltd,

L 2011. SEC Form 8-K, February 4, 2011, 266 p.
19
Shale Gas Research Group, 2011.
20
TransAtlaantic Petroleum Ltd,

L 2011. SEC Form 8-K, February 4, 2011, 266 p.
21
Zilinski, R.E.,
R Nelson, D.R
R., Ulmishek, G.F., Tonev, K., Vladov,
V
J., and E by, D.E., 2010. Unconventionaal Plays in the E
Etropole
Petroleum
m System, Southern Moesian Plate,
P
Bulgaria. AAPG Searcch and Discoverry Article 901099 (Abstract), Am
merican
Associatioon of Petroleum Geologists, Euroopean Region Annual
A
Conferen ce, Kiev, Ukrainne, October 17-19.
22
LNG Energy Ltd, Preliminnary Short Form Prospectus, Auggust 29, 2011, 116 p.
23
Georgiev, G., 2012. Geology and Hydroocarbon System

ms in the Westerrn Black Sea. TTurkish Journal of Earth Sciencees, vol.
21, p. 7233-754.
24
Shale Gas Research Group, 2011.
25
TransAtlaantic Petroleum Ltd.,

L 2012. Corpporate Presentattion, January, 311 p.
26
Veliciu annd Popescu, 2012.
27
TransAtlaantic Petroleum Ltd.,

L 2011. A-Lovech License, Bulgaria. Auguust, 8 p.
June, 2013
X--25
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
World Shale Gass and Shale Oil Resource Assesssment
XI. UNITED
U
D KINGD
DOM
SUMMA
ARY
The
T
United Kingdom
K
ha
as substantia
al volumes of prospecttive shale gas and sha
ale oil
resource
es within Ca
arboniferous-- and Jurassic-age sha
ale formation
ns distribute
ed broadly in the
northern,, central and
d southern portions of the country.
Figure XI-1 : Shale Basins
B
in the U
United Kingdoom
Source: ARI 2013.
June, 2013
XI-1
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
The
T risked, te
echnically re
ecoverable shale
s
resourrces of the U
U.K. are esttimated at 26 Tcf
of shale gas and 0.7
7 billion barre
els of shale oil and cond
densate in tw
wo assessed
d regions, Ta
ables
n the much la
arger unriskked estimate
es of 623 Tccf of shale ga
as inXI-1 and XI-2. This is based on
place (13
34 Tcf, risked) and 54 Bbbl of shale oil in-pl ace (17 billlion barrels, risked). T
These
estimates
s reflect on
nly the higher-TOC po
ortions of tthe Carboniferous and
d Jurassic sshale
intervals..
Resource
Reservoir
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XI-1. Shale Gas Reservoir

R
Properties and Reesources of thhe United Kingdom
North UK
Carboniferous Shale Region
C
Basin/Gross Area
outh UK
So
Jurassicc Shale Region
(10,200 mi )
(3,,470 mi )
hale
Carboniferous Sh
Carboniferous
Marine
Lias Shale
L. Jurassic
Marine
5,100
820
410
5,000 - 13,0000
8,500
1,735
165
149
4,000 - 6,000
5,000
Reservoir Presssure
Normal
N
Normal
Average TOC (wt. %)

Clay Content
3.0%
1.30%
Medium
3.0%
0.85%
M
Medium
Shale Formation
Geollogic Age
Deposition
nal Environment
2
Prospective Area
A (mi )
Organically Rich
Thickness (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
Gas Phase
Dry Gas
Assoc. Gas
117.3
14.5
Risked GIP (T
Tcf)
125.6
8.0
25.1
0.6
Soource: ARI, 2013
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XI-22. Shale Oil Reservoir

R
Prop
perties and Reesources of thhe United Kinggdom
Basin/Grosss Area
South UK
Ju
urassic Shale Region
Shale Form
mation
Geologicc Age
Depositional En
nvironment
(3,470 mi )
Lias Shale
L. Jurassic
Marine
Prospective Area (mi

( )
Org
ganically Rich
Thickness (ft)
Nett
Inteerval
Depth (ft)
Aveerage
Reservoir Pressuree
Normal
Average TOC (wt. %)

%
Thermal Maturity (%
( Ro)
Clay Content
3.0%
0.85%
Medium
Oil
Oil Phase
2
n (MMbbl/mi )
OIP Concentration
30.9
Risked OIP (B bbl))
17.1
Risked Recoverablle (B bbl)
0.69
Source: ARI,
A 2013
June, 2013
1,735
165
149
4,000 - 6,000
5,000
XI-2
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
In
nitial explora
ation drilling has confirme
ed the prese
ence of thickk, gas-bearin
ng shale dep
posits
in the Bowland Sub
b-basin in th
he west portion of the Pennine B
Basin of norrthwest Eng
gland.
n testing has
s not yet occ
curred and tthe other shale regions remain undrilled.
Howeverr, production
EIA/ARIs
s current es
stimate of the
e UKs shale
e gas resou rces is abou
ut 10% higher than our initial
2011 ass
sessment, while
w
new sha
ale oil potential has bee n added.
Compared
C
with
w
North America,
A
the
e shale geo
ology of the
e UK is co
onsiderably more
complex,, while drilliing and com
mpletion costs for shalle wells are
e substantia
ally higher.
The
Pennine Basin, one of the coun

ntrys most prospective
p
a
areas, has b
been tested with five ve
ertical
he Carbonife
erous Bowland Shale. O
Other prospective areass include the
e rest
wells which cored th
e liquids-ricch Jurassic Shale regio
of the North
N
UK Ca
arboniferous
s Shale reg
gion and the
on of
southern England in the Wessex
x and Weald basins, Figu
ure XI-1.
Shale
S
testing
g is still at an
a early phase in the UK flow ttesting and horizontal sshale
drilling have
h
not even been atttempted.
In a temporrary setbackk, the first sshale well tto be
hydraulic
cally stimula
ated triggere
ed a series of minor e
earthquakess related to
o a nearby fault.
Following
g an 18-mon
nth moratoriium, the gov
vernment co
oncluded tha
at the enviro
onmental rissks of
shale ex
xploration are
a
small and manage
eable.
Sha
ale drilling w
was allowe
ed to resum
me in
Decembe
er 2012, albeit with sttricter monitoring contrrols.
Curre
ent shale o
operators include
Cuadrilla
a Resources, IGAS, Dartt Energy, and others.
INTROD
DUCTION
Within
W
Europ
pe, the Unite
ed Kingdom stands nexxt after Poland in pursuing its shale
e gas
and shale oil poten
ntial.
Howe
ever, with a small exissting onshorre conventio
onal oil and
d gas
s limited domestic serv

vice sector ccapability forr shale explloration. Na
atural
industry, the UK has
h (~$9/MMB
Btu) in the UK compa
ared with N
North Americca, but geo
ologic
gas prices are high
ns are much
h more comp
plex. Faults
s are numerrous, geolog
gic data control is weakk, and
condition
shale we
ells are more
e costly to drill.
d
While the UKs sh
hale resourcce base app
pears substa
antial,
commerc
cial levels off shale produ
uction are ye
et to be esta
ablished.
Political
P
oppo
osition to sh
hale develop
pment is gre
eater in the UK than in Poland butt less
than in France
F
or Germany.
G
Hydraulic
H
fracturing got off to an ab
bysmal startt. The UKss first
shale pro
oduction tes
st well trigge
ered small lo
ocal earthqu akes during
g fracture stimulation and the
vertical wellbore
w
was
s deformed. This is perrhaps unsurp
prising given
n the highly faulted natu
ure of
shale deposits in the
e UK (and ge
enerally in Europe).
E
The
e government banned o
onshore hydraulic
g for a period
d of eighteen
n months to better evalu
uate the riskss.
fracturing
June, 2013
XI-3
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
In
n January 20
012 the British Geologic
cal Survey n oted that the
e risks of sh
hale develop
pment
to groundwater and earthquake
es had been
n exaggeratted. Minor earthquakes caused by the
H
well were
w
comp
parable in size
s
to the ffrequent min
Preese Hall-1
nor quakes caused by coal
mining. What's more
e, they originate much deeper
d
in th e crust so h
have all but d
dissipated b
by the
1 In
time they
y reach the surface.
s
n December 2012 the U K governme
ent finally gra
anted condittional
approval for shale exploration,, albeit with

h strict mon
nitoring con
nditions.
C
Cuadrilla reccently
delayed its plan to re

esume fractu
ure stimulatio
on until 2014
4 at the earliiest.
Companies
C
which
w
have been
b
granted
d a Petroleu
um Exploration and Development liccense
(PEDL) by
b the UK go
overnment are
a permitted
d to explore and develop shale gas, as well as other
types off petroleum
m resources
s (conventio
onal, coalbe
ed methane
e, tight ga
as, etc.).
Field
developm
ment is sub
bject to nec
cessary national and lo
ocal consen
nt and planning permisssion.
Currently
y there are about
a
334 onshore
o
PED
DLs, of whicch several dozen have rrecognized sshale
potential. Proprietarry shale datta typically are
a kept con
nfidential forr a four-yearr period from
m the
date of well
w completion.
At
A least six oil and gas co
ompanies arre targeting shale gas e
exploration in
n the UK butt only
two have
e actually drilled
d
shale
e wells.
All
A wells havve been ve
ertical.
UK--based Cua
adrilla
Resource
es, partly (4
43%) owned
d by Australian drilling ccompany AJJ Lucas, is the most active,
drilling and coring fo
our shale ex
xploration we
ells in the W
West Bowlan
nd Sub-basiin that confiirmed
ng organic-riich shale.
the presence of up to 2-km off gas-bearin
However, a
at least one
e well
ered active faults and high-stress

h
conditions. IGAS Energy has drillled a shale
e well
encounte
nearby, coring the 1,600-ft
1
thic
ck Bowland Shale. Ho
orizontal sha
ale wells ha
ave not yet been
attempted in the UK
K, nor have flow tests been
b
reporte
ed. Coasta
al Oil and Gas Ltd., Celtique
Energie, Dart Energy, and Eden
n Energy als
so are evalu
uating their UK shale re
esource pote
ential
but havent yet drilled
d.
June, 2013
XI-4
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
GEOLO
OGIC OVER
RVIEW
As
A early as the
t
late 198
80s research
hers at Impe
erial College
e, London h
had identified the
main stra
atigraphic targets for sha
ale gas explo
oration in the
e UK, the marine-depossited black shales
of Carbo
oniferous and
d Jurassic age.
a 2,3 More
e recently in
n 2003, a stu
udy conductted by the B
British
Geologic
cal Survey (BGS) and published
p
by
y the UK D
Department o
of Trade an
nd Industry (DTI)
presente
ed an integra
ated review
w of the geo
ology of Brittains onsho
ore conventional oil and
d gas
fields an
nd source ro
ock shales, although it was not assked to con
nsider shale as a produ
uctive
reservoirr.4 In 2010 BGS
B
publish
hed a compiilation of sha
ale-specific geologic da
ata collected from
outcrops and conven
ntional petroleum wells.5
BGS
B
published its preliminary evalluation of U
UK shale ga
as resource
es later in 2
2010,
conducte
ed on behalff of the Dep
partment of Energy and Climate Ch
hange (DEC
CC).6 BGS initial
estimate was 5.3 Tc
cf (150 Bcm)) of recovera
able shale g
gas resource
es. BGS, in
n association
n with
p
to relea
ase an upda
ated evaluatiion of shale gas potentia
al of northwest England
d later
DECC, plans
in 2013, followed eve
entually by a more comp
plete nationa
al estimate.7
The
T
main on
nshore sedim
mentary bas
sins in the UK that prroduce oil a
and gas or have
conventio
onal or sha
ale exploratio
on potentiall are shown
n in Figure XI-1.
The current EIA

A/ARI
resource
e assessmen
nt groups th
hese numerrous, typica lly fault-bou
unded basin
ns into two main
shale exp
ploration reg
gions:
North
N
UK Ca
arboniferou
us Shale Re
egion. A co
omplex asse
emblage of issolated strucctural
basins
b
and troughs
t
is prresent acros
ss northern England and
d southern S
Scotland. T
These
contain
c
pros
spective org
ganic-rich sh
hales of Ca
arboniferous age, includ
ding notablyy the
Bowland
B
Shale. Within
n the greater Pennine B
Basin, indiviidual sub-ba
asins include
e the
Bowland,
B
Cleveland, Cheshire,
C
West
W
Lancasshire, North
humberland, East Midla
ands,
Gainsboroug
G
gh, Midland Valley, as well
w as othe
ers. The Bo
owland Sub--basin is the
e only
area
a
to unde
ergo shale ex
xploration drrilling to date
e.
South
S
UK Ju
urassic Sha
ale Region. In southern
n England th
he Wessex a
and Weald basins
extend
e
offsho
ore into the English Cha
annel. They contain Jurrassic-age sh
hales that arre oilprone.
p
Whiile no shale
e drilling has occurred here yet, tthe region includes Britains
la
argest onsho
ore oil field and
a appears
s highly prosspective for sshale oil devvelopment.
June, 2013
XI-5
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
It is importan
nt to note th
hat the UK shale basin
ns generallyy are not siimple contin
nuous
structure
es, such as found
f
in many North Am
merica shale
e regions, bu
ut rather typically comprrise a
series off small fault--bounded su
ub-basins. Figure
F
XI-2 sshows a reg
gional cross--section from
m the
Wessex Basin in the south to the Bo
owland Sub
b-basin in the north, highlighting
g the
erous-Namu
urian and Jurassic shale
e targets. Evven the interrior of the su
ub-basins ma
ay be
Carbonife
significan
ntly faulted, to an extent generally
y not displayyed on sche
ematic crosss-sections. The
structural complexity
y, coupled with
w the relatively small d
data base of onshore pe
ells in
etroleum we
the UK (particularly
(
in the troug
ghs), makes
s resource a
assessment more difficu
ult. It also could
slow the pace of sha
ale exploratio
on, de-risking
g, and comm
mercial deve
elopment in tthe UK.
Figure XI-2 : Regional Cross-Section frrom Wessex B

Basin Throughh Bowland Suub-basin
Highlighting Caarboniferous-N
Namurian andd Jurassic Shaale Targets
Source: Brittish Geological Survey,

S
2012
The
T
main strratigraphic targets
t
for shale
s
explorration in the
e UK are th
he Carbonife
erous
Mississip
ppian (Lowerr Namurian)8 and the Lo
ower Jurass ic Lias forma
ations, both of which co
ontain
organic-rrich, marine--deposited shales,
s
Figurre XI-3. Oth
her potentiall shale targe
ets include th
he U.
Cambrian and the U. Jurassic Oxford
O
and Kimmeridge
K
C
Clays, but th
hese were e
excluded from
m our
study du
ue to their low therma
al maturity, lower orga
anic contentt, and/or exxtreme strucctural
complexiity. In partiicular, organ
nic-rich shalles found w
within the Ca
arboniferouss Coal Meassures
were exc
cluded beca
ause these non-marine shales are coaly, high
h in clay, an
nd unlikely tto be
sufficienttly brittle. However,
H
fu
urther data collection
c
an
nd mapping
g may revea
al these or other
shale forrmations to be
b prospectiv
ve in places.
June, 2013
XI-6
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
Fig
gure XI-3: Straatigraphic Collumn Showing
g UK Formatioons That Conttain Organic-R
Rich Shales.
The Low
wer Jurassic Lias
L And Carb
boniferous Shaales Appear M
Most Prospecttive.
Source: Smitth et al., 2010
The
T BGS has
s cited the Middle
M
Cam
mbrian Conassauga Shale
e in Alabam
ma as the clo
osest
North Am
merican geologic analog
g for Cambrian shale de
eposits in the
e UK, given their similar age
and degrree of structural complex
xity. Howev
ver, shale ga
as developm
ment in the C
Conasauga S
Shale
has not been succe
essful to da
ate.
The Cambrian-ag
C
ge shale de
eposits in th
he UK were
e not
assessed
d in the EIA//ARI study due to their structural
s
com
mplexity and
d lack of geo
ologic data.
June, 2013
XI-7
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
SEISMIC
C HAZARD
DS
The
T UK shale
e industry experienced
e
a serious s etback in 20
011, when tthe first hydraulic
fracturing
g operation of
o a shale well
w unexpec
ctedly genera
ated a serie
es of very sm
mall earthqua
akes.
Howeverr, it is noteworthy that no
one of the approximatel
a
y 50,000 ho
orizontal sha
ale wells drillled in
North Am
merica during the past decade
d
have
e generated significant e
earthquakess, although a few
suspecte
ed seismic ev
vents are un
nder review.
In
n August 2010 Cuadrilla
a drilled the UKs first sshale gas exxploration w
well, spudding the
Preese Hall-1
H
vertica
al well in the
e Bowland Sub-basin
S
ne
ear Blackpoo
ol, Lancashire. The well was
fracture stimulated during
d
early 2011, induc
cing severa l dozen sma
akes close to the
all earthqua
e injection zone.
z
The timing
t
of the
e earthquake
es corresponded with flluid injection
n and
downhole
continued
d for severa
al hours afte
er injection ceased.
c
Fo
ortunately, th
he largest earthquakes were
relatively
y small, measuring magn
nitudes of 2.3 and 1.5 on
n the Richte
er scale. No
o surface dam
mage
was repo
orted. How
wever, the UK
U government shut do
own shale te
esting in the country fo
or 18
months to determine
e the cause of
o the seismic events an
nd to develop
p mitigation rules.
An
A evaluation
n of seismicity from thes
se earthquakkes generatted by the P
Preese Hall-1
1 well
and the fault
f
geomettry of the ba
asin indicated
d that move ment was sttrike-slip alo
ong a sub-ve
ertical
fault plan
ne. The suspected fau
ult was locatted on the w
wells image
e log as we
ell as on dettailed
seismic, Figure XI-4
4.9
Separattely, bedding plane slip

p -- alreadyy noted in ccore cut priior to
he well -- in
nduced wellbore damag
ge, with ova
al deformation noted accross
running casing in th
h
feett of the 5.5-in
nch casing.
several hundred
The
T
maximum horizonta
al stress gra
adient, base
ed on mini--frac and bo
orehole brea
akout
data, wa
as determine
ed to be re
elatively high
h at 1.25 p
psi/ft.
The sstress differrential within

n the
Bowland Shale -- about 4,000 ps

si -- was fou
und to be an order of ma
agnitude higher than in N
North
American
n shale play
ys, which typ
pically have stress differrentials of on
nly several h
hundred psi.. It is
unclear whether
w
the high stress differential
d
is
s local or wid
dely prevale
ent across th
he UK.
Cuadrillas
C
co
onsultants concluded that excess fl uid pressure
e exerted on
n the fault d
during
the hydra
aulic stimula
ation overca
ame the roc
ck friction co
ontaining this stress, wh
hich enabled the
fault to slip
s and gen
nerate small earthquake
es. Simultan
neously, bed
dding plane
e slip up the
e hole
caused the
t
wells ca
asing string to deform. Based on fault size a
and geometrry, the maxiimum
earthqua
ake in the Bowland Sub
b-basin was estimated tto be appro
oximately ma
agnitude 3.0
0, still
considere
ed too smalll to cause significant dam
mage to surf
rface structures in this re
egion.
June, 2013
XI-8
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
Figu
ure XI-4: Seism
mic Reflection
n Line Showingg Suspected Active Faults
Near The Preese Hall-1 Well In The B
Bowland Sub-bbasin
Source: de Pater and Baiscch, 2011
The
T
consulta
ants also infe
erred that th
he injected ffrac fluid remained con
ntained within the
induced fracture
f
systtem and did not leak into
o the shallow
w freshwate
er aquifer sysstem, becau
use of
the thick
k and imperm
meable Bow
wland Shale and overlying Permian
n anhydritess. A subseq
quent
report recommended
d monitoring
g during hydraulic fractu
uring operations to help mitigate ind
duced
seismicity.10
halted shale operationss in the UK from
As
A a result of
o the earthq
quakes the government
g
May 201
11 until Dec
cember 201
12.
The Royal Societty and Roya

al Academyy of Engine
eering
conducte
ed a review of the risks, recommen
nding the folllowing three
e primary stteps for enssuring
health an
nd safety during shale de
evelopment::11
Groundwate
G
er Monitorin
ng. The BGS
S should con
nduct region
nal baseline surveys of
groundwater ahead of sh
hale development, while operators co
onduct site-sspecific survveys
to
o identify pos
ssible natura
al methane concentratio
c
ons in ground
dwater. Aba
andoned wells
should be mo
onitored and remediated
d to prevent ffracture fluid
ds from ente
ering freshwa
ater
aquifers.
June, 2013
XI-9
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
Well
W Integrity
y. Well design, construc
ction, and in
ntegrity testin
ng should en
nsure that
multiple
m
layerrs of steel an
nd cement are present to
o preclude le
eakage of flu
uids into
frreshwater aq
quifers.
Mitigating
M
Se
eismicity. The
T BGS should survey the regiona
al distribution
n of faults,
sttresses, and
d seismic haz
zards ahead
d of shale de
evelopment, while opera
ators conducct
site-specific surveys.
s
Seismicity should be monittored before
e, during, and after hydra
aulic
sttimulation, which
w
should
d be shut dow
wn if seismicc risks become unaccep
ptable.
After
A
conside
ering these and
a other vie
ews, DECC put in place
e a new regu
ulatory regim
me for
shale de
evelopment starting De
ecember 20
012.
The rregime requ

uires operators to eva
aluate
potential seismic haz

zards posed
d by hydraullic fracturing
g, implementt seismic mo
onitoring of each
al well site area, and propose mitigation
m
ste
eps to miniimize the cchance of ffuture
individua
earthqua
akes due to hydraulic fra
acturing. A real-time trig
gger is to be
e installed to
o cut off inje
ection
should significant ea
arthquake ris
sks arise. These
T
rules a
are expected to add sig
gnificant cosst and
d shale we
ells in the UK. Cuadrilla
as Annas R
Road-1 well is the first tto be spud u
under
time to drill
the new shale rules. Hydraulic
c stimulation of this wel l -- which C
Cuadrilla reccently annou
unced
would be
e delayed un
ntil 2014 at th
he soonest -- would requ
uire further sspecific apprrovals.
1.
NORTH
N
UK CARBONIIFEROUS SHALE
S
RE
EGION
1.1
In
ntroduction
Northern
N
Eng
gland and so
outhern Scottland are cha
aracterized by a comple
ex assembla
age of
isolated basins
b
and troughs
t
whic
ch contain th
hick, organicc-rich Carbo
oniferous sha
ales, Figure XI-1.
These sh
hale-prospec
ctive lows are
a separate
ed by structu
ural highs w
where Carboniferous wa
as not
deposited
d or has been eroded. Based on mapping of Carbonifero
ous basins cconducted b
by the
BGS, the
ese troughs cover
c
a total area of app
proximately 10,000 mi2.
hale drilling has been cconcentrated
The
T Bowland
d Sub-basin of Lancashire, where sh
d thus
far, is on
ne such trou
ugh, represe
enting the onshore
o
ma
argin of the petroliferous East Irish
h Sea
Basin. Further
F
to th
he east the Cleveland Basin is co
onsidered th
he onshore extension o
of the
Southern
n North Se
ea gas ba
asin.
In between llay the Ch

heshire, W
West Lancasshire,
Northumberland, Eas
st Midlands,, Pennine, Gainsboroug
G
gh, Midland V
Valley, and other basinss and
c
Carboniferou
C
us-age shale
es. Our stud
dy grouped these isolatted basins into a
troughs containing
single reg
gion for shale resource assessmentt.
The
T
western portion of the Bowlan
nd Sub-bassin has bee
en the site of all UK sshale
June, 2013
XI-10
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
exploratio
on drilling to
o date. The Carbonifero
ous Bowland
d Shale is th
he main targ
get, ranging from
about 2.0
0 to 2.5 km deep acros
ss the moderately faulte
ed Bowland Sub-basin, Figures XI-5
5 and
XI-6. Cu
uadrillas Prreese Hall-1
1 well encou
untered the top of the target Lowe
er Carbonife
erous
Bowland Shale at a measured depth
d
of 6,8
854 ft and pe
enetrated a total 2,411 ft of organicc-rich
gure XI-7. The
T BGS has mapped th
he thicknesss of the Uppe
er Bowland S
Shale Forma
ation,
shale, Fig
as well as
a its organic-rich (high
h-gamma) se
ection, acro ss northern England, F
Figure XI-8. The
organic-rrich shale ra
anges up to 120 m thick
k but more tyypically is re
ecorded as 2
20 to 40 m thick.
Note, ho
owever, that petroleum wells
w
are prreferentially drilled on sstructural hig
ghs, where sshale
tends to be thinner th
han in the tro
oughs.
The
T eastern Bowland
B
Shale play exte
ension in the
e Gainsboro
ough Basin h
has less geo
ologic
control th
han the wes
st. Here the
e shale rang
ges up to 3 00 m thick in the Dinan
ntian half-grraben
basins, Figure
F
XI-9. Dart Energ
gy reported that the mo
ost organic-rrich portion defined by highgamma shales
s
range
es up to 110
0 m thick. In the Chesh
hire Basin th
he Carbonife
erous (Namu
urian)
Bowland and Holywe
ell shales witth TOC up to
o 5% occur a
at depths off 1 to 5 km, F
Figure XI-10
0.
Elsewhere
E
in the region, the Namurian Holywelll Shale, sou
urce rock forr convention
nal oil
fields in the southerrn East Irish
h Sea as well
w as the F
Formby oil ffield, is repo
orted to havve an
C of 2.1% (rrange 0.7% to 5%) and averages 3
3.0% TOC in
n its lower, more
overall average TOC
ain, although
h public data
a indicate th
hat Carbonife
erous
organic-rrich portion. Clay content is uncerta
mudstones in the UK
K generally average
a
arou
und 25% Al2 O3 (range 12-38%), mostly from cla
ay.
The
T Pennine Basin has relatively
r
goo
od geologic control from
m past petrolleum explora
ation.
The Crav
ven Group (Mississippia
(
an) ranges from
f
about 1
1.5 km thickk in the Craven sub-bassin to
over 5 km
k thick in the Widmerrpool Gulf. These mud
dstones we
ere deposited in distal sslope
turbidite and hemipelagic envirronments in relatively n
ep depocen
nters.
narrow, dee
The early
s (local nam
mes Bowland
d, Edale, Ho
olywell shale
es, top part o
of Craven Group)
Namurian shale units
ennine Basin have high
h TOC and are known to have sou
urced hydro
ocarbons. T
These
of the Pe
Namurian marine sha
ales generally have rich TOC in exccess of 4%.
June, 2013
XI-11
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
Figure XI-5: Structural Cross-Section in

n the Bowlandd Sub-basin R
Region, Northw
west UK
Showing Numerouss Faults Acrosss the Cuadrillla and IGas Ennergy Licensees.
Source: Souurce: IGAS Energy, 2012
Figuree XI-6: Structu

ural Cross-Secction In The Bowland
B
Sub-bbasin Region Showing The Highly Faulteed
Penetrated Byy The Ince Marshes Well
Bowland
B
Shalee At 2 To 3 Km
m Depth. Addiitional Faults P
Sug
ggest That Maany Additional Faults Are P
Present But Unnrecognized.
Source: IGA
AS Energy, 20122; modified from
m BGS Map 96_LLiverpool
June, 2013
XI-12
X
XI. United Kingdom
EIA/ARI W
Figure XI-7: Stratigraphic Column

n and Composite Log for the Cuadrrilla
Prreese Hall-1 well in
n the Bowland Sub-Basin
Figure XI-8: Thicknesss of the Upper Boowland Shale Form

mation in
Northeern England, as W
Well as the High-Gaamma Thickness. Note That
Petroleu
um Wells Tend to bbe Drilled on Struuctural Highs Wheere the Shale
May be TThinner Than in thhe Troughs.
Source: de Pater and Baischh, 2011
JJune, 2013
Source: Smith
S
et al., 2010
XI-13
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
Figure XI-9:
X Schemattic Cross-Secttion Across Th
he Gainsboroough Trough S
Showing Thickk Bowland Shaale.
Additional Faults
F
Are Likkely To Be Preesent But Not S
Shown.
Source: Darrt Energy, 2013
Figure XI--10: Geologic Map and Gen

neralized Strucctural Cross-S
Section of the Cheshire Bassin. Carbonifeerous
(Namurian)
(
Bo
owland and Ho
olywell Shaless with TOC Upp to 5% Occurr at Depths of 1 to 5 km.
Souurce: DECC, 2012
June, 2013
XI-14
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
The
T
North UK
U Carbonifferous Shale region iss mainly in the dry ga
as window.
For
example, the Norma

anby-1 and Grove-3
G
con
nventional pe
etroleum we
ells reportedly recorded highs
witthin the Bow
wland Shale, while the Scaftworth-B2 well mea
asured 2.07
7% to
gamma sections
3.63% TO
OC with 1.26% Ro at a depth of 2,2
246 m.12 In addition, mo
ost of the Clleveland Basin is
known to
o be within the dry gas
s window. Oil
O and wet gas therma
al maturity w
windows ma
ay be
present locally but co
ould not be defined
d
with the limited d
data availab
ble.
No
N porosity data
d
are available for Namurian
N
sh
hales in the
e Pennine B
Basin. Base
ed on
borehole
es drilled by the BGS in the southerrn Midlands , relatively sshallow (900
0 m deep) U
Upper
Paleozoic shales retained
r
hig
gh porositie
es (5-10%).
Howeverr, porosity is likely to

o be
considera
ably lower (p
perhaps 3-5%) at typical target shale
e depth of 2
2-4 km.
The
T
Midland Valley Basiin (MVB), a large east- northeast trrending grab
ben complexx that
stretches
s across so
outhern Sco
otland, is bounded
b
by the Highla
and Bounda
ary Fault to
o the
northwes
st and the Southern
S
Up
pland Fault to the south
heast. The MVB comp
prises a com
mplex
series of small fau
ulted sub-ba
asins, such as the Kin
nkardine Ba
asin where Dart Energ
gy is
ng shale ga
as resources
s.
evaluatin
This strructural com

mplexity wass over-printted by extensive
igneous intrusion durring late Carrboniferous to

t early Perm
mian time.
The
T MVB con
ntains a rela
atively complete sequencce of Carbo
oniferous dep
posits up to 6 km
thick, Fig
gure XI-11.13 Namurian
n strata range from 45 0 m to 1,40
00 m thick at outcrop. The
depositio
onal sequen
nce reflects
s mixed marine
m
shelff carbonate
e and delta
aic successsions,
comprisin
ng upward-coarsening
g cycles of
o marine
limestone,
mudstone,
siltstone
and
sandston
ne.14 Lower Carbonifero
ous (Dinantian) oil-shale
e source roccks, such ass the Mid-Lo
othian
Oil shale
e, buried dee
eply in the Midlothian-Le
M
even Synclin e generated
d waxy crude
e oil that sou
urced
clastic re
eservoirs of similar
s
age in
n the adjace
ent anticliness.
June, 2013
XI-15
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
Figure XI-111: Geologic Map

M of the Mid
dland Valley B
Basin. Carbonniferous (Nam
murian)
Sh
hales Crop Ou
ut at the Surfaace but May Reeach Prospecctive Depth.
Source: Underrhill et al., 2009
1.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T total map
pped deep Carboniferou
C
us area in th
he North UK
K Carbonifero
ous Shale re
egion
is approx
ximately 10,2
200 mi2. Be
ecause of strructural com
mplexity and poor depth ccontrol was poor,
only halff of the totall area was assumed
a
to be in the p
prospective depth windo
ow and rela
atively
unfaulted
d (4,635 mi2).
) The targe
et lower orga
anic-rich porrtion of the B
Bowland and
d Holywell shales
(and loca
al equivalentts) averages
s about 300 ft thick and 8,000 ft dee
ep in the Bo
owland Sub-basin
region, with
w 3.0% av
verage TOC. Porosity is
s estimated tto be about 4% at targe
et depths of 3 km,
much low
wer than the
e 5-10% me
easured at shallow <1 kkm depth. T
Thermal matturity is main
nly in
the dry gas window (R
( o 1.3%), although less
s mature pocckets in the w
wet gas wind
dow may exxist.
June, 2013
XI-16
XI. United Kingdom

K
1.3
EIA/ARI W
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Risked,
R
technically recoverable sha
ale gas reso
ources in th
he North UK Carbonife
erous
Shale reg
gion are estimated to be
e 25 Tcf, outt of a risked shale gas in-place of 126 Tcf, Table XI1. The play has a favorable net
n resource
e concentrattion of abou
ut 117 Bcf/m
mi2, reflecting
g the
nt thickness of organic-rich shale.
significan
For comparis
son, in Septe
ember 2011 Cuadrilla R
Resources e
estimated the total shale
e gas
owland Sub--basin licens
ses to be ap
pproximatelyy 200 Tcf, ba
ased on logss and
in-place within its Bo
m two shale and three co
onventional petroleum w
wells.15 The
e company h
has estimate
ed the
core from
total sha
ale gas reso
ource-in-plac
ce concentrration at its Preese Ha
all-1 well to be 539 Bccf/mi2.
Cuadrilla
as estimate is that 10% or about 20 Tcf may be
e recoverable
e. It appearrs that Cuadrillas
estimate is based on
n the entire shale sectio
on, whereas EIA/ARI co
onsiders onlyy the lower, most
a the prosp
pective interv
val.
organic-rrich section as
Separately,
S
IGAS Energys indepen
ndent consu ltant identified a 1,195--km2 prospe
ective
area with
hin an avera
age 250-m th
hick organic
c-rich interva
al, constrained by geoph
hysical logs from
eight con
nventional petroleum
p
wells
w
that pe
enetrated the
e Bowland Shale. Afte
er drilling itss first
shale appraisal well last year, IG
GAS estimatted the shale
e gas in-place (GIP) ressources with
hin its
licenses to be about 9.2 Tcf.
Dart
D Energys
s third-party consultant NSAI has esstimated tha
at Darts lice
enses have ssome
32.46 Tc
cf of GIP in unspecified
u
shale
s
formations in the Gainsborough Trough o
of East Midla
ands,
as well as 30.55 Tc
cf of shale gas GIP in
n the Chesh
hire Basin ((gross, Bestt Estimate).
No
recovery estimate was

w
reported
d.16 Finally, in Scotlan
nds Midland
d Valley Bassin, Dart En
nergy
mpanys PED
DL 133 licen
nse has an e
estimated 2.5
5 Tcf of shalle gas GIP b
based
reported that the com
onsultant re
eport.
on a third-party co
Rec
coverable p rospective shale gas resources were
d at 115 Bcf in the Carboniferous

s Black Me
etal Shale a
and 255 Bcff in the Lotthianestimated
Broxburn
n Shale (Bes
st Estimates;; net to Dart)).
1.4
Recent
R
Activity
The
T
Bowland
d Sub-basin, the only active
a
shale drilling region in the U
UK, has had
d five
shale exp
ploration we
ells drilled to
o date. The main operattors are Cua
adrilla Resources (4 lice
enses
totaling 1185
1
km2; 4 wells), IGA
AS Resource
es (14 licensses; 1363 km
m2; 1 well), and Dart En
nergy
(11 licens
ses; 1041 km
m2).
June, 2013
XI-17
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
In
n August 2010 Cuadrilla
a drilled the first shale g
gas exploration well in the UK, spud
dding
the Pree
ese Hall-1 ve
ertical well in the Bowla
and Sub-bassin near Blacckpool, Lanccashire. The top
of the ta
arget Lower Carbonifero
ous Bowland
d Shale wass encounterred at a me
easured dep
pth of
6,854 ft. The well penetrated a total 2,411 ft of orga
anic-rich sha
ale. Natura
ally fractured
d, the
Bowland is within the
e dry gas the
ermal maturiity window.
After
A
drilling was completed on the
e Preese H all-1, Cuadrrilla comple
eted and fra
acture
stimulate
ed the well in
n early 2011
1. This operration repressented the U
UKs first an
nd only conccerted
attempt to
t produce shale
s
gas. As
A previously discussed
d, small eartthquakes we
ere induced near
the well by the hydra
aulic fracture stimulation
n. Operatio
ons at the w
well were hallted in May 2011
g productio
on reported.
with no gas
In
n completing
g the well, Cuadrilla
C
perrforated sha le formation
ns within the
e Bowland S
Shale,
Worston Shale, and Hodder Mu
udstone at depths
d
rang
ging from 7,670 to 8,94
49 ft. Five sshale
o of 12 originally
o
pla
anned, were
e individuall y stimulated
d with a sa
and/water sslurry,
zones, out
separate
ed by bridge
e plugs. The
e total stimu
ulation size,, over 50,00
00 bbl of wa
ater and 400
0 t of
sand pro
oppant, was relatively larrge for a verttical shale w
well but still cconsiderablyy smaller tha
an the
typical sttimulation off a horizonta
al shale well in North Am
merica (abou
ut half the w
water volume
e and
10% of th
he sand volu
ume).
Cuadrilla
C
drilled and corred two othe
er vertical w
wells in the Bowland Ba
asin. Durin
ng 2H
2010 the
e nearby Gra
ange Hill-1 vertical
v
well logged overr 2 km of Ca
arboniferous shale acrosss the
depth intterval of 1,200 m to 3,3
300 m, the total
t
depth o
of the well. In 2011 the
e Becconsh
hall-1
e total depth
well logged shale fro
om depths off 2,450 m to 3,100 m, the
h of the well..
Cuadrillas
C
most
m
recent shale
s
well in
n the Bowlan
nd Sub-basin, the Anna
as Road-1,, was
abandoned at a deptth of 2,000 ft
f due to drilling problem
ms. The welll was expectted to be re--spud
d completed in about fou
ur weeks, wiith the top B
Bowland Sha
ale predicted
d at a
in January 2013 and
depth of about 3100 m.
GAS Energy
y Plc, 24.5%
% owned by Nexen and the UKs largest onsho
ore operator of oil
IG
and gas fields, is ev
valuating the
e shale gas potential of its blocks. IGAS had a
acquired Nexens
bed methan
ne licenses in March 20
011. The ccompany rep
ported that at its
portfolio of UK coalb
Point of Ayr acreag
ge has shale extending
g over the e
entire blockk with an exxpected ave
erage
thickness
s of more than 800 ft. IGAS Energy
y noted that a significan
nt proportion of its acrea
age in
June, 2013
XI-18
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
the north
hwest Englan
ndfrom Ellesmere Port in the wesst in PEDL 1
190 to the T
Trafford Centre in
the east within PEDL
L 193is considered to have shale potential.
n 2011-12 IGAS drilled the Ince Marshes-1
M
w
well to a to
otal depth o
of 5,714 ft in
n the
In
Bowland Sub-basin.
y intended as
a a shallow
w coalbed methane test, the well was
Originally
deepene
e Bowland Shale at de
ed and enco
ountered the
e upper two--thirds of the
epths of 4,200 to
5,200 ft. The Bowla
and Shale, estimated
e
att 1,600-ft to
otal thicknesss, had gas shows and TOC
f
1.2% to 6.9% (ave
erage 2.7%)). Thermal maturity appeared to b
be in the we
et gas
ranging from
window (R
( o 1.0-1.1%
%).17
Dart
D
Energy, based in Australia
A
and
d Singapore,, holds a sig
gnificant sha
ale position iin the
UK, inclu
uding the we
estern Penniine Basin, but has not yyet drilled forr shale there
e or elsewhe
ere in
the country. Darts 14 PEDLs with
w shale potential,
p
parrt of its acqu
uisitions of ccoalbed metthane
operators
s Composite
e and Green
npark Energy, total abo ut 3,700 km
m2 in gross a
area. Third--party
consultan
nt NSAI has
s estimated these block
ks hold app roximately 6
65 Tcf of total shale GIIP, of
which ap
pproximately 30.5 Tcf is located in th
he western P
Pennine Bassin (gross, Be
est Estimate
e).
No sh
hale drilling has occurred yet on tthe eastern side of the
e Bowland S
Shale
y holds the largest land position, a ttotal of 13 liccenses cove
ering about 1
1,235
Region. Dart Energy
SAI has esttimated that Darts bloc
cks hold abo
out 47.6 Tccf of shale G
GIP (gross, Best
km2. NS
Estimate). Houston-based eCO
ORP Interna
ational, LLC has committed to drilling and corring a
horizonta
al well by 20
014 to farm into one of Darts blockks. Separattely, IGAS e
estimates it holds
388 km2 of shale-pro
ospective are
ea in 9 licens
ses in this re
egion.
Dart
D
Energy,, the only active shale
e operator in the Midlland Valley Basin, hass not
announced firm plan
ns for shale
e drilling. BG Group re
emains a joint-venture p
partner on D
Darts
Lothian Shale
S
interva
al in this region.
Much
M
further to the south
h, Australia-b
based Eden Energy and
d UK-based Coastal Oil and
Gas Ltd. jointly conttrol 2100 km
m2 of shale gas
g and coa
albed methane potential in South W
Wales,
Bristol, and
a Kent. Prrospective re
ecoverable shale
s
gas re
esources were estimated
d by Edens thirdparty con
nsultant to be 18.3 Tcff out of a to
otal 49.8 Tccf of GIP (g
gross; Best Estimate). This
includes 806 km2 within
w
7 PED
DLs in South
h Wales witth potential in the Nam
murian Meassures.
Howeverr, this region was not ass
sessed by EIA/ARI
E
beca
ause of limite
ed publicly a
available datta.
June, 2013
XI-19
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
2.
SOUTH
S
UK JURASSIC
C SHALE REGION
R
2.1
In
ntroduction
The
T Wessex and Weald basins regio
on of southe rn England is the UKs p
principal onsshore
oil-producing area. Both basins

s produce oiil and some
e natural gass from conventional Jurrassic
ssic clastic and carbonate reservoiirs which we
ere sourced
d by Jurassic marine sh
hales.
and Trias
The Wes
ssex Basin hosts
h
the 50
00 million bb
bl Wytch Fa
arm oil field,, by far the countrys la
argest
onshore field, wherea
as the Weald Basin has
s several mu ch smaller o
oil fields.
The
T Wessex Basin comp
prises a serie
es of post-Va
ariscan exte
ensional sed
dimentary tro
oughs
and intra
a-basinal hig
ghs, located mainly in Hampshire
H
a
and Dorset and extending into adja
acent
offshore areas. The Weald Basin is a better defined an
nd structurallly simpler syyncline locatted in
d Kent. The
e basins are
e separated by the Ham
mpshire-Diep
ppe High, bu
ut the
Sussex, Surrey, and
boundary
y is indistin
nct and the
e two basins were inte
ermittently cconnected d
during Mesozoic
depositio
on.
They contain rep

peating cycles of Jura
assic shallo
ow-water marine mudrrocks,
sandston
nes, and limestones which are overrlain by larg
gely non-marine sedime
ents of the L
Lower
Cretaceo
ous Wealden
n Group.
For the purpo
ose of this study, the Wessex
W
and
d Weald bassins are con
nsidered a ssingle
hale resourc
ce region. Additional JJurassic sha
ale areas w
with affinity to
o the
Jurassic oil-prone sh
Wessex Basin may exist furtherr to the wes
st (e.g., Brisstol Channel Basin), but these werre not
assessed
d.18
The
T structura
al geology off the Wessex and Weald
d basins is ssomewhat ssimpler than most
other UK
K shale regions, althoug
gh still more
e complex a
and faulted than North American sshale
plays. While
W
not inte
ensively defformed, thes
se basins co
omprise a se
eries of indivvidual sub-basins
separate
ed by norma
al faults.
For
F example
e, the Wesssex Basin ccomprises fo
our smaller half-
grabens (Pewsey, Mere-Portsdo

own, Dorset and
a Channe
el).
Figure XI-12
2 shows that roughly 10,000-ft th ick of Lowe
er Carbonife
erous to Te
ertiary
s present in
n the Weald
d Basin. Lo
ower Jurasssic organic-rich shales rreach
sedimenttary rocks is
depths of about 7,00
00 ft or more
e along the basin
b
axis. I nterior faultss appear to be relativelyy few,
a
5 to 10 km apart, and seemin
ngly allow a mple room for shale de
evelopment. The
spaced about
strata dip
p quite gently
y, only a few
w degrees.
June, 2013
XI-20
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
Figure XI-12: Geolog

gic Map and Generalized
G
Sttructural Crosss-Section of tthe
Wealld Basin. Low
wer Jurassic Shales
S
Occur aat a Depth of aabout 7,000 ft.
Source: DT
TI, 2003
However,
H
close-spaced drilling
d
often reveals the presence o
of additional faults. Inde
eed, a
detailed cross-sectio
on of the so
outhern porttion of the W
Wessex Ba
asin, constra
ained by mu
ultiple
es of closely spaced faults, Figure X
XI-13. The d
depth to the
e Lias (JB) in
n this
wells, shows a serie
offshore setting soutth of Wytch oil field ran
nges from 4,,000 to 5,00
00 ft. Note how each w
well is
n a separate
e fault block. Further drilling is likelyy to discoverr additional ffaults.
located in
The
T Jurassic section com
mprises an alternating
a
ssequence of organic-rich
h mudstoness and
urce rocks a
carbonattes with subo
ordinate san
ndstones. The
T main sou
and potentia
al shale targe
ets in
this regio
on are seve
eral Jurassic
c-age shale
e formations , which are
e mainly oil--prone in de
eeper
settings (immature elsewhere),
e
in contrast with
w the mosstly dry-gas prone Carb
boniferous shales
of northe
ern England and Scotlan
nd.
June, 2013
XI-21
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
Figure XI-13: Structuraal Cross-Section of a 9-Mile Long Portionn of the Wesseex Basin, Locaated Offshoree Just
South of
o Wytch Oil Fiield, Showing Depth to the Lias (JB) Rannging from 4,0000 to 5,000 ftt. Note How E
Each
Well is Located in a Separate Fault Block and Further Drillinng is Likely too Discover Additional Faultss.
Source: Unnderhill and Pateerson, 1998
The
T Lias, Kim
mmeridge, an
nd Oxford clays contain Types II (algal saprope
elic), III (terre
estrial
plant), and II/III (mixed or degraded) kero
ogen source
es. Thermal maturity iss highly variable,
depende
ent upon the
e complex structural evo
olution of th
he basins. In general, thermal ma
aturity
increases
s towards th
he centers of
o the Wess
sex and We
eald basins, where it re
eaches adeq
quate
rank for shale
s
oil exp
ploration.
The
T Lower Lias Clays (L. Jurassic), the
t most im portant sourrce rock in th
he region ass well
as the main
m
shale target, con
nsists of intterbedded sshales, mud
dstones, ma
arls and m
micritic
limestone
es. Lower Lias shales
s contain 0.5% to 2.1%
% TOC, reaching as high as 7%. The
isotopic character
c
of conventiona
al oils in the Weald Basiin (35-42 A
API gravity) m
matches with
h that
of the Lo
ower Liassic
c, indicating close source rock gen
nesis. Orga
anic matter is predomin
nantly
sapropelic oil-prone kerogen de
erived from marine plan
nkton.19 Wh
hile vertical TOC variatiion is
considera
able, the eas
stern Weald
d Basin appe
ears to have lower TOC..
The
T
Arreton 2 well, a key
k
data po
oint located south of th
he Isle of W
Wight monocline,
recorded
d oil-prone th
hermal matu
urity of 0.8%
% to 0.9% R o in the Liass. Similar o
oil-prone ma
aturity
was note
ed at Penshurst in the central
c
Weald Basin. T
Thermal matturity modeling indicatess that
the Lias is within the
e oil window across muc
ch of the We
essex-Chann
nel Basin, pe
erhaps beco
oming
marginally gas-prone
e in the Pew
wsey Sub-Basin.
June, 2013
XI-22
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
Secondary
S
po
otential exists in the Ox
xford (up to 1
12% TOC) a
and Kimmerridge clays ((up to
20% TOC
C) in the Up
pper Jurassic
c. The Upp
per Jurassic Kimmeridge
e Clay consiists of altern
nating
shales (including oil shales), ca
alcareous mudstones, in
nterbedded micritic lime
estones, and
d thin
sandston
nes and silttstones.
Th
he TOC of some thin black shale
es frequentlly reaches 10%,
occasion
nally even 20
0%. Britains first naturral gas well, drilled in 18
895 at Heatthfield in Sussex,
produced
d 1,000 ft3/d from an uns
stimulated Kimmeridge
K
Clay section
n. However, the Kimme
eridge
Clay is considered
c
thermally
t
im
mmature in the
t
Wessexx-Weald region, apart p
possibly from
m the
northernm
most axial part
p
of the Wessex-Channel Basin
n. The Upp
per Jurassicc Oxford Cllay is
organic-rrich, reachin
ng 10% TO
OC, but like
ewise is the
ermally imm
mature.
Co
onsequentlyy, the
Kimmerid
dge and Oxfford clays we
ere excluded
d from our e
evaluation.
Porosity
P
and permeabilitty of the Ju
urassic shalles are like
ely to be hig
gher than in
n the
Carbonife
erous beca
ause they have
h
not been subjecct to as much compa
action.
Jurrassic
mudstones encounte
ered in shallow (<30 m) engineering
g boreholes have porossities in the rrange
30-40%. However, Jurassic shales buried at depths o
of 1-5 km arre likely to h
have much lower
porosity, perhaps 7%
%.
2.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T
Lias sha
ales average about 600 thick (gro
oss) in the Wessex and Weald ba
asins.
Organic-rich thicknes
ss of the mo
ost oil-satura
ated and britttle zones, b
based on analysis of the
e Lias
in the Paris Basin,200 is estimatted at appro
oximately 16
65 ft, Figure
e XI-14. D
Depth to the Lias
t Weald Basin,
B
avera
aging about 5,000 ft dee
ep. TOC off the prospe
ective
reaches 6,000 ft in the
zone is estimated
e
to average 3%
% but could be considerrably higher. Porosity, estimated at 7%,
is likely to be highe
er than olde
er Carbonife
erous shaless, but lowe
er than the 30-40% porosity
w locations near outcro
op.21
measured at shallow
The ccurrent averrage geothe

ermal gradie
ent is
33C/km.
Although
A
not assessed, the
t Jurassic
c Kimmeridg
ge Clay, ano
other potential source ro
ock in
the Wess
sex and Weald basins, is
i notable fo
or containing
g thin limesto
one stringerss. These incclude
coccolithic carbonate
es which arre somewha
at similar to the lithologyy of the carrbonate-rich MidBakken Shale
S
in Norrth Dakota.
June, 2013
XI-23
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
Figure XI-14: Log

g Suite Showing the Jurasssic Lias In the Paris Basin,
as a Proxyy for the Wessex-Weald Shaale Region in tthe UK
Source: M. Mullen, Realm Energy,

E
2011
2.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T Wessex and Weald basins
b
exten
nd over an o
onshore area
a of approxim
mately 3,500
0 mi2.
The pros
spective area
a was estimated to be half
h of total a
area (1,740 m
mi2), with the remaining area
excluded
d due to po
otential faultting, shallow
w depth, ero
osion of the
e Lias, and
d surface acccess
issues. Out
O of a risk
ked shale oil in-place off 17 Bbbl an
nd risked sha
ale gas in-pllace of 8 Tccf, the
risked, te
echnically re
ecoverable re
esources arre estimated to be 0.7 b
billion barrelss of shale oiil and
0.6 Tcf of
o associated
d shale gas, Tables XI-1 and XI-2.
Celtique
C
Ene
ergie has re
eported thatt the Liassicc Shale at their Weald
d Basin lice
enses
ranges from
f
9,000 to 13,000 ft deep witthin a 467--km2 prospe
ective area.
The com
mpany
estimated
d that the Liassic
L
could
d have mean
n recoverab
ble shale oil and shale g
gas resourcces of
125 millio
on barrels off oil and 10 Tcf
T of shale gas.
June, 2013
XI-24
XI. United Kingdom

K
2.4
EIA/ARI W
Recent
R
Activity
Privately
P
held
d Celtique Energie
E
holds licenses in three are
eas of the U
UK: the Che
eshire
Basin, Ea
ast Midlands
s, and the Weald
W
Basin. In the We
eald Basin, C
Celtique hass a 50% sha
are in
licenses covering 1,000 sq km
m. The com
mpany claim s to have unconventio
onal oil and
d gas
potential in the Jura
assic Liassic
c shales, as well as con
nventional p
potential in tthe Triassic. No
shale drilling has bee
en reported.
REFERE
ENCES
New Scienntist Fracking Risk is Exaggeratted. 11 Januaryy 2012.
Selley, R.C
C., 1987. British Shale Gas Pottential Scrutinizeed. Oil and Gass Journal, June 15, p. 62-64.
Selley, R.C
C., 2012. UK Shale
S
Gas The Story So Far. Marine and Petrroleum Geology, vol. 31, p. 100--109.
UK Departtment of Trade and

a Industry, 20003. The Hydroccarbon Prospecttivity of Britains Onshore Basinss. Report prepaared by
British Geeological Survey,, 93 p.
Smith, N., Turner, P., andd Williams, G.. 2010.

2
UK Dataa and Analysis foor Shale Gas Prrospectivity. In: Vining, B.A. Picckering,
S.C., eds.., Petroleum Geoology: From Matture Basins to New Frontiers. P
Proceedings of thhe 7th Petroleum
m Geology Confeerence,
Geologicaal Society of London, p. 1087-10098.
UK Departtment of Climatee Change (DECC

C), December 2010;
2
updated 20012. The Uncoonventional Hydrrocarbon Resouurces of
Britains Onshore
O
Basins Shale Gas. Report
R
prepared by the British G
Geological Survey, 40 p.
Stephensoon, M., Geological Society, Londdon, Presentationn on Shale Gas,, 60 minutes.
Waters, C.N.,
C
Browne, M.A.E.,
M
Dean, M.T., and Powell, J.H., 2007. Lithostratigraaphical Framew
work for Carbonniferous
Successioons of Great Brittain (Onshore). British Geologiccal Survey, Reseearch Report RR
R/07/01, 60 p.
De Pater, D.J. and Baisch, S., 2011. Geoomechanical Stuudy of Bowland S

Shale Seismicityy: Synthesis Repport. Report prrepared
for Cuadriilla Resources, Ltd.,
L November 2,
2 71 p.
10
Green, C.A.
C and Styles, P., 2011. Prreese Hall Shalee Gas Fracturinng Review & Reecommendations for Induced S
Seismic
Mitigation. Report for Cuuadrilla Resourcees Ltd., April 20112, 26 p.
11
The Royyal Society and Royal Academyy of Engineering, 2012. Shalle Gas Extractioon in the UK: a Review of Hyydraulic
Fracturingg. June, 76 p.
12
Dart Enerrgy, Corporate Presentation,

P
March 1, 2013.
13
Underhilll, J.R., Monaghhan, A.A., and Browne, M.A.E

E., 2008. Conntrols on Structtural Styles, Baasin Developmeent and
Petroleum
m Prospectivity inn the Midland Vaalley of Scotland. Marine and P
Petroleum Geoloogy, vol. 25, p. 10000-1022.
14
Waters, C.N.,
C Browne, M.A.E., Jones, N.S
S., and Somerville, I.D., 2012. Midland Valley oof Scotland. Chhapter 14, 10 p.
15
AJ Lucas Group Limited, News Release, September 22, 2011.

2
16
Dart Enerrgy, Quarterly Reeport, June 30, 2012,

2
18 p.
17
IGas Energy, Corporate Presentation,

P
Junne 2012, 22 p.
18
Underhill,, J.R. and Paterrson, S., 1998. Genesis of Tecctonic Inversion Structures: Seissmic Evidence ffor the Developm
ment of
Key Strucctures along the PurbeckIsle of Wight Disturbannce. Journal of the Geological S
Society, Londonn, vol. 155, p. 975-992.
June, 2013
XI-25
XI. United Kingdom

K
EIA/ARI W
19
Stoneley, R. 1992. Review of the Habitaat of Petroleum in the Wessex B

Basin: Implicationns for Exploration. Proceedingss of the
Ussher Soociety, vol. 8, p. 1-6.
20
Mullen, M.,
M Realm Energyy, 2011. Shale Oil The Next Big
B Play for Tighht Oil? Januaryy 30, 27 p.
21
Smith et al.,
a 2010.
June, 2013
XI-26
XII. Spain
EIA/ARI W
XII. SPAIN
S
SUMMA
ARY
The
T Basque--Cantabrian Basin, locatted in northe
ern Spain, ccontains a sseries of org
ganicrich Jurassic-age sha
ales with potential for we
et gas and ccondensate, Figure XII-1
1. In addition
n, the
Ebro (So
olsona) Basin, located to
o the south and
a east of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin, mayy also
have loca
al potential for
f shale gas
s and oil. However, the
e shale in the
e Ebro Basin
n has TOC b
below
the 2% cut-off
c
used in this study and thus wa
as not quanttitatively asssessed.
Figure XII--1. Selected Shale
S
Gas andd Oil Basins off Spain
Souurce: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
XIII-1
XII. Spain
EIA/ARI W
The
T
Jurassic
c-age (Liassic) marine shale
s
in the
e Basque-Ca
antabrian Ba
asin contain
ns an
estimated
d 42 Tcf of
o risked sh
hale gas res
source in-p lace, with a
about 8 Tccf as the rissked,
ble shale ga
as resource, Table XII--1. In addition, the Jurrassic Lias S
Shale
contains nearly 3 billlion barrels of risked oiil/condensatte in-place, w
with about 0
0.1 billion ba
arrels
as the ris
sked, technic
cally recoverrable shale oil
o resource,, Table XII-2
2.
Table XIII-1. Shale Gaas Reservoir Properties
P
and
d
Resourrces of Spain
S
Slightly
Overpress.
Average TOC (wt. %)

A
T
Thermal
Maturity (% Ro)
C Content
Clay
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
R
Reservoir
Pressurre
2,100
600
150
8,000 - 14,500
11,000
PhysicalExtent
P
Prospective
Area (mi )
Orrganically Rich
T
Thickness
(ft)
Neet
Intterval
D
Depth
(ft)
Avverage
Jurassic
L. - M. Jurassic
Marine
3.0%
1.15%
Medium
G Phase
Gas
Wet Gas
2
G Concentration
GIP
n (Bcf/mi )
49.8
R
Risked
GIP (Tcf)
41.8
R
Risked
Recoverab
ble (Tcf)
8.4
Resource
BasicData
(6,620 mi )
Shale Forrmation
Geologicc Age
E
Reservoir
Properties
BasicData
B
Basque-Cantabrian
n
Basin/Gro
oss Area
Resource
Tablee XII-2. Shale Oil Reservoirr Properties annd

Resoources of Spaain
Source: ARI, 2013
Basque-Cantab
brian
Gross Area
Basin/G
(6,620 mi )
Jurassic
L. - M. Jurasssic
Marine
Shale Formation
F
Geolo
ogic Age
2

Organically Rich
h
Thickness (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
Reservoir Presssure
2,100
600
150
8,000 - 14,5000
11,000
Slightly Overpreess.
Average TOC (wt.

( %)
Clay Content
3.0%
1.15%
Medium
Condensatee
Oil Phase
2
OIP Concentraation (MMbbl/mi )
3.4
Risked OIP (B bbl)
2.9
Risked Recoveerable (B bbl)
0.14
Source: A RI, 2013
DUCTION
INTROD
The
T
Jurassic
c-age rocks of the Basq
que-Cantabrrian Basin ccrop out in the eastern
n and
western portion of th
he basin, prroviding acc
cess to valua
able informa
ation on the
e geologic se
etting
ervoir properrties of these shales. Analysis
A
of rrock sample
es indicates Type I/II org
ganic
and rese
matter with TOC valu
ues (in imma
ature sample
es) of up to 2
25%.1
The
T
shales in
n the Lowerr Jurassic Comino
C
and Castillo Pe
edroso forma
ations (Toarrcianand Plie
ensbachian-a
age) were deposited under deep
p marine cconditions fo
ollowing tecctonic
extension
n. The sha
ales are inte
erbedded within limesto
ones and ma
arls which, much like in the
Bakken Shale
S
of the Williston Ba
asin (USA), may provide
e additional fflow and sto
orage capaciity for
oil and ga
as expulsed from the ma
aturing shale
es.1,2
June, 2013
XIII-2
XII. Spain
1.
EIA/ARI W
BASQUE-C
B
ANTABRIA
AN BASIN
The
T Basque-Cantabrian Basin coverrs a large 6 ,620-mi2 are
ea along the
e northern border
of Spain. The basin

n is bounded
d by faults and
a thrusts o
on the east, west and ssouth and b
by the
an Sea on th
he north. Th
he Basque-C
Cantabrian B
Basin contaiins a sequen
nce of forma
ations
Cantabria
that hold organic-rich
h shales of Silurian-Ordo
S
ovician, Jura
assic and Crretaceous ag
ge. Of these
e, the
Jurassic (Liassic) sha
ales appear to offer the most potenttial.
1.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
Jurassic
J
Sh
hales.
The
e Basque-C
Cantabrian B
ains a series of regio
onally
Basin conta
significan
nt, thick blac
ck shales of Jurassic-age, including the Lias Sh
hale at the base of the L
Lower
Jurassic.. We have mapped
m
a 2,100-mi2 high
her quality p
prospective a
area for the Lias Shale iin the
western portion of th
his geologica
ally complex
x basin. We
e used inform
he erosion o
of the
mation on th
ale on the north
n
and south
s
and th
he 400-m g
gross Jurasssic interval to establish
h our
Lias Sha
prospective area, Fig
gure XII-2.3
Figure XII-2. Prospeective Area off Jurassic Shaale, Basque-C
Cantabrian Bassin
Soource: ARI, 20133
June, 2013
XIII-3
XII. Spain
EIA/ARI W
A series of in
nterbedded black
b
shales
s and carbo nates existss within the Jurassic inte
erval.
Figure XII-3 provides
s two region
nal cross-sec
ctions, A to A and B to B, identifying the sequ
uence
sic black shales in the prospective area of the
e basin. Fig
gure XII-2, shown previo
ously,
of Jurass
provides the location
n of these tw
wo cross-sec
ctions and id
dentifies the key Cadialsso-1 well nea
ar the
south-we
estern end of cross-sectiion B to B.
Area of Basquue-Cantabriann Basin
Figure XII-33. Cross-Secttions Through
h Prospective A
Sourcce: Quesada, S.,, 2005.
June, 2013
XIII-4
XII. Spain
1.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Jurassic
J
(Lia
assic) Shale
es. The Ca
adialos-1 we ll (shown on
n Cross-Secction B-B), d
drilled
to 12,000
0 ft, provide
ed valuable information on the org
ganic-rich Lia
as Shale. T
The shale h
has a
gross thickness of 280
2
ft with a net thickne
ess of 30 to
o 50 ft, TOC
C values of 2% to 4% a
and a
thermal maturity
m
(Ro) of 1.2%. The well also intersectted a shallow
wer Jurassicc Shale at a
about
9,500 ft with a gross
s thickness of 400 ft an
nd a net thi ckness of a
about 100 ft. This shallower
Jurassic Shale has a TOC of abo
out 2% and a thermal m
maturity (Ro) o
of 1.1%.
Figures XII-4 and XII-5 provide
p
additional inform
mation on the TOC and thermal ma
aturity
or the Juras
ssic (Pliensb
bachian) Lia
as Shale in the northerrn portion off the prospe
ective
values fo
area nea
ar the Polientte-Tudanca Trough.4,5,6
Figu
ure XII-4. TOC
C Values in the Pliensbachiian Interval off the Jurassic
June, 2013
XIII-5
XII. Spain
EIA/ARI W
Figu
ure XII-5. TOC
C Values in the Pliensbachiian Interval off the Jurassic
1.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T
entire pa
ackage of Jurassic
J
sha
ales, includin
ng the Lias Shale, with
hin the 2,100-mi2
prospective area of the Basque

e-Cantabrian
n Basin hass a resource
e concentra
ation of abou
ut 50
Bcf/mi2 of
o wet shale gas and 3 million
m
barrels
s/mi2 of shalle condensa
ate.
The
T
risked re
esource in-p
place within the prospecctive area iss estimated at 42 Tcf o
of wet
shale gas and 3 billiion barrels of
o shale con
ndensate. B
Based on mo
ervoir prope
erties,
oderate rese
mate risked, technically
t
re
ecoverable resources
r
frrom these Ju
urassic shale
es of 8 Tcf o
of wet
we estim
shale gas
s and 0.1 billlion barrels of shale con
ndensate.
June, 2013
XIII-6
XII. Spain
1.4
EIA/ARI W
Recent
R
Activity
Several
S
companies hold leases and
d are active
ely exploring
g the Jurasssic Shales in the
Basque-C
Cantabrian Basin.
B
For example,
e
Sa
an Leon Ene
ergy (who accquired Realm Energy and its
oil and gas concessions in Spain
n) has two concession
c
a
areas, totalin
ng over 210,000 acres iin the
basin. In
n addition, BNK
B
Petroleum has a 38
80,000-acre
e Jurassic Sh
hale concesssion in Castillo y
Leon and
d hopes to spud an exploration well in this area during 1Q 2
2013, pendin
ng approval.7
HEYCO
H
Enerrgy and Cam
mbria Europe
e, along with
h the Basqu
ue Energy Board, annou
unced
a USD $138
$
million exploration program in
n 2011.8 No
o further info
formation is available on the
activities or results of this explora
ation program.
June, 2013
XIII-7
XII. Spain
2.
EIA/ARI W
OTHER
O
SHA
ALES OF THE
T
BASQ
QUE-CANTA
ABRIAN BA
ASIN
Ordovician
O
and
a
Silurian
n Shales. The presen ce of the O
Ordovician an
nd Silurian sshale
interval, a major sou

urce rock in the Middle East and No
orth Africa, h
has been well establish
hed in
nd boreholes. To furthe
er assess th
he resource potential off these shalles, a
Spain in outcrops an
2 new sam
mples of the
e Lower Silu
urian Formig
goso Forma
ation and M
Middle Ordovvician
total of 24
Sueve Formation
F
was
w
gathered
d from twelve differentt outcrop lo
ocations in tthe province
es of
Asturias and Leon du
uring May 20
010. 9
Nineteen
N
of the twenty-ffour sample
es had TOC
C values lesss than 1% and no sa
ample
recorded
d a TOC ab
bove 2%. In
n addition, the remainin
ng kerogen type was m
mostly inertinite.9
Based on
o the resultts of this geochemical work, the iinvestigatorss concluded
d that the L
Lower
Paleozoic (Ordovicia
an and Silurian) shales in this part o
of the basin have poor p
potential for sshale
gas and oil. As such
h, these shalles were exc
cluded from further asse
essment.9
Cretaceous
C
Shales.
The thick Cretaceouss-age (Albia

an-Cenoman
nian) Valma
aseda
Formatio
on contains the
t Enara Shale,
S
which
h hold an esstimated 185
5 Bm3 (6.5 T
Tcf) of shale
e gas
based on
n a study of 13 wells in the
t Gran En
nara field in northern Spain. A shale
e gas explorration
program has been prroposed.10 However,
H
no
o details in th
he TOC or o
other propertties accompa
anied
al shale ga
as assessm
ment.
this initia
San Leon Enerrgys separrate charactterization of the
Valmaseda Formatio
on and the Enara Shale
e indicates tthat the TO
OC, while up
p to 3.6% lo
ocally,
averages
s only about 1%. As suc
ch, these shales were exxcluded from
m further asssessment.
3.
EBRO
E
BASIN
The
T
Ebro (Solson) Basin is located
d to the sou
uth and easst of the Ba
asque-Canta
abrian
Basin in the northea

ast portion of
o Spain. Th
he shale po tential in thiis basin hass been evalu
uated
n 30 older pe
etroleum we
ells, twelve of
o which pene
etrated the P
Paleozoic se
ection. The wells
based on
identified
d a shale se
equence at 1,650
1
to 4,00
00 m depth , with a thicckness of 50
0 to 100 m a
and a
thermal maturity
m
rang
ging from 1%
% to 2% Ro, placing the
ese shales in
n the wet to dry gas win
ndow.
Howeverr, because the TOC of these
t
shales averages only about 1%, the Paleozoic shalles in
4
the Ebro Basin were excluded fro
om further assessment.
a
June, 2013
XIII-8
EIA/ARI W
XII. Spain
A series of yo
ounger Eoce
ene-age rese
ervoir interva
als also conttain thermally mature sh
hales.
These mostly
m
Middle
e Eocene shales are de
eposited ass thin layers of shale interbedded w
within
low-porosity sandsto
ones. Again
n, however, the TOC va
alues in these Eocene shales averraged
n 1%, therefo
ore these sh
hales were excluded from
m further asssessment.4
less than
REFERE
ENCES
Gibbons, W.
W and Moreno, T., 2002. The Geology of Spaain. The Geologgical Society of LLondon, ISBN 1--86239-110-6.
Surez-Ruuiz, I. and Praddo, J.G., 1995. Characterizatioon of Jurassic Bllack Shales from
m Asturias (Nortthern Spain): Evvolution
and Petrooleum Potential. Composition, Geochemistry
G
annd Conversion oof Oil Shales, NA
ATO ASI Series Volume 455, 19995, pp
387-393.
Quesada, S., Robles, S. and Rosales, I., 2005. Depositional Archittecture and TraansgressiveReggressive Cycless within
Liassic Baackstepping Carrbonate Ramps in the BasqueC
Cantabrian Basinn, Northern Spaain. Journal of tthe Geological S
Society,
London, vol.
v 162.
San Leon Energy, Investor Presentation, 2012.

2
Fraguasa, A, and Erbab, E., 2010. Biom

metric Analyses as
a a Tool for the Differentiation oof Two Coccolithh Species of the Genus
Crepidolitthus (Pliensbachhian, Lower Juraassic) in the Basque-Cantabriann Basin (Northeern Spain). Marrine Micropaleonntology,
vol. 77, Isssues 34, Deceember, p. 1251336.
Quesada, S., Robles, S. and

a Dorronsoro, C. 1996. Characterization of thhe Liassic Sourcce Rock and Its Correlation with the Oil
of the Ayyoluengo Field on the Basis of
o Gas Chromattography and C
Carbon Isotope Analyses (Basqque-Cantabrian Basin,
Spain). Geogaceta, vol. 20 (1), p. 176-179, ISSN: 02136683X.
BNK Petrooleum Investors presentation, 20011.
Oil & Gas Journal, 2011. Thick Shale Gaas Play Emerginng in Spains Canntabrian Basin, May 12.
Maio, F., Aramburu,

A
C. annd Underwood, J., 2011. Geochemistry of Orddovician and Silurian Black Shaales, Cantabriann Zone,
Asturias and
a Leon Provinnces, Northwestt. AAPG Searchh and Discoveryy Article #50529, posted Decem
mber 19, 2011, aadapted
from postter presentation at AAPG Internaational Conferennce and Exhibitioon, Milan, Italy, O
October 23-26, 22011.
10
Platts, 20011. Spanish Basque

B
Region Reports
R
185 Bcm
m of Shale Gas Finds in Alava.. 17Oct2011/919 am EDT/13199 GMT,
www.platts.com accessedd March 7, 20133.
June, 2013
XIII-9
XIII. Northern and Western Europe
XIII. NORTHERN AND WESTERN EUROPE

SUMMARY
Numerous shale gas basins and formations exist in Northern and Western Europe. This
Chapter discusses five of the more prominent of these shale basins and formations, namely: the
Paris and South-East basins of France, the Lower Saxony Basin of Germany, the West
Netherland Basin of the Netherlands, and the Alum Shales underlying Scandinavia, Figure XIII1. Please see individual Chapters for United Kingdom (Chapter XI) and Spain (Chapter VII) for
discussion of the other shale basins of Northern and Western Europe.
Figure XIII-1. Prospective Shale Basins of Northern and Western Europe
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
XIII-1
We estimate risked shale gas in-place for the five Northern and Western European shale
basins addressed by this study of 1,165 Tcf, with 221 Tcf as the risked, technically recoverable
shale gas resource.
In addition, we estimate that these five shale basins contain 190 billion
barrels of risked shale oil in-place, with 8.3 billion barrels as the risked, technically recoverable
shale oil resource, Table XIII-1.
Table XIII-1. Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resources of Northern and Western Europe
Risked
Shale Oil Resources
In-Place
(Tcf)
Technically
Recoverable
(Tcf)
In-Place
(B bbl)
Technically
Recoverable
(B bbl)
Total
23.8
666.1
689.9
1.9
127.3
129.3
38.0
79.5
117.5
1.52
3.18
4.70
Total
37.0
37.0
7.4
7.4
0.0
0.0
0.00
0.00
77.7
1.8
79.5
16.9
0.1
17.0
10.6
3.2
13.8
0.53
0.13
0.66
93.7
50.6
6.8
151.1
14.8
10.1
1.0
25.9
47.1
6.3
5.4
58.8
2.35
0.32
0.27
2.94
158.6
48.9
207.5
1,165.1
31.7
9.8
41.5
221.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
190.0
0.00
0.00
0.00
8.29
Basin/Formation
1. Paris Basin (France)
L. Jurassic Lias
2. South-East Basin (France)
L. Jurassic Lias
3. Lower Saxony Basin (Germany)
Toarcian Posidonia
Wealden
Total
4. West Netherlands Basin (Netherlands)
Namurian Epen
Namurian Geverik
Toarcian Posidonia
Total
5. Alum Shale
Denmark
Sweden
Total
Total
June, 2013
Risked
Shale Gas Resources
XIII-2
1.
PARIS BASIN
1.1
Introduction
The Paris Basin of France is a large 65,000-mi2 intra-cratonic basin that encompasses
most of the northern half of the country, Figure XIII-2. The basin is bounded on the east by the
Vosges Mountains, on the south by the Central Massif, on the west by the Armorican Massif
and, for the purposes of this study, by the English Channel on the north. The Paris Basin is
filled mostly with Mesozoic and Paleozoic rocks which reach 10,000 feet of thickness in the
center of the basin but are exposed along its margins.
Figure XIII-2. Outline and Structure of Paris Basin
Source: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
XIII-3
The Paris Basin and its two distinct shale gas and oil formations - - the Lias Shale and
the Permian-Carboniferous Shale - - hold 690 Tcf of risked shale gas in-place, with 129 Tcf as
the risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource, Table XIII-2. In addition, the Paris Basin
and its two shale formations hold 118 billion barrels of risked shale oil in-place, with 4.7 billion
barrels as the risked, technically recoverable shale oil resource, Table XIII-3.
Table XIII-2. Shale Gas Reservoir Properties and Resources of the Paris Basin
BasicData
(61,000 mi )
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Lacustrine
Lias Shale
L. Jurassic
Marine
PhysicalExtent
5,670
Organically Rich
350
Thickness (ft)
Net
105
Interval
4,000 - 10,000
Depth (ft)
Average
7,000
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Paris
Basin/Gross Area
11,960
400
160
6,000 - 8,000
7,000
17,940
250
83
9,000 - 11,000
10,000
17,940
500
100
12,000 - 16,400
14,000
Reservoir Pressure
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Average TOC (wt. %)

Clay Content
4.5%
0.85%
Medium
9.0%
0.85%
Medium
9.0%
1.15%
Medium
9.0%
1.60%
Medium
Dry Gas
Gas Phase
Assoc. Gas
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
8.4
12.8
46.2
61.3
Risked GIP (Tcf)
23.8
48.9
265.1
352.0
1.9
3.9
53.0
70.4
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XIII-3. Shale Oil Reservoir Properties and Resources of the Paris Basin
June, 2013
Paris
Basin/Gross Area
(61,000 mi )
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Lias Shale
L. Jurassic
Marine

5,670
Organically Rich
350
Thickness (ft)
Net
105
Interval
4,000 - 10,000
Depth (ft)
Average
7,000
Lacustrine
11,960
400
160
6,000 - 8,000
7,000
17,940
250
83
9,000 - 11,000
10,000
Reservoir Pressure
Normal
Normal
Normal
Average TOC (wt. %)

Clay Content
4.5%
0.85%
Medium
9.0%
0.85%
Medium
9.0%
1.15%
Medium
Oil
Oil
Condensate
13.4
20.4
0.2
Risked OIP (B bbl)
38.0
78.3
1.2
1.52
3.13
0.05
Oil Phase
2
XIII-4
1.2
Geologic Setting
The Paris Basin contains two shale plays addressed by this resource study - - the Lower
Jurassic Lias Shale and the Permian-Carboniferous Shale, Figure XIII-31. The Jurassic Lias
Shale is composed of three distinct organic-rich black shales - - the Hettangian-Sinemurian
(Lower Lias) Shale, the Pliensbachian (Middle Lias) Shale, and the younger Toarcian (Schistes
Carton) Shale which is equivalent to the Posidonia Shale in Germany and the Netherlands.
Together these three shales are as much as 650 feet thick in the central part of the Paris Basin.2
For the purpose of this shale resource assessment, we have grouped these three shales into a
single shale assessment interval called the Lias (Liassic) Shale.
Figure XIII-4 provides an east to west cross-section for the Lias Shale across the Paris
Basin.2 (The location of the cross-section is provided on Figure XIII-2). Basin modeling of the
Lias Shale, in a smaller 3,640-mi2 study area of the Paris Basin, indicated that this composite
shale interval, primarily the Toarcian (Schistes Carton) Shale, has generated 81 billion barrels
of hydrocarbons.3 Extrapolating the smaller basin modeling study area to the full Lias Shale
prospective area in the Paris Basin of 5,670 mi2 and assuming that 30% of the generated
hydrocarbon still remains in the source rock, we estimate that 38 billion barrels of hydrocarbons
remain in the Lias Shale.
The deeper Permian-Carboniferous unconventional gas play is located in the eastern
and southern portions of the Paris Basin, particularly in the Lorraine Sub-basin. This area
contains a thick package of tight sands, shales and methane-charged coals. This resource
assessment will address the organic-rich shales of the Permian-Carboniferous interval,
including the Lower Permian Autunian Unit, the Upper Carboniferous (Late Mississippian and
Early Pennsylvanian) Namurian Unit, as well as the Upper Carboniferous (Middle and
Pennsylvanian) inter-bedded bituminous shales in the Stephanian and Westphalian sections.
Figure XIII-5 provides an east to west cross-section across the Paris Basin, identifying
the Permian-Carboniferous Shale in the eastern portion of the basin.1 The shales have fluvial
and lacustrine deposition raising concern with respect to higher clay content and less brittle
reservoir rock. The kerogen in the shales is a mixed Type II/III.
June, 2013
XIII-5
Figure XIII-3. East Paris Basin Stratigraphic Column
LiasShales
Permian
Carboniferous
Shales
Source: Chungkham, 2009
June, 2013
XIII-6
Figure XIII-4. East-West Cross-Section of Paris Basin Highlighting Lias (Liassic) Shales
Figure XIII-5. East-West Cross-Section of Paris Basin Highlighting Permian-Carboniferous Shales
Source: Chungkham, 2009
June, 2013
XIII-7
We have concentrated our assessment on the Lower Permian Autunian and Upper
Carboniferous Namurian shales. The substantial presence of less brittle coals in the Upper
Carboniferous Westphalian and Stephanian may hinder successful application of hydraulic
stimulation in these shales. In addition, the organic content (TOC) of the inter-bedded shales in
the Westphalian and Stephanian is reported to range from 0.5 to 1.4%, below the minimum
TOC criterion used in this study.4
Based on information in the technical literature, we have used depth as a proxy for
thermal maturity (Ro) for establishing the dry, wet gas/condensate and oil windows for this shale
play. The dry gas window is represented by burial depth between 3,350 m and 4,750 m; the
wet gas/condensate window is represented by burial depth between 2,450 m and 3,350 m, and
the oil window is represented by burial depth between 1,200 m and 2,450 m, Figure XIII-6. 5
Figure XIII-6. Relationship of Thermal Maturity and Burial Depth, Paris Basin
Source: Elixir, 2011
June, 2013
XIII-8
1.3

Lias Shale. We have mapped a 5,670-mi2 oil prospective area for the Lias Shale based
on the 435o C Tmax contour area for the higher organic content Toarcian (Schistes Carton)
Shale. The 435o C Tmax contour (oil window) for the deeper Hettangian-Sinemurian Shale
underlies the 435oC Tmax contour of the Toarcian (Schistes Carton) Shale, Figure XIII-7.
The depth of the Lias Shale ranges from 4,000 feet to 10,000 feet in the basin center,
averaging 7,000 feet. The gross thickness of the shale ranges from 300 to 400 feet, with 105
feet of net organic-rich shale over the prospective area. The thermal maturity of the shale in the
prospective area (bounded by the 435o C Tmax contour) ranges from 0.7% to 1.0%, placing the
Lias Shale in the oil window.1 The TOC of the shale, while highest in the Toarcian and lowest in
the Sinemurian, averages 4.5%.
The shales are assumed to be normally pressured, given the presence of vertical
fractures (and higher vertical permeability). The shale appears to be medium in clay content,
lower in calcite (10% to 30%) and quartz (5% to 20%).
Permian-Carboniferous Shale. We have mapped a 17,940-mi2 prospective area for
dry gas and wet gas/condensate for the Permian-Carboniferous Shale and a more limited
11,960-mi2 prospective area for oil. For this, we used the 200 m gross isopach on the north and
west and the boundaries of the Paris Basin on the south and east, Figure XIII-8.1
Approximately 50 wells provide control for this gross isopach. We assumed that the shallower
oil interval extended across two-thirds of the larger prospective area.
Until recently, information on the Permian Carboniferous Shale was limited. Fortunately,
Elixir Petroleum has undertaken an exploration program on their Moselle Permit in the Paris
Basin and has provided information on their program.
We have combined this data with
information from the technical literature for the reservoir properties of the PermianCarboniferous Shales.
The depth of the Permian Carboniferous Shale ranges from 6,000 feet to 16,400 feet,
averaging 7,000 feet in the oil window, 10,000 feet in the wet gas/condensate window, and
14,200 feet in the dry gas window. A significant portion of the Upper Carboniferous Namurian
section is at depths below 5,000 m and thus excluded from this resource assessment.
June, 2013
XIII-9
Figure XIII-7. Prospective Area for Lower Jurassic Lias Shale, Paris Basin
Source: ARI, 2013
Figure XIII-8. Prospective Area for Permian-Carboniferous Shale, Paris Basin
Source: ARI, 2013

June, 2013
XIII-10
While the gross interval in the prospective area is quite thick, much of this interval
contains lower TOC rocks. We estimate an average organic-rich net shale pay for the Permian
Carboniferous Shale of 83 to 160 feet, using low to moderate net to gross ratios. The TOC of
the shales ranges from 2% to 15%, averaging 9%. The reservoir is normally pressured.
1.4
Resource Assessment
Lias Shale. The Lias Shale of the Paris Basin contains a resource concentration of 13
million barrels/mi2 of oil plus associated gas. We estimate risked oil in-place for the Lias Shale
of 38 billion barrels, with 1.9 billion barrels as the risked, technically recoverable shale oil
resource. In addition, we estimate risked associated shale gas in-place of 24 Tcf, with 2 Tcf as
the risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource, Tables XIII-2 and XIII-3.
Permian-Carboniferous Shale. Given the limited data on the extent and distribution of
the individual shale units within the prospective area, we view the resource assessment of the
Permian-Carboniferous Shale as preliminary. The Permian-Carboniferous Shale of the Paris
Basin contains resource concentrations of 61 Bcf/mi2 in the dry gas window, 46 Bcf/mi2 in the
wet gas/condensate window, and 20 million barrels/mi2 in the oil window.
We estimate risked
gas in-place for the Permian-Carboniferous Shale of 666 Tcf, with a risked, technically
recoverable shale gas resource of 127 Tcf (including associated gas). In addition, we estimate
risked shale oil/condensate in-place of 80 billion barrels, with 3.2 billion barrels as the risked,
technically recoverable shale oil resource, Tables XIII-2 and XIII-3.
1.5
Recent Activity
Most of the past exploration in the Paris Basin has targeted the Jurassic-age Lias Shale
oil play. However, some firms are beginning to acquire acreage in the eastern portions of the
Paris Basin where the Permian-Carboniferous Shale formation is the target. The 2,070 mi2
Moselle Permit and its Permian-Carboniferous resource interval, first granted to East Paris
Petroleum Development Corp, has been acquired by Elixir Petroleum. While the terms of the
lease do not require the company to drill any wells, Elixir has publically stated that it intends to
investigate the unconventional gas potential (tight gas, CBM and shale gas) on its lease.5
June, 2013
XIII-11
2.
SOUTH-EAST BASIN
2.1
Introduction
The South-East Basin is the thickest sedimentary basin in France, containing up to 10
km of Mesozoic to Cenozoic sediments. The basin is bounded on the east and south by the
Alpine thrust belt and on the west by the Massif Central, an uplifted section of the Paleozoic
basement, Figure XIII-9.
Local oil and gas seeps discovered in the 1940s encouraged
hydrocarbon exploration in the South-East Basin. However, despite the drilling of 150 wells in
the onshore and offshore portions of the basin, no significant oil and gas deposits have been
found. Recent re-evaluations of the basins potential have stimulated a further look at this
complex basin and its shale formations.
Figure XIII-9. Outline of South-East Basin of France
Source: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
XIII-12
We estimate that the South-East Basin contains 37 Tcf of risked shale gas in-place, with
7 Tcf as the risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource, Table XIII-4. We have limited
our shale resource assessment to the western portion of the basin and its deep dry gas
potential area. In addition, given considerable uncertainty as to the location of the higher TOC
(>2%) portions of the basin, we have assumed that only 30% of the overall dry gas prospective
area will meet the 2% TOC criterion used by the study.
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XIII-4. Shale Gas Reservoir Properties and Resources for the South-East Basin
2.2
South-East
Basin/Gross Area
(17,800 mi )
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
2

Organically Rich
Thickness (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
Lias Shale
L. Jurassic
Marine
3,780
525
158
8,200 - 16,400
12,300
Reservoir Pressure
Normal
Average TOC (wt. %)

Clay Content
2.0%
1.50%
Medium
Gas Phase
Dry Gas
2
54.4
Risked GIP (Tcf)
37.0
7.4
Geologic Setting
This study examined the shale gas potential of two formations in the South-East Basin,
the Upper Jurassic Terres Niores black shale, and the Lower Jurassic Liassic black shale,
Figure XIII-10.
These shales are composed of Type II marine organic matter and were
deposited during a time of subsidence and rifting, when the Liguro-Piemontais ocean covered
portions of what is now southern France6. However, the Upper Jurassic Terres Niores black
shale has low TOC, not exceeding 1%.6
As such, this shale was excluded from further
assessment. The Lower Jurassic Lias Shale, while thermally mature and present in much of the
South-East Basin contains a wide spectrum of TOC values, ranging from 0.4% to 4.1%, Figure
XIII-11.7 Because of the presence of some higher TOC values, we have included the Lias Shale
in our resource assessment but have highly risked this shale play.
June, 2013
XIII-13
Figure XIII-10. South-East Basin Stratigraphic Column
Source: Vially, R., 2010.
June, 2013
XIII-14
Figure XIII-11. Generalized South-East Basin Cross Section
.
We have mapped an unrisked, 4,000-mi2 area prospective for shale gas in the eastern
portion of the South-East Basin, Figure XIII-12. The prospective area is bounded on the west
by the dry gas maturity limit, on the south by the onshore portion of basin, and on the east by
the available data on the TOC of the Lias Shale.
2.3

Uplifting along the western margin of the South-East Basin has brought the Lias Shale to
a more favorable depth for exploration. Depth to the Lias Shale ranges from 3,300 feet to
16,300 feet deep over the basin, with most of the shale in the prospective area at an average
depth of 12,300 feet, Figure XIII-12. The organic-rich gross interval of the shale is estimated at
525 feet with 158 feet of net shale. Total organic content (TOC) in the risked prospective area
averages 2%. Thermal maturity in the Lias Shale increases with depth, ranging from 1.3% Ro in
the shallower western areas to over 1.7% Ro in the deeper central area. Average vitrinite
reflectance (Ro) over the prospective area is 1.5%.
June, 2013
XIII-15
Figure XIII-12. Prospective Area for the Lias Shale, South-East Basin of France
Source: ARI, 2013
2.4
Resource Assessment
We estimate a moderate resource concentration in the dry gas prospective area of the
Lias Shale, South-East Basin of 54 Bcf/mi2. The risked shale gas in-place is estimated at 37
Tcf, with 7 Tcf as the risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource.
2.5
Recent Activity
A number of firms are beginning to examine the shale gas potential of the South-East
Basin; the initial permit award deadline was delayed due to the large numbers of applications.
The French Ministry of Energy and the Environment awarded several exploration permits,
covering over 4,000 mi2, to companies interested in investing in the drilling and exploration of
shale formations in the South-East Basin of France.
June, 2013
XIII-16
3.
LOWER SAXONY BASIN: GERMANY
3.1
Introduction
The Lower Saxony Basin, covering an area of 10,000 mi2 and located in northwestern
Germany, is filled with Jurassic- to Cretaceous-age marine and lacustrine rocks, Figure XIII-13.
The basin contains two petroleum systems, the Jurassic and its Posidonia (Toarcian) Shale
source rock and the Lower Cretaceous and its Wealden (Berriasian) Shale source rock. The
Posidonia Shale is present throughout the Lower Saxony Basin while the Wealden Shale exists
primarily in its western portion of the basin.
Figure XIII-13. Outline Map for Lower Saxony Basin, Germany.
Source: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
XIII-17
For the Lower Saxony Basin of Germany, we estimate risked in-place shale gas of 80
Tcf, with 17 Tcf as the risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource, Table XIII-5. In
addition, we estimate risked in-place shale oil of 14 billion barrels, with 0.7 billion barrels as the
risked, technically recoverable shale oil resource, Table XIII-6.
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XIII-5. Shale Gas Reservoir Properties and Resources of the Saxony Basin, Germany
Lower Saxony
Basin/Gross Area
(10,000 mi )
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Wealden
L. Cretaceous
Lacustrine
Posidonia
L. Jurassic
Marine

1,590
770
1,390
Organically Rich
100
100
100
Thickness (ft)
Net
90
90
90
Interval
6,000 - 10,000 10,000 - 13,000 13,000 - 16,400
Depth (ft)
Average
8,000
11,500
14,500
Mod.
Mod.
Mod.
Reservoir Pressure
Overpress.
Overpress.
Overpress.
Average TOC (wt. %)
8.0%
8.0%
8.0%
0.85%
1.15%
2.00%
Clay Content
Low/Medium Low/Medium Low/Medium
Gas Phase
720
112
75
3,300 - 10,000
6,000
Slightly
Overpress.
4.5%
0.85%
Medium
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
Assoc. Gas
10.8
44.0
56.5
5.5
Risked GIP (Tcf)
10.3
20.3
47.1
1.8
1.0
4.1
11.8
0.1
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XIII-6. Shale Oil Reservoir Properties and Resources of the Saxony Basin, Germany
Lower Saxony
Basin/Gross Area
(10,000 mi )
Posidonia
L. Jurassic
Marine
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
2

1,590
770
720
Organically Rich
100
100
112
Thickness (ft)
Net
90
90
75
Interval
6,000 - 10,000 10,000 - 13,000 3,300 - 10,000
Depth (ft)
Average
8,000
11,500
6,000
Mod.
Mod.
Slightly
Reservoir Pressure
Overpress.
Overpress.
Overpress.
Average TOC (wt. %)
8.0%
8.0%
4.5%
0.85%
1.15%
0.85%
Clay Content
Medium
Oil Phase
2
Oil
Condensate
Oil
12.7
4.2
9.9
Risked OIP (B bbl)
9.1
1.5
3.2
0.46
0.07
0.13
June, 2013
Wealden
L. Cretaceous
Lacustrine
XIII-18
3.2
Geologic Setting
The Lower Saxony Basin is a distinct sub-basin within the greater North Sea-German
Basin. The Lower Saxony Basin is a graben that subsided and filled during Late Jurassic and
Early Cretaceous. The graben is bounded on the south by the Hanz Mountains, on the north by
the Pompecky Block, on the west by the Central Netherland High and on the east by Hercynian
Uplifts. During the Late Cretaceous, the Lower Saxony Basin was subject to complex tectonics
that transformed the basins normal boundary faults into reverse or overthrust faults. These
events facilitated volcanic intrusions causing intense metamorphism of the organics.
The Lower Saxony Basin contains two organic-rich shale source rocks - - the restricted
marine Lower Toarcian (Jurassic) Posidonia Shale that underlies most of the basin, and the
Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) lacustrine-deltaic Wealden Shale that underlies the western part
of the basin (west of the Weser River). The generalized stratigraphic column for the Triassic to
Tertiary interval in the Lower Saxony Basin is provided on Figure XIII-14.8
We mapped a 3,750-mi2 prospective area for the Posidonia Shale in the Lower Saxony
Basin, containing: (1) a 1,590-mi2 oil prospective area (Ro of 0.7% to 1%) along the north
eastern border of the basin; (2) an adjoining 770-mi2 wet gas/condensate prospective area (Ro
1% to 1.3%); and (3) a 1,390-mi2 dry gas prospective area (Ro >1.3%) in the deeper
southwestern portion of the basin, Figure XIII-15.
We also mapped a smaller 720-mi2 oil
prospective area for the shallower Wealden Shale in the Lower Saxony Basin, Figure XIII-16.
In addition to the two shale formations addressed in this resource assessment, a series
of other shale gas formations exist in Germany, particularly the Lower Carboniferous Visean
and Westphalian coaly shales. However, these shales, while thick, thermally mature for gas
and buried at acceptable depths of 1,000 to 5,000 m, have TOC values of less than 2%.9 Thus,
these shale formations have not been included in our resource assessment.
In addition, organic-rich mudstones occur in the Upper Permian Stassfurth Carbonate
Formation in the eastern part of the North Sea-German Basin in southern Brandenburg. The
Ca2 shale interval in this formation occurs at a depth of 3,800 to 4,000 m, has a thermal
maturity of over 2% Ro, and contains a mixed Type II/III kerogen. However the shale formation
is thin (6m) and has a low TOC content of 0.2% to 0.8%.9 As such, this shale has also not been
included in our resource assessment.
June, 2013
XIII-19
Figure XIII-14. Generalized Stratigraphic Column for the Lower Saxony Basin.
Source: Kockel, 1994.
June, 2013
XIII-20
Figure XIII-15. Prospective Area of the Posidonia Shale, Lower Saxony Basin, Germany.
Source: ARI, 2013.
Figure XIII-16. Prospective Area of the Wealden Shale, Lower Saxony Basin, Germany.
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
XIII-21
3.3

Jurassic (Toarcian) Posidonia Shale. The depth to the Posidonia Shale ranges from
3,300 feet to 16,400 feet, with an average depth in the oil prospective area of 8,000 feet, an
average depth in the wet gas/condensate prospective area of 11,500 feet, and an average
depth in the dry gas prospective area of 14,500 feet. Figure XIII-17 provides a north to south
cross-section through the center of the Lower Saxony Basin, illustrating the sequence of
complex faults and the thrust features common to the Posidonia Shale.
(The location of the
north to south cross-section, A to A, is provided in Figure XIII-10.) The shale interval in the
prospective area is moderate in thickness, with an organic-rich gross thickness of 100 feet and
a net shale thickness of 90 feet. Organic matter in the Posidonia Shale is Type II marine
kerogen with a TOC that averages 8%, Figure XIII-18. The outer portion of the basin area is in
the oil window, with the central, deeper areas of the Posidonia Shale in the wet gas/ condensate
and dry gas windows, Figure XIII-15.
Figure XIII-17. Lower Saxony Basin North to South Cross Section, A to A
Source: Kockel, 1994.
Cretaceous (Berriasian) Wealden Shale. The prospective area for the Wealden Shale
is thermally mature for oil generation. The prospective area was defined by the depositional
and depth limits of the Wealden Shale within the Lower Saxony Basin. In the prospective area,
the depth of the Wealden Shale ranges from 3,300 feet to 10,000 feet, averaging 6,000 feet.
The Wealden Shale has a gross organic-rich shale interval of 112 feet and 75 feet of net shale
thickness8. The TOC in the Wealden Shale is highly variable, ranging from 1% to 14%,
averaging 4.5% in the prospective area, Figure XIII-18. Thermal maturity ranges from 0.7% to
1.0% Ro, placing the Wealden Shale in the oil window.8
June, 2013
XIII-22
Figure XIII-18. Total Organic Content, Posidonia and Wealden Shales, Lower Saxony Basin
3.4
Resource Assessment
Jurassic Posidonia Shale.
We calculate that the prospective area of the Posidonia
Shale in the Lower Saxony Basin has resource concentrations of 56 Bcf/mi2 in the dry gas
window, 44 Bcf/mi2 of wet gas and 4 million barrels/mi2 of condensate in the wet gas and
condensate window, and 13 million barrels/mi2 of oil in the oil window. Within the prospective
area, the Posidonia Shale contains 78 Tcf of risked gas in-place, with 17 Tcf as the risked,
technically recoverable shale gas resource (including associated gas), Table XIII-5. In addition,
the Posidonia Shale contains 11 billion barrels of risked shale oil in-place, with 0.5 billion barrels
as the risked, technically recoverable shale oil resource, Table XIII-6.
Cretaceous Wealden Shale. The 720-mi2 prospective area of the Wealden Shale in the
Lower Saxony Basin has an oil resource concentration of 10 million barrels/mi2. The risked oil
in-place is 3 billion barrels, with 0.1 billion barrels as the risked, technically recoverable shale oil
resource, Table XIII-6. The oil prospective area of the Wealden Shale also contains in-place
and risked, technically recoverable associated shale gas of 2 Tcf and 0.1 Tcf respectively.
June, 2013
XIII-23
3.5
Recent Activity
ExxonMobil has been the lead company active in the Lower Saxony Basin of Germany.
The company has drilled a series of test wells on its exploration leases, at least three of which
are reported to be testing shale gas potential.
Starting in 2008, the company drilled the
Damme 2/2A and Damme 3 test wells on its Munsterland concession and the Oppenwehe 1
exploration well on its Minden concession.
In late 2010, the company spudded the
Niederzwehren test well on its Schaumberg permit. After drilling these test wells, ExxonMobil
halted operations in the province following the passage of a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing.
Realm Energy obtained a small, 25-square mile shale gas exploration permit in West
Germany.
The company plans to explore the oil and gas potential in the Posidonia and
Wealden shales underneath its acreage. Realms concession is valid for three years and does
not require well drilling, but does provide the company with data from the 21 wells drilled on its
acreage in past years.
BNK Petroleum has leased approximately 3,745 square miles for shale, CBM and tight
gas sand exploration in West and Central Germany. The company has yet to drill on any of its
properties, but reports targeting shale formations, most likely the Posidonia and Wealden
shales. Most of its concessions are not near areas with previously defined shale gas potential,
suggesting the company is pursuing a wildcatting approach in Germany. To date, the company
has not provided details of its drilling plans.
After a lengthy period of study, the German government issued, in late February 2013,
draft legislation what would allow the development of shale and the use of hydraulic stimulation
(fracturing) under environmental safeguards.
June, 2013
XIII-24
4.
WEST NETHERLAND BASIN: NETHERLANDS
4.1
Introduction
The West Netherland Basin (WNB) is located in the southwestern portion of the
Netherlands, extending into the offshore, Figure XIII-19. The basin is bounded in the south by
the London-Brabant Massif and on the north by the Zandvoort Ridge. In the south-east, the
WNB merges with the Ruhr Valley Graben. The West Netherlands Basin is part of a series of
Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous trans-tensional basins of Western Europe.
Figure XIII-19. Outline and Depth Map for West Netherland Basin, Netherlands
Source: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
XIII-25
For the West Netherland Basin, we estimate risked in-place shale gas of 151 Tcf, with
26 Tcf as the risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource, Table XIII-7. In addition, we
estimate risked in-place shale oil of 59 billion barrels, with 2.9 billion barrels as the risked,
technically recoverable shale oil resource, Table XIII-8.
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XIII-7. Shale Gas Reservoir Properties and Resources of West Netherland Basin, Netherlands
West Netherlands
Basin/Gross Area
(2,750 mi )
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
2

Organically Rich
Thickness (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
Reservoir Pressure
Epen
U. Carboniferous
Lacustrine
1,460
1,500
450
3,300 - 10,000
8,500
860
1,500
450
10,000 - 15,500
12,500
Geverik Member
U. Carboniferous
Marine
2,320
225
135
5,000 - 16,400
11,000
Posidonia
L. Jurassic
Marine
850
100
90
3,300 - 9,000
6,500
170
100
90
9,000 - 12,500
10,500
Mod. Overpress. Mod. Overpress. Mod. Overpress. Mod. Overpress. Mod. Overpress.
Average TOC (wt. %)

Clay Content
Gas Phase
2.4%
0.85%
Medium
2.4%
1.15%
Medium
4.0%
1.15%
Low/Medium
6.0%
0.85%
Low/Medium
6.0%
1.15%
Low/Medium
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Wet Gas
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
60.6
139.2
48.5
10.2
38.5
Risked GIP (Tcf)
39.8
53.9
50.6
3.9
2.9
4.0
10.8
10.1
0.4
0.6
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XIII-8. Shale Oil Reservoir Properties and Resources of West Netherland Basin, Netherlands
June, 2013
West Netherlands
Basin/Gross Area
(2,750 mi )
Epen
U. Carboniferous
Lacustrine
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
2
1,460
Organically Rich
1,500
Thickness (ft)
Net
450
Interval
3,300 - 10,000
Depth (ft)
Average
8,500
Reservoir Pressure
860
1,500
450
10,000 - 15,500
12,500
Geverik Member
U. Carboniferous
Marine
2,320
225
135
5,000 - 16,400
11,000
Posidonia
L. Jurassic
Marine
850
100
90
3,300 - 9,000
6,500
170
100
90
9,000 - 12,500
10,500
Mod. Overpress. Mod. Overpress. Mod. Overpress. Mod. Overpress. Mod. Overpress.
Average TOC (wt. %)

Clay Content
2.4%
0.85%
Medium
2.4%
1.15%
Medium
4.0%
1.15%
Low/Medium
6.0%
0.85%
Low/Medium
6.0%
1.15%
Low/Medium
Oil
Condensate
Condensate
Oil
Condensate
60.4
19.0
6.1
13.2
4.1
Risked OIP (B bbl)
39.7
7.4
6.3
5.0
0.3
1.98
0.37
0.32
0.25
0.02
Oil Phase
2
XIII-26
4.2
Geologic Setting
The West Netherland Basin (WNB), while commonly described as a single structural
entity, contains a series of smaller structural elements bounded by long, northwest-trending

faults. The complex tectonic features present in this basin are illustrated by the northeast to
southwest cross-section (A-A) located on the far western portion of the basin, Figure XIII-20.10
(The location of the cross-section is shown on Figure XIII-19.)
Figure XIII-20. Cross-Section A to A, Western Portion of West Netherland Basin.
Source: van Balen, R.T. et al., 2000.
The WNB contains a series of prospective shale formations, including two Carboniferous
(Namurian) shale formations, the Epen Formation and the Geverik Member, plus the Lower
Jurassic (Toarcian) Posidonia Shale, Figure XIII-21.10 Based on analysis of core and cutting
samples from the deep Geverik-1 exploration well, located in the southeastern part of the basin,
the Epen Shale contains Type III kerogen, with lacustrine-deltaic deposition, while the Geverik
Shale contains Type II kerogen, with open-marine deposition. The Posidonia Shale contains
Type II marine kerogen.
Additional shale source rocks exist in the WNB, particularly in Late Jurassic and Late
Carboniferous intervals. However, these shales are considered of minor importance or contain
significant inter-beds of coal.10 Thus, these shales have been excluded from the quantitative
resource assessment.
An excellent, comprehensive review of the shale formations of the
Netherlands is provided in the TNO report entitled, Inventory Non-Conventional Gas by A.G.
Muntendam-Bos et al., 2009.11
June, 2013
XIII-27
Figure XIII-21. Stratigraphic Section for West Netherland Basin.
Numerical ages in the Namurian and Jurassic to Tertiary are after Harland et al. (1990), in the Triassic and Permian after
Menning (1995), and in the Westphalian and Stephanian after Lippolt et al. (1984).
Source: van Balen, R.T. et al., 2000.
June, 2013
XIII-28
For the Epen Shale, we have mapped a 1,460-mi2 area prospective for oil and associated
gas and a smaller 860-mi2 area prospective for wet gas and condensate, Figure XIII-22. For the
Geverik Shale, we have mapped a 2,320-mi2 area prospective for wet gas and condensate,
Figure XIII-23. For the Posidonia Shale, we have mapped a 850-mi2 area prospective for oil
and a smaller 170-mi2 area prospective for wet gas and condensate, Figure XIII-24.
4.3

Carboniferous (Namurian) Epen and Geverik Shales.
As discussed above, the
Carboniferous (Namurian) sequence in the Netherlands contains two prospective shale

formations, the Epen and Geverik. The key technical paper by R. T. van Balen, et al. (2000)10
and data provided in the more recent TNO report (Muntendam-Bos, A.G., et al., 2009)11 were
used to establish prospective areas including information on depth, thermal maturity and
thickness for these two shale gas formations.
Depth to the Epen Shale ranges from 3,300 feet to 16,400 feet, averaging 8,500 feet in
the oil prospective area and averaging 12,500 feet in the wet gas/condensate prospective area.
In the west-central portion of the WNB, the depth of the Epen Shale is below 5,000 m. As such,
this portion of the basin has been excluded from the prospective area. The Epen Shales oil
prospective area has a thermal maturity of 0.7% to 1.0% Ro in the southern portion of the basin
and along the shallower basin edges. In the center of the basin, the thermal maturity of the
shale ranges from 1.0% to 1.3% Ro, placing the shale in the wet gas/condensate window. The
Epen Shale is very thick, with a gross organic-rich thickness of 1,500 feet and a net thickness of
450 feet, based on an estimated 30% net to gross ratio. Total organic content ranges from 1%
to 15%, averaging 2.4%. The shale is over-pressured and because of its lacustrine deposition
has medium assumed clay content.
Depth to the underlying Geverik Shale ranges from 5,000 feet to 16,400 feet, averaging
11,000 feet in the wet gas/condensate prospective area. As for the Epen Shale, the deep westcentral portion of the basin below 5,000 m has been excluded. The Geverik Shale has an
organic-rich gross interval of 225 feet, with an estimated 135 feet of net pay, based on an
estimated 60% net to gross ratio. The thermal maturity of this deeper shale ranges from 1.0%
to 1.3%, placing the Geverik Shale in the wet gas and condensate window. Total organic
content of the shale ranges from 2% to 7%, averaging 4%. The shale is over-pressured and
due to its marine deposition has low to medium assumed clay content.
June, 2013
XIII-29
Figure XIII-22. Prospective Areas for Epen Shale, West Netherland Basin.
Source: ARI, 2013
Figure XIII-23. Prospective Areas for Geverik Shale, West Netherland Basin.
Source: ARI, 2013

June, 2013
XIII-30
Figure XIII-24. Prospective Area for Posidonia Shale, West Netherland Basin.
Source: ARI, 2013
Jurassic (Toarcian) Posidonia Shale. The shallower Posidonia Shale overlies the
Carboniferous Epen and Geverik shales in the West Netherland Basin. The shale has reservoir
properties similar to the Posidonia Shale in the Lower Saxony Basin of Germany, discussed
previously.
A total of 140 wells have been drilled through the Posidonia Shale, providing
valuable data and control for this resource assessment.

The depth of the Posidonia Shale ranges from 3,300 feet on the margins of the
prospective area to 12,500 feet in the basin center, averaging 6,500 feet in the oil prospective
area and 10,500 feet in the wet gas/condensate prospective area. In the shallower portions of
the prospective area, the Posidonia Shale has a thermal maturity of 0.7% to 1.0% Ro (oil
window). In the deeper basin center, Posidonia Shale has a thermal maturity of 1.0% to 1.3%
Ro (wet gas/condensate window). The gross organic-rich shale interval is 100 feet, with 90 feet
of net pay. The shale contains Type II marine kerogen with a TOC that ranges from less than
1% to a maximum of 16%, averaging 6%. The formation is slightly over-pressured with low to
medium clay content.
June, 2013
XIII-31
4.4
Resource Assessment
Carboniferous (Namurian) Epen Shale. We estimate that the prospective area of the
Epen Shale in the West Netherland Basin contains risked shale gas in-place of 94 Tcf, with 15
Tcf as the risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource (including both wet shale gas and
associated shale gas). In addition, we estimate that the Epen Shale in this basin has risked inplace shale oil/condensate of 47 billion barrels, with 2.4 billion barrels as the risked, technically
recoverable shale oil resource.
Carboniferous (Namurian) Geverik Shale. We estimate that the prospective area of
the Geverik Shale in the West Netherland Basin contains risked shale gas in-place of 51 Tcf,
with 10 Tcf as the risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource. In addition, we estimate
that the Geverik Shale in this basin has risked in-place shale oil/condensate of 6 billion barrels,
with 0.3 billion barrels as the risked, technically recoverable shale oil resource.
Jurassic (Toarcian) Posidonia Shale. We estimate that the prospective area of the
Posidonia Shale in the West Netherland Basin contains risked shale gas in-place of 7 Tcf, with 1
Tcf as the risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource (including both wet shale gas and
associated shale gas). In addition, we estimate that the Posidonia Shale in this basin has risked
in-place shale oil/condensate of 5 billion barrels, with 0.3 billion barrels as the risked, technically
recoverable shale oil resource.
4.5
Recent Activity
Three companies have acquired shale gas and oil leases in the Netherlands. Cuadrilla
Resources and DSM Energie have leases in the West Netherland Basin while Queensland Gas
Company (now part of BG Group) has leases in north-central Netherlands. Beyond the earlier
exploratory wells that helped define the shale resources in the West Netherland Basin, we are
not aware of any recent shale gas or oil development in the Netherlands.
June, 2013
XIII-32
5.
SCANDINAVIA
5.1
Introduction
The Cambrian-Ordovician (Lower Paleozoic) Alum Shale underlies significant portions of

Scandinavia, including Sweden, Denmark and potentially Norway, Figure XIII-25.
However, in
much of this area the Alum Shale is shallow, thin and immature. The outline of the Alum Shale
depositional area examined by this shale resource assessment is bounded on the west by the
Caledonia Deformation Front and outcrops of the Alum Shale. The basin is bounded on the
east by the inferred depositional limits of the Lower Paleozoic and on the south by the 2.7% (Ro)
thermal maturity contour.
Figure XIII-25. Outline Map for Alum Shale of Scandinavia
Source: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
XIII-33
For the Alum Shale in Sweden, we estimate risked in-place shale gas of 49 Tcf, with 10
Tcf as the risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource. For the Alum Shale in Denmark,
we estimate risked in-place shale gas of 159 Tcf, with 32 Tcf as the risked, technically
recoverable shale gas resource, Table XIII-9. A modest volume of shale gas may exist in the
Oslo Graben of Norway. However, there is not sufficient data to reliably estimate the size of
Norways shale resource. Our shale gas resource estimates are preliminary and have been
highly risked, awaiting more definite information from industrys planned exploration efforts,
particularly in Denmark.
Table XIII-9. Shale Gas Reservoir Properties and Resources of Scandinavia
5.2
Geologic Setting
The depositional setting of the Cambrian-Ordovician Alum Shale in southern Sweden
and northern Denmark has been mapped in the technical literature. Outcrops of the Alum Shale
exist along the Caledonian Mountain belt along the Sweden-Norway border and in southern
Sweden. Figure XIII-26 provides the stratigraphic position of the Alum Shale in Sweden. Figure
XIII-27, compiled from a variety of sources, indicates the presence of the Alum Shale in the Oslo
Graben of Norway and on Gotland in Sweden. While the stratigraphy of the Alum Shale has
only moderate variation in central Sweden, the structural setting becomes complex along the
Caledonian Front in Norway, western Sweden and northern Denmark.
June, 2013
XIII-34
Figure XIII-26. Stratigraphic Column for Cambrian Through Permian, Sweden
Source: Thickpenny, A, 1984.
Figure XIII-27. Generalized Lower Paleozoic Stratigraphy for the Scandinavia-Baltic Region.
Modified from Bjrlykke (1974), Vlierboom et al. (1986), Thickpenny and Leggett (1987), Brangulis et al. (1993), Zdanaviciute
and Bojesen-Kofoed (1997), Bondar et al. (1998), Sivhed et al. (2004).
Source: Pedersen, J.H., 2007
June, 2013
XIII-35
The Alum Shale contains a series of distinct lithotypes, as shown by the cross-section of
data from selected outcrop areas in southern Sweden and the Caledonian Front, Figure XIII-28.
Two of these lithotypes are important shale source rocks. The first is the black organic-rich
mudstone with TOC of 5% to 7% in the Middle Cambrian, reaching up to 20% in the Upper
Cambrian.12 This interval contains 30% to 40% illite clay, and +25% quartz, plus pyrite and Kfeldspar. The second is the black and gray (dark brown) inter-bedded mudstone, with TOC of
about 5%.
Grey mudstone, bituminous limestone and thin sandstone, siltstone lamina
constitute the remaining lithotypes. The Alum Shale was deposited in a relatively shallow,
anoxic marine environment.
Figure XIII-28. Comparative Middle and Upper Cambrian Stratigraphic Columns for Selected Outcrop Areas
in Scandinavia
Source: Thickpenny, 1984
June, 2013
XIII-36
Except for outcroppings and data from shallower wells, rigorous data on the properties of
the Alum Shale are scarce. ARI has identified an 8,100-mi2 prospective area where the shale is
deposited below 3,300 feet at depth and where the thermal maturity data indicate the shale is
inside the gas window, Figure XIII-29.
The bulk of the Alum Shale prospective area is in
northern Denmark, encompassing 5,680 mi2. The remaining 2,120-mi2 prospective area for the
Alum Shale is in southern Sweden.
Figure XIII-29. Prospective Areas for Alum Shale in Denmark and Sweden.
Source: ARI, 2013.
The outlines of the Alum Shale prospective area are based on thermal maturity of 2.7%
Ro on the south and the 3,300-foot depth limit (plus outcrops of the shale in the Skane area) on
the north. Data from well drilling by Shell provided information on the depth of the Alum Shale
in southern Sweden.
June, 2013
XIII-37
5.3

The depth of the Alum Shale ranges from 3,300 feet in southern Sweden to 15,000 feet
in northern Denmark. We have assumed a depth of 5,000 feet for the dry gas prospective area
in Sweden and a depth of 13,500 feet for the two dry gas prospective areas in Denmark.
The thickness of the Alum Shale generally ranges from 20 to 60 m, but can reach 80 to
100 m in the Skane area and 200 m or more in repeated sequences due to multiple thrust faults
along the Caledonian Front.13,14 The Alum Shale gross thickness is relatively constant, ranging
from 250 to 300 feet in the prospective area, Figure XIII-29. We have assumed a relatively high
net to gross ratio of 80%, giving a net shale thickness of 200 feet. Since we include both the
high TOC black shale and the lower TOC dark brown shale in our net pay, we use an average
TOC of 7.5%.
The Alum Shale formation is normally pressured, has moderately high clay
content and is structurally complex, making the shale a high risk play.
5.4
Resource Assessment
For the Alum Shale in Sweden, we calculate a resource concentration of 77 Bcf/mi2.
Based on this and a 2,120-mi2 prospective area, we estimate risked shale gas in-place of 49
Tcf, with 10 Tcf as the risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource, Table XIII-9.
For the Alum Shale in Denmark, we calculate a resource concentration of 110 Bcf/mi2.
Based on this and a 5,980-mi2 prospective area, we estimate risked shale gas in-place of 159
Tcf, with 32 Tcf as the risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource, Table XIII-9.
Additional investigation and data are required to establish the shale resources of
Norway, particularly in the deeper Oslo Graben.
5.5
Recent Activity
The Alum Shale has a rich exploration history that dates back to the 1600s with the
extraction of alum salt. Subsequently, the Alum Shale was mined for oil shale in 1930 to 1950
and later as a source for uranium. 15
Of the numerous companies that have applied for exploration licenses in Sweden, Shell
Oil has been the most active. Shell drilled three wells on their 400-mi2 lease area in the Skane
Region of Southern Sweden between 2008 to 2011, Figure XIII-30. However, according to
information from the Geologic Survey of Denmark and Greenland, They drilled three wells, but
June, 2013
XIII-38
found it uneconomic.15 Other companies with Alum Shale exploration licenses in Sweden are
Gripen Gas and Energigas, with twelve licenses in south-central Sweden. However, Gripen
Gas is pursuing biogenic source gas with a series of exploration wells in the shallow portion of
the Alum Shale.
In Denmark, Total E&P Denmark B.V. is exploring for deep shale gas in two license
areas in northern Denmark. Total submitted the work program for the first exploration well,
Vendsyssel-1, in late 2012 and plans a six year exploration program to determine whether their
lease areas contain sufficient shale gas resources to warrant further development.
Figure XIII-30. Shell Oil License Areas, Alum Shale, Sweden
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
XIII-39
REFERENCES
Chungkham, P., 2009. Paris Basin offers opportunities for unconventional hydrocarbon resources. first break 27 (January
2009).
Perrodon, A., and J. Zabeki, 1991. Paris Basin. In Interior Cratonic Basins, AAPG Memoir 51, pp. 633-639.
Monticone, B., 2012. Shale Oil Potential of the Paris Basin, France. Search and Discovery Article #10384 (2012) Posted
January 9, 2012, Adapted from oral presentation at AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Milan, Italy, October 2326, 2011.
Delmas, J., Houel, P. and Vially, R., 2002. Paris Basin Petroleum Potential. IFP Regional Report. Institut Franais du Ptrole,
Rueil Malmaison
Elixir Petroleum
Mascle, Alain, and Roland Vially, 1999. The petroleum systems of the Southeast Basin and Gulf of Lion (France). Geological
Society, London, Special Publications 156, no. 1 (January 1, 1999): 121-140.
Vially, R., 2010. Shale Gas in the South-East Basin presented at the Global Shale Gas Summit, Warsaw, Poland, July 2010.
Kockel, Franz, Hermann Wehner, and Peter Gerling, 1994. Petroleum Systsms of the Lower Saxony Basin, Germany. In The
Petroleum System-from Source to Trap, 573-586. AAPG Memoir 60, 1994.
Hartwig, Alexander, Sven Knitzer, Bettina Boucsein, Brian Horsfield, and Hans-Martin Schulz, 2010. Applying classical shale
gas evaluation concepts to Germany--Part II: Carboniferous in Northeast Germany. Chemie der Erde - Geochemistry 70, no.
Supplement 3 (August 2010): 93-106.
10
van Balen, R.T. et al., 2000. Modelling the hydrocarbon generation and migration in the West Netherlands Basin, the
Netherlands. Geologie en Mijnbouw / Netherlands Journal of Geosciences 79 (1): 29-44 (2000)
11
Muntendam-Bos, A.G., et al., 2009. Inventory Non-Conventional Gas.

September.
12
Armands, G., 1972. Geochemical Studies of Uranium, Molybdenum, and Vanadium in a Swedish Alum Shale. Stockholm
Contr. Geology 27, pp. 1-148.
13
Dahl, J., et al., 1989. Alum Shale Bitumen Maturation and Migration: Implications for Gotlands Oil, Journal of Petroleum
Geology, 12 (4), October, pp. 465-476.
14
Buchardt, B., 1990. Reflectance of Vitrinite-Like Macerals as a Thermal Maturity Index for Cambrian-Ordovician Alum Shale,
Southern Scandinavia. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, vol. 74, no. 4. April, p. 394-406.
15
Schovsbo, N. 2011. Article entitled Deep History: Scandinavia's Alum Shale on presentation provided to delegates at Shale
Gas Results in Europe 2011 in Warsaw, Poland, www.naturalgaseurope.com, June 29th, 2011.
June, 2013
XIII-40
TNO report TNO-034-UT-2009-00774/B, 03
XIV. Moroccco (Including Weestern Sahara annd Mauritania)
EIA/ARI W
XIV. MOROC
M
CCO (INCCLUDING WESTERN
W
N SAHARA
A AND MAU
URITANIA)
SUMMA
ARY
In
n addition to
o large accu
umulations of
o Late-Creta
aceous imm
mature oil sh
hale (keroge
en) at
depths suitable for surface
s
minin
ng1, Morocco and its tw
wo neighborin
ng countriess, Mauritania
a and
so possess organic-rich
o
Silurian- an
nd Devonian-age shale g
gas and sha
ale oil
Western Sahara, als
ouf and Tadlla basins, Figure XIV-1. Mapping a
and resource
e characterizzation
potential in the Tindo
c
because reg
gional deforrmation, ero
osion and su
ubsidence o
of the
of these shales is challenging
shale deposits have led to their discontinuou
d
us and comp
plex present day distribu
ution.
Figure XIV-1. Shale Gas
G Basins off Morocco, Weestern Saharaa and Mauritannia
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
XIV-1
EIA/ARI W
ARI
A estimates that the Tiindouf and Tadla
T
basinss contain rissked shale g
gas in-place of 95
gas resourcces, Table XIV-1. In add
Tcf, with 20 Tcf of ris
sked, technic
cally recoverable shale g
dition,
o basins con
ntain risked shale oil/condensate in--place of 5 b
billion barrells, with 0.2 b
billion
these two
barrels of
o risked, technically reco
overable sha
ale oil/conde
ensate resou
urces, Table XIV-2.
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Tablee XIV-1. Reseervoir Properrties and Shaale Gas Resoources of Moorocco, Saharra Desert andd
Mauritania
M
Tindouf
Basin/Gross Arrea
Shale Formatio
on
Geologic Agee
onment
Taadla
(77,0000 mi )
(2,8000 mi )
L. Silurian
L. Silurian
Maarine
L. Siilurian
L. Silurian
Maarine
1,670
3
328
197
3,280 - 9,840
6,560

2,0020
4,6670
12,380
Organiccally Rich
6
60
60
6
60
Thickkness (ft)
Net
5
54
54
5
54
Intervall
6,600 - 11,000 6,600 - 13,000
6,600 - 14,000
Depth
h (ft)
Averagee
9,0000
10,0000
11,000
Mood.
Reseervoir Pressure
Mod. Overpress. Mod. Ovverpress.
Overppress.
4.00%
4.00%
4.00%
Therm
mal Maturity (% Ro
o)
0.885%
1.155%
2.880%
Clay Content
Meddium
Meddium
Meddium
Unde rpress.
2.0%
2.225%
Me dium
Assocc. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
Dryy Gas
GIP Concentration
C
(Bcff/mi )
6
6.8
188.9
222.0
499.0
Riskeed GIP (Tcf)
2
2.7
177.7
544.5
200.5
Riskeed Recoverable (Tccf)
0
0.3
3..5
133.6
3
3.1
Gas Phase
P
2
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Tablle XIV-2. Reservoir Propeerties and Shale Oil Resouurces of Morrocco, Saharra Desert andd
Mauritania
M
June, 2013
Tindouf
Basin/Gross Areea
(77,000 mi )
L. Silurian
L. Silurian
Marine
Shale Formatio
on
Geologic Agee
onment
2
Prosp
pective Area (mi )
2,0020
Organiccally Rich
6
60
Thickkness (ft)
Net
5
54
6,600 - 11,000
Interval
Depth
h (ft)
Averagee
9,0000
Mood.
Reserrvoir Pressure
Overppress.
4.00%
Therm
mal Maturity (% Ro
o)
0.885%
Clay Content
Meddium
Oil Phase
2
C
(MM
Mbbl/mi )
OIP Concentration
4,6670
6
60
5
54
6,600 - 13,000
10,,000
Mod. Ovverpress.
4.0%
1.115%
Meddium
O
Oil
Cond ensate
7.9
1.7
Riskeed OIP (B bbl)
3.2
1.6
Riskeed Recoverable (B bbl)
0.16
0..08
XIV-2
EIA/ARI W
INTROD
DUCTION
The
T
primary shale resou
urce on Morrocco, Mauriitania and W
Western Sah
hara is the lower
Silurian Hot
Shale, which cons

sists of thin but
b very orga
anic-rich layyers of marin
ne organic m
matter
deposited
d during a re
egional anox
xic event. Data
D
from we
ells drilled accross the co
ountry confirm
m the
presence
e of organic
c-rich Silurian shales, although n
not always within the current forrmally
establish
hed boundaries of hydroc
carbon basin
ns.
The
T
presenc
ce of a thick Silurian section,
s
obsserved in m
many Morocccan hydroca
arbon
basins, does
d
not gu
uarantee the
e presence of organic-rrich shale, a
as areas that were reg
gional
highs during the early Silurian may not have received orrganic-rich sediments, Figure XIV-2..2
Accurately
A
identifying pro
omising sha
ale basins an
nd estimatin
ng their reso
ource potenttial in
such geo
ologically co
omplex area
as requires significant a
amounts of data, which
h are not w
widely
available
e in Morocco
o and its ne
eighboring countries
c
be
ecause of liimited well drilling and data
confidenttiality. As th
his data beco
omes more publically avvailable, a m
more rigorou
us shale gass and
oil resource assessm
ment of Moro
occo may be
e possible.
This
T
report as
ssesses the two basins which appe ar to have th
he highest p
gas and oil resources based on publically av
vailable data
a: the Tindou
uf (Zag) Bassin in the sou
uth of
a, Western Sahara,
S
and
d Mauritania
a), and the ccentral Moro
occan
Morocco (extending into Algeria
asin.
Tadla Ba
June, 2013
XIV-3
EIA/ARI W
Figure XIV-2.. Sedimentaryy Depositional Environmentt in Morocco, Ordovician-Deevonian2
June, 2013
XIV-4
1.
TINDOUF
T
BASIN
B
1.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
EIA/ARI W
The
T
Tindouf Basin is th
he westernm
most of the major Nortth African P
Paleozoic ba
asins,
covering a 31,660-m
mi2 area in Mo
orocco, Wes
stern Sahara
a and Mauritania. The b
basin is bou
unded
A
Mounta
ains and Oug
garta Arch to
t the north and the Re
eguibate Massif in the ssouth.
by the Atlas
Although
h once coverred unconforrmably by a blanket of M
Mesozoic to early Tertiarry sedimentss, the
Paleozoic now crop
ps out over much of the region.
ouf Basin iss an asymm

metric
The Tindo
on with a brroad gentle southern

s
flank and a ste
eeply dippin
ng, more stru
ucturally com
mplex
depressio
northern margin.
The
T
Tindouff Basin wa
as a large sediment depocenterr from late
e Ordovicia
an to
Carbonife
erous time, accumulatin
ng multiple layers of org
ganic-rich S
Silurian, Devvonian (Frassnian)
and Carb
boniferous (Visean) sha
ales, Figure XIV-3.3 Ho
owever, thesse deposits were affecte
ed by
the Herc
cynian deforrmation and
d the prospe
ectivity of the
ese shale fo
ormations is uncertain. High
heat flow
w through the basin caused the Tind
douf Basin sshales to re
each high ma
aturity during the
Carbonife
erous. Uplifft and erosio
on of these shales
s
may h
have caused
d significant underpressu
uring,
as the shales were not buried deep enoug
gh to replen
nish hydroca
arbons dissipated during
g the
Hercynia
an orogeny.
This
T
report fo
ocuses on th
he Lower Silu
urian Hot S hale, which
h has greate
er data availa
ability
and high
her confidenc
ce of remain
ning gas saturation in tthis shale in
nterval. Thro
ough mapping of
depth an
nd thermal maturity,
m
we have identified a 19,07
70-mi2 prosp
pective area
a in the Moro
occo,
Mauritania and Wes
stern Sahara
a portion off the Tindou
uf Basin. Th
he northern boundary o
of the
prospective area is the 1,000-m
meter depth contour on
n the upthrusted northern portion o
of the
basin, Fiigure XIV-4..4 The southern bound
ermal maturity contour.. The
dary is the 0.7% Ro the
eastern boundary
b
is the Algeria Border.
B
While
W
the drillling density in the basin
n is extreme
ely low, with an average
e of only one
e well
per 5,00
00 mi2, the data sugg
gest that orrganic-rich, basal Silurrian shales were depo
osited
througho
out the basiin.2
Additio
onal well and seismic data have been colle
ected by va
arious
internatio
onal compan
nies in partnership with Moroccan o il company, ONHYM, bu
ut these datta are
not yet in
n the public domain.
d
June, 2013
XIV-5
X
XIV. Morocco (Including Western Sahara and Mauritania)
EIA/AR
RI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resourcce Assessment
Figure XIV-3. Tindouf

T
Basin Strratigraphic
Column
Figure XIV-4.
X
Tindouf Baasin Cross Sectioon
Silurian
HotShale
Soource: Boote, 2002.
S
Source: Longreach Petroleum
P
Corporate Presentation,
22010
JJune, 2013
XIV-6
X
1.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Within
W
the Tin
ndouf Basins prospectiv
ve area, the depth to the
e Silurian H
Hot Shale ra
anges
from 6,6
600 to 14,00
00 ft, Figure
e XIV-5.
Present
P
day TOC conte
ent ranges from 1% to
o 7%,
averaging 4%. It is
s likely that the TOC content
c
was higher duriing the time
e of hydroca
arbon
generatio
on, due to th
he basins very
v
high the
ermal maturrity.5 Therm
mal maturity increases tto the
north acrross the bas
sin, ranging from 0.7% to
t over 3% Ro.4 Organic-rich net sshale thickne
ess is
estimated
d at 54 ft, ba
ased on data
a from a well drilled in th
he southern fflank of the basin.6
Figure XIV-5.. Tindouf Basiin Prospectivee Area, Moroccco, Western S
Sahara and Maauritania
Source: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
XIV-7
1.3
EIA/ARI W
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
We
W estimate that the wett and dry ga
as prospectivve area of th
he Silurian Hot Shale iin the
Morocco, Mauritania
a and Wes
stern Sahara
a portions of the Tind
douf Basin has a reso
ource
mi2.
concentrration of 19 to 22 Bcf/m
The oil prospective

e area of the
Hot Shale h
has a
e Silurian H
resource
e concentration of 8 millio
on barrels/m
mi2 plus asso
ociated gas. While the sshale formation is
organic-rrich, it is thin
n, limiting its resource co
oncentration..
Within
W
the ov
verall 19,020-mi2 prosp
pective area , the Lowerr Silurian H
Hot Shale in the
Tindouf Basin
B
contaiins a 12,380
0-mi2 area prospective fo
or dry gas, a 4,670-mi2 area prospe
ective
for wet shale
s
gas an
nd shale con
ndensate, and a 2,020--mi2 area prrospective fo
or shale oil. The
risked sh
hale gas in-p
place for the Tindouf Basin is estima
ated at 75 T
Tcf, with 17 T
Tcf as the rissked,
ble shale ga
as resource. In addition
n, the Tindouf Basin hass an estima
ated 5
billion ba
arrels of sha
ale oil/condensate in-pla
ace, with 0.2
2 billion barre
els as the riisked, techn
nically
recoverable shale oill resource.
1.4
Recent
R
Activity
The
T
Morocca
an national oil and ga
as compan y, ONHYM, has been
n evaluating
g the
countrys
s shale gas potential sin
nce mid-2010. It has p
plans to colle
ect seismic data followe
ed by
the drillin
ng of a shale
e gas explorration well. The
T well is p
proposed to be drilled in
n partnership
p with
San Leo
on Energy (Ireland)
(
and Longreac
ch Oil and Gas (Canad
da) on the Zag explorration
license.7
June, 2013
XIV-8
2.
TADLA
T
BAS
SIN
2.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
EIA/ARI W
The
T Talda Ba
asin is a 2,800-mi2 intra--cratonic bassin located iin central Mo
orocco withiin the
Moroccan Mesta.
early 16,500
0 feet of P
Paleozoic th
hrough Cenozoic
The basin contains ne
F
XIV-6
6. Paleozoic
c rocks dom inate the se
ediments in tthis basin, exxcept
sedimenttary strata, Figure
in areas where upliftt has caused their erosion, Figure XIV-7. The
e Talda Basin is bounde
ed by
n the north, the
t Atlas Mo
ountains in tthe east, the
e Jebiliet Ma
assif in the ssouth,
the Central Massif in
M
in th
he west.
and the Rehamna Massif
The Fkih Be n Salah Fa

ault divides the basin in
nto a
st section, ch
haracterized
d by complex
x tectonics iincluding he
eavy folding and faulting
g, and
southeas
a northwest section, with thick ca
arboniferous
s strata and minor, infreq
quent faultin
ng.8
As
A in the Tiindouf Basin
n, regional uplifting du
uring the He
ercynian an
nd Alpine evvents
exposed the Silurian
n, Devonian and Ordov
vician shaless after they had mature
ed and begun to
e hydrocarbo
ons. While these
t
shales
s were subssequently bu
uried on the western edge of
generate
the basin
n by approximately 6,50
00 ft of Creta
aceous and Tertiary sed
diments, it iss unlikely tha
at the
shales ge
enerated ad
dditional hydrocarbons after
a
reburiall.8 As such,, this basin is at high rissk for
underpre
essuring, alth
hough data are
a not availlable to conffirm this assumption.
The
T
1,670-mi2 prospectiv
ve area of the
t
Tadla B
Basin is bou
unded by the
e 1,000-m d
depth
contour, various faullts and the Atlas
A
Mounttain range to
o the east, F
Figure XIV-8
8. Little data are
e in the southern portion of the basin where t he prospecttive area is bounded by the
available
apparentt lack of orga
anic-rich Silu
urian strata.
2.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T Lower Silurian Hot Shale in th
he Tadla Bassin reaches maximum d
depth west o
of the
Fkih Ben
n Salah Fault, ranging from 3,280
0 to 9,840 ft.8
To the
e east, the shale beco
omes
shallowe
er. Average depth in th
he prospectiv
ve area is e
estimated att 6,560 ft. W
Where it ha
as not
been ero
oded, the Sillurian sectio
on can reach
h up to 800 ffeet thick, w
with over 300
0 feet of org
ganicrich shale, of which 200 ft is net
n shale.9 TOC data ffrom outcrops suggest that the org
ganic
r
10-12%,10 but deep
d
well da
ata from insside the prosspective are
ea indicates TOC
content reaches
values closer to 2%. The Siluria
an shale is th
hermally hig hly mature o
over the prosspective are
ea; Ro
values off 1.5% to 3%
% place the shale
s
in the dry
d gas wind
dow.8
June, 2013
XIV-9
X
XIV. Morocco (Including Western Sahara and Mauritania)
EIA/ARI W
Figu
ure XIV-6. Tadla Basin
B
Stratigraph
hic Column8
Figure XIV-7. Tadlaa Basin Cross Seections8
Lower
Silurian
JJune, 2013
XIV-10
X
EIA/ARI W
Figure XIV-8. Tadla Baasin Prospectiive Area, Moroocco
Source: ARI, 2013
2.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T Silurian Hot
Shale in the Tadla

a Basins 1,6
670-mi2 prospective area
a has a moderate
49-Bcf/m
mi2 dry gas resource
r
con
ncentration. The basin contains an
n estimated 20 Tcf of rrisked
shale gas
s in-place, with
w 3 Tcf as the risked, technically
t
rrecoverable shale gas re
esource.
2.4
Recent
R
Activity
No
N shale gas
s exploration activity has been reportted in the Ta
adla Basin o
of Morocco.
June, 2013
XIV-11
EIA/ARI W
3.
SHALE
S
RES
SOURCES BY COUNTRY
3.1
Morocco
M
Morocco
M
has a 1,670-mi2 dry gas prospective arrea in the Ta
adla Basin a
and an 8,00
00-mi2
dry gas prospective area in the Tindouf Ba

asin. Within
n these two prospective
e areas, Morrocco
T of risked shale gas in
n-place, with
h 12 Tcf as tthe risked, ttechnically re
ecoverable sshale
has 56 Tcf
gas resource.
3.2
Western
W
Sa
ahara
The
T Western Sahara portion of the Tindouf Bassin has a 4,,380-mi2 dryy gas prospe
ective
area, a 4,670-mi2 wet

w shale gas/condens
g
sate prospe
ective area, and a 2,0
020-mi2 shale oil
prospective area. Within
W
these prospective areas, Wesstern Sahara
a has an esttimated 39 T
Tcf of
risked dry, wet and
d associated shale ga
as in-place, with 8 Tcff as the rissked, techn
nically
recoverable shale gas resource
e. In additio
on, Western
n Sahara ha
as 5 billion barrels of rrisked
shale oil/condensate
e in-place, with
w
0.2 billion barrels as the risked, techniccally recove
erable
shale oil resource.
3.3
Mauritania
M
Mauritania
M
ha
as a small 50
0-mi2 wet sh
hale gas/con
ndensate pro
ospective arrea in the Tin
ndouf
Basin containing only

y minor shalle gas and oil
o resourcess.
REFERE
ENCES
Kolonic, S.,
S Sinninghe Daamste, J.S., Botttcher, M.E., Kuyypers, M.M.M., K
Kuhnt, W., Beckmann, B., Scheeder, G., and W
Wagner,
T., 2002. Geochemical Characterizatioon of Cenomanian/Turonian Blaack Shales Froom the Tarfaya Basin (SW Moorocco):
Relationshhips Between Paleoenvironmen
P
ntal Conditions and
a Early Sulphhurization of Seddimentary Organnic Matter. Jouurnal of
Petroleum
m Geology, vol. 25,
2 no. 3, p. 325--350.
Lning, S.., Craig, J., Loyddell, D.K., Storchh, P., and Fitchees, B., 2000. LLower Silurian `H
Hot Shales' in North Africa and A
Arabia:
Regional Distribution and Depositional Moodel. Earth-Science Reviews, vvol. 49, no. 1-4, p. 121-200.
Longreachh Petroleum Corporate Presentaation, 2010.
Boote, D..R.D., Clark-Low

wes, D.D., and Traut, M.W., 1998. Palaeozzoic Petroleum Systems of North Africa. Geoological
Society, London,
L
Special Publications 1322, no. 1, p. 7-68..
Zag-Bas Draa Basin. Opportunities

O
forr Hydrocarbon E & P in Moorocco. ONHYM
M, 2010. http://www.onhym.ccom/en/
CARBURES/Prosspectivit%C3%A
A9sdesBassins/E
ExplorationR%C33%A9gionale/Onnshore/BasDraaaBasin/tabid/3533/langu
HYDROC
age/en-US
S/Default.aspx?C
Cat=27.
Lning, S., Loydell, D.K., Sutcliffe,

S
O., Ait Salem, A., Zaneella, E., Craig, J. and Harpel, D.A
A.T., 2008. Siluurian - Lower Deevonian
Black Shaales in Morocco: Which are the Organically Richhest Horizons? Journal of Petrroleum Geology, vol. 23, no. 3, p. 293311.
June, 2013
XIV-12
EIA/ARI W
San Leon Energy, Corporaate Presentationn, 2010.
Jabour, H.
H and Nakayam
ma, K., 1988. Basin Modeling of Tadla Bassin, Morocco, foor Hydrocarbon Potential. Am
merican
Associatioon of Petroleum Geologists, vol. 72, no. 9, p. 10559-1073.
Al Moundir, M., Bouchta, R.,

R and Jabour, H., 1998. An Overview
O
of the Petroleum Systtems of Moroccoo. Geological S
Society,
London, Special
S
Publicatioons 132, no. 1, p.
p 283-296.
10
Tadla-H
Haouz Basin.. Opportunitiees for Hydroocarbon E & P in Morocco. ONHHYM, 2010.http:/// /en/
www.onhym
m.comHYDROCARBURES/Prospectivit%
%C3%A9sdesBassins/ExplorationR%C33%A9gionale/Onshorre/HaouzTadlaBasinn/tabid/347/languagee/enUS/Default.aaspx?Cat=27.
June, 2013
XIV-13
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
World Shale Gas and Shale Oil R
Resource Assesssment
XV. ALGER
A
IA
SUMMA
ARY
Algerias
A
hydrocarbon ba
asins hold tw
wo significan
nt shale gas and shale o
oil formationss, the
Silurian Tannezuft
T
Shale
S
and th
he Devonian Frasnian Shale. This study exa
amines seve
en of
these sh
hale gas and shale oil basins: the
e Ghadamess (Berkine) and Illizi b
basins in ea
astern
Algeria; the Timimoun, Ahnet and
a
Mouydir basins in central Algeria; and th
he Reggane
e and
Tindouf basins
b
in sou
uthwestern Algeria,
A
Figu
ure XV-1.
Figure XV
V-1. Shale Gass and Shale O
Oil Basins of A
Algeria
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
XV
V-1
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
Our
O assessm
ment is that these seven
n basins contain approxximately 3,4
419 Tcf of rrisked
shale gas
s in-place, with
w 707 Tcf as the risked, technicallly recoverab
ble shale gass resource, T
Table
XV-1A, 1B
1 and 1C. In addition, six of thes
se basins ho
old 121 billio
on barrels o
of risked sha
ale oil
and cond
densate in-p
place, with 5.7
5 billion ba
arrels as the risked, tech
hnically reco
overable sha
ale oil
resource
e, Table XV-2
2.
Tablee XV-1A. Shale Gas Reservvoir Propertiess and Resourcces of Algeriaa.
BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Ghadames/Berkine
Basin/Gross Arrea
Illizi
(117,000 mi )
(44,900 mi )
Frasnian
n
U. Devoniian
Marine
Shale Formatio
on
Geologic Agee
Depositional Enviro
onment
Tannezzuft
Siluriaan
Marinne
Tannezuft
Silurian
Marine
Pro
2,720
3,840
3,490
6,050
22,080
9,840
Organically Rich
275
2775
275
115
115
180
Thickness (ft)
Net
248
104
104
2448
248
162
Intervaal
8,000 - 10,500 9,000 - 10,000 10,000 - 16,0000 10,000 - 14,500 11,000 - 16,000 3,3300 - 8,000
Dep
pth (ft)
10,500
5,000
9,500
Averag
ge
8,500
13,000
13,000
Mod.
Mod.
Mod.
Mo d.
Mod.
Mod.
Resservoir Pressure
Overpress.
Overpresss.
Overp ress.
Overpress.
Ovverpress.
Overpress.
5.7%
6.00%
6.0%
6.0%
5.7%
5.7%
1.15%
1.70%
1.90%
R
0.855%
1.15%
1.15%
Medium
Claay Content
Med ium
m
Medium
M
Medium
Medium
Medium
Gass Phase
16,760
1880
1662
3,300 - 8,000
5,0000
Mood.
Overppress.
5.77%
1.770%
Meddium
Assocc. Gas
Wet Gass
Dry Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
W Gas
Wet
Dry Gas
GIP
P Concentration (Bccf/mi )
35.4
111.4
133.9
42.9
54.5
50.9
600.7
Rissked GIP (Tcf)
48.2
213.8
233.7
129.9
601.3
100.1
2003.6
Rissked Recoverable (T
Tcf)
4.8
42.8
58.4
26.0
150.3
15.0
400.7
Tablee XV-1B. Shale Gas Reservvoir Propertiess and Resourcces of Algeriaa.

BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Timimoun
Basin/Grosss Area
A
Ahnet
Shale Formaation
Geologic Age
A
2
mi )
Orgaanically Rich
Th
hickness (ft)
Net
Interrval
Deepth (ft)
Averrage
Reeservoir Pressure
Gaas Phase
2
(20,200 mi )
Frasnian
U. Devonian
U
Marine
Tannezuft
Silurian
Marine
32,040
200
180
3,300 - 9,000
6,000
41,670
100
90
5,000 - 15,000
10,000
(22,3000 mi )
Tan
nnezuft
Sillurian
Marine
Frasnian
U. Devoniann
Marine
Tannezuft
Silurrian
Marrine
4.0%
1.70%
Medium
2.8%
2.00%
Medium
1,650
275
248
3,,300 - 6,600
5,000
Mod.
O
Overpress.
4.0%
1.15%
Medium
Dry Gas
Dry Gas
Wet Gas
D Gas
Dry
Dryy Gas
Dry Gas
G
Modd. Overpress. Modd. Overpress.

%
Th
hermal Maturity (%
% Ro)
Clay Content
Mouyydir
2
(43,700 mii )
5,740
60
54
5,0000 - 9,500
7,000
Mod.
Ovverpress.
3.0%
1.70%
M
Medium
12,8840
111,730
3
330
600
2
297
544
6,000 - 10,500 5,000 - 10,000
6,5500
8,000
M
Mod.
Mood.
Ove rpress.
Overppress.
2
2.8%
3.00%
2.00%
2.200%
Meedium
Meddium
GIP Concentration (Bcf/mi

(
)
72.9
35.5
77.6
21.6
109.0
18.5
Risked GIP (Tcf)
467.1
295.5
25.6
24.8
255.7
47.6
Risked Recoverablee (Tcf)
93.4
59.1
3.8
5.0
5
51.1
9.5
June, 2013
XV
V-2
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
Tablee XV-1C. Shale Gas Reservvoir Propertiess and Resourcces of Algeriaa.

BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Tindouf
Reggane
Basin/Grosss Area
(77,000 mi )
(40,000 mi )
Shale Form
mation
Geologic Age
n
Frasnian
U. Devoniaan
Marine
mi )
2,570
Organically Rich
330
Th
hickness (ft)
Net
297
Inteerval
5,5500 - 14,500
Deepth (ft)
Aveerage
10,000
Mod.
O
Overpress.
3.0%
%
1.15%
Th
hermal Maturity (%
% Ro)
Cllay Content
Medium
Gaas Phase
Tannezuft
Silurian
Marine
Tannezuft
Silurian
Marine
2,110
260
234
6,6600 - 16,000
11,000
Mod.
Overpress.
3.0%
1.70%
Medium
10,150
130
117
5,0000 - 9,500
8,000
Mod.
Ovverpress.
4.0%
1.15%
M
Medium
224,600
5,340
23,8800
6
60
600
230
207
5
54
544
7,5000 - 16,000 6,600 - 13,000 6,600 - 14,000
12,000
10,000
11,0000
Mod.
Mo d.
M
Mod.
Oveerpress.
Overrpress.
Overp ress.
4
4.0%
4..0%
4.00%
1.80%
1.115%
2.500%
Medium
Me dium
Med ium
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
W Gas
Wet
Drry Gas
Wett Gas
Dry Gas
G
GIIP Concentration (Bcf/mi )
103.9
97.3
38.3
94.4
18.9
24.2
Riisked GIP (Tcf)
53.4
41.0
77.8
4
464.5
20.2
1155.2
Riisked Recoverablee (Tcf)
8.0
8.2
11.7
92.9
3
3.0
23.0
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Tab
ble XV-2. Shalle Oil Reservo
oir Properties and Resourcees of Algeria.
Ghadames/Berkine
Basin/Gross Area
Illizi
ne
Reggan
Ahnet
Tin
ndouf
(44,9000 mi )
(20,200 mi )
Tanneezuft
Silurrian
Marrine
Frasnian
U. Devoniann
Marine
Frasnian
U. Devonian
Marine
Tannezuft
Silurian
Marine
Tan
nnezuft
Sillurian
Maarine

2,720
3,840
6,050
9,8840
275
275
Organically Rich
115
1880
Thickkness (ft)
248
248
Net
104
1662
8,000 - 10,5000 9,000 - 10,000 10,000 - 14,500 3,300 - 8,000
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
8,500
10,500
5,0000
9,500
Mod.
Mod.
Mood.
Mod.
Reseervoir Pressure
Overpress.
Overpress.
O
Overpress.
Overppress.
6.0%
6.0%
5.7%
5.77%
Therm
mal Maturity (% Ro)
1.15%
1.155%
0.85%
1.15%
Medium
Medium
Clay Content
Medium
Med ium
1,650
275
248
3,300 - 6,6000
5,000
Mod.
Overpress.
4.0%
1.15%
Medium
2,570
330
297
5,500 - 14,500
10,000
Mod.
Overpress.
3.0%
1.15%
Medium
10,150
130
117
5,000 - 9,500
8,000
Mod.
Overpress.
4.0%
1.15%
Medium
5,340
60
54
6,600 - 13,000
100,000
M
Mod.
Ove rpress.
4
4.0%
1.15%
Meedium
Oil Phase
P
(117,000 mi )
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Deepositional Environm
ment
Fraasnian
U. Devonian
D
M
Marine
Tannezuft
Silurian
Marine
(40,000 mi
m )
(77,0000 mi )
Oil
Condensate
C
Condensate
Condeensate
Condensatee
Condensate
Condensate
Conddensate
OIP Concentration
C
(MMbb
bl/mi )
43.7
9.7
3.1
6.5
14.4
11.4
3.9
1.7
Riskeed OIP (B bbl)
59.4
18.7
9.5
12.8
4.8
5.9
8.0
1.8
Riskeed Recoverable (B bb
bl)
2.97
0.93
0.47
0.551
0.19
0.24
0.32
0
0.07
June, 2013
XV
V-3
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
INTROD
DUCTION
For most of Paleozoic time, North
h Africa (inccluding Alge
eria) was a single ma
assive
onal basin.1 The separa
ation and su
ubsequent ccollision of L
Laurasia and
d Gondwana
a (the
depositio
Hercynia
an event) esttablished the
e seven indiividual basin
n outlines an
nd uplift structures of pre
esent
day Alge
eria.2
Two major transgressions, first in the

e Silurian and the seccond in the Late
Devonian
n, provided the
t depositio
on of the org
ganically rich
h marine (ge
enerally Type
e I and II) so
ource
rocks in these
t
basins
s. Subsequent transpre
essional movvements rea
activated the
e older structtures.
These ev
vents, plus additional
a
co
ompression and
a movem ent, caused
d the local up
plifts and ero
osion
that today define and
d characteriz
ze these bas
sins.3
The
T
stratigraphic column
n for the sh
hale basins of Algeria iis provided in Figure X
XV-2,4
e Upper De
identifyin
ng the Silurian Tannezu
uft black mu
udstone inte
erval and the
evonian Frassnian
mudstone that are th
he principal shale sourc
ce rocks for the conventtional oil and
d gas discovvered
n Algeria. The
T stratigraphy of the Silurian
S
sectiion is generrally more co
ontinuous th
han of
to date in
the Devo
onian section
n, which has
s been influe
enced by mo
ore localized deposition5.
Geochemical
G
modeling in
ndicates that these shal es may havve generated
d over 26,00
00 Tcf
of gas (in
ncluding sec
condary crac
cking of gene
erated oil), w
with some po
ortion of thiss gas still reta
ained
he Silurian Tannezuft S
in the sh
hales. The present day
y total organic content (TOC) of th
Shale
ranges frrom 2% to 4%.
4
Howeve
er, the TOC of the shale
e has been rreduced by as much as onehalf due to the therrmal maturation process
s.6 The pre
esent day T
TOC of the Upper Devo
onian
Frasnian Shale range
n.
es more wid
dely, from 1%
% to 8%, deccreasing wesstward acrosss the region
The
T following
g series of th
hree regional cross-sectiions provide
es a useful p
perspective o
of the
depositio
onal and strructural setting for six of these ba
asins, Figure
es XV-3,4 X
XV-44 and X
XV-5.1
Figure XV
V-1(provided
d previously
y) shows the location of tthese three cross-sectio
ons.
June, 2013
XV
V-4
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
Figu
ure XV-2. Straatigraphic Co
olumn and Nom
menclature foor Illizi and Ghhadames (Berkine) Basins.
(Maajor reservoir rocks

r
are shoown in yellow aand source roocks in gray.)
Source: Klett, 2000A.
June, 2013
XV
V-5
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
Figu
ure XV-3. Crosss Section A-A
A: Ghadamess (Berkline) annd Illizi Basinss
Fiigure XV-4. Cross

C
Section B-B: Ahnet, M
Mouydir and IIllizi Basins
June, 2013
XV
V-6
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
Fig
gure XV-5. Cross-Section C-C: Timimooun and Regggane Basins
Source: Klett, 2000B.
June, 2013
XV
V-7
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
1.
GHADAMES
G
S (BERKIN
NE) BASIN
1.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T Ghadames (Berkine)) Basin is a large intra-ccratonic basin underlying
g eastern Alg
geria,
southern Tunisia and western Libya.

L
The basin
b
contaiins a seriess of reverse faults, provviding
c
oil and gas
s sourced frrom Devonia
an- and Silu
urian-age sh
hales.
structural traps for conventional
The centtral, deep po
ortion of the basin contaiins uplifted ffault blocks fformed durin
ng the Camb
brianOrdovicia
an.7
The Ghadames
G
Basin and its two sig
gnificant sha
ale formatio
ons, the Sillurian
Tannezuft and the Upper Devo

onian Frasnian, are loccated in the
e eastern po
ortion of Alg
geria.
X
and XV
V-7 provide the basin outline and s hale therma
al maturity co
ontours for tthese
Figures XV-6
two shale
e formations
s.
In
n Algerias portion
p
of the
e Ghadame
es Basin, the
e Silurian Ta
annezuft Fo
ormation con
ntains
an organ
nic-rich marine shale th
hat increase
es in maturitty toward th
he basin center.
We have
mapped a 28,130-mi2 higher qua

ality prospec
ctive area fo
or the Tannezuft Shale in
n this basin. The
es of the Ta
annezuft Sha
ale prospecctive area arre defined b
by the
western and northerrn boundarie
he Silurian and
a
by minimum therm
mal maturity. The easte
ern border o
of the
erosional limits of th
d
by th
he Tunisia an
nd Algerian border.
prospective area is defined
The
T central, dry gas porttion of the Tannezuft
T
S hale prospe
ective area in the Ghada
ames
o over 2%. The rema
Basin, co
overing 21,4
420 mi2, ha
as thermal maturity
m
(Ro ) of 1.3% to
aining
portion of
o the prospective area of 6,710 mi2 has an R o between 1
1.0% and 1.3%, placing
g this
area in th
he wet gas and
a condens
sate window.
Deposited
D
ab
bove the Ta
annezuft is the
t
areally m
more limited
d and therm
mally less m
mature
Upper Devonian Fra
asnian Shale
e. We hav
ve mapped a 10,040-mi2 higher qu
uality prospe
ective
area for the Frasnia
an Shale in the Ghadam
mes Basin of Algeria. The weste
ern, northern
n and
southern boundaries
s of the Fras
snian Shale
e prospective
e area are sset by the m
minimum the
ermal
maturity criterion of 0.7%
0
Ro. The eastern boundary
b
off the prospective area iss the Tunisia
a and
b
The northern, ea
astern and southern oute
er ring of the
e Frasnian S
Shale prospe
ective
Algeria border.
area in th
he Ghadames Basin, en
ncompassing an area o
of 2,720 mi2, is in the oiil window wiith Ro
between 0.7% and 1.0%.
1
The central
c
5,010
0-mi2 portion
n of the Frassnian Shale prospective area
dow, with Ro of 1.3% to
o over 2%. IIn between iis the 2,310-mi2 wet gass and
is in the dry gas wind
ate window for the Frasn
nian Shale, with
w Ro betw
ween 1.0% a
and 1.3%.
condensa
June, 2013
XV
V-8
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
Figure XV-6. Ghadames Basin

B
Silurian Tannezuft Shhale Outline aand Thermal M
Maturity
Source: ARI, 2013.

2
Fig
gure XV-7. Gh
hadames Basin Upper Devo
onian Frasniann Shale Outlinne and Therm
mal Maturity
Source: ARI, 2013.

2
June, 2013
XV
V-9
XV. Algeria
1.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Silurian
S
Tan
nnezuft Form
mation. The
e depth of tthe gas prosspective are
ea of the Sillurian
Tannezuft Shale in the

t Ghadam
mes (Berkine
e) Basin of A
Algeria rang
ges from 10,000 ft along the
n edge of th
he basin to 16,000
1
ft in the basin ce
enter, avera
aging 10,500
0 ft in
northern and eastern
the wet gas prospe
ective area and 13,000
0 ft in the dry gas pro
ospective area.
The g
gross
s of the Tan
nnezuft Sha
ale ranges frrom 30 to 2
200 ft, with an organic--rich average net
thickness
thickness
s of 104 ft. The
T TOC off the Tannez
zuft Shale a
averages 5.7
7%. The low
wer portion o
of the
formation
n is particula
arly organic-rrich, with TO
OC values off up to 15%.8
Upper
U
Devo
onian Frasn
nian Forma
ation.
The depth of tthe prospecctive area o

of the
overlying
g Upper Dev
vonian Frasn
nian Shale ranges
r
from 8,000 ft to 16,000 ft, avveraging 8,5
500 ft
in the oil--prone area,, 9,500 ft in the wet gas//condensate
e area, and 1
13,000 ft in the dry gas area.
The Fras
snian Shale has a gros
ss thickness
s of 50 to 5
500 ft, with an average organic-rich net
thickness
s of 248 ft. The Frasniian Shale has TOC va lues ranging
g from 3% to 10%, witth an
average of 6%.10
1.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nts
Silurian
S
Tan
nnezuft Sha
ale. The Ta
annezuft Sh
hale, within its 6,050-m
mi2 wet gass and
condensa
ate prospec
ctive area, has
h
resourc
ce concentra
ations of 43
3 Bcf/mi2 off wet gas a
and 3
million barrels/mi2 off condensatte. Within its larger 22
2,080-mi2 drry gas prosp
pective area
a, the
s a resource
e concentrattion of 55 B cf/mi2. The risked reso
ource in-placce for
Tannezuft Shale has
30-mi2 wet gas/condens
g
sate and drry gas prosp
pective area
as of the Ta
annezuft Sha
ale is
the 28,13
731 Tcf of
o wet and dry
d gas and
d 10 billion barrels
b
of co
ondensate. Based on p
presence of clays
but othe
erwise favorable reservoir propertie
es, we esti mate a riskked, techniccally recove
erable
resource
e of 176 Tcf of
o wet/dry sh
hale gas and
d 0.5 billion b
barrels of sh
hale condenssate.
Upper
U
Devon
nian Frasniian Shale. The Frasnia
an Shale hass resource cconcentratio
ons of
44 million
n barrels/mi2 for oil in the
e 2,720-mi2 oil window; 10 million barrels/mi2 off condensate
e and
111 Bcf/m
mi2 of wet ga
as in the 3,8
840-mi2 wet gas/conden sate window
w; and 134 B
Bcf/mi2 of dryy gas
in the 3,490-mi2 dry
y gas window
w. The risk
ked resourc e in-place w
within the ovverall 10,05
50-mi2
a
78 billio
on barrels o
of shale oil/ccondensate,, with
prospective area is 496 Tcf of shale gas and
ecoverable of
o 106 Tcf for shale gas and 3.9 billio
on barrels fo
or shale oil.
risked, re
June, 2013
XV
V-10
XV. Algeria
2.
IL
LLIZI BASIN
2.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
EIA/ARI W
The
T Illizi Basin is located
d south of the Ghadame
es (Berkine) Basin, sepa
arated by a h
hinge
line in the
e slope of th
he basement rocks. This hinge line controls mu
uch of the differing petro
oleum
generatio
on, migratio
on and accu
umulation histories of tthese two b
basins.4
Th
he Illizi Bassin is
bounded on the eastt by the Tihe

emboka (Ga
aroaf) Arch, on the south by the Ho
oggar Massiff, and
w
by the Amguid-Has
A
ssi Touareg structural axxis which se
eparates the
e Illizi Basin from
on the west
the Mouy
ydir Basin, Figure
F
XV-8
8.4 The Illizii Basin is lo
ocated on a basement h
high and thu
us its
shale forrmations are
e shallower than in the Ghadames (Berkline) B
Basin. We h
have mappe
ed an
overall sh
hale gas and
d oil prospec
ctive area off 26,600 mi2 for the Illizi Basin.
2.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Only
O
the Silu
urian Tannez
zuft Shale is
s assessed as prospecctive in the IIllizi Basin. (The
Upper Devonian Fra

asnian Shale
e in the Illiz
zi Basin hass been exclu
uded because of insuffficient
s and low th
hermal matu
urity.)
thickness
The depth of the

e Tannezuft Shale ranges from 3,000 to
8,000 ft, averaging 5,000

5
ft in th
he northern prospective area of the basin. The
e gross thickkness
of the Ta
annezuft Sha
ale ranges frrom 30 to 33
30 ft, with an
n average ne
et pay of 162 ft. The TO
OC of
this Type
e II kerogen marine shalle ranges fro
om 2% to 10
0%, with an average of 5
5.7%. The basin
has a the
ermal maturrity (Ro) of 1% to over 2%. This pla
aces the Tan
nnezuft Sha
ale in the we
et gas
and cond
densate wind
dow (Ro of 1%
1 to 1.3%)) in the north
h-central portion of the b
basin and places
the shale
e in the deep
per surround
ding area of the
t Illizi Bassin in the dryy gas window
w.
2.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Within
W
its 9,84
40-mi2 prosp
pective area
a for wet gass and condensate, the S
Silurian Tann
nezuft
Shale of the Illizi Bas

sin has resource concen
ntrations of 5
51 Bcf/mi2 o
of wet shale gas and 6 m
million
mi2 of shale oil
o and cond
densate. Wiithin its 16,7
760-mi2 prosspective area
a for dry gass, the
barrels/m
shale has
s a resource
e concentration of 61 Bc
cf/mi2.
The
T
risked re
esource in-p
place in the
e total prosp
pective area
a is estimate
ed at 304 T
Tcf of
wet/dry shale
s
gas plu
us 13 billion barrels of shale oil/cond
densate. Off this, 56 Tcff of wet/dry sshale
gas and 0.5 billion barrels of shale oil/condensate a re estimate
ed as the rissked, techn
nically
e.
June, 2013
XV
V-11
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
Figure XV
V-8. Illizi Basin Silurian Tannezuft Shalee, Outline andd Thermal Maturity
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
XV
V-12
XV. Algeria
3.
TIMIMOUN
T
BASIN
3.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
EIA/ARI W
The
T
Timimou
un Basin, located in cen
ntral Algeria
a, is bounde
ed on the no
orth and ea
ast by
structural uplifts, on the west by the Beni Ab
bbes Saddle
e, and on the
e south by tthe Djoua Sa
addle
that sepa
arates the Timimoun
T
Basin from th
he Ahnet Ba
asin. The d
depth and d
deposition o
of the
Timimoun Basin varies greatly due
d to erosion along th e structural highs during the Hercyynian.
eozoic sectio
on is thickes
st in the centter of the Tim
g to the north
h and
The Pale
mimoun Bassin, thinning
east. Th
he major sh
hale source rocks in this basin are
e the Siluria
an Tannezufft Shale and
d the
Upper De
evonian Fras
snian Shale.
We
W mapped a 41,670-mi2 dry gas prrospective a
area for the Tannezuft S
Shale that co
overs
essentiallly all of the Timimoun Basin,
B
exclud
ding a smalll area along the north-w
western portiion of
the basin
n where the
e Silurian is
s absent, Fig
gure XV-9. In addition
n, we mapp
ped a 32,040-mi2
Frasnian Shale dry gas prospective area that coverrs the easte
ern two-third
ds of the b
basin,
excluding
g the low (<2
2%) TOC are
ea along the
e western po
ortion of the basin, Figurre XV-10.
3.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
Silurian
S
Tan
nnezuft Forrmation.
The
T
depth o
of the dry g
gas prospecctive area o
of the
Tannezuft Shale in th
he Timimoun
n Basin rang
ges from 5,0
000 ft on the
e edges of th
he basin to n
nearly
veraging 10,000 ft. The
e thickness o
of the grosss shale interrval is
15,000 ftt in the basin center, av
100 ft, with
w a net org
ganic-rich pa
ay of 90 ft. The TOC off the Tannezuft Shale a
averages 2.8
8% in
the prosp
pective area.
Upper
U
Devon
nian Frasniian Formati
tion. The depth of the dry gas pro
ospective arrea of
the Uppe
er Devonian Frasnian Sh
hale in the Timimoun
T
Ba
asin ranges ffrom about 3
3,300 ft alon
ng the
basin edge to about 9,000 ft in the basin center, averag
ging 6,000 ftt. The thickn
ness of the g
gross
0 ft, with a net
n organic-rrich pay of 1
180 ft. The TOC of the
e Frasnian S
Shale
shale interval is 200
s 4% in the prospective
p
area.
averages
June, 2013
XV
V-13
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
Figure XV-99. Timimoun Basin

B
Silurian Tannezuft Shhale, Outline aand Thermal M
Maturity
Source: ARI, 2013.

2
Figure XV-10. Timimoun Basin

n Upper Devonian Frasniann Shale, Outline and Therm
mal Maturity
Source: ARI, 2013.

2
June, 2013
XV
V-14
XV. Algeria
3.3
EIA/ARI W
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Silurian
S
Tan
nnezuft Shale.
The Tannezuft Shale, with

hin the 41,6
670-mi2 dryy gas

t Timimoun Basin, has
s a resource
e concentration of 36 Bccf/mi2. The rrisked
as resource in-place in the prospe
ective area is 296 Tcf, with 59 Tccf as the rissked,
shale ga
ble shale gas resource.
Upper
U
Devon
an Shale, w
within the 32
2,040-mi2 dryy gas
t Timimoun Basin, has
s a resource
e concentration of 73 Bccf/mi2. The rrisked
as resource in-place in the prospe
ective area is 467 Tcf, with 93 Tccf as the rissked,
shale ga
ble shale gas resource.
June, 2013
XV
V-15
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
4.
AHNET
A
BAS
SIN
4.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T Ahnet Ba
asin is locatted in the Sa
ahara Deserrt Platform, south of the
e large Timim
moun
Basin, west of the Mouydir

M
Basin, and north
h of the Hog gar Shield. The Ahnet Basin is a n
northending basin that contain
ns thick (ove
er 3,000 ft) o
of Paleozoic sediments in
ncluding org
ganicsouth tre
rich Silurrian and Dev
vonian shale
es. The stru
uctures in th
he basin take
e the form o
of large, elon
ngate
anticlines
s and dome
es formed as a result of
o tectonic ccompression
n, as shown
n on the norrth to
south cro
oss-section, Figure XV-1
11.9
gure XV-11. Schematic
S
Cro
oss Section off the Ahnet Baasin, Algeria
Fig
Source: Loggan, P. and Dudddy, I., 1998.
The
T
Ahnet Basin conta
ains the Silurian Tann
nezuft and Upper Devonian Frassnian
formation
ns and their organic-rich
h shale interrvals. In so
ome portionss of the basin, the Paleozoic
section was
w eroded during Herc
cynian deform
mation. How
wever, up to
o 4 km of Pa
aleozoic dep
posits
remain in
ntact in the center of the
e basin.9 We
W have defi ned prospecctive areas of 11,730 m
mi2 for
the Silurian Tannezu
uft Shale an
nd 7,390 mii2 for the De
evonian Fra
asnian Shale
e in the norrthern
portion of
o the Ahnet Basin, Figurres XV-12 an
nd XV-13.
June, 2013
XV
V-16
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
Figure XV-12. Ahnet Bassin Silurian Taannezuft Shal e, Outline and Thermal Maaturity
Source: AR
RI, 2013.
Figure
F
XV-13. Ahnet Basin Upper
U
Devonian Frasnian S
Shale, Outlinee and Thermall Maturity
Source: ARI,, 2013.
June, 2013
XV
V-17
XV. Algeria
4.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
Silurian
S
Tan
nnezuft Form
mation. The
e depth of tthe Tannezuft Shale in
n the prospe
ective
area of th
he Ahnet Ba
asin ranges from
f
6,000 to 10,500 ft, averaging 8
8,000 ft. The
e thickness o
of the
shale ran
nges from 15
50 to 500 ft, averaging 330
3 ft with a high net to gross ratio. The TOC o
of the
shale ran
nges from 1.5% to 4% and
a contains
s Type III ga
as-prone kerrogen. The thermal ma
aturity
places th
he prospective area of the
t Tannezu
uft Shale of the Ahnet B
Basin in the
e dry gas window
(Ro > 1.3
3%).
Devonian
D
Frrasnian Forrmation. The depth off the Frasnian Shale in
n the prospe
ective
area of the
t Ahnet Basin ranges
s from aboutt 3,300 to 9 ,500 ft, averaging 6,000
0 ft, with the
e wet
gas/cond
densate area
a shallower and the dry gas area de
eeper. The gross thickn
ness of the sshale
ranges frrom 60 to 27
75 ft, with a net pay of approximate
a
ely 54 ft in th
he dry gas a
area and 248
8 ft in
the wet gas/condens
g
sate area. The
T TOC ran
nges from 3%
% to 4% and
d is mostly Type
T
III gas-p
prone
kerogen. The therm
mal maturity
y of the prospective are
ea of the F
Frasnian Sha
ale is in the
e wet
densate and dry gas win
ndows (Ro > 1.0%). Pe
etrophysical evaluationss of the Frassnian
gas/cond
Shale ind
dicate poros
sity of 6% and low wate
er saturation
n in the dee
eper, prospe
ective area o
of the
Ahnet Ba
asin.
4.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nts (Prospe
ective Area
a).
Silurian
S
Tan
nnezuft Shale.
Withiin its 11,73

30-mi2 dry gas prospe
ective area, the

t Ahnet Basin
B
has a resource co
oncentration
n of 109 Bcff/mi2. The rrisked
s resource in-place in th
he dry gas prospective
p
a
area is 256 T
Tcf, with 51 Tcf estimate
ed as
shale gas
the risked
d, technically recoverable shale gas
s resource.
Devonian
D
Frrasnian Sha
ale. Within its
i 5,740-mi2 dry gas pro
ospective arrea, the Frassnian
Shale in the Ahnet Basin
B
has a resource co
oncentration
n of 22 Bcf/m
mi2. Within its 1,650-mii2 wet
densate pros
spective area, the Frasn
nian Shale h
has resource
e concentrations of 15 m
million
gas/cond
2
barrels/m
mi2 of shale oil/condensa
o
ate and 78 Bcf/mi
B
of wett shale gas.
The
T risked sh
hale gas res
source in-pla
ace in the ovverall 7,390-mi2 wet/dryy gas prospe
ective
area is 50
5 Tcf, with 9 Tcf as the
e risked tech
hnically reco verable sha
ale gas resou
urce. The rrisked
shale oil resource in-place in the
e 1,650-mi2 oil/condenssate prospecctive area is 5 billion ba
arrels,
with 0.2 billion
b
barrels as the risk
ked, technica
ally recovera
able shale oil resource.
June, 2013
XV
V-18
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
5.
MOUYDIR
M
BASIN
B
5.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting.
The
T Mouydir Basin is loc
cated in cen
ntral Algeria , west of the
e Illizi Basin
n and east o
of the
Timimoun and Ahne

et basins. A variety of upthrusted sstructural rid
dges separa
ate these ba
asins.
eozoic Siluria
an and Devo
onian sediments, which include the important S
Silurian Tann
nezuft
The Pale
Shale an
nd the Upperr Devonian Frasnian
F
Sh
hale, are dee
epest in the northern portion of the basin
and crop
p out in the southern porttion of the ba
asin.
We
W have mapped a pros
spective area
a of 12,840 mi2 in the n
northern porrtion of the b
basin,
limited on
n the south by
b the depth
h of the shale
e, Figure XV
V-14.
Figure XV-144. Mouydir Baasin Silurian Tannezuft
T
Shaale, Outline annd Thermal M
Maturity
Sourcee: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
XV
V-19
XV. Algeria
5.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
Only
O
the Silu
urian Tanne
ezuft Shale is assessed
d as prospe
ective in the
e Mouydir B
Basin.
(The Dev
vonian Frasnian Shale, although th
hick and org anically rich
h, is mostly too shallow,, less
than 3,30
00 ft, exclud
ding the shalle from furth
her assessm
ment.) The d
depth of the Tannezuft S
Shale
ranges frrom 5,000 to
o 10,000 ft, averaging
a
6,500 ft in the
e prospectivve area. The
e gross thickkness
of the sh
hale ranges
s from 20 to
o 120 ft, averaging 60 ft with a hiigh net to g
gross ratio. The
Tannezuft Shale in the Mouydir Basin has TOC
T
ranging
g from 2% to
o 4%, with a thermal ma
aturity
above 1.3% Ro, placing the shale
e in the dry gas
g window .
5.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt.
Within
W
its 12
2,840-mi2 drry gas prospective area
a, the Silurrian Tannezzuft Shale o
of the
Mouydir Basin has a resource concentration

c
n of 19 Bcf/m
mi2. The rissked resourcce in-place iin the
e area is estimated
e
at 48 Tcf, w
with 10 Tcff as the rissked, techn
nically
dry gas prospective
as resource.
June, 2013
XV
V-20
XV. Algeria
6.
REGGANE
R
BASIN
6.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting.
EIA/ARI W
The
T Reggane
e Basin, loca
ated in the Sahara
S
Dese
ert portion off central Alge
eria, is sepa
arated
from the Timimoun Basin
B
by the Ougarta Rid
dge. The ba
asin is an assymmetric syyncline, bou
unded
orth by a se
eries of reserve faults an
nd on the so
outh by shallowing outccrops, Figure
e XVon the no
15.9 This basin may
y contain ov
ver 800 m of Silurian se
ection, altho
ough well co
ontrol in the deep
he basin is limited. The
e basin also
o contains th
he Upper De
evonian Frassnian
northern portion of th
on which is re
eported to re
each a maximum thickne
ess of 400 m
m.
Formatio
We
W have mapped prospe
ective areas
s of 34,750 m
mi2 for the S
Silurian Tann
nezuft Shale
e and
4,680 mi2 for the Upp
per Devonia
an Frasnian Shale in the
e eastern portions of the
e Reggane B
Basin,
Figures XV-16
X
and XV-17.
X
6.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Areas)..
Silurian
S
Tan
nnezuft Forrmation.
The
T
depth o
of the prosp
pective area
a for the Sillurian
Tannezuft Shale ran

nges from 16
6,000 ft on the
t north to 5,000 ft on the south, a
averaging 10
0,000
w gas/condensate pro
ospective are
ea is slightlyy shallower than this avverage, while the
ft. The wet
dry gas prospective area is deeper.9 The gross thickkness of the
e organic-ricch section in the
prospective area ran
nges from about
a
130 to
t 230 ft, w
with a high n
net to grosss ratio.9 TO
OC is
favorable
e, ranging frrom 3% to 5%.
5
The th
hermal matu
urity places the prospecctive area o
of the
Tannezuft Shale into
o the wet ga
as and condensate wind
dow (Ro of 1
1.0 to 1.3%)) in the shallower
ow (Ro > 1.3
3%) in the de
eeper north, as illustrate
ed by the no
orth to
south and into the drry gas windo
oss-section on
o Figure XV
V-17.10
south cro
Upper
U
Devonian Frasniian Formattion.
The d
depth of the
e shallower Upper Devo
onian
Frasnian Shale in the

e Reggane Basin range
es from 5,500
0 ft to 16,00
00 ft, averaging about 10
0,500
e area, with the wet gas
s/condensatte area shalllower and tthe dry gas area
ft in the prospective
at deeper.9 The thickne
ess of the organic-rich
o
portion of th
he shale ran
nges from 260 to
somewha
330 ft, with
w a high net
n to gross
s ratio.9 The
e TOC of th
he shale ran
nges from 2
2% to 4%.10 The
thermal maturity
m
plac
ces the pros
spective are
ea of the Fra
asnian Shale
e in the wett/condensate
e and
dry gas windows
w
(Ro > 1%). Th
he Frasnian Shale is jud
dged to have
e good poro
osity of abou
ut 6%
with low water saturation, base
ed on petro
ophysical evvaluations off the Frasnian Shale in
n the
adjoining
g Ahnet Basin.10,11
June, 2013
XV
V-21
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
Figure XV-155. Reggane Basin Silurian Tannezuft

T
Shaale, Outline aand Thermal M
Maturity
Source: ARI, 2013.
Fig
gure XV-16. Reggane
R
Basin
n Upper Devon
nian Frasniann Shale, Outlinne and Thermal Maturity
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
XV
V-22
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
Figurre XV-17. Sch

hematic Crosss Section of thhe Reggane B
Basin, Algeria
Soource: Logan, P. and Duddy, I., 1998.

1
6.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Silurian
S
Tan
nnezuft Sh
hale.
Withiin its 24,60

00-mi2 dry gas prospe
ective area, the

t Reggane
e Basin has
s a resource
e concentrattion of 94 Bccf/mi2. With
hin its
mi2 wet gas and
a condens
sate prospec
ctive area, tthe shale ha
as resource cconcentratio
ons of
10,150-m
38 Bcf/m
mi2 of wet gas
s and 4 millio
on barrels/m
mi2 of oil/cond
densate.
The
T
risked resource in
n-place for the overall 34,750-mi2 Silurian T
Tannezuft S
Shale
t Reggane
e Basin is 542
5 Tcf of w
wet/dry shale
e gas plus 8 billion barre
els of
shale oil/condensate
e. Of this, 105 Tcf of wet/dry sha
ale gas pluss 0.3 billion barrels of sshale
oil/conde
ensate are es
stimated as the risked, technically
t
re
ecoverable rresource.
June, 2013
XV
V-23
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
Devonian
D
Frrasnian Sha
ale. Within its
i 2,110-mi2 dry gas pro
ospective arrea, the Frassnian
Shale in the Reggan
ne Basin ha
as a resourc
ce concentra
ation of 97 B
Bcf/mi2. Witthin its 2,57
70-mi2
a condens
sate prospec
ctive area, the shale hass resource cconcentrations of 104 Bccf/mi2
wet gas and
of wet ga
as and 11 million barrels
s/mi2 of oil an
nd condensa
ate.
The
T
risked resource in
n-place for the overalll 4,680-mi2 Devonian Frasnian S
Shale
t Reggane
e Basin is es
stimated at 9
94 Tcf of we
et/dry shale gas plus 6 b
billion
o shale oil/c
condensate. Of this, 16
6 Tcf of wet//dry shale g
gas plus 0.2 billion barre
els of
barrels of
shale oil//condensate
e are estimatted as the ris
sked, techni cally recove
erable resourrce.
June, 2013
XV
V-24
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
7.
TINDOUF
T
BASIN
B
7.1
Setting.
Geological
G
The
T Tindouf Basin is loca
ated in the far
f southwesstern portion
n of Algeria, bordered o
on the
west by Morocco and on the sou

uth by Maurritania. Thiss large basin
n, the least e
explored bassin in
the Saha
ara Desert Platform, covers an area of over 45,0
000 mi2 just w
within the Allgeria.
Because
B
of liimited well penetrations
p
s, considera ble uncertaiinty surrounds the shale
e gas
and oil potential
p
of the Tindouf Basin. Ba
ased on rece
ent data fro
om Sonatracch, the Devo
onian
Frasnian Shale is rellatively thin (average of 10 m) with a TOC of on
nly about 1%
%.10 As such
h, this
nit has been
n excluded from further quantitativve assessm
ment.
shale un
Tannezuft Shale ap
ppears to be
e more prom
mising.
Howe
ever, the Sillurian
We
e have esta
ablished a d
dry and wett gas
n the northe
ern portion o
of the
prospective area of 29,140 mi for the Silurian Tannezzuft Shale in
B
where
e the TOC is 2% or highe
er, Figure XV
V-18.
Tindouf Basin
Figure XV-118. Tindouf Basin
B
Silurian Tannezuft Sh ale Outline annd Thermal Maaturity
Source:
S
ARI, 20113.
June, 2013
XV
V-25
XV. Algeria
7.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
The
T depth of the Silurian
n Tannezuft Shale in the
e prospectivve area rang
ges from 6,6
600 to
14,000 ftt, averaging

g about 10,5
500 ft. While the total Upper Silu
urian section
n can be se
everal
thousand
d feet thick, the organic--rich portion of the Siluriian Tannezu
uft Shale hass a net thickkness
of only 54
5 ft where the
t TOC ex
xceeds 2%. In the prosspective are
ea, the Tann
nezuft Shale
e is in
both the wet gas/con
ndensate an
nd the dry ga
as windows (Ro > 1.0%)) and has ga
as-prone Tyype III
kerogen.10,12 Figure XV-19
X
provid
des a cross-section for tthis frontier h
hydrocarbon
n basin.13
Figu
ure XV-19. Tin
ndouf Basin C
Cross Section
Source: Booote, 1998.
7.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt.
a, the Silurrian Tannezzuft Shale in
Within
W
its 23
3,800-mi2 drry gas prospective area
n the
Tindouf Basin has a resource concentratio

c
n of 24 Bcff/mi2. Within its 5,340-mi2 wet gass and
ate area, th
he shale has resource concentratio
ons of 19 B
Bcf/mi2 for w
wet gas and
d 1.7
condensa
million ba
arrels/mi2 forr oil/condens
sate.
June, 2013
XV
V-26
XV. Algeria

EIA/ARI W
Within
W
its ov
verall 29,140-mi2 prosp
pective area
a, the risked
d resource in-place fo
or the
t Tindouf Basin is estimated at 13
35 Tcf of we
et/dry shale gas and 2 b
billion
o shale oil/c
condensate. Of this, 26
6 Tcf of wet/
t/dry shale g
gas and 0.1 billion barre
els of
barrels of
shale oil//condensate
e are estimatted as the ris
sked, techni cally recove
erable resourrce.
ACTIVIT
TY
Algerias
A
natu
ural gas and
d gas comp
pany, Sonat rach, has u
undertaken a comprehensive
effort to define the size
s
and qua
ality of its sh
hale gas (an d oil) resources. To da
ate, the com
mpany
ablished a da
ata base of older cores
s, logs and other data a
and comple
emented thiss with
has esta
information from new
w shale well logs in the main shale basins of A
Algeria. Nextt in the plan
n is to
eries of pilott wells to te
est the prod
ductivity of tthe high priority basinss, targeting sshale
drill a se
formation
ns with high TOC (>2%) and thick pay (>20m) a
at moderate depths (<3,0
000 m). The
e first
pilot welll within this comprehensive shale resource
r
as sessment p
program is sscheduled fo
or the
Berkine (Ghadames) Basin, followed by test wells in tthe Illizi, Tim
mimoun, Ahnet and Mo
ouydir
basins.10 Internation
nal energy co
ompanies, Statoil
S
and R
Repsol, have
e also underrtaken geolo
ogical
and rese
ervoir charac
cterization studies of Algerias shaless.11
Over
O
the pas
st year, Alge
eria has pas
ssed amend
dments to itss federal leg
gislation covvering
the hydrocarbon sector
s
impro
oving inves
stment clim
mate in antticipation o
of an expa
anded
ng round due
e in 2013. However, th
he position o
of its stated--owned com
mpany
hydrocarrbon licensin
Sonatrac
ch is expecte
ed to remain
n dominant in
n this sectorr.
REFERE
ENCES
Klett, T.R., 2000. Total Petroleum

P
System
ms of the Grand Erg/Ahnet Provvince, Algeria and MoroccoThee Tanezzuft-Tim
mimoun,
Tanezzuftt-Ahnet, Tanezzzuft-Sbaa, Tanezzuft-Mouydir, Tanezzuft-Benou
T
ud, and Tanezzzuft-Bchar/Abadla. U.S. Geoological
Survey Buulletin 2202-B.
Peterson, J.A., 1985. Geeology and Petrooleum Resourcees of North-Centtral and Northeaastern Africa. U
Open-Filee Report 85-709, 54 p.
Aliev, M. et al., 1971. Geological Structures and Estiimation of Oil aand Gas in the Sahara in Algeeria: Spain. AltamiraRotopresss, S.A., 265 p.

P
Systems of the Illizi Province,
P
Algeriaa and LibyaTaanezzuft-Illizi. U
Bulletin 22202A.
Boudjemaa, A., 1987. Evvolution Structurrale du Bassin Petrolier Trias ique du Saharra Nord Oriental (Algerie).
lUniversitt de Paris-Sud, Centre dOrsay, 290 p.
June, 2013
XV
V-27
Thse a
XV. Algeria
EIA/ARI W
Daniels, R.P.,
R and Emme, J.J., 1995. Petroleum System
m Model, Easterrn Algeria, from Source Rock too Accumulation; When,
Where, annd How? Proceeedings of the Seminar
S
on Sourrce Rocks and H
Hydrocarbon Haabitat in Tunisia; Entreprise Tunisienne
dActivitss Petrolieres Memoir 9, p. 1011124.
Yahi, N., Schaefer,

S
R.G., and
a Littke, R., 20001. Petroleum
m Generation andd Accumulation in the Berkine B
Basin, Eastern A
Algeria.
P
Geoloogists, Bulletin, vol.
v 85, no. 8, p. 1439-1467.
Acheche, M.H., MRabet, A., Ghariani, H.., Ouahchi, A., and

a Montgomeryy, S.L., 2001. G
Ghadames Basin, Southern Tunnisia: A
Reappraissal of Triassic Reservoirs and Future Prospectivvity. American Association of P
Petroleum Geoloogists, Bulletin, vvol. 85,
no. 5, p. 765-780.
7
Logan, P. and Duddy, I., 1998. An Investtigation of the Thhermal History oof the Ahnet and Reggane Basinns, Central Algerria, and
the Conseequences for Hydrocarbon Genneration and Acccumulation. Inn: Macgregor, D
D.S., Moody, R.T.J. and Clark-Lowes,
D.D. (eds.), 1998, Petroleeum, Geology of North Africa. Geological Societty, London, Speccial Publication N
No. 132, 131-1555.
10
Rahmani, A., Kaced, M. and Arab, M., 2012.

2
The Pottential of Shale Gas Plays in A
Algeria. Sonatrach Amont/Internnational
Gas Unionn Shale Gas Woorkshop, Oran, Algeria,
A
Februaryy.
11
Kaddour , A. 2012. Shaale Gas Developpment in Algeria: Possible Syne rgy with Convenntionals. Shale Gas Workshop 27- 28
February, Oran.
12
Belhameeche, F. and Saadallah,

S
N., 2007. Hydrocarbons Potenttial of the Tinddouf Basin (Algeria). SONATTRACH
EXPLORA
ATION, Boumerrdes, Algeria, AAPG
A
Search and
a Discovery A
Article #90072, American Asssociation of Pettroleum
Geologistss, European Reggion Conferencee, Athens, Greecce.
13
Boote, D. R. D., Clark-Lowes, D.D., andd Traut, M.W., 1998. Palaeozzoic Petroleum Systems of Norrth Africa. Geoological
Society, London,
L
Special Publications 1322, no. 1, p. 7-68..
June, 2013
XV
V-28
XVI. Tunisiaa
EIA/ARI W
XVI. TUNISIA
T
A
SUMMA
ARY
Tunisia
T
has two
t
significa
ant formation
ns with pote
ential for sha
ale gas and
d shale oil - - the
Silurian Tannezuft Hot Shale and the Upper Devvonian Frassnian Shale
e.
formation
ns are in the
e Ghadames
s Basin, loca
ated in south
hern Tunisia
a.
These sshale
Addition
nal shale gass and
oil poten
ntial may ex
xist in the Jurassic-Crretaceous a
and Tertiaryy petroleum systems in
n the
Pelagian Basin of ea
astern Tunisiia, as discus
ssed further in this Chap
pter, Figure X
XVI-1.
Figure XV
VI-1. Tunisiass Shale Gas annd Shale Oil B
Basins
Source: ARI, 2013.

June, 2013
XV
VI-1
XVI. Tunisiaa
EIA/ARI W
Our
O assessm
ment is that the
t Tannezu
uft and Frassnian shale fformations in the Ghada
ames
Basin co
ontain 114 Tcf
T of riske
ed shale ga
as in-place, with 23 Tccf as the rissked, techn
nically
as resource, Table XVI--1. In addittion, these ttwo shale fo
ormations co
ontain
29 billion
n barrels of risked shale
e oil in-plac
ce, with 1.5 billion barre
els as the risked, techn
nically
recoverable shale oill resource, Table
T
XVI-2.
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XVI-1. Shalee Gas Reservo

oir Propertiess and Resourcces of Tunisia..
Ghadames
Basin/G
Gross Area
(117,000 mi )

Organically Rich
Thickness (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
Reservoir Presssure
Frasnian
U. Devonian
Marine
Tannezuft
Silurian
Maarine
Shale Formation
F
Geolo
ogic Age
410
115
104
10,000 - 11,000
10,500
940
115
104
11,000 - 14,500
13,000
1,210
197
177
8,000 - 10,000
8,500
850
197
177
9,000 - 10,000
9,500
Mod. Overpress. Mod. Overpress. Mod. Overpresss. Mod. Overpresss. Mod. Overpresss.
Average TOC (w
wt. %)
Clay Content
5.7%
1.15%
Medium
5.7%
1.60%
Medium
6.0%
0.85%
Medium
6.0%
1.15%
Medium
6.0%
1.35%
Medium
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
42.9
54.5
25.4
79.8
100.7
Risked GIP (Tccf)
11.4
33.3
20.0
44.1
5.2
2.3
8.3
2.0
8.8
1.3
Gas Phase
2
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
oir Properties and Resourcees of Tunisia.

Table XVI-2. Shale Oil Reservo
June, 2013
80
197
177
10,000 - 11,0000
10,500
Ghadames
Basin/Grross Area
(117,000 mi )
Shale Fo
ormation
Geolog
gic Age
Frrasnian
U. Devonian
D
M
Marine
Tannezuft
Silurian
Marine

O
Organically
Rich
Thickness (ft)
N
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
A
Average
Reservoir Pressure
410
115
104
10,000 - 11,000
10,500
1,210
197
177
8,000 - 10,000
8,500
850
197
177
9,000 - 10,0000
9,500
Mod. Overpress. Mod. Overpresss. Mod. Overpresss.

5.7%
1.15%
Medium
Average TOC (w
wt. %)
Thermal Maturitty (% Ro)
Clay Content
6.0%
0.85%
Medium
6.0%
1.15%
Medium
Condensate
Oil
Condensatee
3.1
31.3
7.0
Risked OIP (B bbl)
0.8
24.6
3.9
Risked Recoveraable (B bbl)
0.04
1.23
0.19
Oil Phase
2
XV
VI-2
XVI. Tunisiaa
EIA/ARI W
1.
GHADAMES
G
S BASIN
1.1
In
ntroduction
The
T
Silurian--age Tanne
ezuft Hot Shale
S
(calle
ed hot be
ecause of its high ura
anium
content; gamma-ray values >15

50 API units)) is present in much of North Africa
a and the M
Middle
his organic-rrich shale ha
as served as a major so
ource rock ffor many of the conventtional
East. Th
oil and gas
g fields in the region. The Upper Devonian--age Frasnia
an Shale is deposited a
above
the deep
per Tannezuft Shale. It has also se
erved as an important ssource rock for the Devo
onian
and Trias
ssic conventtional reserv
voirs in the re
egion, Figure
e XVI-2.1
Figure XVI-2.
X
Ghadam
mes Basin Straatigraphic Collumn
Source: Accheche, M.H, 20001.
June, 2013
XV
VI-3
XVI. Tunisiaa
EIA/ARI W
Prior
P
geological and sou
urce rock sttudies by Accheche (200
01),1 Yahi (2
2001),2 and Klett
(2000),3 as
a well as more
m
recent information from oil and
d gas producction compa
anies operatiing in
Tunisia4,5,6,7 have pro
ovided valua
able informattion on the g
geologic settting and resservoir prope
erties
of the shale formations of Tunisia
a.
The
T Ghadames Basin an
nd its two sig
gnificant sha le formation
ns are locate
ed in the southern
portion of
o Tunisia. Figures
F
XVI-3 and XVI--4 provide th
he Ghadame
es Basins sshale outline
e and
depth contours for th
he Silurian Tannezuft Ho
ot Shale1 an
nd the Uppe
er Devonian Frasnian Sh
hale.
In
n Tunisias portion of the Ghadames Basin,, the Tanne
ezuft Forma
ation contaiins a
organic-rrich marine shale
s
that grades from immature on
n the north tto post-matu
ure on the ssouth.
We have
e mapped a 1,350-mi2 higher
h
quality prospectivve area for tthe Tannezu
uft Hot Sha
ale in
the Ghad
dames Basin giving co
onsiderable emphasis tto the recen
ntly assemb
bled data on
n the
mineralogy of the shale. The western and
d northern b
boundaries of the prospective area
a are
b a change
e in shale de
eposition fro
om higher qu
wer quartz, h
higher
defined by
uartz, lowerr clay to low
clay mine
eralogy. The eastern and southern
n borders of the prospecctive area arre defined b
by the
Tunisia and
a Libya bo
order.
The
T northern portion of the
t Tannezu
uft Hot Shalle prospecttive area covvers 410 mi2 and
has thermal maturity
y of 1.0% to 1.3% Ro, placing thiss area in th
he wet gas and conden
nsate
ective area of 940 mi2 for the Tan
nnezuft Hott Shale, witth Ro
window. The remaining prospe
han 1.3%, is
s in the dry gas
g window, Figure XVI--5.
greater th
Deposited
D
ab
bove the Tan
nnezuft Hot Shale is th
he thermally less mature
e Frasnian S
Shale.
2
We have
e mapped a 2,140-mi
2
prrospective area for the F
Frasnian Sha
ale in Tunisiias portion o
of the
Ghadames Basin.
The northe
ern boundarry of the F rasnian Sha
ale prospecctive area iss the
minimum
m oil maturity
y criterion off 0.7% Ro. The
T western
n boundary o
of the prospe
ective area iis the
Tunisia and Algeria
a border.
The
T
eastern
n and soutthern bound
dary of the Frasnian S
Shale
prospective area is th
he Tunisia and
a Libya bo
order.
June, 2013
XV
VI-4
X
XVI. Tunisia
EIA/ARI W
Figure XVI-3.. Ghadames Basin Silurian Tannezzuft Shale Outline

and Dep
pth Contours
S
Source: ARI, 2013.
JJune, 2013
Figure XVI-4. Ghadam

mes Basin Upper D
Devonian Frasniann Shale
Outlline and Depth Coontours
Source: ARI, 2013.
XVI-5
X
XVI. Tunisiaa
EIA/ARI W
The
T 1,210-mi2 northern and
a eastern portion of th
he Frasnian Shale prosp
pective area
a is in
the oil wiindow, with Ro between 0.7% and 1.0%. The 8
850-mi2 centtral portion o
of the prospe
ective
area is in
n the wet ga
as and cond
densate wind
dow, with R o between 1
1.0% and 1..3%. A rela
atively
small 80-mi2 area in the southw
western portion of the Frrasnian Sha
ale prospectiive area is in the
w
with
h Ro above 1.3%, Figure
e XVI-6.
dry gas window,
1.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Silurian
S
Tan
nnezuft Sha
ale. The de
epth of the Silurian Ta
annezuft Ho
ot Shale in
n the
prospective area ran

nges from 10
0,000 ft alon
ng the north ern and easstern basin e
edge to 14,5
500 ft
asin center, averaging 10,500 ft in the
t wet gas area and 13,000 ft in tthe dry gas area,
in the ba
Figure XVI-3.
X
The gross
g
thickne
ess of the Tannezuft
T
H
Hot Shale iss 115 ft, with
h an organicc-rich
average net thickne
ess of 104 ft. (A thick
k package o
of Wenlockiian silty sands overliess the
erian Hot Shales
S
with
hin the Silu
urian Tanne
ezuft Formattion.
Llandove
Thesse high porrosity,
potentially gas-charg
ged silty sands are not in
ncluded in ou
ur shale gass resource assessment.))
The
T
TOC off the Tanne
ezuft Hot Shale
S
averrages 5.7%. The lowe
er portion o
of the
formation
n is particula
arly organic--rich, with TOC
T
values of up to 15%
%.4 The the
ermal maturrity of
the Tann
nezuft Hot Shale
S
range
es from wet gas (Ro of 1.0% to 1.3%) in the no
orthern portion of
the prosp
pective area to dry gas (R
( o >1.3%) in the southe
ern portion o
of the prospe
ective area iin the
Ghadames Basin, Figure XVI-5.
Upper
U
Devon
nian Frasnian Shale. The
T depth off the overlyin
ng Upper De
evonian Frassnian
Shale in the prospec
ctive area ra
anges from 8,000 ft to 11,000 ft, a
averaging 8,,500 ft in the oilea, 9,500 ft in the wet gas/condens
g
sate area, a
and 10,500 fft in the dry gas area, F
Figure
prone are
XVI-3. Th
he Frasnian Shale has a gross thickness of 19 7 ft with an organic-rich
h net thickne
ess of
177 ft. Th
he Frasnian Shale has TOC
T
values that range ffrom 1% to 1
10% with an
n average off 6%.3
The therrmal maturity
y in the Fra
asnian Shale
e in the pro
ospective are
ea ranges ffrom 0.7% in the
north to over
o
1.3% Ro in the southwest, plac
cing the shalle in the oil, wet gas/con
ndensate an
nd dry
gas wind
dows, Figure
e XVI-5.
June, 2013
XV
VI-6
X
XVI. Tunisia
EIA/ARI W
Figure XVI-55. Ghadames Bassin Silurian Tannezzuft Hot Shale

Prospeective Area
Figure XVI-6. Ghadam

mes Basin Upper D
Devonian Frasniann Shale
Prospective Areea
S
Source: ARI, 2013.
JJune, 2013
Source: ARI, 2013.
XVI-7
X
XVI. Tunisiaa
1.3
EIA/ARI W
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Silurian
S
Tan
nnezuft Sha
ale. The Tan
nnezuft Hott Shale, witthin its 410--mi2 wet gass and
condensa
ate prospec
ctive area, has
h
resource
e concentra
ations of 43 Bcf/mi2 of w
wet gas and
d 3.1
million ba
arrels/mi2 off condensate. Within itts 940-mi2 d
dry gas prosspective are
ea, the Tann
nezuft
Hot Sha
ale has a res
source conc
centration of 54 Bcf/mi2.
The
T risked re
esource in-p
place for the overall 1,35
50-mi2 wet g
gas/condenssate and dryy gas
prospective area is 45
4 Tcf of shale gas and 0.8 billion b
barrels of sh
hale oil. Bassed on moderate
dium level of clay co
ontent, we estimate rissked,
reservoirr properties, particularlly the med
ble resource
es from the Tannezuft Hot Shale of 11 Tcf o
of shale gass and
d XVI-2.
less than
n 0.1 billion barrels
b
of shale oil, Table
es XVI-1 and
Upper
U
Devo
onian Frasn
nian Shale.
The Frasn
nian Shale, within its o
overall 2,14
40-mi2
prospective area has resource concentratio

ons of 31 m
million barrels/mi2 of oil (plus assocciated
he 1,210-mi2 oil window,, 7 million ba
arrels/mi2 of condensate
e and 80 Bcf//mi2 of wet g
gas in
gas) in th
the 850-mi2 wet gas
s/condensatte window, and
a
101 Bccf/mi2 of dryy gas in the
e 80-mi2 dryy gas
window.
The
T
risked re
esource in-p
place within the overall 2,140-mi2 p
prospective a
area is 69 T
Tcf of
shale ga
as and 28.5 billion barre
els of shale
e oil. Based
d on moderrate reservo
oir propertiess, we
estimate risked, tech
hnically reco
overable res
sources from
m the Frasniian Shale off 12 Tcf of sshale
gas and 1.4 billion ba
arrels of sha
ale oil, Table
es XVI-1 and
d XVI-2.
1.4
Recent
R
Activity
Considerable
C
e exploration
n activity is underway
u
in the Ghadam
mes Basin, with much o
of the
activity still
s devoted to conventio
onal oil and
d gas resourrces. Cyga m Energy h
has acquired
d four
permits in the Ghadames Basin
n totaling 1.6
6 million ne
et acres.4 C
Cygams exp
ploration pro
ogram
involves 200 km off 3D seismic
c and two deep explo ration wellss.
The com
mpany reporrtedly
ed a hydraulic stimulatio
on in March
h 2010 on W
Well No. 1, completed in the Tann
nezuft
conducte
Shale at a depth of 13,000
1
ft in their Sud Toz
zeur permit area. No information ha
as been provvided
on test re
esults. Cyga
am is seekin
ng a JV partn
ner to furthe r develop itss four Tunisia
a permit are
eas.
Chinook
C
Ene
ergy Inc. has acquired a series of lease blocks in the G
Ghadames B
Basin,
totaling 1.3
1 million ne
et acres. Th
he large Sud
d Remada b
block totals 1.2 million a
acres and ta
argets
June, 2013
XV
VI-8
XVI. Tunisiaa
EIA/ARI W
the Tann
nezuft Shale
e as well as conventional formation
ns.5 The co
ompany plan
ns to drill a deep
exploratio
on well in th
he Sud Remada lease block
b
during 2013, targe
eting conventional Ordovvician
and Silurrian resourc
ces. Previous drilling intto the deepe
er, oil bearin
ng TT Ord
dovician rese
ervoir
showed hydrocarbon
h
n potential in
n the Silurian
n Tannezuft Formation.
In
n early 2010
0, Perenco Tunisia rep
portedly drille
ed and hyd
draulically sttimulated a deep
Silurian well
w (Well #5
5) to test the
e shale gas potential in their El Fran
nig Field. T
The companyy has
not relea
ased data on
o the wells
s performance. In late 2012, Pere
enco reporte
ed that their gas
productio
on in Tunisia
a was all fro
om conventio
onal reservo
oirs and the company w
was not producing
any shalle gas. Winstar Resourrces, a sma
all Canadian
n E&P company active
e in Tunisia, has
sponsore
ed an evalua
ation of the Silurian Ta
annezuft Sha
ale in the G
Ghadames B
Basin of southern
Tunisia. Winstar has
s acquired a series of concession
c
a
areas in the basin and, with particip
pation
of ETAP (the state co
ompany), ha
as committed
d to drilling a deep, test well (Sabria
a 12) in 2013
3.
2.
OTHER
O
BAS
SINS
In
n addition to
o the shale gas
g and oil potential in the Ghadam
mes Basin, T
Tunisia mayy also
have sha
ale resource
e potential in
n the less de
efined Pelag ian Basin, lo
ocated in the
e eastern po
ortion
of the country and ex
xtending into
o the offshorre.
The
T
Pelagian Basin con
ntains two hydrocarbon
h
systems with establish
hed shale so
ource
rocks.
The
T
first is the Jurassiic-Cretaceou
us Petroleum
m System a
and its sha
ale source rrocks,
particularly the Juras

ssic Nara Fo
ormation and
d the Early C
Cretaceous (Albian) Fahdene Form
mation
d III kerogen
n. The third potential sh
hale source rock is the Late Cretacceous
contains Type II and
(Cenoma
anian to Turo
onian) Bahlo
oul Formatio
on containing
g Type II kerrogen that underlies a lim
mited
portion of
o the basin. The therm
mal maturity of these so
ource rocks ranges from
m early matu
ure to
late matu
ure with TOCs that rang
ge from 0.5% to 14%, g
generally 1%
% to 3%. T
The oil gene
erated
from thes
se Jurassic-Cretaceous source rock
ks is general ly light, averraging 33o A
API.
The
T
second hydrocarbo
on system in the Pela
agian Basin
n is the Te
ertiary Petro
oleum
Systems and its Ea
arly Eocene
e Bou Dabb
bous Forma
ation shale.
The Bou Dabbous S

Shale
contains Type I and II kerogen with

om 0.4% to 4%. The th
w TOC that ranges fro
hermal matu
urities
of the shale ranges from
f
early mature
m
to mature, providiing a varietyy of oil gravitties, ranging from
18o to 53
3o API.
June, 2013
XV
VI-9
XVI. Tunisiaa
EIA/ARI W
A number of companies have begun

n exploration
n efforts in the Pelagian
n Basin, inclu
uding
a small Canadian-lis
sted company, African Hydrocarbo
ons and sup
per-major Shell Oil. Affrican
e 130,000-accre Bouhajla
a and Ktititirr carbonate-chalk
Hydrocarrbons has a minority intterest in the
reservoirr.
While th
he company
y acknowled
dges that iits lease accreage man
ny also hold an
unconventional shale
e play, it plan
ns to target the low han
nging fruit first.8
Shell
S
Oil acq
quired a larg
ge lease pos
sition in the
e Pelagian B
Basin and h
has announcced a
$150 milllion explora
ation program to target convention al reservoirss as well as shale gass and
shale oil potential on its lease ac
creage.
REFERE
ENCES
1

a Montgomeryy, S.L., 2001 . G
no. 5, p. 765-780.
7
Yahi, N., Schaefer,

S
R.G., and
a Littke, R., 20001. Petroleum
m Generation andd Accumulation in the Berkine B
Basin, Eastern A
Algeria.
P
Geoloogists, Bulletin, vol.
v 85, no. 8, p. 1439-1467.

P
Systems of the Trias/Ghadames Provvince, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya-The Tannezufft-Oued
Mya, Tannnezuft-Melhir, annd Tannezuft-Ghhadames. U.S. Geological Surrvey, Bulletin 2202-C, 118 p.
Cygam Ennergy, Incorporatted, 2012.
Chinook Energy,
E
Incorporaated, 2012.
Perenco Tunisia,
T
2012.
Winstar Reesources, 2012
Stafford, J., 2013. Is Tunisia the New Hoot Spot for Energgy Investors? w
www.rigzone.com
m accessed April 10, 2013.
June, 2013
XV
VI-10
XVII. Libya
XVII.
EIA/ARI W
LIB
BYA
SUMMA
ARY
This
T
shale gas and sha
ale oil resou
urce assessm
ment addresses three of Libyas m
major
hydrocarrbon basins: the Ghadames (Berkin
ne) Basin in the west, th
enter,
he Sirte Bassin in the ce
and the Murzuq
M
Basin in the sou
uthwest of th
he country, F
Figure XVII--1. One add
ditional basin
n, the
Kufra Ba
asin in the southeast, is discusse
ed but is n
not quantitattively assesssed due to
o the
speculatiive and limite
ed nature off the available data.
Figure XV
VII-1. Shale Gas and Shale Oil Basins of Libya
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
3
XV
VII-1
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
We
W estimate that these three basin
ns in Libya ccontain 942
2 Tcf of risked shale ga
as inplace, with 122 Tcf as the riske
ed, technicallly recovera ble shale ga
as resource, Tables XV
VII-1A
ormations in these three basins also contain 613
3 billion barre
els of
and 1B. In addition, the shale fo
risked sh
hale oil and
d condensatte in-place, with 26.1 b
billion barrels as the risked, techn
nically
recoverable shale oill resource, Tables
T
XVII-2
2A and 2B.
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Tablee XVII-1A. Shale Gas Reserrvoir Propertiees and Resouurces of Libya.

Ghadames
Basin/Gro
oss Area
(117,000 mi )
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
E
Frasniian
U. Devoonian
Marinne
Tannezuft
T
L Silurian
L.
Marine

16,440
3,350
2
2,580
1,5570
3700
30
115
O
Organically
Rich
115
115
1997
1977
197
Thickness (ft)
Net
104
1777
1777
177
104
104
nterval
100,000 - 11,000 10,5500 - 11,500 11,0000 - 14,500 8,000 - 10,000 9,000 - 10,000 11,000 - 12,000
In
Depth (ft)
A
Average
10,500
11,000
13,000
8,5500
9,500
11,500
M
Mod.
Mood.
Modd.
Mod.
Mod.
Mod.
Reservoir Pressu
ure
O
Overpress.
Oveerpress.
Overppress.
Overpreess.
Overpresss.
Overpress.
Average TOC (wt.. %)
5.7%
5.7%
5
5.7%
6.00%
6.0%
%
6.0%
0.85%
1.15%
1.60%
0.885%
1.15%
%
1.35%
Medium
Clay Content
M
Medium
Meddium
Mediuum
Medium
m
Medium
Assoc. Gas
W Gas
Wet
Drry Gas
Assocc. Gas
Wet Gas
G
Dry Gass
on (Bcf/mi )
GIP Concentratio
11.8
43.4
54.5
255.4
79.88
93.1
Risked GIP (Tcf)
96.9
72.7
70.3
199.9
14.88
1.4
9.7
14.5
17.6
2
2.0
3.0
0.3
Gas Phase
2
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Tablee XVII-1B. Shale Gas Reserrvoir Propertiees and Resouurces of Libya.
June, 2013
3
S
Sirte
Basin/Gro
oss Area
Murzuq
2
(172,0000 mi )
Shale Fo
ormation
Geologic Age
E
(97,000 mii )
Sirte/Rachmat
U. Cretaceous
Marine
Etel Fm
U. Cretaceouus
Marine
Tannezufft
L. Siluriann
Marine
35,240
2,000
200
10,000 - 12,000
11,000
19,920
600
120
11,000 - 16,4000
13,500
5,670
67
60
3,300 - 10,0000
6,500
Reservoir Pressu
ure
Normal
Normal
Mod. Overprress.
Average TOC (wt. %)

Clay Content
2.8%
0.85%
Medium
3.6%
1.15%
Medium
7.0%
0.90%
Medium

O
Organically
Rich
Thickness (ft)
N
Net
In
nterval
Depth (ft)
A
Average
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Assoc. Gaas
on (Bcf/mi )
GIP Concentratio
24.8
37.4
6.5
Risked GIP (Tcf)
349.8
297.9
18.6
28.0
44.7
1.9
Gas Phase
2
XV
VII-2
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XVII-2A. Sh
hale Oil Reserrvoir Propertiees and Resourrces of Libya.
Ghadamess
A
Basin/Gross Area
(117,000 mi )
Shale Formattion
Geologic Ag
ge
Deepositional Environment
Tannezuftt
L. Siluriann
Marine
Frasnian
U. Devoniann
Marine

16,440
3,350
1,570
370
115
115
197
197
Organ
nically Rich
Thickkness (ft)
104
104
177
177
Net
Intervval
10,0000 - 11,000 10,5500 - 11,500 8,0000 - 10,000 9,0000 - 10,000
Depth
h (ft)
Averaage
10,500
11,000
8,500
9,500
Mod.
Mod.
Mod.
Mod.
Reseervoir Pressure
Ovverpress.
Ovverpress.
Ovverpress.
Ovverpress.
5.7%
5.7%
6.0%
6.0%
Therm
mal Maturity (% Ro)
0.85%
1.15%
0.85%
1.15%
Clay Content
M
Medium
M
Medium
M
Medium
M
Medium
Oil Phase
P
Oil
Coondensate
Oil
Conndensate
OIP Concentration
C
(M
MMbbl/mi )
12.0
3.1
31.3
7.0
Riskeed OIP (B bbl)
98.8
5.1
24.6
1.3
Riskeed Recoverable (B
( bbl)
4.94
0.26
1.23
0.06
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
hale Oil Reserrvoir Propertiees and Resourrces of Libya.

Table XVII-2B. Sh
June, 2013
3
Sirte
Basin/Grosss Area
Mu
urzuq
2
(1772,000 mi )
Shale Form
mation
Geologicc Age
D
Depositional
Environment
2
Pro
Orrganically Rich
Thickness (ft)
Neet
Intterval
pth (ft)
Dep
Avverage
(97,0000 mi )
Sirte/Rachm
mat
U. Cretaceoous
Marine
Etell Fm
U. Crettaceous
Marine
35,240
2,000
200
10,000 - 12,,000
11,000
19,920
5
5,670
6000
67
60
1220
11,000 - 16,400 3,3000 - 10,000
6
6,500
13,500
M
Mod.
Norrmal
Oveerpress.
3.66%
7
7.0%
1.15%
0..90%
Meddium
Meedium
Resservoir Pressurre
Normal

Clayy Content
2.8%
0.85%
m
Medium
Tan
nnezuft
L. Silurian
S
M
Marine
Oil
Condeensate
Oil
OIP
P Concentration
n (MMbbl/mi )
28.8
6.3
9.5
Risked OIP (B bbl)
405.9
500.5
2
26.9
ble (B bbl)
Risked Recoverab
16.24
2.02
1
1.34
Oil Phase
2
XV
VII-3
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
INTROD
DUCTION
Libya is one of the impo
ortant hydro
ocarbon prod
ducing coun
ntries of Norrth Africa, w
with a
e Basin. The
e geologic se
etting
successfful history off oil and gas exploration, particularlyy in the Sirte
of Libyas sedimenta
ary basins is
s complex, having
h
been
n formed byy a series off tectonic evvents,
the Hercynian that separated the area into a series of h
horsts and g
grabens (uplifts and trou
ughs)
filled with
h Cambrian though Oliigocene sed
diments. Th
his tectonic overprint iss a key facttor in
defining and limiting the shale gas
g and oil prospective
e areas, as discussed ffor each of tthese
assessed
d basins of Libya.
L
The
T
regionallly dominant Lower Silurian Tannezzuft basal or hot shale
e and the U
Upper
Devonian
n Frasnian Shale are assessed
a
in the Ghada mes (Berkin
ne) Basin. T
Two distinct Late
Cretaceo
ous shales -- Sirte/Ra
achmat and Etel -- arre the subjject of our shale reso
ource
assessm
ment in the Sirte Basin. The
T basal h
hot shale w
within the Silu
urian Tanne
ezuft Formation is
the main shale forma
ation assess
sed in the Mu
urzuq Basin..
While
W
our sh
hale resourc
ce assessme
ent has targ
geted three of Libyas m
most prospe
ective
basins an
nd their shalle source roc
cks, it is like
ely that future
e exploration
n will identifyy additional sshale
resource
es in other ba
asins and formations.
June, 2013
3
XV
VII-4
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
1.
GHADAMES
G
S (BERKIN
NE) BASIN
1.1
In
ntroduction
The
T Ghadam
mes (Berkine) Basin is a large intra-ccratonic basin underlying
g eastern Allgeria
2
and soutthern Tunisia
a. It encomp
passes an 84,000-mi
8
a
area in northw
western Libyya and hosts two
significan
nt shale form
mations, the
e Lower Silu
urian Tannezzuft and the
e Upper Devonian Frassnian,
Figure XV
VII-2.1
In
n Libyas portion of the Ghadames Basin, the S
Silurian Tan
nnezuft Form
mation conta
ains a
basal org
ganic-rich marine shale (hot shale) that increa
ases in matu
urity toward the basin ce
enter.
We have
e mapped a 22,370-mi2 higher quality area for the Tannezzuft hot sha
ale in this b
basin,
comprisin
ng separate
e dry gas, wet gas/co
ondensate, a
and oil-pron
ne windowss. The soutthern,
n boundaries
s of the Tannezuft Shale
e prospectivve area are d
defined by uplifts,
the erosiional limits of
o the Silurian, and by thermal ma
aturity. (Due
e to limited thermal ma
aturity
data for the
t eastern portion of th
he prospectiv
ve area, we relied on the ring of disscovered oil fields
as the eastern boun
ndary.) The western bo
oundaries off the prospe
ective area iis defined b
by the
Libya, Tu
unisia and Algerian
A
bord
der.
The
T
central, dry-gas porrtion of the 2,580-mi2 T
Tannezuft Sh
hale prospective area in the
Ghadames Basin has
h
a therm
mal maturity (Ro) rangin
ng from 1.3
3% to overr 2%.
The
e wet
gas/cond
densate pros
spective area covers 3,3
350 mi2 and has a Ro be
etween 1.0%
% and 1.3%. The
remainde
er of the pro
ospective are
ea of 16,440
0 mi2 is in the
e oil window
w, with a Ro of 0.7% to 1
1.3%,
Figure XV
VII-3.
The
T Upper Devonian Fra
asnian Shale
e is deposite
ed above the
e Tannezuftt Formation. The
Frasnian Shale is mo
ore limited in
n area and is
s thermally lless mature. We have m
mapped a 1,970er quality pro
ospective are
ea for the Frrasnian Sha
ale in the Ghadames Bassin of Libya. The
mi2 highe
of the Frasn
eastern, northern and southern boundaries
b
nian Shale p
prospective a
area in this basin
b the minim
mum therma
al maturity criterion
c
of 0
0.7% Ro. T
The western boundary o
of the
are set by
prospective area is th
he Tunisia, Algeria,
A
and Libyan bord
der.
June, 2013
3
XV
VII-5
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
Figure XV
VII-2. Ghadam
mes Basin Straatigraphic Coluumn
Source: Seeddiq Hussein, 2004.

2
June, 2013
3
XV
VII-6
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
The
T northern, eastern an
nd southern outer ring off the Frasnia
an Shale pro
ospective arrea in
the Ghad
dames Basin
n, encompas
ssing an are
ea of 1,570 m
mi2, is in the
e oil window with Ro betw
ween
0.7% and
d 1.0%. The
e central, qu
uite small 30
0-mi2 portion
n of the Frassnian Shale prospective area
is in the dry gas win
ndow, with Ro of 1.3% to
o over 2%. In between
n is the 370--mi2 wet gass and
condensa
ate area for the Frasnian
n Shale, with
h Ro betwee
en 1.0% and 1.3%, Figurre XVII-4.
1.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Silurian
S
Tan
nnezuft Form
mation. The
e depth of tthe gas prosspective are
ea of the Sillurian
Tannezuft Shale in the Ghadam

mes (Berkine) Basin of Libya ranges from 10,,000 ft along
g the
n edge of th
he basin to 14,500 ft to
oward the ba
asin center, averaging a
about
13,000 ftt in the dry gas
g area, 11
1,000 ft in th
he wet gas a
area, and 10,500 ft in tthe oil area. The
lower orrganic-rich basal
b
shale unit has a net thickn ess of 104
4 ft. The TO
OC of the basal
Tannezuft Shale ave
erages 5.7%.2
Upper
U
Devo
onian Frasn
nian Forma
ation.
The depth of tthe prospecctive area o

of the
overlying
g Upper Dev
vonian Frasnian Shale in the Ghad
dames (Berrkine) Basin of Libya ra
anges
from 8,0
000 to 12,0
000 ft, averaging 8,50
00 ft in the
e oil-prone area; 9,500 ft in the
e wet
gas/cond
densate area
a; and 11,50
00 ft in the drry gas area. The organicc-rich portion of the Frassnian
Shale ha
as an averag
ge net thickn
ness of 177 ft.
f The Frasn
nian Shale h
has TOC values ranging from
3% to 10
0%, with an average
a
of 6%.
6 3
1.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nts
Silurian
S
Tannezuft Shalle. The Tann
nezuft Shale
e, within its 2
2,580-mi2 dryy gas prospe
ective
area, has a resourc

ce concentra
ation of 54 Bcf/mi2. W
Within its larrger 3,350-m
mi2 wet gass and
condensa
ate prospec
ctive area, the Tannez
zuft Shale o
of the Ghad
dames (Berrkine) Basin
n has
2
resource
e concentratiions of 43 Bcf/mi
B
of we
et gas and 3 million barrrels/mi2 of ccondensate. The
resource
e concentration in the 16,440 mi2 oil prospective area is 12 m
million barrels/mi2.
The
T
risked re
esource in-p
place for the
e prospectivve areas of the Tannezzuft Shale iss 104
billion ba
arrels of sha
ale oil/conde
ensate and 240
2 Tcf of w
wet and dry shale gas. Given conccerns
with pres
sence of clays but oth
herwise favo
orable reserrvoir properrties, we esstimate a rissked,
ble shale oiil/condensate resource of 5.2 billion barrels an
nd 42 Tcf o
of wet
and dry shale
s
gas.
June, 2013
3
XV
VII-7
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
Figure XVII-3. Ghadames Basin

B
Silurian
n Tannezuft Shhale Outline aand Thermal M
Maturity
Source: ARI, 2013
Figure XVII-4. Ghadames Basin Upper Devo

onian Frasniaan Shale Outliine and Therm
mal Maturity
Source: ARI,, 2013
June, 2013
3
XV
VII-8
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
Upper
U
Devon
an Shale hass resource cconcentratio
ons of
31 millio
on barrels/m
mi2 for oil (p
plus associated gas) iin the 1,570-mi2 oil w
window, 7 m
million
barrels/m
mi2 of conden
nsate and 8 Bcf/mi2 of wet
w gas in th
he 370-mi2 w
wet gas/condensate win
ndow,
2
2
and 93 Bcf/mi
B
of dry
y gas in the 30-mi
3
dry gas window.
ective area
The
T
risked resource in
n-place for the prospe
as is 23 b
billion barre
els of
oil/conde
ensate and 33
3 Tcf of we
et/dry shale gas, with rissked, recove
erable shale
e oil of 1.2 b
billion
barrels and 4 Tcf of wet/dry
w
shale gas.
June, 2013
3
XV
VII-9
XVII. Libya
2.
EIA/ARI W
SIRTE
S
BASIN
Introduc
ction and Geologic
G
Setting
S
The
T
Sirte Ba
asin, covering an area of
o 172,000 m
mi2 in centrral Libya, is the most prolific
hydrocarrbon basin in North Africa. The Sirte Basin ccontains sixtteen giant o
oil and gas fields
(defined as fields co
ontaining mo
ore than 500
0 million barrrels of oil eq
quivalent. T
To date, the Sirte
Basin ha
as yielded 45
5 billion barrels of oil an
nd 33 Tcf off natural gas discoverie
es (SEPM S
Strata,
2013). The
T Upper Cretaceous
C
Sirte/Rachm
S
at and Etel shales are tthe principal source rockks for
these hydrocarbon discoveries
d
and
a are the two organic--rich shale fformations a
addressed byy this
resource
e study, Figure XVII-5.1
Figure XVII-5. Sirte Basin Stratigrraphic Column
Soource: Seddiq Hussein, 2004
June, 2013
3
XVIII-10
XVII. Libya
2.1
EIA/ARI W
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T Sirte Bas
sin consists of a series of
o horst and
d graben stru
uctures trend
ding northwe
est to
southeas
st including the Hameim
mat, Agedab
bia, Wadaya
at, Hagfa an
nd Zella, as shown in F
Figure
XVII-6. These troug
ghs contain the two ma
ain shale forrmations eva
aluated by tthis study - - the
Upper Cretaceous Sirte/Rachma
S
at Shale and
d the underl ying Upper Cretaceouss Etel Shale.. We
have ma
apped an oil--prospective
e area totalin
ng 35,240 m
mi2 for the S
Sirte/Rachma
at Shale in tthese
2
five troug
ghs, similarly, we have mapped a 19,920-mi
1
w
wet gas/con
ndensate are
ea for the areally
more limited Etel Sha

ale in these five troughs
s.
Figurre XVII-6. Sirte Basin Net Shale Isopach for the Sirte/R
Rachmat Shalee
Source: ARI,
A 2013
June, 2013
3
XVIII-11
XVII. Libya
2.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Sirte/Rachm
S
mat Shale.
Within th
he oil-prosp
pective area
a of the S
Sirte Basin,, the
Sirte/Rac
chmat Shale
e is present in a series of
o troughs at depths of 10
0,000 to 12,000 ft, avera
aging
11,000 ftt, Figure VX
XII-7. The to
otal Sirte/Ra
achmat Form
mation has a gross thickkness of 2,0
000 ft
with a net organic-rrich shale se
ection of 20
00 ft. The TOC of the
e organicricch shale intterval
averages
s 2.8% and the
t shale is in the oil win
ndow (Ro of 0.7% to 1.0%
%).
Figure
F
XVII-7. Sirte Basin, Sirte/Rachmat
S
Shale Prospeective Area
Source: ARI,
A 2013
Etel
E
Shale. The Etel Sh
hales 19,920-mi2 prosp ective area underlies th
he Sirte/Racchmat
Shale at depths of 11,000 to 16,,400 ft, averraging 13,50
00 ft, Figure XVIII-8. Th
he Etel Form
mation
TOC of the o
organic-rich sshale
is about 600 ft thick, of which 120 net ft is orrganic-rich sshale. The T
a 3.6%. Th
he thermal maturity
m
(Ro) of 1.0% to
o 1.3% place
es the Etel Shale in the
e wet
is high at
gas/cond
densate wind
dow.
June, 2013
3
XVIII-12
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
Figure XV
VII-8. Sirte Baasin, Etel Shal e Prospectivee Area
Source: ARI, 2013
2.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Sirte/Rachm
S
mat Shale. The
T
Upper Cretaceous
C
Sirte/Rachm
mat Shale, w
within its 35
5,240-
mi2 prosp
pective area
a for oil, has
s an oil conc
centration o
of 29 million barrels/mi2, plus assocciated
gas. The
e risked sha
ale oil in-plac
ce is estimated at 406 b
billion barrelss, with 16.2 billion barre
els as
risked, te
echnically re
ecoverable. In addition, we estimate
e a risked associated sh
hale gas in-place
able shale g
of 350 Tc
cf, with 28 Tcf as the risk
ked, technic
cally recovera
gas resource
e.
Etel
E Shale. The Upper Cretaceous
C
Etel Shale h
has a prospective area of 19,920 m
mi2 for
wet gas and condensate. The Etel
E Shale ha
as resource
e concentratiions of 6 milllion barrels of oil
B of wet gas per squa
are mile. With
W risked re
esources in--place of 51 billion barre
els of
and 37 Bcf
oil/conde
ensate and 298
2
Tcf of wet
w gas, the
e risked, tecchnically reccoverable sshale oil and
d gas
resource
es are estima
ated at 2.0 billion
b
barrels
s of shale oill/condensate
e and 45 Tcff of shale ga
as.
June, 2013
3
XVIII-13
XVII. Libya
3.
EIA/ARI W
MURZUQ
M
BASIN
B
Introduc
ction
The
T Murzuq Basin exten
nds over a la
arge 97,000 -mi2 area in
n the southw
western portion of
Libya (ex
xtending sou
uthward into the Republic of Chad), Figure XVIII-9. With itss remote loca
ation,
the Murz
zuq Basin remained
r
un
ndiscovered and unpro
oven for hyd
drocarbons until the 19
980s.
Since then, four larg
ge discoverries, includin
ng the giantt Elephant ffield plus numerous sm
maller
ccount for 5.4
4 billion barrrels of disco
overed oil in--place, with 1.75 billion b
barrels estim
mated
fields, ac
as recove
erable.
Figurre XVII-9. Bassin Outline and
d Structural Contour
C
Map (G
Granitic Basem
ment) for the Murzuq Basinn
Source: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
3
XVIII-14
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
The
T
primary shale source rock add
dressed in the Murzuq Basin resou
urce study is the
Lower Silurian Tanne
ezuft Formattion, notably
y the hot sh ale interval at the base of the forma
ation,
asin, not furrther assesssed due to la
VII-10.4 Ano
other potential source ro
ock in this ba
ack of
Figure XV
data and concern witth respect to
o thermal ma
aturity, is the
e Middle Devvonian Awayynat Formation in
the deep
p center of th
he basin.
Figure
F
XVII-100. Subsurface Stratigraphy for the Murzuuq Basin.
Source: Belaid at al., 20010
3.1
Geologic
G
Se
etting
The
T
Murzuq Basin is bo
ounded on the east byy the Tibistti Arch, on the west byy the
Tihembada Arch (wh

hich separattes it from th
he Illizi Basin
n in Algeria)), on the north by the Q
Qurcal
Arch (wh
hich separate
es it from th
he Ghadame
es Basin), a
and on the ssouth by the Libya and Chad
ern portion o
borders. Figure XVII-114 provide
es a generalized cross-ssection acrosss the northe
of the
Murzuq Basin.
B
June, 2013
3
XVIII-15
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
Figuree XVII-11. Cro

oss-Section foor Murzuq Bassin
Soource: Belaid at al., 2010
The
T
intra-cratonic Murzu
uq Basin con
ntains a serries of troughs and upliffts that dom
minate
the basin
ns depositio
on and hyd
drocarbon po
otential.
O f particular significance
e is the Aw
wabari
Trough in the center of the bas

sin where a series of co
ored wells (F3-NC174 a
and H29-NC
C115)
en drilled that provide a most valua
able data se
et for this re
esource asse
essment. W
Within
have bee
this troug
gh, the Silurian Tannez
zuft Formatio
on, particula
arly its lowe
er hot shale
e interval, is the
primary hydrocarbon
h
n source roc
ck for the oil discoveriess in the Murzzuq Basin. The presen
nce of
this shale
e interval is illustrated by
b the cross
s-section on
n Figure XVII-12,4 with tthe cross-se
ection
location provided
p
on Figure XVII--13.4
3.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
Lower
L
Silurrian Tanne
ezuft Shalle.
The Silurian Tannezuft F

Formation ((early
Llandove
erian) consis
sts of dark gray to black graptolitic sshales with in
ntervals of ssiltstone and
d finegrained sandstone
s
deposited in a marine environment.5
June, 2013
3
XVIII-16
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
Figurre XVII-12. Geeneral Stratigrraphy and Cro

oss Section (A
A-A) for Four M
Murzuq Basinn Study Wells
(See Figgure XVIII-13 for Cross-Secction Locationns)
Souurce: Belaid et al.,

a 2010
June, 2013
3
XVIII-17
X
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
Fig
gure XVII-13. Awabari Trough of thee Murzuq Basin
Sourcee: Belaid at al., 2010
JJune, 2013
XV
VII-18
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
We
W have ma
apped a 5,67
70-mi2 oil-prrospective a
area in the ccenter of the Murzuq B
Basin,
Figure XVII-14.
X
The
e depth of th
he Tannezufft hot shale
e in the prospective are
ea of the Mu
urzuq
Basin ranges from 3,300
3
ft on the flanks to
t 10,000 ftt in the central part of the basin.6 The
annezuft Formation in the uplifts surrounding
g the basin
n provide u
useful
outcrops of the Ta
information on forma
ation thickne
ess and othe
er properties . While the overall Tannezuft Form
mation
can be up to 1,000 ftt thick, only the basal hot shale un
nit, with thickkness rangin
ng from 30 to
o 100
ft has been included in our resou
urce assessm
ment.
Figure XVII-114. Shale Prosspective Areaa of the Murzuq Basin.
Source: ARI, 2013
In
n the NC-11
15 license area, 146 m of core w
was taken ffrom 22 we
ells, all of w
which
penetrated th
he Tannezufft Formation. Here the basal Tanne
ezuft shale serves as b
both a
eal as well as
a the sourc
ce rock for th
he productive
e Mamuniya
at sandstone
e formation iin the
se
lic
cense area. In this are
ea, the hott shale exissts as a norrth to south belt with lim
mited
width,
w
ranging
g in thicknes
ss up to 35 m,
m with the t hickest deve
elopment in the southea
astern
June, 2013
3
XVIII-19
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
portion of the
e prospective
e area. The
e TOC of the
e hot shale ranges from
m 3.2% to 2
23.1%
(a
average 9.9%
%) and the shale has a thermal ma
aturity of Ro 0.83% to 0
0.95% in well A1NC115,
N
placing the shale in the late
e oil maturityy window. The maturitty of the sha
ale is
4
believed to in
ncrease towa
ard the south
hern portion of the prosp
pective area
a.
Core
C
analysis
s from a se
econd well, F3-NC174,
F
recorded TO
OC values tthat ranged from
3.7% to 4.7%
% (average 4.0%), with th
hermal matu
urity of 0.7 Ro.4
A detailed an
nalysis of the
e E1-NC174 well, drilled
d in 1997, prrovides further informatio
on on
th
he properties
s of Tannezuft hot shale in the Aw
wabari Troug
gh. The core
e data show
ws the
presence of Type
T
II (oil prone)
p
kerog
gen with TO
OC values off up to 13%. The hot sshale
ex
xisted over an interval from
f
7,244 to
t 7,267 ft, w
with leaner b
but still orga
anic-rich inte
ervals
7
above and be
elow the hott shale interval, Figure XVII-15.
Upper
U
Silurrian Tanne
ezuft Shale
e.
An in--depth geocchemical in
nvestigation was
performe
ed recently on a serie
es of repres
sentative sh
hale sample
es from the
e Upper Sillurian
Tannezuft Formation
n of the Mu
urzuq Basin..5 The purp
pose of thiss study was to establish the
ock quality of
o the exten
nsive Silurian Tannezuftt cool shale
es at the to
op of the Sillurian
source ro
section.
(Geochem
mical analysis of the Up
pper Siluria n Shale in Jordan, as reported in
n our
separate
e Jordan cha
apter, indica
ated the pottential for p rospective o
organic-rich shale within the
Upper Silurian in add
dition to the organic-rich shale in the
e Lower Silurian.)
The
T rock sam
mples from th
his upper intterval were m
mainly Type
e III kerogen (gas prone)) with
some co
ontribution of
o mixed Type II and III kerogen ((gas/oil pron
enous
ne) from marine/terrige
sources, Figure XVIII-16.5
The rock samples showed a

an early to in
ermal
ntermediate stage of the
4
to 445C, indicatin
ng the sourrce rock was in the early to
maturity with Tmax values of 435
middle oil window (R
Ro of 0.6% to
o 0.9%) The
e organic co
ontent of the
e samples w
was characte
erized
t fair, with TOC
T
values ranging from
m 0.4% to 1..28%, indica
ating a mixed
d oxic to sub
b-oxic
as poor to
depositio
onal environm
ment.
While
W
the ove
erall Tannez
zuft Shale Fo
ormation in tthe Murzuq Basin is on
n the order o
of 300
m thick, it appears that only the
e basal (hott shale) uniit of the Silu
urian Tannezzuft Formatiion is
sufficienttly organic-rich to be included in ourr shale resou
urce assessm
ment.
Devonian
D
Awaynat Wa
anin Forma
ation.
The Middle-Late
e Devonian Awaynat W
Wanin
Formatio
on is also considered a potential
p
sha
ale source ro
ock in the M
Murzuq Basin
n. However, only
limited in
nformation ex
xists for this unit. To da
ate, only the Silurian Tan
nnezuft-Mam
muniyat has been
establish
hed as an efffective petro
oleum system
m.8
June, 2013
3
XVIII-20
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
Figure XV
VII-15. TOC Values within th e E1-NC174 C
Core.
Modified from
m Luning et all. 2003.
Soource: Butcher, 2013.

2
June, 2013
3
XVIII-21
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
Figure XV
VII-16. Cross Plot
P Between S2 mg HC/g Rock
R
and %TO
OC for Tannezzuft Formationn, Field A, NC--115,
Murrzuq Basin.
Modified from GeoM
Mark Research, LTD (2009).
Soource: Hodairi, T. and Philp, P.,, 2011.
3.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T Tannezu
uft hot shale
e, within the 5,670-mi2 prospective
e area of th
he Murzuq B
Basin,
has a resource conc

centration of 10 million barrels/mi2 of oil plus associated gas. The rrisked
shale oil resource in--place is esttimated at 27
7 billion barrrels of shale
e oil plus 19 T
Tcf of assocciated
b
barrells of shale oil
o and 2 Tccf of associa
ated shale gas as the rissked,
shale gas, with 1.3 billion
ble resource
e.
June, 2013
3
XVIII-22
XVII. Libya
4.
EIA/ARI W
KUFRA
K
BAS
SIN
Introduc
ction
The
T
Kufra Basin is a la
arge 400,00
00-km2, rem
mote intra-cra
atonic sag basin locate
ed in
southeas
stern Libya. The Paleoz
zoic structura
al and depossition historyy of the Kufrra Basin is similar
to that off the Murzuq
q Basin, dis
scussed earllier in this cchapter. How
wever, there
e is conside
erable
uncertain
nty as to the presence off sufficiently organic-rich
h source roccks in this ba
asin.
The
T Lower Silurian Tannezuft Forma
ation is desc ribed as up to 130 m thick in outcro
ops at
the basin
n margins, Figure XVII--17.9 Howe
ever, the ba sal section of the Tann
nezuft Form
mation
containin
ng the Siluria
an hot shale
e in the Murzuq Basin a
be missing in outcrops a
along
appears to b
the north
hern and eas
stern margins of the basin.10
In
n addition, the
t
hot sha
ale unit was
s absent in three explo
oration wellss drilled to date,
having been
b
replace
ed by siltstones and sandstones in
n two dry exxploration we
ells drilled in the
northern part of the
e basin by AGIP
A
in the late 1970ss and early 1980s (Bellini, 1991). The
wo Kufra Ba
asin explora
ation wells - - A1-NC-43
3 and
absence of lower Silurian shales in these tw
3 - - suggestts that this area
a
may hav
ve been dep
posited as a sandy delta
a during the early
B1-NC43
Silurian, representing the westw
ward continu
uation of the
e sandy low
wer Silurian iin western E
Egypt
he Tannezu
uft basal ho
ot shale is
s also abse nt, Figure X
XVII-18.10
where th
Since then,, one
additiona
al exploration
n well drilled
d in 1997 has
s noted the absence of the lower Siilurian hot sshale
in the Ku
ufra Basin.
esent in the
Lower Siluria
an, organic-rich shales may be pre
e western p
part of the Kufra
he areal disttribution of th
his shale un
nit is laterallyy highly varia
able with Sillurian
Basin.11 However, th
ot shale occ
currences de
eposited as linear featurres and patcches, surrounded by are
eas in
basal ho
which the
e basal hot shale is absent.10
June, 2013
3
XVIII-23
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
Figure XVII-17. Stratigraphic Columnn of the Kufra Basin
June, 2013
3
XVIII-24
XVII. Libya
EIA/ARI W
Fig
gure XVII-18. Early Silurian
n Paleogeograaphy of the Kufra Basin
Based on Keeleey, 1989; Semtneer et al., 1997; Selley,
S
1997b; Keeeley & Masoudd, 1998 and Luniing, 1999.
Source: Luuning et al. 19999
June, 2013
3
XVIII-25
EIA/ARI W
XVII. Libya
RECENT
T ACTIVITY
Y
Libyas oil and gas exp
ploration, including the assessmen
nt of its sh
hale oil and
d gas
es came to a halt durin
ng the upris
sing that ovverthrew the
e governme
ent of Muam
mmar
resource
Gaddafi.
12, the Cha

airman of L
Libyas Natio
onal Oil Company, Mr. Nuri
However, in late 201
Berruien, announced
d that the co
ompany is ex
xamining op
ptions for exxploring its unconvention
nal oil
and gas resources. One option
n discussed by Chairma
an Berruien is to intern
nally evaluate the
ources and
d then brin
ng in intern
national companies w
with expertisse in
unconventional reso
unconventional resou
urce explora
ation and dev
velopment.122
REFERE
ENCES
Hussein Seddiq, 2004. Libya Explorationn Overview and Future

F
Opportunnities National O
Oil Corporation, April.

a Montgomeryy, S.L., 2001. G
no. 5, p. 765-780.
7
Rahmani, A., Kaced, M. and Arab, M., 20112. The Potenttial of Shale Gass Plays in Algeriaa. Sonatrach Amont/Internationnal Gas
Union Shale Gas Workshhop, Oran, Algeria, February.
4 Belaid, A. et al., 2010. Thermal Historry and Source Rock

R
Characteriization of a Paleeozoic Section in the Awbari TTrough,
Murzuq Bassin, SW Libya. Elsevier
E
Marine and
a Petroleum Geology,
G
vol. 27 , p. 612632.
5
Hodairi, T. and Philp, P., 2011.

2
Geochemical Investigatiion of Tanezzuftt Formation, Muurzuq Basin, Libyya. AAPG Searrch and
Discovery Article #10344, posted Augustt 8, 2011, adapteed from expand ed abstract pressentation at AAP
PG Annual Convvention
and Exhibition, Houston, Texas,
T
USA, April 10-13, 2011.
Aziz, A., 2000. Stratigrapphy and Hydrocaarbon Potential of

o the Lower Palleozoic Successsion of License N
NC-115, Murzuq Basin,
SW Libya. in Geological Exploration
E
in Muurzuq Basin, Chaapter 16, Elsevieer Science B.V.,, p. 349-368.
Butcher, A.,
A 2013. Chitinnozoans from thee Middle Rhuddaanian (Lower Llaandovery, Siluriaan) Hot Shale iin the E1-NC1744 Core,
Murzuq Baasin, SW Libya. Elsevier Review
w of Palaeobotanny and Palynolo gy xxx (2013).
Hallet, D., 2000. Petroleuum Geology of Libya.

L
Elsevier, Amsterdam, thee Netherlands, pp. 508.
Grignani, D., E. Lanzoni and

a Elatrash, H.,
H 1992. Palaeeozoic and Mesoozoic Subsurfacce Palynostratigraphy in the Al Kufrah
mposium on the Geology of Libyaa (Tripoli 1987), p. 1159-1227.
Basin, Libyya. Proceedings of the 3rd Sym
Lning, S.
S et al. 1999. Re-evaluation of
o the Petroleum Potential of thee Kufra Basin (S
SE Libya, NE Chhad): Does the Source
Rock Barrier Fall? Marinee and Petroleum
m Geology, vol. 16, p. 693-718.
10
Klitzsch, E.H., 2000. The
Structural development of
o the Murzuq and Kufra Bassins Significancee for Oil and M
Mineral
Explorationn. in Geologicaal Exploration in Murzuq Basin, Chapter
C
7, Elsevvier Science B.V
V., p. 143-150.
11
Bauerovaa, L., 2012. LLibya Renews Focus

F
on Naturaal Gas, Plans to Explore Shale. www.Bloomberg.com, Novem
mber 7,
2012.
12
June, 2013
3
XVIII-26
XVIII. Egyptt
XVIII..
EIA/ARI W
EGY
YPT
SUMMA
ARY
Egypt
E
has fou
ur basins in the Western
n Desert with
h potential fo
for shale gass and shale oil - Abu Gha
aradig, Alam
mein, Natrun and Shous
shan-Matruh
h, Figure XV
VIII-1.1 The target horizzon is
the organ
nic-rich Khattatba Shale, sometimes referred to a
as the Kabriit Shale or S
Safa Shale, w
within
the large
er Middle Jurrassic Khatatba Formatio
on.
Fiigure XVIII-1. Hydrocarbon
n Basins of th e Western Desert, Egypt
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
XV
VIII-1
XVIII. Egyptt
EIA/ARI W
Our
O assessm
ment is that the Khatatb
ba Shale co
ontains apprroximately 5
535 Tcf of rrisked
shale ga
as in-place, with
w 100 Tc
cf of risked, technically rrecoverable shale gas resources, T
Table
XVIII-1. In addition, we estimatte that the Khatatba
K
Sh ale containss about 114 billion barre
els of
risked sh
hale oil in-p
place, with 4.6 billion barrels
b
of riisked, techn
nically recovverable sha
ale oil
resource
es, Table XVIII-2.
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XVIII-1. Shaale Gas Reserrvoir Propertiees and Resources of Egypt

Abu Gharadig
Gross Area
Basin/G
Shale Formation
ogic Age
Geolo
2

Organically Rich
Thickness (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
Reservoir Presssure
Average TOC (wt.
( %)
Clay Content
Alamein
2
Naatrun
houshan-Matruh
Sh
2
(7,670 mi )
(2,340 mi
m )
(4,8660 mi )
(7,080 mi )
Khatatba
M. Jurassic
Marine
Khatatb
ba
M. Jurasssic
Marinee
Khaatatba
M. Juurassic
Maarine
Khatatba
M. Jurassic
Marine
6,840
1,500
300
11,000 - 13,0000
12,000
2,340
1,000
200
13,000 - 155,000
14,0000
4,860
1,200
2
240
13,000 - 15,000
14,000
4,420
1,000
200
1
10,000
- 15,000
13,000
Normal
Normall
No rmal
Normal
4.0%
1.15%
Low/Medium
4.0%
0.85%
Low/Med ium
4..0%
0.885%
Low/M
Medium
4.0%
1.15%
Low/Medium
Wet Gas
Wet Gas
Assoc. Gas
G
Assooc. Gas
99.2
29.1
35.0
71.3
Risked GIP (Tccf)
325.7
16.7
41.6
151.2
65.1
1.3
3
3.3
30.2
Gas Phase
2
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
Physical Extent
PhysicalExtent
Basic Data
BasicData
ble XVIII-2. Sh
hale Oil Reservvoir Propertiees and Resourrces of Egypt
Tab
June, 2013
Abu Gharadig
g
Basin//Gross Area
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Deposition
nal Environment
2
Prospective Area
A (mi )
Organically Rich
Thickness (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
Reservoir Preessure
Average TOC (wt. %)
Thermal Matu
urity (% Ro)
Clay Content
Oil Phase
Alamein
n
2
Nattrun
Sho
oushan-Matruh
2
(7,670 mi )
(2,340 mi )
(4,860 mi )
(7,080 mi )
Khatatba
M. Jurassic
Marine
Khatatb
ba
M. Jurasssic
Marine
Khaatatba
M. Juurassic
Maarine
Khatatba
M. Jurassic
Marine
6,840
1,500
300
11,000 - 13,0000
12,000
2,340
1,000
200
13,000 - 155,000
14,000
4,8860
1,2200
2440
13,000 - 15,000
14,000
4,420
1,000
200
100,000 - 15,000
13,000
Normal
Normall
Norrmal
Normal
4.0%
1.15%
Low/Medium
4.0%
0.85%
Low/Mediium
4.0%
0.885%
Low/M
Medium
4.0%
1.15%
L
Low/Medium
Condensate
Condensate
Oil
O
Oil
OIP Concentraation (MMbbl/mi )
14.3
25.1
300.1
7.9
Risked OIP (B
B bbl)
47.1
14.4
355.9
16.8
Risked Recovverable (B bbl)
1.88
0.58
1..43
0.67
XV
VIII-2
XVIII. Egyptt
EIA/ARI W
INTROD
DUCTION
The
T
northern
n portion off the Weste
ern Desert of Egypt ccontains a sseries of basins
underlain
n by organ
nic-rich sha
ales that have
h
provid
ded the so
ource for the conventtional
hydrocarrbons production from these basins
s. The prim
mary hydroca
arbon basinss in the We
estern
Desert in
nclude Abu Gharadig,
G
Alamein,
A
Nattrun and Sho
oushan-Mattruh. The W
Western Dessert is
the locattion of man
ny of the major oil and
d gas fields of Egypt, including th
he more reccently
discovere
ed, large Jurrassic fields of Kanayes (discovered
d in 1992), O
Obayeid (disscovered in 1
1993)
and Sham
ms (discovered in 1997)).2
The
T
basins have
h
a thick
k sedimentarry sequence
e comprising
g Paleozoic through Te
ertiary
strata tha
at exceed 15
5,000 feet, Figure
F
XVIII-2.3 Despite
e many yearrs of successsful discove
ery of
conventio
onal oil and gas deposiits, the large
e Western D
Desert hydro
ocarbon bassins of Egyp
pt are
still only lightly explored, particularly for theirr deeper form
mations.
The
T focus of our shale re
esource stud
dy is the Kh
hatatba Shale within the
e Middle Jurrassic
Khatatba
a Formation, also called the Kabrit Shale
S
and the
e Safa Shale
e, Figure XV
VIII-3.4
June, 2013
XV
VIII-3
XVIII. Egyptt
EIA/ARI W
Figure XVIIII-2. Generalized Lithostratigraphic Colum

mn of the Wesstern Desert oof Egypt.
Source: Younees, 2012 (Modifieed after Abdou,1 998).
June, 2013
XV
VIII-4
XVIII. Egyptt
EIA/ARI W
Figuree XVIII-3. Khaatatba Formatiion and Kabritt (Safa) Shale,, Shoushan-M

Matruh Basin, W
Western Deseert.
Source: Dolson, 2000.
June, 2013
XV
VIII-5
XVIII. Egyptt
EIA/ARI W
Egypts
E
geolo
ogic history is complex and a full d iscussion off its geologyy and tectonics is
beyond the
t
scope of
o this resource assessm
ment. Howe
ever, this ch
hapter provides an overview
that is inttended to he
elp place the
e shale oil an
nd gas resou
urces of the Western De
esert into con
ntext.
As such,, the study examined
e
th
hree major shale
s
source
e rocks in th
he Western Desert of E
Egypt
before es
stablishing th
he Middle Ju
urassic Khattatba Shale a
as the prima
ary target.
Silurian.
S
A thick
t
sequen
nce of Siluria
an siltstone, estimated a
at about 200
0 to 300 m iin the
Basur-1 and Kohka--1 wells, exis
sts in the no
orthwestern portion of tthe Western
n Desert.5 T
These
nes and silts
stones thin to
t the south
h and east a
as shown byy the Foram
m-1 and She
eiba-1
sandston
wells.6 The
T
sandsto
one and silts
stone units appear to re
est directly on Upper O
Ordovician glacial
shales.8 Th
deposits without any
y evidence of Silurian organic-rich
o
he Western Desert of E
Egypt
S
Tannezuft (Hott Shale) sou
urce rock eq
quivalent du
ue to a paleo-basementt high
lacks a Silurian
and eros
sion of Siluria
an sedimentts.7
Cretaceous.
C
Cretaceou
us-age shale
e source ro
ocks within tthe Alam El-Bueib and
d Abu
Roash fo
ormations ex
xist across much
m
of the Western
W
De
esert. Howe
ever, these sshales have been
classified
d as margin
nal to moderrate source rock qualityy for oil and
d gas generation, with TOC
values generally rep
ported at les
ss than 2%. In addition
n, the Cretaceous-age ssource rockks are
y immature in
i significantt portions off the Westerrn Basin stu
udy area.8 D
Due to these
e less
thermally
favorable
p
and
a
limited data,
d
we ha
ave not included these Cretaceouss-age
ent.
source ro
ocks in our shale
s
oil and
d gas resourc
ce assessme
Jurassic.
J
During
D
the la
ate Triassic and Jurasssic, a series of rift basin
ns formed in the
Western Desert.
These
T
rift ba
asins and their subseq
quent extension during the Cretacceous
provided the setting for the impo

ortant Khata
atba Formatiion and its tthick, black sshale depossition.
The Khattatba Shale (also called the Safa Sh
hale) has se
erved as the
e source rock for much o
of the
oil and ga
as found in the
t Western
n Desert.2,3
The
T
larger Khatatba
K
Forrmation rang
ges from 1,0
000 feet to over 2,000 feet thick in the
Western Desert.
The type sec

ction of the Kabrit (Sa fa) Shale M
Member with
hin the Kha
atatba
on ranges in thickness frrom 0 to ove

er 600 feet in
n the Weste
ern Desert, w
with an estim
mated
Formatio
net pay of
o 200 to 300
0 feet, XVIII--Figure 4.3,9,2,10
June, 2013
XV
VIII-6
XVIII. Egyptt
EIA/ARI W
Fig
gure XVIII-4. Middle Jurasssic Khatatba FFormation Grooss Isopach
Source: ARI, 2013.
Detailed
D
source rock ev
valuations of
o core sam
mples from tthe Shushan-1X well in
n the
southern portion of the Abu Gha
aradig Basin provided im
mportant datta on the resservoir prope
erties
K
Shale.
of the Khatatba
The TOC
T
of the
e shale vari ed from 3.6
6% to 4.2%
% with a vittrinite
reflectance (Ro) of 1.0%

1
to 1.3%
%, placing the
t
shale prrimarily in th
he wet gas and conden
nsate
window, Figure XVIII-5.3 The sh
hale contains
s mixed vitriinite-inertinitte kerogen d
derived from
m land
plants an
nd algae, im
mplying a mix
xture of marrginal marin e and contin
nental organ
nic matter.11 The
combinattion of maximum tempe
erature and kerogen
k
type
e places the
e Khatatba S
Shale primarily in
the wet gas/condens
g
sate and volatile oil wind
dows with siignificant associated plu
us free gas iin the
pore space.
June, 2013
XV
VIII-7
XVIII. Egyptt
EIA/ARI W
Figure XV
VIII-5. TOC an
nd Maturity Daata, Jurassic- and Cretaceo us-Age Sourcce Rocks, Wesstern Desert, E
Egypt
Source: Youunes, 2012
ABU GH
HARADIG BA
ASIN
Geologic
G
Se
etting. The
e 7,670-mi2 Abu Gharad
dig Basin iss an east-w
west trending
g half
graben with
w a depth to basemen
nt that excee
eds 30,000 ffeet. The ba
asin is boun
nded on the north
by the Qattara Ridge
e and on the
e south by th
he Sitra Plattform. The JJurassic-age
e Khatatba S
Shale
dered the ma
ajor hydroca
arbon source
e rock in thiss basin.2 We
e have identified a 6,84
40-mi2
is consid
prospective area in this basin after exclud
ding the we
estern portio
on of the ba
asin which lacks
urassic depo
osits, Figure XVIII-4.
Middle Ju
Reservoir
R
Prroperties (P
Prospective
e Area). Wi thin the 6,84
a, the
depth of the Khatatb
ba Shale in the Abu Gharadig
G
Bassin ranges from 11,000
0 to 13,000 feet,
et. The gros
ss interval off the Khatatb
ba Formatio
on ranges fro
om near 0 to
o over
averaging 12,000 fee
et, averaging
g about 1,50
00 feet thick
k. The net sshale, using a net to gro
oss ratio of 0
0.2, is
2,000 fee
estimated
d at 300 fee
et. Based on
n grain and bulk densityy data from tthe Betty-1 w
well, drilled iin the
south central portion of the basin
n, the porosity ranges fro
om 2.4% to 8.4%, avera
aging 5.7% fo
or six
June, 2013
XV
VIII-8
XVIII. Egyptt
EIA/ARI W
core sam
mples. The TOC
T
of the shale, using
g data from the Shushan-1X well, ra
anges from 3.6%
to 4.2%, averaging 4%,
4 with therrmal maturity
y (Ro) value
es of 1.0% to
o 1.3%.
Resource
R
As
ssessment.. Within the
e 6,840-mi2 prospective
e area of th
he Abu Gha
aradig
Basin, th
he Khatatba Shale has a resource concentrati on of 99 Bccf of wet ga
as and 14 m
million
barrels of
o oil/conden
nsate per mii2. The riske
ed resource
e in-place fo
or wet gas in
n the prospe
ective
area is estimated
e
at
a 326 Tcf, with 65 Tcff as the rissked, techniccally recove
erable shale
e gas
resource
e, Table XVIIII-1. The risked resourc
ce in-place fo
or oil/conden
nsate in the prospective
e area
is estima
ated at 47 billion
b
barrels with 1.9 billion
b
barrells of the rissked, techniccally recove
erable
shale oil resource, Ta
able XVIII-2.
ALAMEIN BASIN
Geologic
G
Se
etting. The Alamein Basin is a larg
ge Jurassic rrift basin in the northwe
estern
portion of
o the Western Desert which was furrther extend ed during th
he Cretaceou
us. The onsshore
portion of
o the basin is
i bounded on
o the north
h by the Med
diterranean Sea and on the south b
by the
Qattara Ridge.
R
The Jurassic-age
e Khatatba Shale,
S
which
h contains m
mixed Type II and III kero
ogen,
appears to be the main
m
shale oil
o and gas target in th is basin. R
Remarkably, the entire basin
ective for the
e Khatatba Shale.
S
appears to be prospe
Reservoir
R
Prroperties (P
Prospective
a, the
ba Shale in the Alamein Basin range
es from 13,0
000 to 15,000 feet, avera
aging
eet. The gro
oss interval of
o the Khatatba Formatio
on averagess 1,000 feet with a porossity of
14,000 fe
5.7%. Organic
O
conttent ranges up to 10%, with an ave
erage of 4%
%, and the sshale is in th
he oil
thermal maturity
m
wind
dow (Ro of 0.8%
0
to 1.0%
%).12
Resource
R
As
ssessment.. Within the 2,340-mi2 prospective area of the
e Alamein B
Basin,
the Khatatba Shale has a resou
urce concen
ntration of 25
5.1 million b
barrels of oil/condensate
e per
a
gas.
g
The ris
sked resourc
ce in-place fo
or oil/conden
nsate in the prospective
e area
mi2 plus associated
is estima
ated at 14 billion
b
barrels
s, with 0.6 billion
b
barrells as the rissked, techniccally recove
erable
resource
e, Table XVIII-2. The basin also ha
as associate
ed gas estim
mated at 17 Tcf of riske
ed inplace, with about 1 Tcf
T as risked technically recoverable
e, Table XVIIII-1.
June, 2013
XV
VIII-9
XVIII. Egyptt
EIA/ARI W
NATRUN
N BASIN
Geologic
G
Se
etting. The Natrun
N
Basin, covering an area of 4
4,860 mi2, iss a poorly de
efined
basin loc
cated betwee
en the majo
or oil and ga
as fields of tthe Nile Deltta and the W
Western Dessert.13
The basin is bounded on the norrth by the Mediterranean
n Sea and o
on the south by the Katta
aniya
T Natrun Basin
B
appea
ars to hold a favorable cconventional petroleum ssystem of so
ource
Horst. The
rock, res
servoir-seal, and timing
g of therma
al maturity.
The Jurasssic-age Kh
hatatba Sha
ale is
considere
ed the majo
or hydrocarb
bon source rock
r
in this basin.2 The
e entire basin appears to be
prospective for the Middle
M
Jurass
sic Khatatba
a Shale, Figu
ure XVIII-4.
Reservoir
R
Prroperties (P
Prospective
e Area). Wi thin the 4,860-mi2 prospective area
a, the
ba Shale in the Natrun Basin rang
ges from 13,000 to 15,0
000 ft, avera
aging
ss interval off the Khatattba Formatio
on ranges frrom near 0 to over 2,000 ft,
14,000 ftt. The gros
averaging about 1,20
00 ft thick. The net sha
ale, using a net to grosss ratio of 0.2
2, is estimatted at
y averaging 5.7%. The TOC averag
ges 4% with thermal ma
aturity (Ro) va
alues
240 ft, with a porosity
p
the shale in the oil windo
ow. (Althoug
gh thermal modeled vittrinite
of 0.7% to 1.0%, placing
i
ov
ver-mature Jurassic so
ource rocks, borehole data from intrareflectance values indicated
s
sh
howed a thermal maturitty in the oil w
window).Erro
or! Bookma
ark not defin
ned.
basinal sediments
Resource
R
As
ssessment. Within the 4,860-mi2 p
prospective a
area of the N
Natrun Basin
n, the
Khatatba
a Shale has a resource concentratio
on of 30.1 m
million barre
els of oil/con
ndensate per mi2.
The riske
ed resource in-place for oil/condens
sate in the prrospective a
area is estim
mated at 36 b
billion
barrels, with
w 1.4 billion barrels as the riske
ed, technica lly recovera
able resourcce, Table XV
VIII-2.
The basiin also has associated gas estimated at 42 Tccf of risked iin-place, witth 3 Tcf of rrisked
ble resource
es, Table XV
VIII-1.
SHOUSH
HAN-MATRU
UH BASIN
Geologic
G
Se
etting. The
e Shoushan--Matruh Bassin is a larg
ge Jurassic rift basin in
n the
northwes
stern portion
n of the Western
W
Des
sert which also was ffurther exten
nded during
g the
Cretaceo
ous. The ba
asin is bound
ded on the north
n
by the Mediterrane
ean Sea and
d on the sou
uth by
the Qatta
ara Ridge. The Jurass
sic-age Kha
atatba Shale
e is the focu
us of our shale oil and
d gas
resource
e assessmen
nt in this bas
sin. We have identified
d a prospecttive area of 4,420 mi2 in
n this
basin aftter deleting the westerrn portion of
o the basin
n beyond th
he limits of Middle Jurrassic
depositio
on, Figure XV
VIII-6.3,14,1 ,9,2,10
June, 2013
XVIII-10
XVIII. Egyptt
EIA/ARI W
Figure XVIIII-6. Shoushaan-Matruh Bassin, Khatatba Shales Depth and Gross Isopach
Source: ARI, 2013.

Reservoir
R
Prroperties (P
Prospective
a, the
ba Shale in the Shoush
han-Matruh Basin range
es from 10,0
000 to 15,000 ft,
s interval off the Khatatb
ba Formatio
on ranges frrom near ze
ero to
averaging 13,000 ft. The gross
over 1,50
00 ft averagiing 1,000 ft. The Khatattba Shale ha
as an organic content averaging 4%
% and
a therma
al maturity of
o Ro 1.0% to
t 1.3%, pla
acing the sh
hale in the w
wet gas/cond
densate win
ndow.
Core ana
alysis indicattes a porositty of about 5.7%.
5
2
Resource
R
As
ssessment. Within the 4,420-mi
4
prrospective a
area of the S
Shoushan-Matruh
Basin, th
he Khatatba Shale has a resource concentratio
on of 71 Bccf of wet gass and 7.9 m
million
barrels of
o oil/conden
nsate per mii2. The riske
ed resource
e in-place fo
or wet gas in
n the prospe
ective
area is estimated
e
at 151 Tcf, with 30 Tcf as
s the risked technically recoverable
e resource, T
Table
XVIII-1. The risked resource in--place for oill/condensate
e in the prosspective are
ea is estimatted at
n barrels, with 0.7 billion
n barrels as the risked, technically recoverable
e resource, T
Table
17 billion
XVIII-2.
June, 2013
XVIII-11
XVIII. Egyptt
EIA/ARI W
RECENT
T ACTIVITY
Much
M
of the past
p
explora
ation drilling in the Westtern Desert h
has targeted
d the Cretacceous
and shallower sedim
ments. Rece
ently, howev
ver, Apache
e has begun
n to successsfully explorre the
deeper Jurassic
J
sed
diments, suc
ch as the Sa
afa Sandsto
one in the F
Faghur Basin
n of the We
estern
Desert.
In 2010, Apache
A
ann
nounced tha
at an uniden
ntified shale
e formation below the East
Bahariya
a Field holds
s between 700
7 million and 2.2 billiion barrels o
of oil. The company sstated
that, We
e have two wells planne
ed to test th
he idea here
e later this yyear.15 How
wever, no fu
urther
information is public
cally availablle as to activity or resu
ults involving
g the explorration for oil from
these sha
ales.
REFERE
ENCES
Wescott, W.A. et al., 2011. Jurassic Rift Architecturee in the Northe astern Westernn Desert, Egypt.. AAPG Searcch and
Discoveryy Article #103799, posted Decem
mber 19, 2011, adapted from pposter presentatiion at AAPG Intternational Confference
and Exhibbition, Milan, Italy, October 23-26, 2011.
Dolson, J.
J C. et al., 20001. The Petroleum Potential of
o Egypt. in M..W. Downey, J. C. Threet, andd W. A. Morgann, eds.,
Petroleum
m Provinces of thhe Twenty-First Century: AAPG Memoir 74, p. 4453482.
Younes, M.A.,
M
2012. Hyydrocarbon Potentials in the Norrthern Western D
Desert of Egypt. Crude Oil Exxploration in the World,
Prof. Mohhamed Younes (Ed.),
(
ISBN: 978-953-51-0379-0, InTech
Dolson, J.C. et al., 2000. The Petroleum

m Potential of Eggypt. Presented to the Second W
Wallace E. Prattt Memorial Confference
on Petroleeum Provinces of
o the 21st Centuury, San Diego, California, Januuary 12-15.
Keeley, M.L., 1989. The Palaeozoic Histoory of the Westeern Desert of Egyypt. Basin Ressearch, vol. 2, p. 3548.
El Hawat, A.S., 1997. S

Sedimentary Bassins of Egypt: Ann Overview of D
Dynamic Stratigrraphy. In: Selleey, R.C., Ed.., African
Basins. Sedimentary
S
Bassins of the Worldd, 3. Elsevier, Am
msterdam, pp. 33985.
Luning, S. et al., 2000. LLower Silurian H

Hot Shales in Noorth Africa and A
Arabia: Regionaal Distribution annd Depositional M
Model.
Earth-Science Reviews, vol.
v 49, p. 1212200.
Moretti, I., 2010. South Alamein

A
Petroleuum System (Wesstern Desert, Egyypt). Petroleum
m Geoscience, vv. 16, p. 121-1322.
Abdou, A..A. et al., 2009. Petrography and Probable Reservoir

R
Potenttiality of Subsurfrface Jurassic R
Rocks at Abu Ghharadiq
Basin andd Shoushan Subb-basin, North Western
W
Desert, Egypt. Austraalian Journal of B
Basic and Applied Sciences, vool. 3, p.
1206-12222.
10
Ibraham, M.I.A. et al., 19997. Paleoecoloogy, Palynofaciees, Thermal Matuuration and Hydrocarbon Sourcee-Rock Potentiaal of the
Jurassic-Lower Cretaceoous Sequence inn the Subsurfacee of the North E
Eastern Desert, Egypt. Qatar U
Univ. Sci. J. vol. 17,p.
153-172.
11
Peters, K. and Cassa, M.., 1994. Appliedd Source Rock Geochemistry.

G
In Magoon, L.B. and Dow, W.G
G., eds., The Pettroleum
System frrom Source to Trap. AAPG Mem
moir 60, p. 93-1117.
12
Younes, M., 2002. Alam

mein Basin Hydrrocarbon Potenttial of the Jurasssic-Cretaceous Source Rocks, North Western D
Desert,
Egypt. Oil
O Gas-Europeaan Magazine, voll. 28, p. 22-28.
13
Pigott, J.D
D. and Ali Sadeek, 2006. Geovvalidating Basin Models of Yo-Y
Yo Tectonics E
Example: Wadi El-Natrun Basinn, West
Nile, Egypt. AAPG Searrch and Discoveery #90061, AAP
PG International Conference andd Exhibition, Perrth, West Austraalia 5-8,
Novembeer.
June, 2013
XVIII-12
XVIII. Egyptt
EIA/ARI W
14
Shalaby, M.R. et al., 20011. Geochem

mical Characterisstics and Hydroocarbon Generation Modeling oof the Jurassic Source
Rocks in the Shoushan Basin,
B
North Wesstern Desert, Egypt. Marine annd Petroleum Geeology, vol. 28, pp. 16111624.
15
Dezembeer, Ryan, 2013. "Apache Pursuing Shale-Oil Drilling in Eggypt." Business Wall Street Joournal, 17 Mayy 2011.
http://online.wsj.com acceessed 2 Februarry.
June, 2013
XVIII-13
XIX. South Africa
XIX. SOUTH AFRICA

SUMMARY
South Africa has one major sedimentary basin that contains thick, organic-rich shales - the Karoo Basin in central and southern South Africa, Figure XIX-1.1,2,3 The Karoo Basin is
large (236,400 mi2), extending across nearly two-thirds of the country, with the southern portion
of the basin potentially favorable for shale gas. However, the basin contains significant areas of
igneous (sill) intrusions that may impact the quality of the shale resources, limit the use of
seismic imaging, and increase the risks of shale exploration.
Figure XIX -1: Outline of Karoo Basin and Prospective Shale Gas Area of South Africa
Source: ARI, 2013.

June, 2013
XIX-1
XIX. South Africa
The Permian-age Ecca Group, with its organic-rich source rocks in the Lower Ecca
Formation, is the primary shale formation addressed by this assessment. Of particular interest
is the organic-rich, thermally mature black shale unit in the Whitehill Formation of the Lower
Ecca. This shale unit is regionally persistent in composition and thickness and can be traced
across most of the southern portion of the Karoo Basin.4
We estimate that the Lower Permian Ecca Group shales in this basin contain 1,559 Tcf
of risked shale gas in-place, with 370 Tcf as the risked, technically recoverable shale gas
resource, Table XIX-1. We have excluded the Upper Ecca shales in this basin from quantitative
assessment because their TOC content is reported to be below the 2% TOC standard used by
this resource assessment study.
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XIX-1: Shale Gas Reservoir Properties and Resources of the Karoo Basin
June, 2013
Karoo
Basin/Gross Area
(236,400 mi )
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Prince Albert
L. Permian
Marine
Whitehill
L. Permian
Marine
Collingham
L. Permian
Marine
60,180
400
120
6,000 - 10,500
8,500
60,180
200
100
5,500 - 10,000
8,000
60,180
200
80
5,200 - 9,700
7,800
Mod. Overpress.
Mod. Overpress.
Mod. Overpress.
2.5%
3.00%
Low
6.0%
3.00%
Low
4.0%
3.00%
Low
Dry Gas
Dry Gas
Dry Gas
42.7
58.5
36.3
Risked GIP (Tcf)
385.3
845.4
327.9
96.3
211.3
82.0

Organically Rich
Thickness (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
Reservoir Pressure
Average TOC (wt. %)
Clay Content
Gas Phase
2
XIX-2
XIX. South Africa
INTRODUCTION
South Africa is a net natural gas importer, primarily from neighboring Mozambique and
Namibia. As such, South Africa has given priority to exploration for domestic gas and oil.
Shale exploration is initiated via a Technical Cooperation Permit (TCP), which may lead to an
Exploration Permit (EP) and eventually to a production contract. The country has a corporation
tax of 28% and royalty of 7%, terms that are favorable for gas and oil development.
A number of major and independent companies have signed Technical Cooperation
Permits (TCPs) to pursue shale gas in the Karoo Basin, including Royal Dutch Shell, the Falcon
Oil & Gas/Chevron joint venture, the Sasol/Chesapeake/Statoil joint venture, Sunset Energy Ltd.
of Australia and Anglo Coal of South Africa.
1.
KAROO BASIN
1.1
Introduction
The Karoo foreland basin is filled with over 5 km of Carboniferous to Early Jurassic
sedimentary strata. The Early Permian-age Ecca Group underlies much of the Karoo Basin,
cropping out along the southern and western basin margins, Figure XIX-1. The Ecca Group
contains a sequence of organic-rich mudstone, siltstone, sandstone and minor conglomerates.5
1.2
Geologic Setting
The larger Ecca Group, encompassing an interval up to 10,000 ft thick in the southern
portion of the basin, is further divided into the Upper Ecca (containing the Fort Brown and
Waterford Formations) and the Lower Ecca (containing the Prince Albert, Whitehill and
Collingham Formations), Figure XIX-2. The three Lower Ecca formations are the subject of this
shale resource assessment.
The regional southwest to northeast cross-section illustrates the structure of the Cape
Fold Belt of the Ecca Group on the south and the thermal maturity for the Ecca Group on the
north, Figure XIX-3.6
June, 2013
XIX-3
XIX. South Africa
Figure XIX-2. Stratigraphic Column of the Karoo Basin of South Africa
Source: Catuneanu, O. et al., 2005.
June, 2013
XIX-4
XIX. South Africa
Figure XIX-3. Schematic Cross-Section of Southern Karoo Basin and Ecca Group Shales
Source: McLachlan, I. and Davis, A., 2006.
Major portions of the Karoo Basin have igneous (sill) intrusions and complex geology,
with the most extensive and thickest sills concentrated within the Upper Ecca and Balfour
formations.7 This unusual condition creates significant exploration risk in pursuing the shale
resources in the Karoo Basin, Figure XIX-4.8 (Note that this map reflects the maximum extent of
intrusions, which are expected to be less within the target shale formations.) Local mapping
indicates that contact metamorphism is restricted to quite close to the intrusions. As such, we
removed 15% of the prospective area to account for the potential impact of igneous intrusions
and significantly risked the remaining resource.
The prospective area for the Lower Ecca Group shales is estimated at 60,180 mi2,
Figure XIX-5. The boundaries of the prospective area are defined by the outcrop of the Upper
Ecca Group on the east, south and west/northwest and the pinch-out of the Lower Ecca Group
shales on the northeast, Figure XIX-1. The dry gas window is south of the approximately 29o
latitude line. Given the thermal maturity information and the depositional limits of the Lower
Ecca shales, the prospective area of the Lower Ecca shales is primarily in the dry gas window.
June, 2013
XIX-5
XIX. South Africa
Figure XIX-4. Igneous Intrusions in the Karoo Basin, South Africa
Source: Svensen, H. et al., 2007.
Figure XIX-5. Lower Ecca Group Structure Map, Karoo Basin, South Africa
Source: ARI, 2013.

June, 2013
XIX-6
XIX. South Africa
1.2

Lower Ecca Shales.
The Lower Ecca shales include the thick basal Prince Albert
Formation, overlain by the thinner Whitehill and Collingham Formations.
Each of these
sedimentary units has been individually assessed and is discussed below.

Prince Albert Shale. The Lower Permian Prince Albert Formation has a thick, thermally
mature area for shale gas in the Karoo Basin. Depth to the Prince Albert Shale ranges from
6,000 to over 10,000 ft, averaging about 8,500 ft in the deeper prospective area in the south.
The Prince Albert Shale has a gross thickness that ranges from 200 to 800 ft, averaging 400 ft,
with a net organic-rich thickness of about 120 ft.
The total organic content (TOC) of the Prince Albert Shale within its organic-rich net pay
interval ranges from 1.5 to 5.5%, averaging 2.5%, Figure XIX-6.8 Local TOC values of up to
12% have been recorded.9 However, in areas near igneous intrusions much of the organic
content may have been lost or converted to graphite.
Figure XIX-6. Total Organic Content of Prince Albert and Whitehill Formations
Source: Svensen, H. et al., 2007.

June, 2013
XIX-7
XIX. South Africa
Because of the presence of igneous intrusions, the thermal maturity of the Prince Albert
Shale is high, estimated at 2% to 4% Ro, placing the shale well into the dry gas window. In
areas near igneous intrusions, the formation is over-mature, with vitrinite reflectance (Ro) values
reaching 8%, indicating that the organic content has been transformed into graphite and CO2,
Figure XIX-7.
The Prince Albert Shale was deposited as a deep marine sediment and is
inferred to have mineralogy favorable for shale formation stimulation.

Figure XIX-7. Carbon Loss in Lower Ecca Group Metamorphic Shale
Based on limited well data, primarily from the Cranemere CR 1/68 well completed in the
Upper Ecca interval, the Prince Albert Shale appears to be overpressured and has a high
thermal gradient.
Whitehill Shale. The organic-rich Lower Permian Whitehill Formation contains one of
the main shale gas targets in the Karoo Basin of South Africa. The depth to the Whitehill Shale
ranges from 5,500 to 10,000 ft, averaging 8,000 ft in the prospective area. The Whitehill Shale
has an estimated gross organic thickness of 100 to 300 ft,10 with an average net thickness of
100 ft within the prospective area, as shown by the isopach map on Figure XIX-8.11
June, 2013
XIX-8
XIX. South Africa
Figure XIX-8. Isopach Map of the Whitehill Formation
Source: ARI, 2013.
The total organic content (TOC) for the Whitehill Shale in the prospective area ranges
from 3% to 14%, averaging 6%. Local areas have TOC contents up to 15%.4 In areas near
igneous intrusions, portions of the organic content may have been converted to graphite. The
main minerals in the Whitehill Formation are quartz, pyrite, calcite and chlorite, making the shale
favorable for hydraulic stimulation. The Whitehill Shale is assumed to be overpressured. The
thermal maturity (Ro) of the Whitehill Shale in the prospective area ranges from 2% to 4%,
placing the shale into the dry gas window.
The hydrogen and oxygen indexes of the Whitehill Formation indicate a mixture of Type I
and Type II kerogen.9 The Whitehill Shales was deposited in deep marine, anoxic setting and
contains minor sandy interbeds from distal turbidites and storm deposits.12,13
June, 2013
XIX-9
XIX. South Africa
Collingham Shale. The Lower Permian Collingham Formation (often grouped with the
Whitehill Formation) contains the third shale formation addressed by this resource study. The
Collingham Formation has an upward transition from deep-water submarine to shallow-water
deltaic deposits.9 The depth to the Collingham Shale averages 7,800 ft within the prospective
area. Except for total organic content, the shale has reservoir properties similar to the Whitehill
Shale. It has an estimated gross organic thickness of 200 ft, a net thickness of 80 ft, and TOC
of 2% to 8%, averaging 4%. Thermal maturity is high, estimated at 3% Ro, influenced by
igneous intrusions. The shale is assumed to be overpressured based on data from the Upper
Ecca Group.
Upper Ecca Shales. The Upper Ecca Formation extends over a particularly thick, 1,500
m (~5,000 ft) vertical interval in the central and northern Karoo Basin. The Upper Ecca contains
two shale sequences of interest - - the Waterford and the Fort Brown.
The Fort Brown
Formation accounts for the great bulk of the vertical interval of the Upper Ecca. These shales
are interpreted by some investigators to have been deposited in a shallow marine environment,2
although others categorize them as lacustrine.14
The organic content and thermal maturity of the Upper Ecca shales are considerably
less than for the Lower Ecca shales. The total organic content (TOC) is reported to range from
about 1% to 2%. With a thermal maturity ranging from 0.9% to 1.1% Ro, the Upper Ecca shales
area is in the oil to wet gas window.15
In the materials below, we provide a qualitative description for the Upper Ecca shales.
However, because their average TOC is below the 2% criterion set for the study, these shales
have been excluded from our quantitative assessment.
The boundaries of the prospective area for the Upper Ecca shales are defined by the
outcrop of the Upper Ecca on the east, south and west and the shallowing of the Lower Ecca
shales on the northeast. The shale oil window is north of the approximately 29o latitude line. A
significant basalt intrusion area of about 10,000 mi2 in the center of the prospective area has
been excluded. Major portions of the prospective area have igneous intrusions that have locally
destroyed portions of the organics, creating significant exploration risk.
Fort Brown Shale. The Fort Brown Shale, as described in the Cranemere CR 1/68
well, is a dark gray to black shale with occasional siltstone stringers. In this well, the Fort Brown
Shale exists over a gross interval of nearly 5,000 ft (1,500 m) from 7,012-11,997 ft. Sunset
June, 2013
XIX-10
XIX. South Africa
Energy, the current permit holder in the area surrounding the Cranemere CR 1/68 well, reports
that 24-hour DST testing in one interval of the Fort Brown shale, from 8,154-8,312 ft, had a flow
rate of 1.84 MMcfd. The well is reported to have blown out at a depth of about 8,300 ft (2,500
m), requiring 10.5 pound per gallon mud to bring the well under control.
The prospective area for the Upper Ecca Fort Brown Shale is estimated at 31,700 mi2.
The Fort Brown Shale in the prospective area has an average depth of 6,000 ft and ranges from
3,000 to 9,000 ft. The shale has an estimated 600 ft of net organic rich thickness, based on
using a net to gross ratio of 20% and an average gross thickness of 3,000 ft. The shale has a
total organic content (TOC) that ranges from 1 to 2% and an estimated average thermal
maturity of 1.1% Ro (based on limited data).
Waterford Shale.
The prospective area for the Upper Ecca Waterford Shale is
estimated at 20,800 mi . The Waterford Shale in the prospective area has an average depth of
4,500 ft, ranging from 3,000 to 6,000 ft. The shale has an estimated 100 ft of net organic rich
thickness within an average gross thickness of 500 ft. Total organic content ranges from 1 to
2%, with average thermal maturity, based on very limited data, of 0.9% Ro.
1.3
Resource Assessment
Prince Albert Shale. Within its 60,180-mi2 dry gas prospective area, the Prince Albert
Shale has a resource concentration of about 43 Bcf/mi2. Given limited exploration data, the
risked shale gas in-place is estimated at 385 Tcf. Based on favorable TOC and reservoir
mineralogy, balanced by complex geology and volcanic intrusions in the prospective area, ARI
estimates a risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource of 77 Tcf for the Prince Albert
Shale in the Karoo Basin.
Whitehill Shale. Within its 60,180-mi2 dry gas prospective area, the Whitehill Shale has
a resource concentration of about 59 Bcf/mi2. While somewhat more defined than the Prince
Albert Shale, the exploration risk for the Whitehill Shale is still substantial, leading to a risked
shale gas in-place of 845 Tcf. Based on favorable reservoir mineralogy but complex geology,
ARI estimates a risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource of 211 Tcf for the Whitehill
Shale in the Karoo Basin.
June, 2013
XIX-11
XIX. South Africa
Collingham Shale.
With a prospective area of 60,180 mi2 and with a resource
concentration of 36 Bcf/mi2, the risked gas in-place for the Collingham Shale is estimated at 328
Tcf, with a risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource of 82 Tcf.
Considerable uncertainty surrounds the characterization and assessment of the shale oil
resources of South Africa, particularly for the net organic-rich thickness and the vertical and
areal distribution of thermal maturity. Shale exploration is just starting in the Karoo Basin and
few data points exist, particularly for the Upper Ecca group of formations.
1.4
Recent Activity
Falcon Oil & Gas Ltd., an early entrant into the shale gas play of South Africa, obtained
an 11,600-mi2 TCP along the southern edge of the Karoo Basin.
Shell obtained a larger
71,400-mi2 TCP surrounding the Falcon area. Sunset Energy holds a 1,780-mi2 TCP to the
west of Falcon. The Sasol/Chesapeake/Statoil JV TCP area of 34,000 mi2 and the Anglo Coal
TCP application area of 19,300 mi2 are to the north and east of Shells TPC, Figure XIX-9. 16
Figure XIX-9. Map Showing Operator Permits in the Karoo Basin, South Africa
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
XIX-12
XIX. South Africa
Recently, Chevron announced that it would partner with Falcon Oil & Gas to pursue the
shale resources of the Karoo Basin, starting with seismic studies.17
Five older (pre-1970) wells have penetrated the Ecca Shale interval. Each of the wells
had gas shows, while one of the wells - - the Cranemere CR 1/68 well - - flowed 1.84 MMcfd
from a test zone at 8,154 to 8,312 ft. The gas production, considered to be from fractured
shale, depleted relatively rapidly during the 24-hour test. The CR 1/68 well was drilled to 15,282
ft into the underlying Table Mountain quartzite and had gas shows from six intervals, starting at
6,700 ft and ending at 14,650 ft, indicating that the shales in this area are gas saturated.
REFERENCES
McLachlan, I. and Davis, A., Petroleum Exploration In The Karoo Basins, South Africa. Petroleum
Agency SA, 2006.
Catuneanu, O. et al., 2005. The Karoo Basins of South-Central Africa. Journal of African Earth
Sciences, vol. 43, p. 211-253.
U.S. Geological Survey Digital

http://pubs.usgs.gov/dds/dds-060/.
Branch, T. et al., 2007. The Whitehill Formation A High Conductivity Marker Horizon in the Karoo
Basin. South African Journal of Geology, vol. 110, p. 465-476.
Johnson, M.R. et al., 1997. The Foreland Karoo Basin, South Africa. In: Selley, R.C., (ed.), African
Basins Sedimentary Basins of the World, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
McLachlan, I. and Davis, A., 2006.
Chevallier, L. and Woodford, A.C., 1999. Morpho-Tectonics and Mechanisms of Emplacement of the
Dolerite Rings and Sills of the Western Karoo, South Africa. South African Journal of Geology, vol.
102, p. 43-54.
Svensen, H. et al., 2007. Hydrothermal Venting of Greenhouse Gases Triggering Early Jurassic Global
Warming. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 256, p. 554-566.
Faure, K. and Cole, D.,1999. Geochemical Evidence for Lacustrine Microbial Blooms in the Vast
Permian Main Karoo, Parana, Falkland Islands and Haub Basins of Southwestern Gondwana.
Palaeogeography and Palaeoclimatology, vol. 152, p. 189-213.
Data
Series
60,
World
Petroleum
Assessment
2000,
10
Visser, J.N.J., 1992. Deposition of the Early to Late Permian Whitehill Formation During Sea-Level
Highstand in a Juvenile Foreland Basin. South African Journal of Geology, vol. 95, p. 181-193.
11
Visser, J.N.J, 1994. A Permian Argillaceous Syn- to Post-Glacial Foreland Sequence in the Karoo
Basin, South Africa. In: Deynoux, M., Miller, J.M.G., Domack, E.W., Eyles, N., Fairchild, I.J., and
Young G.M. (eds.), Earths Glacial Record: International Geological Correlation Project 260. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, p. 193-203.
12
Smith, R.M.H., 1990. A Review of the Stratigraphy and Sedimentary Environments of the Karoo Basin
of South Africa. Journal of African Earth Science, vol.10, p. 117-137.
13
Cole, D.I. and McLachlan, I.R., 1994. Oil Shale Potential and Depositional Environment of the
Whitehill Formation in the Main Karoo Basin. Council for Geoscience (South Africa) Report, vol. 19940213.
June, 2013
XIX-13
XIX. South Africa
14
Horsfeld, B. et al., 2009. Shale Gas: An Unconventional Resource in South Africa? Some Preliminary
Observations. 11th SAGA Biennial Technical Meeting and Exhibition, Swaziland, 16-18 September, p.
546.
15
Raseroka, A.L., 2009. Natural Gas and Conventional Oil Potential in South Africas Karoo Basin.
AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, 15-18 November, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
16
Petroleum Exploration and Production Activities in South Africa, Petroleum Agency South Africa,
September 2010, http://www.petroleumagencysa.com/files/Hubmap_09-10.pdf.
17
Maylie, D., 2012. Chevron Joins Shale Hunt in South Africa. Wall Street Journal, December 14,
www.wsj.com accessed March 29, 2013.
June, 2013
XIX-14
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
XX. CHINA
C
SUMMA
ARY
China
C
has abundant shale gas and
d shale oil potential in
n seven pro
ospective ba
asins:
Sichuan, Tarim, Jung
ggar, Songliao, the Yang
gtze Platform
m, Jianghan and Subei, Figure XX-1
1.
Figure XX-1. Chinas Sevven Most Prosspective Shalee Gas and Shaale Oil Basins are the
Jiangh
han, Junggar, Sichuan, Son
ngliao, Subei, TTarim, and Yaangtze Platform.
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
XX
X-1
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
China
C
has an
n estimated 1,115 Tcf off risked, tech
hnically reco
overable sha
ale gas, mainly in
marine- and
a lacustrin
ne-deposited
d source roc
ck shales off the Sichuan
n (626 Tcf), Tarim (216 Tcf),
Junggar (36 Tcf), and Songliao (16
( Tcf) bas
sins. Additio
onal risked, ttechnically re
ecoverable sshale
gas resources totalin
ng 222 Tcf exist
e
in the smaller, struccturally more
e complex Y
Yangtze Plattform,
Jianghan
n and Subei basins. The risked sha
ale gas in-pllace for Chin
na is estima
ated at 4,746
6 Tcf,
tables XX
X-1A through
h XX-1E.
Chinas
C
also has consid
derable shale oil poten
ntial which iis geologica
ally less deffined.
Risked, technically
t
recoverable shale oil res
sources in th
he Junggar, Tarim, and Songliao basins
are estim
mated at 32.2 billion barrrels, out of 643 billion b
barrels of rissked, prospe
ective shale oil in
place), Table
T
XX-2A through XX
X-2C. Howev
ver, Chinas shale oil ressources tend
d to be waxyy and
are store
ed mostly in lacustrine-d
deposited sh
hales, which may be cla
ay-rich and less favorab
ble for
hydraulic
c stimulation.
The
T shale ga
as and shale oil resource
e assessme nt for China represents a major upg
grade
from our prior year 2011
2
EIA/AR
RI shale gas
s assessmen
nt. Importan
ntly, this upd
date assesssment
ates a signifficant new information
i
from ARIs proprietary data base of geologic data
incorpora
extracted
d from abou
ut 600 published techniical articles (mostly Ch
hinese langu
uage) as we
ell as
recent drrilling data.
Shale
S
gas lea
asing and ex
xploration drrilling alread
dy are underrway in Chin
na, focused iin the
Sichuan Basin and Yangtze
Y
Plattform areas and led by PetroChina, Sinopec, a
and Shell and the
us but proba
ably unachie
evable target for shale g
gas production of
government has set an ambitiou
7 Bcfd by 20
020.
5.8 to 9.7
June, 2013
XX
X-2
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Table XX-1A. Ch
hina Shale Gaas Resources and Geologicc Properties.
Sichuan
n
BasicData
Basin/G
Gross Area
Yan
ngtze Platform
2
(74,500 mi
m )
Shale Formation
F
Geolo
ogic Age
Qiongzhu
usi
L. Cambriaan
Marine
(
(611,000
mi )
Longmaaxi
L. Siluriaan
Marinee
Permiaan
Permiaan
Marinee
L. Camb
brian
L. Cambbrian
Marinne
L. Silu
urian
L. Siluurian
Marine
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent

6,500
10,0700
20,9000
3,2550
5,0335
Organically Rich
1,000
314
5000
1,0000
500
T
Thickness
(ft)
Net
400
251
2755
4000
275
Interval
1
9,000 - 15,500
1
10,000 - 16,,400 9,000 - 15,,500 3,280 - 166,400 10,000 - 16,400
Depth (ft)
13,200
11,5000
9,7000
13,2000
11,5500
Average
Mod.
Mod.
Mod.
Reservoir Pressure
Norm
mal
Norm
mal
Overpresss.
Overpre ss.
Overpres s.
4.0%
A
Average
TOC (w
wt. %)
3.2%
3.0%
%
3.2%
%
3.0%
2.50%
T
Thermal
Maturiity (% Ro)
%
3.20%
%
2.900%
2.90%
3.20%
Clay Content
Low
Low
w
Low
w
Low
Low
Gas Phase
Dry Gass
Dry Gaas
Dry Gas
G
Dry Gas
G
Dry Gass
2
GIP Concentrattion (Bcf/mi )

Risked GIP (Tccf)
109.8
499.6
124.9
162.6
1,146.11
286.5
114.1
715.22
214.55
99.44
181.0
45.22
147.1
414.7
103.7
Table XX-1B. Ch
BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Jianghan
Basin/Grosss Area
(14,440 mi )
Shale Form
mation
Geologic Age
Depositional En
nvironment
2
mi )
Org
ganically Rich
Th
hickness (ft)
Net
Inteerval
Deepth (ft)
Aveerage
Longm
maxi
L. Siluurian
Marrine
Niu
utitang/Shuijintuo
o
L. Cambrian
Marine
1,280
533
267
9,840 - 16,400
13,120
Qixiaa/Maokou
P
Permian
M
Marine
670
1,230
650
1,100
2,080
7
700
7000
394
394
700
175
1
175
1775
197
197
8,200 - 12,000 110,000 - 14,760 3,300 - 7,000 7,000 - 10,000 10,000 - 13,120
12,380
10,000
5,500
8,500
11,5500
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Noormal
Norm
mal

%
Th
hermal Maturity (%
% Ro)
Cllay Content
Gaas Phase
6.6%
2.25%
Low
Dry Gas
2.0%
1.15%
Low
Wet Gas
2.0%
2.00%
Low
Dry Gas
2.0%
0.85%
Low
A
Assoc.
Gas
2
2.0%
1.15%
L
Low
Weet Gas
2.00%
1.800%
Lo w
Dry Gas
G
148.9
45.7
11.4
51.0
8.2
1.6
67.1
19.8
4.9
14.1
1.8
0.2
448.3
1
10.6
2.7
66..6
27..7
6.9

Riisked GIP (Tcf)
Riisked Recoverablee (Tcf)
June, 2013
XX
X-3
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XX-1C. Ch
Greater Su
ubei
Basin
n/Gross Area
(55,000 mi
m )
Shalee Formation
Geo
ologic Age
Deposition
nal Environmen
nt
Mufushan
L. Camb rian
Marinee
Wuffeng/Gaobiajian
n
U. Orddovician-L. Silurrian
Marine
U. Permian
U. Permian
Marine
Prospective Area
A (mi )
2,0400
5,370
9,6220
1,3550
290
Organically Rich
R
400
8200
5000
500
8200
Thickness (ft))
Net
2466
2466
1500
150
300
1
13,500 - 16,400 3,300 - 8,200
8
8,000 - 1,000
Interval
13,000 - 166,400 11,500 - 13,500
Depth (ft)
Average
14,7000
12,5000
14,5500
5,8000
9,000
Reservoir Preessure
Normaal
Normal
Norm
mal
Norm
mal
Normaal
Average TOC
C (wt. %)
Thermal Matu
urity (% Ro)
Clay Content
Gas Phase
2.1%
1.20%
%
Low
Dry Gaas
%
1.1%
1.15%
%
Low
w
Wet Gas
G
1.1%
%
1.455%
Low
w
Dry Gas
G
2.0%
%
1.15%
Low
w
Wet Gas
G
2.0%
1.35%
%
Low
Dry Gaas
118.66
29.0
7.3
66.00
42.55
10.66
87.8
101.4
25.4
35.88
5.88
1.55
55.4
1.9
0.5
GIP Concentrration (Bcf/mi )

Risked GIP (T
Tcf)
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XX-1D. Ch
June, 2013
Tarim
m
Basin/G
Gross Area
(234,200 mi )
Shale Formation
F
Geolo
ogic Age
Depositionaal Environmentt
L. Cambrrian
L. Cambrrian
Marinee
L. Ordovvician
L. Ordovvician
Marinne
M..-U. Ordovician
n
M.-U. Ordovician
Marine
Ketu
uer
L. Triaassic
Lacus trine

15,920
6,520
19,4220
10,4550
10,930
Organically Rich
R
300
3000
3900
4000
380
Thickness (ft)
Net
1600
2400
2000
240
170
Interval
1
8,610 - 12,670
1
9,840 - 16,400
1
9,500 - 16,400
1
11,000 - 166,400 10,000 - 16,400
Depth (ft)
14,6200
13,6990
10,7990
12,180
13,000
Average
Reservoir Presssure
Normall
Normal
Norm
mal
Norm
mal
Norm
mal
Average TOC (w
wt. %)
Clay Content
Gas Phase
2.0%
2.0%
Low
Dry Gass
%
2.4%
1.80%
%
Low
w
Dry Gas
2.1%
%
0.900%
Low
w
Assoc. Gas
2.5%
%
2.000%
Low
w
Dry Gas
G
3.0%
%
0.900%
Low
w
Assoc.. Gas
77.1
175.9
44.0
59.88
377.55
94.44
12.66
32.88
3.33
85.0
232.3
58.1
40.5
161.2
16.1

Risked GIP (Tccf)
XX
X-4
EIA/ARI W
Resource
Reservoir
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
XX. China
Taable XX-1E. Ch
J
Junggar
Songliao
Basin/Gross Area
A
2
2
(622,100 mi )
(1008,000 mi )
Shale Formattion
Geologic Ag
ge
Dep
positional Environment
Pingdiquan/Luccaogou
Permian
Lacustrinee
Prospeective Area (mi )

Organ
nically Rich
Thickness (ft)
Net
Intervval
Depth (ft)
(
Averaage
7,400
820
410
6,600 - 16,4400
11,500
Reservvoir Pressure
Highly Overprress.
Averag
ge TOC (wt. %)
Clay Co
ontent
Gas Ph
hase
5.0%
0.85%
Medium
Assoc. Gaas
2
GIP Co
oncentration (B
Bcf/mi )
Risked GIP (Tcf)
(
Triiassic
Triiassic
Laccustrine
Qingshankou
C
Cretaceous
L
Lacustrine
88,600
6,900
8
820
1,000
4
410
500
5,0000 - 16,400
3,300 - 8,200
100,000
5,500
Highly
Modd. Overpress.
Oveerpress.
4
4.0%
4.0%
0..85%
0.90%
Meedium
Medium
Assooc. Gas
A
Assoc.
Gas
64.7
172.4
17.2
6
60.5
187.5
1
18.7
45.0
155.4
15.5
Taable XX-2A. China

C
Shale Oiil Resources aand Geologic Properties.
BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Jianghan
Basin/Gross Area
Greatter Subei
(14,440 mi )
Shale Forrmation
Geologicc Age
E
2
P
Prospective
Area (mi )
Orrganically Rich
T
Thickness
(ft)
Neet
Intterval
D
Depth
(ft)
Avverage
R
Reservoir
Pressurre
(55,0000 mi )
Longmaxi
L. Silurian
Marine
Qixia/Maaokou
Permian
Marinne
W
Wufeng/Gaobiajia
an
U. Ordovician-L. Siluurian
Marine
U. Perm
mian
U. Perm
mian
Marinee
670
394
197
8,200 - 12,000
10,000
1,100
650
700
700
175
175
3,300 - 7,000 7,000 - 10,000
8,500
5,500
5,370
820
246
11,500 - 13,500
12,500
1,3500
500
150
8
3,300 - 8,200
5,8000
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normaal
2.0%
1.15%
Low
Condensate
2.0%
0.85%
Low
Oil
2.0%
1.15%
Low
Condensate
C
1.1%
1.15%
Low
Condensate
2.0%
%
1.15%
%
Low
Condenssate
O Concentration
OIP
n (MMbbl/mi )
5.0
28.5
5.7
7.0
6.2
R
Risked
OIP (B bbll)
0.8
3.7
1.3
4.5
1.0
R
Risked
Recoverab
ble (B bbl)
0.04
0.18
0.06
0.23
0.055
Average TOC (wt. %)

A
T
Thermal
Maturity (% Ro)
C Content
Clay
O Phase
Oil
2
June, 2013
XX
X-5
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Taable XX-2B. China

C
Shale Oiil Resources aand Geologic Properties.
BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Ju
unggar
Tarim
m
Basin/Grosss Area
(234,200 mi )
Shale Form
mation
Geologic Age
Songliiao
2
(62,100 mi )
(108,000 mi )
M.--U. Ordovician
M.--U. Ordovician
Marine
Ketuer
L. Triassic
Lacustrine
Pingdiquan/Lucao
P
ogou
Permian
Lacustrine
Triassic
Triassicc
Lacustrinne
Qingshaankou
Cretaceeous
Lacustrrine
10,450
300
160
8
8,610
- 12,670
10,790
15,920
400
200
9,500 - 16,400
13,000
7,400
820
410
6,600 - 16,4000
11,500
8,600
820
410
5,000 - 16,400
10,0000
6,9000
1,0000
5000
3,300 - 8,200
8
5,5000
Normal
Normal
Highly Overpresss.

%
Th
hermal Maturity (%
% Ro)
Cllay Content
Oiil Phase
2.1%
0.90%
Low
Oil
3.0%
0.90%
Low
Oil
5.0%
0.85%
Medium
Oil
4.0%
%
0.85%
Medium
m
Oil
4.0%
%
0.90%
%
Mediuum
Oil
OIIP Concentration (MMbbl/mi )
11.9
32.5
40.9
43.3
66.44
Riisked OIP (B bbl)
31.1
129.5
108.9
134.1
229.22
Riisked Recoverablee (B bbl)
1.55
6.47
5.44
6.70
11.466
mi )
Organically Rich
Th
hickness (ft)
Net
Inteerval
Deepth (ft)
Aveerage
Highly Overppress. Mod. Overrpress.
In
nitial drilling
g confirms Chinas sh
hale gas a
and oil ressource pote
ential, but rapid
commerc
cialization may
m be challe
enging due to the typica
ally complexx geologic sttructure (fau
ulting,
high tecto
onic stress),, restricted access
a
to ge
eologic data, and the hig
gh cost and rrudimentary state
of in-country horizontal drilling an
nd fracturing
g services.
1. South
S
China
a Shale Corridor:
C
Sichuan,
S
Jiianghan, S
Subei Basin
ns and Yan
ngtze
Platform.
P
These
T
areas
s have clas
ssic marine--deposited, quartz-rich, black shale
es of
Cambrian
C
and
d Silurian ag
ge that are ro
oughly comp
parable to N
North Americcan analogs. The
Sichuan
S
Basiin -- Chinas
s premier sha
ale gas area
a -- has exissting gas pip
pelines, abun
ndant
su
urface wate
er supplies, and close proximity to
o major cities.
Current exploratio
on is
fo
ocusing on the southwes
st quadrant of the basin
n, which is re
elatively lesss faulted and low
in
n H2S.
The adjacent Yangtze Platform

P
and
d the Jiang
ghan and S
Subei basinss are
sttructurally co
omplex with poor data control,
c
but a
also located close to ma
ajor cities ce
enters
and still considered prosp
pective.
Shale
S
targets
s in the southwestern portion
p
of the
e Sichuan B
Basin are brrittle and dryy-gas
mature,
m
but lo
ower in TOC
C (~2%) tha
an North Am
merican shale
es and furthermore still quite
fa
aulted. Petro
oChinas firs
st horizontal shale well rrequired 11 m
months to drrill (vs 2 wee
eks in
North
N
Americ
ca). The in
nduced fracttures grew p
planar due to high stre
ess and thiss well
June, 2013
XX
X-6
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
produced a disappointing
d
g initial rate of 560 Mcfd
d. Shell tested 2.1 million ft3/day frrom a
ertical well, but noted ho
ole instability
y and out-off-zone deviation while drrilling horizontally
ve
nearby. Sino
opec, BP, Chevron,
C
Co
onocoPhillipss, Statoil, TO
OTAL and o
others also have
ex
xpressed in
nterest in th
he region.
Assuming iits significan

nt geologic and operattional
is
ssues can be
b solved, the
t
Sichuan
n may beco
ome Chinass premier sshale gas b
basin,
ca
apable of prroviding seve
eral Bcfd of supply
s
within
n 20 years.
2. The
T
Tarim Basin
B
has relatively
r
de
eep shale g
gas potentia
al in marine-deposited black
shales of Cambrian and Ordovician age that are
e rich in carrbonate and often grapttolitic.
No
N shale lea
asing or drrilling have been reporrted, probab
bly because
e of this ba
asins
re
emoteness and
a extreme
e depth of the
e shale. Strructure is rellatively simp
ple but the shales
are mostly too
o deep, reac
ching prospe
ective depth only on uplifts where TOC unfortun
nately
ends to be lo
ow (1-2%). Nitrogen co
ontamination
n (~20%) an
nd karstic co
ollapse strucctures
te
also are iss
sues.
Shallower, lowe
er-rank Ord
dovician sha
ale and Trriassic lacusstrine
mudstone
m
ha
ave potential. Horizonta
al wells alre
eady accoun
nt for half off convention
nal oil
production in the Tarim Basin,
B
provid
ding a good foundation ffor applicatio
on in future sshale
development.
3. Junggar Bas
sin, while no
ot the larges
st shale reso
ource in China, may ha
ave its best sshale
e rocks are extremely
e
th
hick (average 1,000 ft), rrich (4% ave
erage
geology. Perrmian source
TOC;
T
20% maximum)
m
and over-pressured. Triiassic sourcce rocks are
e leaner butt also
appear prosp
pective.
Th
he structura
al geology o
of the basin
n is favorab
bly simple, while
hermal matu
urity ranges
s from oil to
t wet gas within the prospective area.
th
L
Large,
co
ontinuous shale oil and
d wet gas le
eads were id
dentified. T
The main risk in the Jun
nggar
Basin
B
is the lacustrine rather than
n marine de
epositional o
origin of the
e shale and
d the
co
oncomitant issues
i
of brittleness and
d frack-abilitty. Shell an
nd Hess are evaluating sshale
oil prospects in the simila
ar, smaller Santanghu Ba
asin just easst of the Jun
nggar Basin.
4. Songliao
S
Ba
asin, Chinas largest oil-producing region, the
e Songliao has thick L
Lower
Cretaceous
C
source
s
rock shales in th
he oil to wet gas window
ws. While th
hese organicc-rich
shales are la
acustrine in origin and unfavorablyy rich in clay mineralss, they have
e the
o being overr-pressured and naturallly fractured. Prospectivve shales occcur in
advantages of
solated half-grabens at depths of 300
3
to 2,500
0 m but faulting is inten
nse. PetroC
China
is
co
onsiders the
e Songliao Basin
B
to be prospective
e for shale exploration and has alrready
June, 2013
XX
X-7
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
noted comm
mercial shale
e oil produ
uction here.
Hess an
nd PetroCh
hina have jointly
onducted a study of shale/tight oil potential at giant Daqin

ng oil field. Jilin Oilfield
d has
co
drilled and hydraulically
h
y fractured deep
d
horizo
ontal wells into a tightt sandstone
e gas
re
eservoir. Th
heir 1,200-m
m lateral, 11--stage frac ttechnology ccould be ap
pplied to sha
ale oil
re
eservoirs in the
t Songliao
o Basin.
5. Other
O
Basin
ns. Severall other sedimentary ba
asins in Chin
na have shale potentia
al but
co
ould not be
e quantified due to low geologic q
quality or inssufficient da
ata control. The
Basin, eas
Turpan-Hami
T
st of the larrger Jungga
ar, has equiivalent Perm
mian organicc-rich
shales that are
a lacustrine
e in origin, oilo to wet ga
as-prone, an
nd appear p
prospective. The
Qaidam
Q
Basiin, southeas
st of the Ta
arim, compri ses isolated
d fault-bounded depressions
co
ontaining Up
pper Triassic
c mudstone source rockks with high TOC; these appear oil p
prone
but are very deep. The Ordos Basiin has simp le structure but its Triassic shales have
lo
ow TOC and
d high clay content
c
(80%
%), while Carrboniferous and Permian mudstone
es are
co
oaly and duc
ctile. No sha
ale drilling has been rep
ported in thesse less prosspective area
as.
INTROD
DUCTION
China
C
has ab
bundant shale gas and shale
s
oil ressource poten
ntial that is a
at the early sstage
of delineation, evalua
ation, and te
esting. Chin
nas governm
ment is priorritizing shale
e developme
ent on
legal, tec
chnological, and comme
ercial fronts.. In Decem
mber 2011 th
he State Council approvved a
petition from the Ministry of Land
d and Resou
urces (MLR ) to separate
e the ownership of shale
e gas
from conventional re
esources, although the ownership
o
off shale oil re
esources rem
mains unclea
ar. In
March 2012 the Tw
welfth Five-Y
Year Plan fo
or Shale Ga
as Developm
ment envisio
oned large-scale
cial development of Chinas shale resources, while fiscal incentives and subsidies to
commerc
support shale
s
investm
ment are under consideration.
However,
H
the
e prevailing industry vie
ew, which iis shared by ARI, is th
hat geologicc and
industry conditions are
a considerrably less fav
vorable in C
China than in
n North Ame
erica. Nume
erous
es seem cerrtain to complicate and slow comme
ercial develo
opment com
mpared with N
North
challenge
America.. In particu
ular, most Chinese
C
sha
ale basins a
are tectonica
ally complexx with nume
erous
faults -- some
s
seismically active -- which is not
n conducivve to shale d
developmen
nt. Similar isssues
have slo
owed Chinas production
n of coalbed
d methane, a distantly related uncconventiona
al gas
resource
e. CBM outp
put is still und
der 0.5 Bcfd following 20
0 years of co
ommercial d
developmentt.
June, 2013
XX
X-8
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Furthermore, Chinas serrvice sector is just begin

nning to acquire the neccessary capa
ability
ontal drilling combined with
w massive
e multi-stage
e hydraulic sstimulation. Only
for large--scale horizo
a small number
n
of horizontal
h
sh
hale gas and
d oil wells ha
ave been te
ested thus fa
ar, with gene
erally
low but at
a least mea
aningful prod
duction rates
s. Significan
nt commercial productio
on appears ssome
years in the future. Considerab
ble work is needed
n
to de
eologic swee
et spots, devvelop
efine the ge
vice sectors
s capacity to effective
ely and eco
onomically drill and sttimulate mo
odern
the serv
horizonta
al shale we
ells, and ins
stall the exttensive surfface infrastrructure need
ded to tran
nsport
product to
t market.
In
ndustry is ca
autious regarding Chinas likely pace
e of shale gas developm
ment. Even in its
best are
ea, PetroCh
hina engineers observe
ed: the Siichuan Bassins conside
erable strucctural
complexiity, with exttensive fold
ding and faulting, appe
ears to be a significan
nt risk for sshale
developm
ment.1 And
d a BP offic
cial recently
y noted: It w
will be a long time beffore China ccould
commerc
cialize its shale resource
es in a large
e way.2 The
e National E
Energy Administrations m
mean
shale gas
s output targ
get of 7.7 Bc
cfd by 2020 appears
a
am bitious in thiis context.
Another
A
issu
ue is data availability.
a
Much of tthe basic g

geologic and
d well data
a that
commonly is publicly available in other co

ountries an
nd essentia
al for resourrce and prosspect
on -- is cons
sidered by China
C
to be state secretts. To overrcome these
e data limitattions,
evaluatio
ARI has drawn on its extensiv
ve proprietarry China sh
hale geologyy data base
e, compiled from
mately 400 te
echnical pap
pers published in Chine
ese language
e. Data loccations plotte
ed on
approxim
our China
a maps prov
vide an indic
cation of geo
ologic contro
ol (or lack the
ereof).
Four main on
nshore regio
ons assesse
ed by this sstudy have shale gas a
and oil pote
ential,
X-1. These include:
Figure XX
South
S
China Shale Corrid
dor (Sichuan
n, Jianghan, Subei basin
ns and Yang
gtze Platform
m).
The
T Tarim, Ju
unggar, and Songliao ba
asins in northern China.
Additional
A
ba
asins exist but
b may lack
k data contrrol or do nott appear to have large sshale
gas/oil po
otential (e.g.., Ordos, Qa
aidam, Turpa
an-Hami).
June, 2013
XX
X-9
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
1.
SOUTH
S
CHIINA SHALE
E CORRIDOR : SICHUAN, JIAN
NGHAN, SU
UBEI BASINS,
YANGTZE
Y
PLATFORM
P
M
1.1
In
ntroduction and Geologic Setting
marine shalles, mostly gas-prone
Organic-rich
O
g
to
o thermally over-mature
e, underlie a vast
area of south-centra
s
al and easte
ern China. This
T
Shale Corridor co
omprises the Sichuan B
Basin
and adjo
oining Yangtze Platform
m in Sichua
an, Yunnan,, Guizhou, Hubei, and western H
Hunan
provinces
s, as well as
s the smaller Jianghan and
a Subei ba
asins in sou
utheastern C
China. Within
n this
broad re
egion, Paleo
ozoic shales
s in the Sic
chuan Basin
n and Yang
gtze Platform
m offer som
me of
Chinas most
m
prospe
ective shale gas potentia
al. Howeve
er, while the essential ro
ock quality in
n this
region ap
ppears favorrable and no
ot dissimilar with certain North Amerrican shaless (e.g., Marcellus,
Barnett), significant exploration
e
challenges
c
still
s exist. Th
hese include
e locally exce
essive depth
h and
y and -- mos
st concerning
g intense ffaulting and structural co
omplexity.
high therrmal maturity
The
T overall sedimentary sequence in
n the South China Shale
e Corridor iss 6 to 12 km thick
and inclu
udes multiple
e organic-ric
ch shales of marine and non-marine
e origin within Pre-Camb
brian,
Cambrian, Ordovicia
an, Silurian, Devonian, Permian, Trriassic, and Eocene forrmations. F
Figure
ustrates the stratigraph
hy of the Sichuan
S
Bassin and Yangtze Platfo
orm, highlig
ghting
XX-2 illu
potentially prospectiv
ve L. Cambrrian, L. Silurian, and U. P
Permian sou
urce rocks.
Paleozoic
P
sh
hales in the South Chin
na Shale C
Corridor -- th
he most pro
ospective of this
sequence
e and the clo
osest in cha
aracter to pro
oductive Norrth American
n shales -- tyypically are thick,
carbon- and
a
quartz-rrich, of marine depositional origin, and mostly thermally m
mature within the
dry-gas to
t over-matu
ure windows
s. In contra
ast, the Triasssic and Eo
ocene shaless were depo
osited
primarily within fresh
hwater lacusttrine (rather than marine
e) environme
ents and ten
nd to be clayy-rich,
us less pro
ospective.
probably more ducttile, and thu
Our work --- consistent with published
information by Petro
oChina, She
ell, and oth
hers -- indiccates that th
he Lower C
Cambrian, L
Lower
m
shales in the S
Sichuan Ba
asin, Yangtzze Platform,, and
Silurian, and Upperr Permian marine
adjoining
g regions offe
er some of Chinas
C
best promise forr shale gas d
development.
June, 2013
XX
X-10
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Figure XX
X-2. Stratigrap
phy of the Sich
huan Basin annd Yangtze Plaatform, Highlighting
Potentiaally Prospectivve L. Cambrian
n, L. Silurian, and U. Permiaan Source Roocks.
SICH
HUAN BASIN
N
ERA
PERIOD
Q
QUATERNARY
TERTIARY
EPOCH
FORMATIO
ON
0-3
0 - 380
Upper
3 - 25
0 - 300
Low er
25 - 80
0 - 800
C
CRETACEOUS
80 - 140
MESOZOIC
Upper
JURASSIC
TRIASSIC
Middle
Suining
Shaximiao
o
Middle-Low er
e
g
Ziliujing
Upper
Middle
Xujiahe
e
Leikoupo
o
Jialingjian
ng
Feixiangu
uan
Upper
PERMIAN
140 - 195
5
200 - 900
0
250 - 300
00
205 - 230
0
900 - 170
00
Changxiing
Longta
an 230 - 2700
200 - 500
0
Maokou
u
Qixia-Liangsshan
CARBONIFEROUS
S Mississippia
an
Huanglon
ng
270 - 320
0
Upper
SILURIAN
Lower
Longma
axi
O
ORDOVICIAN
SINIAN
340 - 500
0
600 - 2800
0
195 - 205
5
Lower
CAMBRIAN
0 - 2000
650 - 1400
0
Penglaizhe
en
Lower
PALEOZOIC
AGE (Ma
a) THICKNESS
S (m)
Upper
Middle
Xixiangch
hi
Yuxianssi
Lower
Qiongzhusi
Upper
Dengying
g
Doushantuo
320 - 570
0
200 - 500
0
0 - 500
0 - 1500
0
0 - 600
0
0 - 2500
570 - 850
0
Lower
200 - 110
00
0 - 400
850
PRE-SINIAN
So
ource Rock
k
Conventio
onal Reservoir
Source: ARI, 2013.
The
T
Sichuan
n Basin cov
vers a large
e 74,500-mi2 area in so
outh-central China, while
e the
structurally more complex
c
an
nd sparsely drilled Ya
angtze Plattform coverrs a largerr but
discontin
nuous area to
o the south and
a east. The
T Sichuan Basin curre
ently produce
es about 1.5
5 Bcfd
of natura
al gas from convention
nal and low--permeability
ty sandstone
es and carb
bonates.
T
These
reservoirrs occur maiinly in the Triassic

T
Xujia
ahe and Feiixianguan fo
ormations, stored in com
mplex
structural-stratigraph
hic traps (ma
ainly faulted anticlines) tthat are disttributed acro
oss the basiin. A
limited vo
olume of oil also is prod
duced from overlying
o
Ju rassic sandsstones. The
e convention
nal oil
June, 2013
XX
X-11
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
and gas fields are un

nderlain and
d were sourc
ced by deep er organic-rich Paleozoic marine sh
hales,
n target of current
c
shale
e gas exploration. Pro terozoic to L. Paleozoic gas fieldss also
the main
have bee
en discovere
ed more rece
ently. Extre
emely high H 2S concentrations (up tto 50%) and
d CO2
(up to 18
8%) occur in sour gas fie
elds such as
s Puguang in
n the northe
east part of the basin. Levels
of these contaminantts are much lower in the
e south but ccan still be lo
ocally significcant.3
A number of technical jou
urnal articles
s have been
n published o
on the Sichu
uan Basin in
n both
Chinese and English
h, with the volume
v
and quality of p ublic reportss increasing
g in recent yyears.
ARI extra
acted a sub
bstantial datta base on Sichuan Ba
asin source rock shale geology from 47
Chinese and 20 English
E
lang
guage techn
nical article
es, comprising 23 crosss-sections, 714
well/outc
crop location
ns, and 1,46
62 total sam
mples, Figurre XX-3. T
This data se
et provides good
control of shale thick
kness, depth
h, structural geology,
g
the
ermal maturiity, and orga
anic content. We
s
examples of specific
s
geo
ologic data tto illustrate our conclusions. We then
provide selected
mapped and charactterized the th
hree distinct Paleozoic sshale leads d
discussed be
elow.
Figure XX
X-3. Structurall Elements of Sichuan Basin and Adjoini ng Yangtze Pllatform Showing ARI-Proprrietary
Shale Data Locations and
d High-Graded
d Areas for Caambrian, Silurrian, Permian Shales.
A
2013.
Source: ARI,
June, 2013
XX
X-12
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
The
T
Sichuan
n Basin / Ya
angtze Platfform region
n behaved a
as a passivve margin d
during
Sinian (P
Precambrian
n) to Mesozoic time, tra
ansitioning iinto a forela
and basin setting during
g the
Mesozoic
c to Cenozo
oic. Three major tecto
onic events punctuated this time in
nterval, inclu
uding
regional extension during
d
the Ca
aledonian and Hercynia
an orogeniess (Ordovicia
an to Permia
an), a
al phase during
d
the Indosinian to early Y
Yanshanian orogenies, and
structural transitiona
compression during the
t late Yan
nshanian to Himalayan
H
o
orogenies (C
Cretaceous to
o Neogene).4
The
T
modern
n-day Sichu
uan basin comprises four tecto
onic zones: the North
hwest
Depressiion, Central Uplift, and the East and
d South Fold
d Belts. The
e Central Uplift, characte
erized
by relativ
vely simple structure an
nd comparatively few fa
aults, appea
ars to be the
e most attra
active
region fo
or shale gas
s developme
ent. In contrast, the Ea
ast and Soutth Fold Beltts of the Sicchuan
Basin are
e structurally
y more comp
plex, charac
cterized by n
numerous clo
osely spaced
d folds and ffaults
with large offset; the
ese areas arre not considered prosp
pective for sshale gas de
evelopment. For
gh the northe
ern Sichuan Basin show
ws relatively simple strucctural
example, a cross-section throug
condition
ns in the Central
C
Upliftt transitionin
ng abruptly into the highly faulted
d and defo
ormed
eastern fold
f
belt, Fig
gure XX-4.5 The adjoining Yangtze
e Platform to
o the south and east is even
more structurally complex, but lacks
l
data control
c
and is quite cha
allenging to assess for sshale
developm
ment.
Figure XX
X-4. Northwesst-Southeast Structural
S
Cro
oss-section off Northern Sicchuan Basin, S
Showing Relattively
Simple Struccture in Centraal Uplift Transitioning into H
Highly Faultedd Fold Belt in tthe East.
Source: Zou
Z et al., 2011.
June, 2013
XX
X-13
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
The
T
new geo
ologic data indicate tha
at only the southweste
ern quadrantt of the Sicchuan
Basin me
eets the sta
andard explo
oration criterria for shale
e developme
ent: suitable
e shale thickkness
and deptth, dry to we
et gas thermal maturity, and absencce of extreme structural complexity. The
prospective area we
e mapped with
w
new da
ata is consid
derably sma
aller than in
n the initial 2011
s emerging sweet spot in the south
hwest Sichu
uan Basin do
ominates Ch
hinas
EIA/ARI study. This
asing and drrilling activity, as it appears to offe r Chinas be
est combina
ation of favo
orable
shale lea
geology, good acces
ss with flat surface
s
cond
ditions, exis ting pipeline
es, abundan
nt water supplies,
ess to major urban gas markets.
m
and acce
Other
O
parts of
o the Sichua
an Basin are
e structurallyy and/or topo
ographically complex or have
elevated H2S contam
mination. The
T
2008 Sichuan earth
hquake, cen
ntered in We
enchuan Co
ounty,
ve strike-slip
p faults in the
t
northwe
est portion o
of the Sichu
uan Basin.
occurred along activ
This
as shale po
otential but was screened out due to excessivve structura
al complexityy. In
region ha
addition, the conven
ntional rese
ervoirs in the northern portion of tthe Central Uplift can have
extremely high hydrrogen sulfide
e content, frrequently in excess of 10% by vollume, cause
ed by
thermoch
hemical sulfa
ate reduction
n (TSR).6 Not
N only doess H2S reducce gas reservves and incrrease
processin
ng costs, it is
s a dangero
ous safety ha
azard as welll: in 2003 a sour gas we
ell blew out iin the
Luojiazaii gas field, killing 233 villagers.
Carbon dio
oxide conten
nt also can
n be high in
n the
northeas
st Sichuan Ba
asin (~8%). Consequen
ntly, northea
ast Sichuan w
was screene
ed out as we
ell.
The
T
four ma
ain organic-rrich shale ta
argets in th
he Sichuan Basin are tthe L. Cam
mbrian
Qiongzhu
usi, L. Siluria
an Longmax
xi, the L. Perrmian Qixia, and the U. Permian Lo
ongtan forma
ations
and theirr equivalents
s, Figure XX
X-2. These units
u
source
ed many of th
he conventio
onal reservo
oirs in
the Sichu
uan Basin. Most importtant is the L. Silurian Lo
ongmaxi Fm
m, which contains an ave
erage
1,000 ft of
o organically rich, black
k, graptolitic
c-bearing, si liceous to cherty shale. TOC conte
ent is
mostly lo
ow to mode
erate at up to 4%, con
nsisting ma inly of Type
e II kerogen.
Figure XX-5
illustrates
s TOC distrribution in a deep conve
entional pet roleum well, ranging fro
om 0.4% to over
4%.7
Thermal matturity is high

h and incre
eases with depth, rang
ging from dry gas pron
ne to
ure (Ro 2.4%

% to 3.6%). Porosity me
easured from
m the Wei-201 and Ning
g-201 shale wells
overmatu
was over 4% but this paramete
er is difficultt to measure
e and frequ
uently underrestimated.8 The
Longmax
xi has exhib
bited gas sh
hows in at least 15 de
eep conventional wells in the southern
Sichuan Basin.9
June, 2013
XX
X-14
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Fig
gure XX-5. TO
OC Distribution of L. Siluriaan Longmaxi FFm in a Deep
Petrroleum Explorration Well, Sichuan Basin, Showing 0.4%
% to Over 4%.
Source: Liu et al., 2011

2
The
T
second shale gas target in the Sichua
an Basin is the Camb
brian Qiongzhusi
Formatio
on. Although deeper th
han the Long
gmaxi and m
mostly scree
ened out byy the 5-km d
depth
cutoff, th
he Qiongzhu
usi contains high-quality
y source roccks that pro
ovide further shale reso
ource
potential. The forma
ation was de
eposited und
der shallow marine con
ntinental she
elf conditionss and
o
thickn
ness of 250 to
t 600 m. Of
O particular note is the 60 to 300 m of high-gam
mmahas an overall
ray black
k shale, whic
ch has aboutt 3.0% TOC (sapropelic)) that is dry--gas-prone (a
about 3.0% Ro).
The
T Qiongzhusi black sh
hale is consid
dered the prrincipal sourrce rock for the Weiyuan
n gas
field in th
he southern Sichuan Bas
sin, where th
he organicallly rich hot shale is abou
ut 120 m thicck out
of 230 to
o 400 m of to
otal formatio
on thickness. Mineralog y appears fa
avorably britttle, being hiigh in
June, 2013
XX
X-15
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
quartz an
nd other brittle minerals (65%) and fairly low in clay (30%). In 1966 a conventiona
al gas
well flow
wed nearly 1 million ft3/day from an unstimulate
ed organic-ricch Qiongzhu
usi shale intterval
at a dep
pth of 2,800 m. PetroC
China recenttly tested th
he first horizzontal well ccompleted in the
Qiongzhu
usi at Weiyu
uan field (see
e Activity below).10
The
T Yangtze
e Platform area
a
is struc
cturally more
e complex than the Sichuan Basin,, with
only scan
nt well contrrol, very little
e of which has
h been pu
ublished. Th
he Paleozoic sequence here
has been tectonically deformed
d and partly
y eroded.
Indeed, the
e shales are
e not contin
nuous
e in the Sichuan Basin but

b rather iso
olated remnant basins w
which are difficult
deposits as they are
g
with current
c
data
a availability. Neverthe less, Chevrron and BP have expre
essed
to high grade
interest in the regio
on, while res
searchers have
h
begun to map outt potentiallyy favorable sshale
ment areas.11
developm
Our
O analysis of the Yang
gtze Platform
m depends h
heavily on o
outcrop and road cut stu
udies,
such as the
t Cambria
an correlation shown in Figure XX-6
6; subsurface
e control rem
mains weak. For
example, Figure XX
X-7 shows TOC
T
vs dep
pth distributio
on for a 10
00-m thick o
outcrop of th
he L.
wutan-Lijiatuo
o area, Yang
gtze Platform
m.12 Black sshale
Cambrian Xiaoyanxi Formation in the Yanw
here tota
als nearly 100 m thick wiith exception
nally rich ave
erage 7.5% TOC. The u
underlying S
Sinian
Liuchapo
o Formation consists ma
ainly of chert with avera
age 2.3% T
TOC. Figure
e XX-8 show
ws an
outcrop photo
p
of L. Cambrian black
b
chert north
n
of Gui yang city, G
Guizhou Pro
ovince, displa
aying
the units
s strong bedd
ding and britttle characte
er.13
The
T Jiangha
an Basin is a convention
nal petroleu m producing
g region covvering 14,500-mi2
in the ce
entral Yangtze Platform
m of Jiangxi and Hube
ei provinces, close to tthe major city of
Wuhan.
Jianghan is a rift ba
asin that de
eveloped on
n the Centrral Yangtze Platform d
during
ous to Tertia
ary time, indu
uced by tran
nspressional tectonics re
elated to Ind
dias collision
n with
Cretaceo
Asia. So
omewhat ov
verlooked fo
or shale exp
ploration, the
e Jianghan Basin has Lower Paleozoic
shale so
ource rocks -- similar to
o those in Sichuan
S
and
d the Yangttze Platform
m -- with suitable
thickness
s, depth, TO
OC, and Ro, although ev
ven in high-g
graded area
as they are m
mostly deep
p (4-5
km) and significantly
y faulted. Figure
F
XX-9 illustrates tthe structura
al elements of the Jian
nghan
A
ary shale ga
as data loc ations and the high-grraded locatio
on of
Basin, along with ARI-proprieta
a Permian
n shale leads
s.
Cambrian, Silurian, and
June, 2013
XX
X-16
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Figu
ure XX-6. Outtcrop Litholog
gy of the Camb
brian Sequencce Across thee Western Yanngtze Platform
m
Source: Guo
G et al., 200
06.
Figure XX-7.
X
TOC vs Depth Distribution at Outcrrop of the L. C
Cambrian Xiaooyanxi Fm Blaack Shale, Yanngtze
Platform. Black Shalee Totals Nearlyy 100 m Thick with Averagee 7.5% TOC. TThe Underlyingg Sinian Liuchhapo
Fm is Mainly Chert with 2.33% TOC.
Source: Guo et al., 2007.
June, 2013
XX
X-17
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Figure XX-8.
X
Outcrop
p Photo of L. Cambrian
C
Blacck Chert Northh of Guiyang C
City,
Guizzhou Provincee. Note Beddiing and Brittlee Character. P
Pen for Scale.
Source:
S
Yang
g et al., 2011.
Figure XX-9. Structtural Elementss Map of the Jianghan Basi n Showing AR

RI-Proprietaryy Shale Gas Daata
Locations and
a Relative Size of the Prosspective Areaas for Silurian and Permian Shales.
Source: ARI,
A
2013.
June, 2013
XX
X-18
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
The
T Jianghan Basin is structurally more
m
comple
ex than the S
Sichuan Bassin, although
h less
so than the
t Yangtze Platform. Jianghan
J
com
mprises a nu
umber of sm
mall fault-bou
unded upliftss and
depressio
ons.
Quatternary alluv
vium covers
s most of tthe basin ssurface, refflecting Neo
ogene
subsiden
nce. Its struc
ctural history
y records La
ate Cretaceo
ous to Paleogene extenssion (ENE-W
WSW)
which originally form
med the grab
ben structure
es, Late Pale
eogence compression ((EW) and grraben
N
exttension (NE--SW and N W-SE) whicch rejuvenatted the grab
bens,
deformattion, then Neogene
and finallly Late Neo
ogene comp
pression (NE
E-SW) which
h activated right-lateral strike-slip ffaults
1
that continue to be active today.14
The
T
Jianghan Basin con
ntains up to
o 10 km of Cretaceouss to Quaterrnary non-m
marine
sedimentts overlying U. Paleozo
oic marine source rockks, Figure X
XX-10, with potential so
ource
rocks present in Sinian, L. Ca
ambrian, U. Ordovician , L. Silurian
n, Jurassic, and Paleo
ogene
formation
ns. The Eo
ocene Qianjiang Formation is the main conve
entional sand
dstone rese
ervoir,
self-sourrced by interrbedded lacustrine shales and trap ped within ffaulted anticclines overla
ain by
cap rocks
s of interbed
dded gypsum
m-rich evapo
orites.15
The
T
most prrospective source
s
rock
ks for shale
e gas deve
elopment arre dry-gas-p
prone
Cambrian and Silurian units, along
a
with liquids-rich P
Permian sha
ale potential.
Recent sshale
analysis noted the average

a
thickness of org
ganically ricch L. Silurian
n Longmaxi Formation to be
120 m (390 ft).16 Measured
M
TOC
T
from th
he L. Camb
brian Shuijin
ntuo Formattion is favorrable,
f
5.35 to
o 7.78%.17 Thermal
T
matturity data a
are scarce but indicate g
gas-prone shales
ranging from
(Ro 1.5%
% to 2.5%) in most of th
he basin, be
ecoming the
ermally overrmature in th
he northwesst (Ro
3.5% to 5%).18 In contrast,
c
Eoc
cene lacustrrine shales iin the Jianghan Basin a
are immaturre (Ro
0.4%), lik
kely clay-rich
h, and not co
onsidered prrospective fo
or shale.
June, 2013
XX
X-19
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Fig
gure XX-10. Stratigraphy
S
of
o the Jianghan
n Basin, Highllighting Potenntially Prospecctive Sinian,
L. Cambrian, U. Ordovvician, L. Silurrian, Jurassic,, and Paleogene Source Roocks.
CENOZOIC
ERA
A
GHAN BASIN
JIANG
EPOCH
FORMA
ATION
QUATER
RNARY
NEOGE
ENE
Pleistocene
P
Miocene
Oligocene
Pingy
yuan
Guang
ghusai
Jinghe
ezhen
PALEOG
GENE
Eocene
Qianjjiang
P
Paleocene
Xingo
ouzhui
PERIO
OD
Upper
MESOZOIC
CRETAC
CEOUS
Lower
Middle
JURAS
SSIC
Lower
Upper
TRIAS SIC
Middle
Lower
Upper
PERM
MIAN
Lower
Upper
CARBONIF
FEROUS
Lower
Middle
Middle
DEVON
NIAN
SILUR
RIAN
PALEOZOIC
Jins
sha
Sha
ashi
Paomagang
huntao
Hongh
Luojin
ngtan
Lower
Xiaximiao
Naijia
ashan
Tongz huyian
Wanglo
ongtan
Jiuig
gang
Bad
dong
Jialing
gjiang
Da
aye
Dalo
ong
Wikoaping
okou
Mao
Qix
xia
Chuan
nshan
Huanglong
Shamao
eping
Luore
Long
gmaxi
Wuffeng
Upper
ORDOVICIAN
Lower
Upper
Middle
CAMBR
RIAN
Lower
Lingx
xiang
Bao
ota
Miaopo
Guniiutan
Daw
wan
Honghu
uayuan
Fenx
xiang
Nanjin
nguan
Shanyo
oudong
Qinjia
amiao
Shilon
ngdong
Tianh
heban
Shiipai
Shuijintuo
Upper
AN
SINIA
gyin
Deng
Duosh
hantuo
Lower
Source Rock
Nan
ntuo
Conventiona
al Reservoir
Source: ARI, 2013..
Cambrian
C
and Silurian sh
hales occur at non-prosspective depths of 5 to o
over 10 km iin the
western depressions
d
s of the Jiang
ghan Basin, but are sha
allower and m
may be prosspective on u
uplifts
in the ea
ast and norrtheast.
Fo
or example, a regional cross-sectiion shows S
Silurian sha
ale at
prospective depth (3-4 km) at the

e Yuekou, Longsaihu,
L
Y
Yajiao-Xingo
ou uplifts, altthough signifficant
h
may ne
egatively impact shale developmen
d
nt, Figure XX
X-11.19 Sim
milarly, a dettailed
faulting here
cross-sec
ction of the Mianyang Depression
D
in
n the eastern
n Jianghan B
Basin showss L. Silurian to be
about 50
00-m thick (u
up to 1 km thick
t
elsewh
here), faulte d, and 4 to 5 km deep,, Figure XX--12.20
June, 2013
XX
X-20
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
The unde
erlying Cambrian section is about 1 km thick, fa
aulted, and uplifted to a
about 2-km d
depth
in the so
outheastern Jianghan Basin,
B
Figurre XX-13.21
marine Paleozoic
We identiffied three m
source-ro
ock shale le
eads in the Jianghan Basin
B
(L. Ca
ambrian, L. Silurian, an
nd Permian; see
below).
X-11. Regionaal Cross Sectiion of the Cen

ntral Jianghan Basin Showss Significant FFaulting Whichh May
Figure XX
Impaact Shale Devvelopment. Caambrian and Silurian
S
Shaless are too Deepp (>5 km) to bbe Considered
Prosspective in thee Troughs, butt may be Suitaably Shallow oon the Uplifts..
Source: Zhang
Z
et al., 2010.
2
Figure XX
X-12. Detailed
d Cross-sectio
on from Mianyaang Depressioon in the Easttern Jianghan Basin. The LLower
Silurian
S
Sectio
on Here (S) is about 500-m
m Thick, 4 to 5 km Deep, annd Significantlly Faulted.
Source: Chen
C
et al., 20
005.
June, 2013
XX
X-21
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Figure XX-13. Localizzed Cross Secctions in the S

Southeastern Jianghan Bassin.
The Cambriaan Section Herre is Faulted aand about 1 km
m Thick.
Source: Li
L et al., 2007.
Subei
S
Basin
n. With only 13 Chinese and 7 E
English articcles available for this p
poorly
documen
nted basin, mappable geologic
g
datta are relati vely sparse
e, Figure XX
X-14. The basin
covers a 14,000-mi2 portion of the
t lower Ya
angtze Platfform near th
he coast in JJiangsu Province
entional oil fields
f
have b
been discovvered, the la
argest of which is
north of Shanghai. Small conve
Sinopecs structurally complex Jiangsu field near the center of th
he basin. A
Although situ
uated
y close to prosperous
p
ncluding Sh
hanghai, the
e Subei Bassin is
enticingly
East China markets, in
structurally complex
x and quite deep, with Paleozoic shales mosstly 3.5 to 5 km below
w the
surface. Figure XX-15, a structtural cross-s
section thro
ough the ba
asin and adjjoining regio
on to
Shangha
ai, shows major
m
faults and the de
epth to Pale
eozoic sourrce rock sha
ales.22
Dettailed
structure
e is likely to be
b even morre complex than indicate
ed here.
Sedimentary
S
rocks in th
he Subei Ba
asin range ffrom L. Cam
mbrian to E
Eocene, inclu
uding
potentially prospectiv
ve marine shale
s
source
e rocks of L.. Cambrian, L. Silurian, and U. Perrmian
2
Conglom
merates and mudstones of the U. C
Cretaceous to L. Paleo
ocene
age, Figure XX-16.23
t conventional petrole
eum targets in the basin
n, as well ass possible so
ource
Taizhou Group are the
emselves.
rocks the
June, 2013
XX
X-22
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Figure XX-14. Stru

uctural Elements Map of thee Subei Basin Showing ARII-proprietary S
Shale Gas Datta
Locations and
a Prospectivve Areas for L.
L Cambrian, LL. Silurian, andd U. Permian Shales.
Source: ARI,
A
2013.
Figure
F
XX-15. Structural Cross-section of
o Subei Basinn and Adjoininng Region to Shanghai,
Sh
howing Major Faults and Deepth to Paleozzoic Source Roock Shales.
Source: Moore
M
et al., 1986.
June, 2013
XX
X-23
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Figure XX
X-16. Stratigraaphy of the Paaleozoic Strataa in the Subei Basin, Highligghting
Potentiaally Prospectivve L. Cambrian
n, L. Silurian, and U. Permiaan Source Roocks.
ERA
PER
RIOD
FORMATION
LITHOLOGY / COMMENT
TS
P3c
F
Changxing/Talung Fm
es/siliceous shale, chert,

c
Limestone
limestone
P 3l
Longtan Fm
Sandstones, mudstones,
m
limeston
nes, coal.
P 2g
Kuhfeng Fm
Siltstones, siliceous
s
shale, and
d chert.
P 2q
Chihsia Fm
Dark greyy limestones with ch

hert.
P 1c
Chuanshan Fm
Ligh
ht grey limestone.
C2h
Huanglung Fm
Light gre
ey limestone/ dolomite.
C2l
Laohudong Fm
Light--dark grey dolomite..
Hezhou Fm
Limesto
ones, marls, dolomit es.
C1g
Gaolishan Fm
Mudstone, siltstone, fine sandsstone.
Kinling Fm
Dark grey lim

mestones with sand
dstone.
Laokan Fm
Grey-green mudstones
m
and sand
dstones,
argillaceous dolomite.
D3w
Wutong Fm
e quartzose sandsto
ones,
Grey-white
conglo
omeratic sandstoness.
Upper
S3m/S2f
Maoshan/Fentou Fm
F
Quartz sandsttone, siltite mudston

ne, shale.
Low
wer
S1g
Gaojiabian Fm
m
S
Shale,
siltstone.
O3w
Wufeng Fm
Siliceou
us shales, mudstone
es.
Tangtou Fm
Argillaceo
ous limestone and s hale.
Tangshan Fm
Argillaceouss limestone and mud

dstone.
Dawan Fm
Siliceous limestone and sha

ale.
Hunghuayuan Fm
m
G
Grey
limestone.
EPOC
CH
MEMBER
Upp
per
PER
RMIAN
Low
wer
Upper
CARBON
NIFEROUS
PALEOZOIC
wer
Low
DEVO
ONIAN
URIAN
SILU
Upper
ORDO
OVICIAN
Low
wer
Lunshan Fm
Grey do
olomite and limeston
ne.
Grey and wh
hite thick-bedded do
olomite,
dark grey thick-bedded limesttone.
Black carbon
naceous shale (uppe
er); dark
grey thin-b
bedded limestone (lo
ower).
Upper/M
Middle
1l, 2p
Loushanguan,
Paotaishan Fms
Low
wer
1mu
Mufushan Fm
m
CAMBRIAN
Sourc
ce Rock
Mo
odified from Qi
Q & Zhu, 200
02.
The
T L. Camb
brian Mufush
han Formation is 91 to 758 m thickk (gross) in the Subei B
Basin.
Its lower portion (2 to
t 363 m thiick) contains
s dark grey to black mu
udstones and shale. So
ource
hick, averaging 120 m th
hick, with low
w-moderate organic rich
hness
rock thickness is 40 to 250 m th
(1.1 to 3..1% TOC, av
verage 2.1%
%).24 This un
nit appears tto be gas-prrone at prospective deptths of
4 to 5 km
m. Unfortun
nately, the Cambrian
C
is
s deeper tha
an 5 km across nearly the entire S
Subei
Basin and 7 to > 9 km
m deep to th
he south and
d west of Sha
anghai.
June, 2013
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X-24
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
The
T U. Ordov
vician Wufen
ng and L. Siilurian Gaoji abian forma
ations contaiin siliceous sshale
ne at
and mud
dstone with low organic
c richness (0.6 to 1.3%
% TOC). Th
hese units a
are gas-pron
prospective depths of
o 3.5 to 5 km.
k
The Wufeng
W
Fm iss 4 to 214 m thick (gross) and con
ntains
grey and
d black silice
eous shales & mudstone. The L. S
Silurian Gao
ojiabian Fm is 25 to 1,720 m
thick (grross) and contains
c
darrk grey sha
ale with an upper laye
er of interb
bedded siltyy fine
sandston
nes. The co
ombined sou
urce rock thickness rang
ges from 75 to 450 m, a
averaging 25
50 m.
TOC is about
a
1.3%, lower than in
n the Cambrrian source rrocks.
The
T
1-km thiick U. Perm
mian Changx
xing/Talung formations also contain
n siliceous sshale
and mud
dstone of un
ncertain TOC
C that are gas-prone
g
att relatively sshallow deptths (1 2.5 km).
Finally, black
b
mudsttones of the
e U. Paleocene to M. E
Eocene Fun
ning Group contain oil sshale
interbeds
s that forme
ed in a deep
p lake settin
ng and sourcced the bassins conven
ntional sandsstone
fields; the
ese mudston
nes are imm
mature to liqu
uids-prone (R
Ro 0.4% to
o 0.9%).25
1.2
Reservoir
R
Prroperties (P
Prospective Area)
Having
H
discu
ussed the regional
r
geo
ology of th e South China Shale Corridor in
n the
preceding section, we now de

escribe the reservoir p
properties sspecific to the high-grraded
prospective areas in each basin.
Sichuan
S
Bas
sin. The 10,070-mi2 hig
gh-graded arrea defined by prospecttive depth an
nd Ro
distributio
on is located in the sou
uthwestern Sichuan
S
bassin. Here the L. Siluria
an Longmaxxi Fm
contains about 1,000
0 ft of organ
nically rich, black, grapttolitic-bearin
ng, siliceouss to cherty sshale.
ntent is app
proximately 3%
3 and dry
y gas prone
e (Ro 2.9%).. In additio
on, the Cam
mbrian
TOC con
Qiongzhu
usi Fm averages 500 ft
f thick, with
h 3.0% TOC
C within its 6,500-mi2 p
prospective area,
where it is in the dry gas thermall maturity window (3.2%
% Ro).
The
T Upper Pe
ermian Long
gtan and Low
wer Permian
n Qixia forma
ations, best developed iin the
central and southeas
st Sichuan Basin,
B
contain an averag
ge total 314 ft of organic-rich shale, with
TOC ranging from 2-6% (averag
ge 4%). Depth to shale
e within the prospective area (1 to 5 km)
averages
s 9,700 ft. These
T
shales
s are dry-ga
as prone, witth vitrinite re
eflectance ra
anging from 2.0%
to 3.0% (average
(
2.5
5%).
Shale
S
targets
s in the Sich
huan Basin are quite diffferent from North Ame
erican shaless, but
the close
est North Am
merican anallog may be the
t relativelyy faulted central Pennsyylvania portiion of
the Marc
cellus Shale play.
June, 2013
XX
X-25
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Yangtze
Y
Pla
atform.
A specific pro
ospective arrea could no
ot be mapp
ped here du
ue to
structural complexity
y and the pa
aucity of data. Howeve r, activity byy major oil ccompanies in
n this
area sug
ggests there may be pottential, perha
aps in local synclinal are
eas. Reserrvoir propertiies of
L. Cambrian and L. Silurian
S
form
mations in th
he Yangtze P
Platform gen
nerally are ssimilar to tho
ose in
huan Basin.
the Sich
We assu
umed that prospective
p
areas coulld be perha
aps 20% o
of the
prospective Sichuan Basin areas

s for each off the L. Cam
mbrian and L. Silurian forrmations.
Again,
A
the sh
hale targets
s in the Yan
ngtze Platfo
orm do not closely rese
emble any N
North
American
n shale analogs. Perha
aps the struc
cturally com
mplex, dry-ga
as prone Utica Shale pllay in
Quebec is the closes
st North Ame
erican appro
oximation.
asin. The L.
L Cambrian
n Niutitang F
Formation ((1,280-mi2 h
high-graded lead)
Jianghan Ba
has the best organic richness (6.6%), is dry-gas pro
one (Ro ~2.25%) but a
also the dee
epest
(average
e 13,000 ft). The L. Silurian Longma
axi Formatio
on (1,960-mii2 high-grade
ed lead) hass less
organic richness
r
(TO
OC of 2.0%)), also is drry-gas prone
e (Ro ~2.0%
%), and is found at moderate
depth (av
verage 11,500 ft). Finally, the Perm
mian Qixia/M
Maokou Fm ((2,150-mi2 h
high-graded lead)
has lowe
er organic richness (2.0
0%), is still dry-gas
d
pron
ne (Ro ~1.5
5%) and occcurs at shallower
depth (av
verage 9,000
0 ft). The ge
eothermal gradient in th
he Jianghan Basin is mo
oderate, simiilar to
26
that of the Sichuan Basin.
B
The
T
relatively
y faulted Ma
arcellus Sha
ale play in central Pen
nnsylvania m
may be a distant
analog fo
or the Jiangh
han Basin, although
a
Jian
nghan is stru
ucturally mucch more com
mplex.
Subei
S
Basin
n.
Marine-d
deposited source
s
rock shales in the L. Cam
mbrian Mufu
ushan
Formatio
on average 120
1 m thick, with 2.1% average TO
OC. These a
are gas-pron
ne at prospe
ective
depths of
o 4 to 5 km. Source roc
cks in the th
he U. Ordovvician Wufen
ng and L. Silurian Gaojia
abian
formation
ns total an average
a
250
0 m thick, co
onsisting of siliceous sh
hale and mu
udstone with
h low
1.1% TO
OC; these allso are gas--prone at prrospective d epths of 3.5
5 to 5 km. The U. Perrmian
Changxin
ng/Talung fo
ormations co
ontain siliceo
ous shale an
nd mudstone
e of uncertain
n TOC (assu
umed
to be 2%
%) that is gas
s-prone at relatively shallow depths ((1 to 2.5 km).
The
T
relatively
y faulted Ma
arcellus Sha
ale play in central Pen
nnsylvania m
may be a distant
analog fo
or the Subei Basin, altho
ough Subei is structurallyy much more
e complex.
June, 2013
XX
X-26
XX. China
1.3
EIA/ARI W
Resource
R
As
ssessment
Having
H
defined the rese
ervoir prope
erties of the
e high-grade
ed prospecttive areas in
n the
South China
C
Shale
e Corridor, we now es
stimate the risked, tecchnically re
ecoverable sshale
resource
es and original shale gas
s and shale oil
o in place fo
or each basin.
Sichuan
S
Bas
sin. Much of
o the Sichua
an Basin is sstructurally ccomplex and
d/or contamin
nated
with H2S and thus was
w screened
d out as non
n-prospectivve. Howeve
er, the southwest quadra
ant of
the basin
n has marine
e Paleozoic shales
s
that are
a prospecttive. Within our high-gra
aded prospe
ective
area, the
e Silurian Longmaxi Formation
F
has
h
an esttimated 287
7 Tcf of rissked, techn
nically
as resources
s out of 1,14
46 Tcf of rissked, shale g
gas in-place
e. The Cam
mbrian
Qiongzhu
usi Formatio
on has 125 Tcf
T of risked
d, technicallyy recoverab
ble shale gass resources from
500 Tcf of
o risked, sh
hale gas in-p
place. Perm
mian formatio
ons have an estimated 2
215 Tcf of rissked,
as resources
s out of a depth- and Ro--screened 715 Tcf of risked shale ga
as inplace.
Based
B
on the
ese data and
d assumptio
ons, the Sich
huan Basin is Chinas largest shale
e gas
region, with
w an estim
mated 2,361 Tcf
T of risked
d, prospectivve shale gass in-place, off which 626 T
Tcf is
considere
ed risked, technically
t
recoverable
r
shale gas resources, Table XX-1. These fig
gures
exclude the majority
y of the basin area, which was scre
eened out due to excesssive depth, H2S,
and struc
ctural complexity issues
s. Further more
m
detaile
ed study is rrecommended to define
e and
map thes
se paramete
ers and refin
ne the still po
oorly undersstood shale g
gas resourcce potential o
of the
Sichuan Basin.
Yangtze
Y
Pla
atform.
Using Sichua
an Basin rreservoir prroperties an
nd an assu
umed
prospective area 20
0% as large as Sichuan
ns, the L. C
Cambrian and L. Siluria
an shales o
of the
Yangtze Platform arre estimated
d to have 14
49 Tcf of rissked, technically recove
erable shale
e gas
resource
es out of 596
6 Tcf of risked shale gas in-place.
Jianghan Ba
asin.
The L. Cambria
an has an e
estimated 1
11 Tcf of rissked, techn
nically
as resources
s, out of a de
epth- and Ro -screened 4
46 Tcf of riskked shale ga
as inrecoverable shale ga
place. The
T L. Siluria
an Longmax
xi Fm is pros
spective with
hin a 1,960-m
mi2 high-gra
aded lead, ad
dding
an estimated 7 Tcf of
o risked, te
echnically recoverable s hale gas resources outt of a depth-- and
Ro-screened 28 Tcf of
o risked sha
ale gas in-place. The P ermian Qixia
a/Maokou Fm is at moderate
d lead for th
he three the
ermal
depth (9,000 ft average). ARI mapped a 3,830-mi2 high-graded
maturity windows, with
w
an esttimated 10 Tcf of riskked, techniccally recove
erable shale
e gas
June, 2013
XX
X-27
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
resource
es, out of a depthd
and Ro-screened 40 Tcf of riisked shale gas in-place
e. Jianghan
n also
has a minor Permia
an shale oil play contain
ning 5 billio n barrels off resource in-place, with 0.2
billion ba
arrels as the risked, technically recov
verable shal e oil resourcce.
Subei
S
Basin. Although geologic
g
datta are scarce
e, ARI identiified a 2,040
0-mi2 high-grraded
lead in th
he L. Cambrrian Mufusha
an Formation
n with an esstimated 7 Tccf of risked, technically sshale
gas recoverable reso
ources, out of
o a depth- and
a Ro-scree
ened 29 Tcf of risked sh
hale gas in-p
place.
biajian Forma
ation appearrs to be prosspective with
hin a 14,990
0-mi2 high-grraded
The L. Silurian Gaob
ding an estim
mated 36 Tc
cf of risked, technically
t
rrecoverable shale gas re
esources ou
ut of a
lead, add
depth- an
nd Ro-screen
ned 144 Tcff of risked sh
hale gas in-p
place. The p
poorly define
ed Permian sshale
within a 1,6
may be prospective
p
640-mi2 area
a, with 2 Tcff of risked, ttechnically re
ecoverable sshale
gas resources out off 8 Tcf of ris
sked shale gas
g in-place.. Subei also
o has a mino
or Permian sshale
oil play containing
c
1 billion barrrels of resource in-placce with 0.1 billion barre
els as the rissked,
ble shale oil resource.
1.4
Recent
R
Activ
vity
The
T Sichuan
n Basin by fa
ar is Chinas
s most active
e shale leasing and drilling area. Drilling
programs
s currently are underway by Petro
oChina, Sino
opec, and S
Shell, while numerous other
Chinese and foreign companies are negotiating initial le
ease position
ns. The Min
nistry of Land
d and
es began drrilling shale delineation
d
wells
w
in the S
Sichuan Bassin in 2009. PetroChina
a and
Resource
Sinopec, which are engaged in
n shale dev
velopment J Vs in North
h America, each hold large
ease position
ns in the bas
sin. Earlier this year Sh
hell and CNP
PC were aw
warded the 3
3,500legacy le
km2 Fush
hun-Yongchuan block, lo
ocated in the
e southern S
Sichuan closse to a legaccy Shell tigh
ht gas
exploratio
on block. The
T
Fushun
n-Yongchuan
n block is C
Chinas first foreign-inve
ested produ
uction
sharing contract
c
for shale gas. Shell also is
s pursuing jo
er Sichuan B
Basin
oint studies on two othe
shale blo
ocks (Zitong,, Jinqiu), which would give the comp
pany a total shale/tight a
area of 8,500
0 km2
if awarde
ed.27
Shale
S
explora
ation drilling
g results in the
t Sichuan Basin have
e been mixe
ed. PetroCh
hinas
first repo
orted horizon
ntal shale ga
as exploratio
on well, loca
ated near th
he city of Ch
hengdu, targ
geted
the Siluriian Longmax
xi Formation
n. The Wei 201-H1 wel l, which emp
ployed a 3,5
540-ft long la
ateral
and was drilled with modern log
gging-while-drilling tech nology,28 co
ompleted its drilling pha
ase in
011 after 11 months. However, this
s well tested
d a disappoin
nting 450 Mcfd average
e over
March 20
a 44-day
y period, fo
ollowing a la
arge-volume
e, 11-stage slickwater frac comple
etion which was
June, 2013
XX
X-28
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
monitored using real-time micros

seismic.29
Elsewhere
E
in the Sichuan
n Basin, PettroChina hass fracture sttimulated at least five ve
ertical
wells tarrgeting the Longmaxi Formation and two vvertical wellss targeting the Qiongzhusi
Formatio
on.30 PetroC
Chinas first horizontal
h
Qiiongzhusi we
ell (Wei 201-H3), locate
ed in the Weiyuan
gas field, is the only
y horizontal reported in detail by P
PetroChina. The well te
ested this 110-m
ck shale at a depth of 2,600
2
m, wh
here seismicc had indicatted a well-developed na
atural
thick blac
31
fracture system.
s
Lo
og and core analysis showed the Q iongzhusi avveraged 67%
% quartz con
ntent,
22% clay
y, and 2.3% TOC but on
nly about 2.0% porosityy with 100 nD permeability (core-ba
ased).
The horizontal latera
al was less than half of
o its planne
ed 5,000-ft length beca
ause of bore
ehole
p
encountered during
d
drilling
g.
stability problems
PetroChinas
P
planned 9--stage fractu
ure stimulattion encountered high horizontal sstress
and succ
cessfully pla
aced only 6 stages. Ga
as productio
on peaked a
at 1.15 MMccfd and decclined
rapidly to
o 300 Mcfd, averaging 580
5 Mcfd du
uring the 60
0-day flow te
est. PetroCh
hina inferred
d that
the fracs
s had planarr rather than
n preferred complex ge
eometry and
d the stimula
ated volume
e was
much sm
maller than ex
xpected.32 Still,
S
the testt showed the
e Qiongzhussi shale can be productivve.
Separately,
S
Sinopec
S
hyd
dro-fractured
d its Fangsh
hen-1 well in
n Guizhou in
n May 2010
0 and
expects to start co
ommercial shale
s
gas production
p
i n Liangping
g County, n
near Chong
gqing,
ent Qianye-1 well in Qia
anjiang, also
o near Chongqing, reporrtedly
Sichuan in 2013. Sinopecs rece
a 100 Mcfd.33 No furthe
er details are
e available frrom Sinopeccs shale pro
ogram.
peaked at
In
n Novemberr 2009 Shell signed the initial agree
ement with P
PetroChina to jointly exxplore
for shale
e gas at the Fushun block, southern
n Sichuan B
Basin, receivving the PSC
C in March 2
2012.
Shell spu
ud its first well
w in December 2010, focusing on
n the Siluria
an Longmaxxi Fm.34 By April
2012 the
e company had drilled fiv
ve deep explloration well s: one verticcal data well, two vertica
al frac
wells, an
nd two horrizontal frac wells.35
Whole
W
core
e and full p
petrophysica
al logging ssuites
confirmed good reso

ource potenttial, although in-situ we
ell testing de
etermined th
hat the forma
ation,
vorably over-pressured,, had an un
nfavorably h
high stress gradient.
while fav
High breakdown
pressure
es and fluid leakoff resu
ulted in poor stimulation
n. Neverthe
eless, one o
of Shells ve
ertical
exploratio
on wells rep
portedly flowe
ed at 2.1 milllion ft3/day.
Shell
S
followed
d its first tw
wo vertical Sichuan wellss with two h
horizontal prroduction tessts at
the Fush
hun block. The compa
any noted significant
s
fa
ault-related problems, ssuch as freq
quent
June, 2013
XX
X-29
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
drilling out of zone and

a
resulting doglegs that
t
compliccated well co
ompletion. Completion time
d from over 100 days/we
ell initially to
o about 53 d
days/well, bu
ut still longer than typica
al 10improved
day completion times
s in North Am
merica. She
ell did not re port producttion from its horizontal w
wells.
ConocoPhillip
C
ps recently was
w awarded
d two shale exploration blocks in the Sichuan B
Basin.
Chevron is conductting a Joint Study with
h Sinopec o
of the Qiann
nan shale g
gas block in
n the
ocated nortth of Guiyang city, Gu
uizhou Proviince, and ju
ust south o
of the
Yangtze Platform, lo
evron initiate
ed seismic acquisition
a
o
over the blocck in July 20
011 and spu
ud its
Sichuan Basin. Che
d
Q1 20
012. BP, Co
onocoPhillip
ps, ENI, Exxo
onMobil, Sta
atoil, and TO
OTAL
first test well there during
e reported in
nterest in lea
asing shale gas blocks in the Sichu
uan or Yangtze Platform
m. As
also have
of late 20
010 BP was
s reported ne
egotiating with
w Sinopec for a shale gas explora
ation block a
at the
2,000-km
m2 Kaili block
k near Chev
vrons Qiannan block. In
n July 2011 ExxonMobil was reporte
ed by
Sinopec to be evalua
ating the 3,6
644-km2 Wuzhishan are a in the Sich
ported
huan Basin. Statoil rep
as block an d at one po
oint estimatted 50 MMccfd of
negotiating with PettroChina forr a shale ga
productio
on potential by 2015. EN
NI signed a memorandu
um of undersstanding with
h CNPC on sshale
gas in ea
arly 2011.
North
N
Americ
can shale gas
g
operatorrs Newfield Exploration
n and EOG Resources also
reported conducting detailed sh
hale gas eva
aluations in the Sichuan
n Basin durring the passt few
N
conducted a detailed joint study
s
evalua
ation with Pe
etroChina at the Weiyuan
n gas
years. Newfield
field but decided in 2006
2
not to proceed. EOG
E
originallly planned tto make a d
decision on sshale
on in Sichua
an by late 20
010 but has been silent o
on the project for the pa
ast two yearss.
exploratio
Jianghan and
d Subei Basins. The on
nly reported shale activitty in the Jian
nghan Basin
n was
Sinopecs Decembe
er 2010 repo
ort of gas flows in a shale gas e
exploration well (no details
provided). The sam
me report no
oted that BP was eval uating Perm
mian shale iin the 1,000
0-km2
Huangqia
ao block, the
e only explorration activitty noted thuss far in the S
Subei Basin.
June, 2013
XX
X-30
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
TARIM
T
BAS
SIN
2.1
In
The
T Tarim Ba
asin, located
d in western Chinas Xin
njiang Autono
omous Regiion, is the la
argest
onshore sedimentary
y basin in China
C
(234,0
000 mi2). S
Surface eleva
ation of thiss remote bassin is
y flat at abou
ut 1,000 m above
a
sea le
evel. The c limate is dryy but aquiferrs which und
derlie
relatively
the lightly populated
d region co
ould supply frac water .
Figure X
XX-17 show
ws the strucctural
elements
s of the Tarim
m Basin, as well as loca
ations of ARII-proprietaryy data used in conducting
g this
study.
gure XX-17. Structural

S
Elem
ments Map of the
t Tarim Bassin Showing A
ARI-Proprietarry Shale Gas
Fig
Data Loccations and Prrospective Areeas for Shale Gas and Shalle Oil Explorattion.
Source: ARI,
A
2013
June, 2013
XX
X-31
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
PetroChina
P
and
a
Sinopec
c produced an average
e 261,000 b
b/d of oil frrom conventtional
reservoirrs in the Tarrim during 2011
2
and are
e investing heavily to d
double outpu
ut there by 2
2015.
The basin also produced 1.6 Bc
cfd of natura
al gas in 201
11 that was transported
d to Shangha
ai via
nal petroleu
the two 4,000-km West-to-East
W
t pipelines. Convention
um depositss, totaling ovver 5
arrels of oil and 15 Tcf of gas, were sourced
d mainly byy organic-rich Cambrian
n and
billion ba
Ordovicia
an shales considered
d the princip
pal targets ffor shale ga
as and oil e
exploration in the
Tarim Ba
asin.
The
T Tarim Ba
asin is sub-d
divided by fa
ault and fold
d systems in
nto a series of seven distinct
structural zones, comprising three uplifts and
a
four de
epressions.
h to south tthese
From north
include the
t
Kuqa Depression,
D
Tabei Uplift, North D
Depression, Tazhong U
Uplift, South
hwest
Depressiion, Tanan Uplift
U
and So
outheast Depression. C
Cross-section
n A-A, Figu
ure XX-18, shows
a north-tto-south tran
nsect across
s the centra
al Tarim Bassin, revealin
ng generallyy simple reg
gional
structure
e characteriz
zed by shallo
ow dip angle
e and few fa
aults (note e
extreme vertiical exaggerration
of 25x).36 Unfortuna
ately, the main Cambria
an and Ordo
ovician shalle targets arre buried de
eeper
than 5 km
k over most of the ba
asin, plungin
ng to a maxximum deptth of 10 km
m or more in
n the
structural troughs.
However,
H
inte
erior anticlin
nes within th
he Tarim Bassin include u
uplifted area
as that appe
ear to
be (bare
ely) depth-prrospective for
f shale de
evelopment (<5 km).
F
For example
e, Figure X
XX-19
shows Cambrian
C
and
d Ordovician
n source roc
ck shales att prospective
e depths ran
nging from 4 to 5
km acros
ss the Tazho
ong Uplift, but
b even herre shale is ju
ust within th
he depth limit for comme
ercial
3
shale de
evelopment.37
Even though much of the Mid

d-Upper Ord
dovician secction was lo
ocally
removed by erosion during the Late

L
Paleozo
oic Hercynia
an Orogeny,, a considerable thickne
ess of
r
Ge
eochemistry
y indicates th
hat the conve
entional oil ttrapped in th
he Tazhong Uplift
this unit remains.
originated mainly from Ordovicia
an rather than Cambrian source rockks.38
Multiple
M
petro
oleum sourc
ce rocks of various
v
agess occur in th
he Tarim Bassin, including the
Cambrian, Ordovicia
an, Carbon
niferous, Triiassic, Crettaceous, an
nd Tertiary, Figure XX
X-20.
Marine-d
deposited bla
ack shales of
o Cambrian and particu
ularly Ordoviician age arre considere
ed the
most imp
portant sourc
ce rocks in th
he basin.39 The Ordoviccian units incclude the He
etuao, Yijian
nfang,
Lianglitag
ge and equ
uivalent forrmations, while L. Cam
mbrian source rock units include
e the
Xiaoerbu
ulake Formattion and equ
uivalent units
s.
June, 2013
XX
X-32
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
X-18. South-n
north Cross-seection of the Central
C
Tarim Basin Showinng Generally S
Simple Structuure as
Figure XX
Well as Migration
M
Path
hways for Oil (Red)
(
and Gass. Note that Cambrian and O
Ordovician Soource Rock Shhales
are Too
o Deep (>5 km
m) for Commerrcial Shale Devvelopment in Most of the Basin, but Locaal Uplifts mayy be
Pro
ospective (verrtical exaggeraation = 25x).
Source: Zhu
Z et al., 2012.
Figurre XX-19. Inteerpreted Seism

mic Depth Secction across t he Tazhong U
Uplift, Tarim Basin, Showingg
Cambrian
n and Ordovician Source Ro
ock Shales at Prospective D
Depth of 4 to 5 km (vertical exaggeration = 5x)
Source: Xiao
X
et al., 200
00.
June, 2013
XX
X-33
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Figurre XX-20. Straatigraphy of the Tarim Basiin, Highlightinng Prospectivee

Cambrian, Ordovician, Carboniferous, Triassic,
T
Cretaaceous, and TTertiary Sourcee Rocks.
EPOCH
H
QUATERNAR
RY
TERTIAR
RY
N1w
OUS
CRETACEO
K2y
MESOZOIC
PERIOD
D
CENOZOIC
TA
ARIM BASIN
ERA
FORMATION
N
AGE (Ma) THICKNESS (m)
N2a
Eh
JURASSIC
K1y
J 3k
J 2t
J2y
J1k
TRIASSIC
C
PERMIAN
N
Upper
Middle-Low
wer
Upper-Middle
CARBONIFER
ROUS
Lower
Shazijing
Aqiaqun
Aqiaqun
Xiaohaizi
Kalashayi
Bachu
PALEOZOIC
DEVONIA
AN
SILURIAN
N
ORDOVICIIAN
Upper
Middle
Lower
0 - 780
290 - 355
0 - 691
355 - 405
0 - 241
405 - 439
0 - 517
Upperr
Hetuao (O1-2)
439 - 459
Middle
e
Yijianfan (O2)
459 - 478
Lowerr
CAMBRIA
AN
290
Upper
Middle
Lowerr
SINIAN
Lianglitage (O
O3) 478 - 505
Qiulitage
Awatage
Xiaoerbulake
e
505 - 600
600+
Source Ro
ock
0 - 300
org-rich
0 - 150
org-rich
0 - 50
org-rich
2918
125
74
200 - 1100
Conventiona
al Reservoir
Source: ARI,
A
2013.
The
T Lower Ordovician He
etuao (O1-2) shales -- im
mportant source rocks -- appear to b
be the
most pro
ospective, although TOC
C generally is under 2%
%. These sh
hales range from 48 to 63 m
thick and
d consist off carbonace
eous and ra
adiolarian-be
earing siliceo
ous mudsto
one that app
pears
brittle. The
T Mid-Ordo
ovician Yijia
anfang (O2) Saergan
S
Forrmation, pre
esent in the K
Keping Uplifft and
Awati De
epression, co
ontains black marine-de
eposited mud
dstones 10 m to 30 m th
hick, with TO
OC of
0.56% to
o 2.86% (av
verage 1.56
6%).
Uppe
er Ordovicia
an Lianglitag
ge (O3) sha
ales occur in
n the
Central Tarim,
T
Bach
hu, and Tabe
ei areas, wh
here they arre 20 m to 80 thick, ca
arbonate-rich
h, but
with relattively low TO
OC (average
e 0.93%). Thermal
T
matturity of the Ordovician is mostly dryy-gas
prone, fo
or example with
w Ro rangiing from 2.0% to 2.6% i n the Guche
eng-4 well at depths of 3
3,200
to 5,700 m on the ea
ast flank of th
he Tazhong Uplift, Figurre XX-21.40
June, 2013
XX
X-34
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Figure XX-21.
X
Vitrinitte Reflectancee (Ro) of the Mid
M to Upper O
Ordovician Shaale Sequence in the Guchenng-4
Well, Tarim Basin
B
Ranges from <2% at a Depth of 3,2200 m to 2.7% at a Depth of 5,700 m.
Source: Lan et al., 2009.
The
T
Cambria
an organic-rrich shales, such as th
he Xiaoerbu
ulake Formation, consist of
Manjiaer De
abyssal to
t bathyal fa
acies mudsto
ones that are
e well develo
oped in the M
epression an
nd the
eastern Tarim
T
and Keping
K
Upliffts. Cambriian formatio
ons include tthe Qiulitage, Awatage, and
Xiaoerbu
ulake formations. TOC is fairly high
h (1.2% to 3
3.3%) in the
e Lower (C1) and Middle
e (C2)
Cambrian Formation
ns and exc
ceeds 1% over
o
about two-thirds o
of the Cam
mbrian seque
ence.
ap rocks, oc
ccur in the m
middle Camb
brian, with extensive sallt and
Evaporitic dolomites, potential ca
e beds totaling 400 to 1,400 m thick
k. Net orga
anically-rich shale thickn
ness ranges from
anhydrite
mal maturityy is mostly w
120 m to
o 415 m, ave
eraging abou
ut 120 m (40
00 ft). Therm
within the dryy gas
window (R
( o > 2.5%) in deep area
as.
June, 2013
XX
X-35
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
The
T
organic content of the
t
Cambria
an and Ordovician shales in the T
Tarim consissts of
kerogen, vitrinite-like
e macerals, as well as
a bitumen.
aries widely with

Regionallly, TOC va
r
from
m as much as 7% in t he troughs to only 1-2
2% in the uplifts,
structural location, ranging
reflecting
g the paleo depositional
d
l environmen
nt. For exa
ample, Figurre XX-22 illu
ustrates the TOC
distributio
on within the Lower Pa
aleozoic secttion in the M
Milan-1 well, located on
n the flank o
of the
Tadong Uplift
U
in the eastern Tarrim Basin.41 Lower Cam
mbrian forma
ations in thiss well have up to
4% TOC
C, while Low
wer Ordovician units ha
ave mostly 2
2% or less TOC, althou
ugh neither is at
prospective depth at this particullar location (5,200-5,700
(
0 m).
Figure XX-22. Stratigraphy and
a TOC Distrribution of Cambrian and
Ordoviccian Shales in the Milan-1 W
Well, Tarim Bassin.
Source: Hu
u et al., 2009.
June, 2013
XX
X-36
XX. China
2.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Prroperties (P
Prospective Area)
New
N
geologic
c informatio
on gathered by ARI sin ce the 2011 study indicates that sshale
formation
ns in the Tarim are cons
siderably de
eeper than p
previously m
mapped. The
e new data show
that a sig
gnificant amo
ount of the Ordovician
O
and,
a
particula
arly, the Cam
mbrian resource is subje
ect to
the 5-km
m prospectiv
ve depth h
haircut.
No
ote that ad
dvancementss in shale well drilling
g and
completio
on technolog
gy could add
d back the large resourcce that existts in the 5-6
6 km depth rrange
in this ba
asin.
In
n addition, significant
s
nitrogen
n
con
ntamination (5-20%) is prevalent in Paleozoicc and
Mesozoic
c reservoirs throughout the Tarim Basin.
B
Eleva
ated nitroge
en apparentlyy was cause
ed by
thermal maturation of
o nitrogen-rrich minerals (ammoniu
um clays, evvaporates) iin Cambrian
n and
an sapropelic source ro
ocks. Unforttunately, nitrrogen conce
entration ten
nds to be hig
ghest
Ordovicia
on the ve
ery structura
al uplifts that are most prrospective fo
or shale gas.42
Another
A
pote
ential geoh
hazard is karstic colla
apse of Orrdovician sttrata cause
ed by
dissolutio
on of underlying carbonate rocks, which
w
locallyy disrupts th
he shale stra
ata and also
o may
introduce
e copious formation
f
water
w
detrimental to sh
hale gas prroduction.
Similar karrsting
negatively affects po
ortions of th
he Barnett Shale
S
play, locally sterilizing a sma
all portion o
of the
e there.43 Figure XX-23
3, a seismic time section
n from the n
northern Tarrim Basin, shows
resource
local karrst collapse structures disrupting Ordovician
O
sstrata.44 Ka
arsting is co
onsidered a geohazard th
hat would ne
eed to be avoided during
g shale deve
elopment.
Within
W
its 6,5
520-mi2 pros
spective area the Camb
brian organicc-rich shale averages 3
380 ft
thick, witth relatively low 2% TO
OC in the dry
y-gas therm
mal maturity window (Ro of 2%). The L.
Ordovicia
an prospectiive area is approximatel
a
ly 19,420 mii2, with abou
ut 300 ft of o
organic-rich sshale
that also is in the dry
y-gas window (Ro of 1.8
8%). The U.. Ordovician
n has a 10,930-mi2 shale
e gas
hale in the d
dry-gas wind
dow (Ro of 2
2.0%). A 10
0,450prospective area, witth 390 ft of high-TOC sh
e oil prospec
ctive area allso exists for the U. Ord
dovician, ave
eraging 300 ft of organicc-rich
mi2 shale
shale witth Ro of 0.9%. In additio
on, the L. Triassic
T
is prrospective fo
or shale gass and oil witthin a
15,920-m
mi2 prospectiive area, ave
eraging 400 ft of high-TO
OC shale witth Ro of 0.9%
%.
June, 2013
XX
X-37
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Figure XX-23.
X
Seismiic Time Sectio
on from Northeern Tarim Bassin Showing LLocal Karst Coollapse Disruppting
Ordovician Strata.
S
Karsting is a Geo-hazard to be Avvoided Duringg Shale Develoopment.
So
ource: Zeng et al., 2011.
2.3
Resource
R
As
ssessment
Compared
C
wiith our 2011 study, new more comp
plete data co
overage and revised map
pping
of the Ta
arim Basin in
ndicates thatt Ordovician and Cambrrian shales a
are considerrably deeperr than
previously mapped and the pro
ospective arrea is consiiderably sm
maller. Mostt of the bassin is
considere
ed too deep for comm
mercial shale
e developm ent (>5 km
m), with onlyy portions o
of the
interior uplifts
u
raised
d to prospec
ctive depth. The 20% nitrogen co
ontent and karst disrup
ptions
further re
educed shalle gas resou
urces. On the other ha
and, we add
ded newly rrecognized sshale
plays in the mid-upp
per Ordovicia
an and L. Trriassic. We
e now estima
ate that the Tarim Basin
n has
216 Tcf and
a 8 billion barrels of risked, techniically recove
erable shale gas and oil resources.
L. Cambrian shale coverrs a reduced
d 6,520-mi2 high-graded
d area, with an estimate
ed 44
Tcf of ris
sked, technic
cally recoverable shale gas resourcces out of 17
76 Tcf of rissked shale g
gas in
place. L. Ordovician
n shale within
n its 19,420--mi2 high-gra
aded area co
ontains an e
estimated 37
77 Tcf
he U.
of risked, shale gas in-place, wiith 94 Tcf off risked, tecchnically recoverable ressources. Th
an shale gas lead conta
ains 265 Tcff of risked sshale gas in
n-place with 61 Tcf of rissked,
Ordovicia
technicallly recovera
able shale gas
g
resourc
ces.
In add
dition, a 10
0,450-mi2 sh
hale oil prosspect
contains an estimate
ed 31 billion
n barrels of risked shalle oil in-placce with 1.6 billion barre
els of
risked, te
hale oil reso
ources.
June, 2013
XX
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XX. China
EIA/ARI W
L. Triassic sh
hale has sha
ale oil poten
ntial within a 15,920-mi2 prospective
e area, estim
mated
s of risked, technically recoverable
e shale oil rresources o
out of 129 b
billion
at 6.5 biillion barrels
barrels of
o risked, sha
ale oil in-plac
ce. In additiion, the L. T riassic could
d hold an esstimated 16 T
Tcf of
risked, te
echnically recoverable associated ga
as resourcess out of 161 Tcf of risked
d gas in-placce.
2.4
Recent
R
Activ
vity
No
N shale gas
s or shale oil leasing or drilling
d
activi ty has been reported in the Tarim B
Basin.
One pos
sitive indicattion is the wide
w
comme
ercial appliccation of horizontal drilling in the T
Tarim
Basin during the pas
st decade, with the techn
nique alreadyy accounting
g for about h
half of the ba
asins
onal oil prod
duction.45 This
T
advance
ed drilling ca
apability pro
ovides a goo
od foundatio
on for
conventio
future shale development in the Tarim Basin
n.
JUNGGAR BASIN
3.1
In
Like its large
er neighbor the Tarim Basin,
B
the 6
62,000-mi2 JJunggar Ba
asin is located in
st Chinas Xinjiang
X
region. Howev
ver, the Jun
nggar is less remote from marketss and
northwes
services than the Tarim and offe
ers better inffrastructure. Xinjiangs ccapital of Urrumqi (population
n) is situate
ed in the south-centra
s
al Junggar Basin, whille PetroChinas moderrn oil
3 million
technolog
gy center is
s at Kelama
ayi. Local industry and
d population
n are growin
ng rapidly in
n this
resource
e-rich area. With mostly
y level surfac
ce elevation
n just above 1,000 m, th
he climate iss less
harsh tha
an in the Ta
arim and agrriculture is more
m
develop
ped. Figure
e XX-24 sho
ows the strucctural
elements
s of the basin as well as
s locations of
o ARI-propriietary shale data used in conducting
g this
study.
rapid deve
The
T
Junggarr Basin is undergoing
u
elopment of its rich oill, gas, and coal
resource
es. It produc
ced an averrage 218,00
00 bbl/day o
of oil and 0.5
5 Bcfd of na
atural gas d
during
2011, witth output ex
xpected to ris
se to 400,00
00 bbl/day a
and 1.0 Bcfd
d by 2015. T
The Jungga
ar has
extensive
e and highly
y prospective
e yet comple
etely unteste
ed shale gass and oil deposits in mu
ultiple
formation
ns and geolo
ogic settings
s. ARIs initia
al data and a
analysis sug
ggest that the Junggar B
Basin,
while not Chinas la
argest shale
e resource, actually ma
ay be its be
est overall in
n terms of sshale
geology and reserv
voir potentia
al.
Shell and
a
Hess re
ecently sign
ned study a
agreements with
PetroChina on shale oil projects in outlying areas

a
of the Junggar Basin.
June, 2013
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XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Figu
ure XX-24. Strructural Elemeents Map of thhe Junggar Baasin Showing
ARI-Proprieetary Shale Gaas Data Locattions and Locaation of Shalee-Prospective Areas.
Source: ARI,
A
2013.
The
T Junggar Basin is an asymmetric
c cratonic ba
asin with a th
hrusted soutthern margin
n and
mostly gently
g
dippin
ng north, west
w
and ea
ast margins..
Carbonife
erous and younger strata, Figure
e XX-25.
46
Carbonife
erous, Perm
mian, Triassic
c, and Juras
ssic.
The bassin contains up to 9 kkm of
Four main source roccks are pre

esent:
Of the
ese, the Perrmian is con
nsidered the most
important due to its very

v
high TO
OC and good
d genetic po tential, follow
wed distantly by the Tria
assic.
t
im
mmature bas
sin with ab
bnormally low
w heat flow
w.
The Junggar is a thermally
Gas window
maturities (Ro > 1%) are attained

d only in the North Tiansshan forelan
nd region at d
depths of grreater
than abo
out 5 km.47
June, 2013
XX
X-40
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Figure XX-255. Stratigraphyy of the Jungggar Basin, Higghlighting

Prospeective Permian
n and Jurassicc Source Rockks.
JUNGGAR BASIN
N
CENOZOIC
ERA
PERIOD
QUATERNARY
Y
EPOCH
Q
N
TERTIARY
E
S
CRETACEOUS
K2
K1
MESOZOIC
J3
JURASSIC
J1
TRIASSIC
PALEOZOIC
J2
PERMIAN
T3
T2
T1
P3
P2
P1
C
CARBONIFEROU
US
C2
C1
FORMATION
Xiyu
Dushanzi
Taxihei
Shawan
Anjihaihe
Ziniquanzi
Donggou
Tugulu
Kalaza
Qigu
Toutunhe
Xishanyao
Sangonghe
Badaowan
Baijiantan
Kelamay
Balkouquan
U
Upper
Wuerhe
Lo
ower Wuerhe
e
Xiazijie
Fengchen
Jiamuhe
Talieguia
Baogutu
DEVONIAN
Source Rock
k
AGE (Ma)
0 - 2.6
2.6 - 5.3
THICKNESS (m)
350 - 2046
6
207 - 1996
6
100 - 320
0
5.3 - 23.3
150 - 500
0
23.3 - 32
44 - 800
32 - 65
15 - 855
65 - 96
46 - 813
96 - 145.6
84 - 964
50 - 800
145.6 - 157.1
1
3
144 - 683
200 - 645
5
157.1 - 178
137 - 980
0
178 - 208
208 227 241 245 -
227
241
245
257
257 - 270
270 - 290
148 - 882
100 - 625
5
123 - 457
7
250 - 450
0
30 - 269
830 - 1850
0
850 - 1160
0
430 - 1700
0
1800 - 400
00
290 - 320
320 - 354
354
Conventionall Reservoir
Source: ARI, 2013.
Lower Carbo
oniferous pe
etroleum source rocks are up to 1,300 ft thiick, while U
Upper
Carbonife
erous sourc
ce rocks rea
ach up to 1,000 ft thickk.
These are describ

bed as dark grey
mudstone of marine character, with TOC of 0.5% to 2..4% (Type II, III). The Carbonifero
ous is
oo deep (> 5 km) but shoals to less than 3 km
m depth in u
uplifted portio
ons of the b
basin.
mostly to
The Jura
assic is a coa
al-bearing, non-marine
n
unit
u that is ri ch in clay, p
probably ducctile, and thu
us not
suitable for
f shale-typ
pe hydraulic stimulation.. Both Jurasssic and Ca
arboniferous units have lower
and more
e variable TO
OC, mainly Type
T
III, and
d are conside
ered poor qu
uality source
e rocks.
The
T
dominan
nt Permian source
s
rocks were dep osited prima
arily in lacustrine and ffluvial
environm
ments and have
h
exceptionally high TOC of up
p to 20% (T
Type I/II kerrogen, not ccoal),
making them one of the worlds richest.48 The
T Permian
n is considered liquids-rrich (Ro= 0.7
7% to
June, 2013
XX
X-41
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
1.0%) at target depth

hs of 2-5 km
m. Although Permian so
ource rocks are too dee
ep for comme
ercial
ment in the troughs, they
y do shoal to
o prospectivve depth of le
ess than 4 kkm along som
me of
developm
basin flan
nks and inte
erior uplifts.
The
T single most importan
nt source roc
ck is the Mid
d-Permian P
Pingdiquan F
Formation (known
as Lucao
ogou in the
e south), a lacustrine to
o deltaic de
eposit up to
o 1,200 m tthick presen
nt.
It
consists of grey to black

b
mudsto
ones, oil sha
ales and do
olomitic mudstones interrbedded with
h thin
s
siltston
nes, siltstone
es and fine sandstoness. Hydrocarrbon source
e rock
sandy mudstones, shaly
s in the Ping
gdiquan ran
nges from 50
0 m to a re markable 65
50 m. Figu
ure XX-26 shows
thickness
detailed stratigraphy and TOC profiles
p
for tw
wo outcrop ssections in th
he Permian Lucaogou F
Fm of
the soutthern Jungg
gar Basin.
Approxima
ately 300 to
o 700 m off organic-ricch but therrmally
immature
e lacustrine mudstone is
s present, with
w TOC ave
eraging 5% and reachin
ng a maximu
um of
20%.49
Triassic
T
sedim
ments are more
m
widely distributed across the eastern Jun
nggar Basin than
the Perm
mian, with th
he depocenter at the fro
ont of the Tiianshan mountains. Th
he Mid- to U
Upper
Triassic Xiaoquango
ou Group (including Ka
aramay, Hua
angshanjie, and Haojiia
agou formattions)
contains up to 250 m of dark mudstones
s and thin ccoals depossited under fluvial-lacusstrine
condition
ns.
oil deposits
Conventional
C
s in the eas
stern Jungg
gar sourced by these units occur in the
Fukang, North Dong
gdaohaizi, Wucaiwan,
W
an
nd Jimursarr structural d
depressions (sags). T
These
uoshaoshan
n, Shanan, B
Beisantai, Sa
antai and G
Ganhe
deposits include the Cainan, Wucaiwan, Hu
w
produ
uce from co
onventional reservoirs
r
o
of Carboniferous, Permiian, Triassicc and
oilfields which
Jurassic age.
The
T
Junggarr Basin is characterize
ed by muc h simpler sstructural geology than
n the
tectonica
ally more complex shale
e basins of southern
s
Ch
hina. While some edge
es of the Jun
nggar
Basin ca
an be structu
urally complex, particula
arly along itss thrusted ssouthern ma
argin, most o
of the
basin inte
erior has gentle dip angle and relatively few fau
ults. Such siimple structu
ure is consid
dered
favorable
e for shale gas/oil develo
opment.
June, 2013
XX
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XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Figure XX-26.
X
Detaileed Stratigraph
hy and TOC Prrofiles for Twoo Outcrop Secctions in the P
Permian Lucaoogou
Fm, Southern
S
Junggar Basin. Approximately
A
y 300 to 700 m of Organic-riich but Therm
mally Immaturee
Lacusstrine Mudston
ne is Present, with TOC Aveeraging 4% (M
Maximum 20%
%).
Source: Carroll
C
and Wartes,
W
2003.
For example, Figure XX--27 shows a regional no

orth-south structural crosss-section across
the entirre Junggar Basin, illustrating the relatively siimple interio
or structure
e as well ass the
overthrus
sted southerrn margin.50 Note that Permian an
nd Jurassic source rockks are quite thick
but too deep
d
(>5 km) in most of the central basin trough
h. These un
nits become
e shallower tto the
north butt also thin ou
ut on structural uplifts.
June, 2013
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XX. China
EIA/ARI W
In
n particular, on the north
hwest flank of the Junggar Basin, P
Permian thro
ough Cretacceous
strata dip
p quite gentlly (1 southe
east) toward
ds the centra
al trough, Fig
gures XX-28 and XX-29
9.51,52
Again, fa
aults here arre relatively few on the basin interio
or side of th
he section b
but become more
prevalent along the shallow
s
wes
stern basin margin.
m
Thiss gently dipp
ping northwe
est margin o
of the
s a highly pro
ospective sh
hale gas/oil lead. This p
part of the JJunggar acco
ounts
Junggar Basin hosts
4
of the basins
b
conventional oil reserves
r
and
d has good e
existing infra
astructure.
for over 40%
Figure XX-27. Regio

onal North-sou
uth Structural Cross-sectio n Across the JJunggar Basin. The Basin hhas
Relativeely Simple Strructure, Apart from its Overrthrusted Soutthern Margin. Permian and Jurassic Souurce
Rocks arre Very Thick but
b Too Deep (>5 km) in thee Central Basiin Trough. Thhese Units Beccome Shallow
wer to
the No
orth but Thin Out on Structtural Uplifts. V
Vertical Exagggeration is 3.7xx.
Source: Qiu
Q et al., 2008.
Figuree XX-28. Detaailed Structuraal Cross-sectio

on Trending N
Northwest-souutheast Acrosss the Northweest
Margin of
o the Junggarr Basin, Based
d on Seismic and Well Dataa. Permian (P), Triassic (T),, Jurassic (J), and
Cretaceou
us (K) Strata Dip
D Gently into
o Basin. Faultts are Few in tthe Basin Inteerior but Becoome More Prevvalent
Along the
t Basin Marg
gin. No verticcal exaggeration.
Source: Zhu
Z et al., 2010.
June, 2013
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XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Figure XX-29.
X
Structu
ural Cross-secction Trending
g Northwest-sooutheast Acrooss the Northw
west Margin oof the
Junggar Basin,
B
Showin
ng Convention
nal Oil Fields. Permian (P), Triassic (T), JJurassic (J), aand Cretaceouus (K)
Strata Dip Gently into the Basin. Faaults are Few in
i the Basin Innterior but Become More Prrevalent Alongg the
Bassin Margin. Vertical exaggeeration is 6x.
Sourc
ce: Jin et al., 2008.
2
The
T
southeastern Jungg
gar Basin also
a
has rela
atively simp
ple structure
e.
Permian
n and
Jurassic source rock shales are

e thick but too deep (>
>5 km) near the southe
ern basinal axis.
hales shoal but also thiin onto the intra-basin high to the north, Figure XX-30. Even
These sh
near intrra-basinal uplifts
u
structture is relattively simple
e.
Figure XX-31 sho

ows conventtional
sandston
ne reservoirs
s in the Cainan oil field
d, central Ju
unggar Basiin, sourced by Permian
n and
Jurassic shales whic
ch may be prospective for shale d
development further to the south in the
deep Fuk
kang Trough
h.53
Reservoir
R
pre
essure often is abnorma
ally elevated in the Junggar Basin. For example
e, the
Huo-10 well,
w
located
d on an antic
cline in the southern Ju
unggar, teste
ed pressuress of 50% to over
100% ab
bove hydros
static levels in Eocene and Cretacceous forma
ations at de
epths of 2,00
00 to
3,500 m, Figure XX--32.54 Such overpressuring generallly is favorab
ble for shale
e developme
ent as
i
sha
ale gas storrage and de
eliverability. As one author noted, referring he
ere to
it could increase
conventio
onal objectiv
ves: The Triassic
T
and
d Permian o
overpressure
ed bodies sshould hencce be
considere
red as an imp
portant obje
ective for futu
ure [conventtional] natura
ral gas explo
oration becau
use it
is not currently feasiible to penettrate into the
e overpressu
ured bodies because off their deep b
burial
depth in the study arrea, especiallly in the Cha
angji depresssion.55
June, 2013
XX
X-45
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Figure XX-30. South

h-north Orientted Structurall Cross-sectioon Across the Southeasternn Junggar Bassin.
Vertical exaggeration
e
33.5x.
Source: Chen
C
et al., 20
003.
Figure XX-31. South

h-north orienteed structural cross-section
c
across the Caainan oil field, central Jungggar
Basin. The conventio
onal sandston
ne reservoirs here
h were souurced by Perm
mian and Jurasssic shales in the
Fukang Trough
T
to the south, where they may be prospective foor shale development. Verrtical exaggeraation
10x.
Source: Chen
C
et al., 20
003.
June, 2013
XX
X-46
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Figu
ure XX-32. Ovver-Pressuring
g in Eocene annd Cretaceouss Formations
at th
he Huo-10 Well, Southern Juunggar Basin..
Sourrce: Pa et al., 2009.
3.2
Reservoir
R
Prroperties (P
Prospective Area)
Permian
P
lacu
ustrine muds
stones and shales
s
in the
e Junggar B
Basin cover a net prospe
ective
area of approximate
ely 7,400 mi
m 2, based on
o depth an
nd thermal m
maturity ma
apping.
The
e net
organic-rrich portion of the Ping

gdiquan/Luca
aogou forma
ations avera
ages about 820 ft thickk and
11,500 ftt deep, with average
a
5%
% TOC that is
s in the oil w
window (Ro off 0.85%).
Triassic
T
lacus
strine mudsttones and sh
hales cover a net prosp
pective area of approxim
mately
8,600 mii2, based on
n depth and thermal ma
aturity mapp ing. The ne
et organic-rich portion o
of the
Triassic formations averages
a
ab
bout 820 ft thick and 1 0,000 ft dee
ep, with ave
erage 4.0% TOC
he oil windo
ow (Ro of 0.85%). No mineralogica
m
al data are available for the Permia
an or
also in th
Triassic shales.
s
June, 2013
XX
X-47
XX. China
3.3
EIA/ARI W
Resource
R
As
ssessment
Highly
H
prosp
pective Perm
mian lacustrine mudston
nes and shalles in the Ju
unggar Basin are
estimated
d to have 5.4 billion barrrels of risked
d, technicallly recoverab
ble shale oil resources, o
out of
109 billio
on barrels off risked oil in
n-place. In addition,
a
the
ere could be
e 17 Tcf of riisked, techn
nically
as resources
s associated
d with the Pe
ermian shale
e oil depositts, out of 17
72 Tcf
of risked shale gas in-place. Wh
hile not Chin
nas largest shale resou
urce base, th
he Junggar B
Basin
c
particularly
p
attractive
a
ba
ased on theirr favorable tthickness, so
ource
Permian shales are considered
hness, overr-pressuring, and simp
ple structura
al setting.
rock rich
However, their lacusstrine
depositio
onal setting is complete
ely unlike th
he marine-d
deposited No
orth Americcan shales.
The
Junggar Basin shale

e appears clloser to the REM seque
ence in Ausstralias Cooper Basin, w
which
has had promising ex
xploration te
esting for sha
ale but is no
ot yet fully co
ommercial.
Triassic
T
lacus
strine mudstones and shales
s
in the
e Junggar B
Basin have a
an estimated 6.7
billion ba
arrels of risked, technica
ally recovera
able shale o il resources, out of 134
4 billion barre
els of
risked sh
hale oil in-pllace. In addition, there
e could be 1
19 Tcf of rissked, techniccally recove
erable
shale ga
as resources
s associated
d with the Triassic
T
shal e oil depossits, out of 1
187 Tcf of rrisked
shale gas in-place. The
T Triassic is considere
ed less prosspective due
e to lower TO
OC, althoug
gh the
simple sttructural settting and ove
er-pressuring
g are favorab
ble.
3.4
Recent
R
Activ
vity
In
n April 2012 Shell and Hess
H
signed
d joint studyy agreementts with Petro
oChinas Turpan-
Hami un
nit to evalua
ate shale oil in the Santanghu Ba
asin, an outtlying portion
n of the ea
astern
Junggar Basin. PetroChina reported they had previo
ously drilled 35 wells in
n this basin
n with
actory results
s.
unsatisfa
Hong
H
Kong-b
based Envirro Energys TerraWest Energy sub
bsidiary ope
erates a coa
albed
methane production sharing con
ntract with pa
artner Petro
oChina. The
e 655-km2 Liiuhuanggou PSC
is located
d just west of
o Urumqi in
n the southern Junggar Basin. In ad
ddition to the CBM pote
ential,
Enviro Energy
E
has reported on
n the shale potential o
of the blockk.
The 300
0-m thick (g
gross)
Jurassic Badaowan Formation contains

c
coa
aly carbonacceous mudsttone that wa
as deposited
d in a
non-mariine environm
ment.
Third
d-party engiineering con
nsultancy N
NSAI estimatted the unrrisked
prospective resource
es within the
e carbonace
eous shale o
of the Jurasssic Badaow
wan Formation of
C to be 1.512
2 Tcf (best estimate), res
stricted to a maximum d
depth of 1,50
00 m.56 No sshale
this PSC
test wells
s have been drilled on th
his property.
June, 2013
XX
X-48
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
SONGLIAO
S
BASIN
4.1
In
The
T Songliao
o Basin in no
ortheast China is an im
mportant petrroleum producing region
n that
also has shale gas and

a oil potential. The 108,000-mi2 basin hostss Chinas larrgest oil field
d, the
c
cu
urrently prod
ducing abou
ut 800,000 b
bbl/day.
Daqing complex,
Only in recen
nt years hass the
natural gas
g potential of the Son
ngliao becom
me recognizzed, with ne
ew gas disco
overies in m
mainly
shallow (<1.5
(
km) Cretaceous
C
sandstone
s
and volcanic reservoirs. The therma
al maturity o
of the
Songliao
o Basin is re
elatively low and much of
o the conve
entional natu
ural gas is b
believed to be of
biogenic origin.57 Fig
gure XX-33 shows the structural el ements of th
he basin as well as loca
ations
of ARI-prroprietary da
ata used in conducting
c
th
his study.
Fig
gure XX-33. Prospective
P
Shale Oil Area for the Cretacceous in the
Songliao Basin,
B
Showing
g ARI-Propriettary Data Loccations.
Source:
S
ARI, 2013.
2
June, 2013
XX
X-49
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Sedimentary
S
rocks in the
e Songliao Basin
B
are prrimarily Cretaceous non
n-marine dep
posits
along with minor Up
pper Jurassiic, Tertiary and Quater nary strata, totaling up to 7 km th
hick.58
y on Precam
mbrian to Palleozoic meta
amorphic an
nd igneous rrocks.
These sttrata rest unconformably
The main
n source rocks are Low
wer Cretace
eous organicc-rich shaless which form
med in lacusstrine
settings, reflecting regional la
ake anoxic events, bu
ut they are
e unevenly distributed and
concentrrated in discrrete sub-bas
sins.
Figure XX-34 shows that the L. Cretaceous S
Shahezi, Ya
aojia -- and in particula
ar the
nkou (Late Cenomanian
C
n) and Nenjiang formatio
ons -- are th
he principal source rockks (as
Qingshan
well as important
i
re
eservoirs the
emselves). Deposited under deep
pwater lacusstrine condittions,
these un
nits consist of
o black mudstone and shale interb
bedded with
h gray siltsto
one. Silicicclastic
rocks of alluvial
a
and fluvial origin
n overlie the lacustrine sh
hale sequen
nces.
Figure XX-34. Stratigraphy of thee Songliao Bassin,
High
hlighting Poteentially Prospeective Lower C
Cretaceous Soource Rocks.
Source: ARI, 2013.

2
The
T Nenjiang
g Fm ranges
s from 70 to 240 m thick , while the Q
Qingshankou
u Fm is 80 to
o 420
m thick (both gross).. Burial dep
pth ranges fro
om 300 to 2
2,500 m. Sh
hales and mudstones co
ontain
c
minerals with som
me siltstone.
mainly clay
June, 2013
TOC rang
ges from 1% to 5% ((maximum 1
13%),
XX
X-50
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
primarily Type I-II ke

erogen (in th
he Qingshan
nkou) and Tyypes II-III (N
Nenjiang). T
The Qingsha
ankou
ally within th
he oil to wet gas window
ws (0.7% to 1.5% Ro), w
while the you
unger Nenjia
ang is
is therma
in the oil window (ma
aximum 0.9%
% Ro).
These
T
Cretac
ceous sourc
ce rocks are believed to
o have expulsed only so
ome 20% off their
hydrocarrbon genera
ation capacity.
Freque
ently over-p
pressured a
and naturallly fractured, the
Nenjiang
g and Qingsh
hankou shalles exhibit strong gas sh
hows and trravel time de
elays on aco
oustic
logs. Pe
etroChina considers the
e Songliao Basin to be
e prospectivve for shale exploration
n and
reported that comme
ercial oil prod
duction alrea
ady has occu
urred from sshale there.559
The
T
Songliao
o Basin com
mprises six main structtural elements: the cen
ntral depresssion,
north plu
unging zone
e, west slope
e zone, norrtheast upliftt, southeastt uplift, and southwest uplift.
Four disttinct tectonic
c phases oc
ccurred in th
he basin: pre
e-rift, syn-rifft, post-rift, a
and compression
phases.
Prospectiv
ve L. Cretac
ceous units are restrictted to nume
erous small isolated syyn-rift
u
half--grabens tre
ending NE-S
SW that rang
ge from 300
0 to 800 mi2 in size.60 This
basins, usually
reduces the shale prrospective area
a
and also requires a
an understan
nding of eacch individual subbasins subsidence
s
history.
h
Figure XX-35
5, a regionall NW-SE trending structtural cross-section, show
ws the altern
nating
uplifts an
nd depressio
ons within the Songliao
o basin. De
eformation iss milder here than in S
South
China bu
ut still signifficant with major
m
norma
al faults. O
Organic-rich L. Cretaceo
ous Qingsha
ankou
Formatio
on (K2qn), th
he most prospective sha
ale oil targe
et, ranges frrom 200-400
0 m thick an
nd 06
2,500 m deep across
s the basin.61
Elevated
E
lev
vels of carb
bon dioxide are comm
mon within Cretaceous sandstone and
volcanic reservoirs in
n the Songliao Basin. About one d
dozen high-concentratio
on (70-99%)) CO2
gas fields
s have been
n discovered
d to date, tottaling 6.5 Bccf of proved reserves. Isotopes ind
dicate
the CO2 is mainly magmatic
m
in origin, emp
placed betw
ween 72 and
d 48 Ma alo
ong deep-se
eated
p faults.62 For
F example
e, Figure XX
X-36 shows seismic crosss-sections in the Chan
ngling
strike-slip
Depressiion of the So
ongliao, whe
ere northeas
st-trending sstrike-slip fau
ults are asso
ociated with CO2.
Carbon dioxide
d
conta
amination is
s a potential risk for shalle gas explo
oration in the
e Songliao B
Basin,
much les
ss so for shale
s
oil tarrgets, althou
ugh it is m
more likely tto have mig
grated into highpermeab
bility sandsto
ones than intto low-perme
eability shale
es.
June, 2013
XX
X-51
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
Figuree XX-35. Regional NW-SE Structural

S
Cross-section of Songliao Bassin. Organic-rrich Cretaceouus
Qin
ngshankou Fo
ormation (K2q
qn) is about 2000-400 m thickk and 0-2,500 m Deep Acrosss the basin.
Source: Wu
W et al., 2009
9.
X-36. Seismicc cross sections in Changlin

ng Depressionn of Songliao Basin, showing deep northheastFigure XX
trending strikke-slip faults associated
a
with CO2 contam
mination (scalle, location noot noted).
Source: Luo
L et al., 2011.
June, 2013
XX
X-52
XX. China
4.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Prroperties (P
Prospective Area)
Lower Cretac
ceous lacusttrine mudsto
ones in the Songliao Ba
asin cover a net prospe
ective
ely 6,900 mi
m 2, based on
o depth an
nd thermal m
maturity ma
apping.
area of approximate
The
e net
o the Qings
shankou mud
dstones tota
al about 1,00
00 ft thick an
nd average 5
5,500
organic-rrich portion of
ft deep, with
w 4.0% TO
OC that is in
n the volatile oil window (average 0.9
9% Ro). Carbon dioxide
e was
assumed
d to be abou
ut 10% in sh
hale reservoirs. Natural fractures have been re
eported in ce
ertain
parts of the
t basin but have not been quantified.
4.3
Resource
R
As
ssessment
lacustrine mudstones
and shales in the Son
The
T
Lower Cretaceous
C
m
ngliao Basin
n are
estimated
d to hold ap
pproximately
y 229 billion barrels of rrisked shale
e oil in-place
e with 11.5 b
billion
barrels of
o risked, te
echnically re
ecoverable shale
s
oil ressources. N
Note that the
ese depositss are
located in
n isolated ha
alf-graben rift basins and may be di fficult to extract due to tthe high-clayy and
likely ductile nature
e of the roc
ck.
In addition, there may be 16 Tcf of rissked, techn

nically
as resources
s associated
d with the sh
hale oil depo
osits, out of about 155 T
Tcf of
risked sh
hale gas in-p
place.
The
T
Songliao
o Basin lack
ks a suitable
e commercia
al North Am
merican shale
e analog, ass it is
structurally complex and of lacustrine sedim
mentary orig in. The Eoccene Green River Form
mation
of Wyom
ming, which formed
f
in an
n inter-monta
ane lake settting, is a po
ossible analo
og albeit of lower
thermal maturity
m
and less faulted
d.
4.4
Recent
R
Activ
vity
During
D
2010 Hess and PetroChina
P
reportedly cconducted a joint study of shale/tig
ght oil
potential at giant Daqing oil field

d in the Song
gliao Basin a
and also disscussed exp
panding the sstudy
area. Ho
owever, Hes
ss last updatte on this pro
oject came o
on January 2
26, 2011.
Separately,
S
the Jilin Oilffield Company has drille
ed and masssively fractu
ured at leasst ten
deep horrizontal wells in a tight sandstone gas
g reservoiir at Changling gas field
d in the southern
Songliao
o Basin. Th
hese wells targeted
t
the
e low-perme
eability Deng
glouku tightt sandstone at a
depth of about 3,600
0 m, but the
e technology
y also could
d be applied
d to tight/sha
ale oil reservvoirs.
n wells typic
cally drilled 1,200-m ho
orizontal late
erals that we
ere stimulatted in 11 sttages
The Jilin
isolated using sliding
g sleeves. However, th
he frac fluid
d used was heavy guarr gel, ratherr than
er, and propp
pant was res
sin-coated sand. All ten
n wells were reportedly ssuccessful.633
slickwate
June, 2013
XX
X-53
XX. China
EIA/ARI W
OTHER
O
BAS
SINS
Several
S
other sedimenta
ary basins in
n China eith
her do not a
appear to b
be prospectivve or
have sha
ale potential that could not
n be quanttified due to
o insufficient geologic da
ata. The TurpanHami Ba
asin, east of
o the largerr Junggar, has equivallent Permian organic-riich shale th
hat is
lacustrine
e in origin, oil- to wett gas-prone
e, and appe
ears prospe
ective.
The
e Qaidam B
Basin,
southeas
st of the Tariim, comprise
es isolated fa
ault-bounde
ed depressio
ons containin
ng Upper Triassic
mudstone source roc
cks with high
h TOC; these
e appear oil prone but a
are very deep.
The
T Ordos Basin
B
has sim
mple structu
ure but the T
Triassic sha
ales have low
w TOC and very
high clay
y content (4
40-60%). It is not clearr whether a recently drrilled shale ttest well acctually
produced
d gas from the shale formation
f
orr rather from
m adjacent tight sandsstones which
h are
commerc
cially produc
ctive on a larrge scale in the Ordos B
Basin.64 The
e Carbonifero
ous and Perrmian
mudstones in the Orrdos are coa
aly and appe
ear ductile. F
Finally, eastt-central Chinas North C
China
al oil and gas producing region thatt contains Carboniferouss and
Basin (Huabei) is a conventiona
k shales tha
at are stratig
graphically a
and lithologically similar to those in the
Permian source rock
asin and nott considered
d prospective
e. No shale
e drilling hass been reporrted in these
e less
Ordos Ba
prospective areas.
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June, 2013
XX
X-58
XXI. Mongoolia
EIA/ARI W
XXI. MONGO
OLIA
SUMMA
ARY
Mongolia
M
has
s limited bu
ut locally sig
gnificant sha
ale gas and
d oil potentia
al located in
n the
eastern and southea
astern portio
ons of the country, Fig
gure XXI-1. The narrow
w and elong
gated
Tamtsag and East Gobi
G
rift bas
sins - - which resemble
e the oil-pro
oductive bassins of north
heast
China -- contain lac
custrine mudstone and coaly sourrce rocks w
within the Lo
ower Cretacceous
Tsagaantsav and equivalent form
mations.
Figuree XXI-1. Sedimentary Basi ns of Mongolia
Souurce: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
XX
XI-1
XXI. Mongoolia
EIA/ARI W
Risked,
R
techn
nically recov
verable reso
ources are e
estimated att 4 Tcf of sh
hale gas and 3.4
billion ba
arrels of shalle oil out of 55
5 Tcf and 85
8 billion barrrels of riske
ed shale gass and shale o
oil inplace, Ta
ables XXI-1 and
a XXI-2.
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Tablee XXI-1. Shalee Gas Resourcces and Geoloogic Propertiees of Mongoliaa.

East Gobi
G
Baasin/Gross Area
T
Tamtsag
(24,5600 mi )
(66,730 mi )
Tsagaaantsav
L. Cretaceous
Lacustrine
Tsaagaantsav
L. Cretaceous
C
Lacustrine
4,6990
6000
3000
6,000 - 10,000
1
8,0000
5,440
500
250
5,0000 - 9,000
7,000
Reservoirr Pressure
Norm
mal
Normal
Average TOC
T (wt. %)
Thermal Maturity
M
(% Ro)
Clay Conttent
4.0%
%
0.800%
Mediium
3.0%
0.80%
M
Medium
Assoc. Gas
Asssoc. Gas
GIP Conccentration (Bcf/mi )
31.3
23.6
Risked GIP (Tcf)
29.3
25.7
Risked Reecoverable (Tcf)
2.33
2.1
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Depossitional Environmeent
2
Prospectiive Area (mi )

Organicallyy Rich
Thickness (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
Gas Phasse
2
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XXI-2. Shalee Oil Resourcces and Geolo gic Propertiess of Mongolia..
June, 2013
Eastt Gobi
Basin/Gross Areaa
T
Tamtsag
2
(24,5660 mi )
(6,,730 mi )
Tsagaaantsav
L. Crettaceous
Lacuustrine
Tsaagaantsav
L. Cretaceous
C
Laacustrine
4,690
6
600
3
300
6,000 - 10,000
8,000
5,440
500
250
5,000 - 9,000
7,000
Reservo
oir Pressure
No rmal
N
Normal

Thermaal Maturity (% Ro))
Clay Co
ontent
4..0%
0.880%
Me dium
3.0%
0.80%
M
Medium
Shale Formation
n
Geologic Age
Depo
ositional Environment
2

Organicaally Rich
Thickneess (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (fft)
Average
Oil Phaase
2
OIP Concentration (MMb

bbl/mi )
O
Oil
Oil
45.5
39.3
Risked OIP (B bbl)
4
43
43

b
1
1.7
1.7
XX
XI-2
XXI. Mongoolia
EIA/ARI W
The
T
organic-rich shales of Mongolia
a are therm
mally immatu
ure near the
e surface, lo
ocally
forming combustible
c
e oil shale, but
b reach oiil maturity (m
maximum Ro of 0.8 to 1.0%) in de
eeper
areas ran
nging from 7,000
7
to 8,00
00 ft. However, these trroughs are rrelatively sm
mall and disru
upted
by extens
sive faulting.
In
n addition, northweste
ern Mongolia has ma
arine-depositted organicc-rich shale
es of
Devonian
n age that more
m
closely resemble North
N
Americca commerccial shale lith
hology. Spo
oradic
oil seeps
s have been reported in this remote region but no sign
nificant oil ffields have been
discovere
ed. Data on this Devonian shale deposit
d
are extremely limited. Mosst other are
eas in
Mongolia
a are covered by non-pro
ospective ba
asement tha t lacks sedim
mentary stra
ata.
Mongolia
M
has
s an establis
shed conven
ntional oil an
nd gas invesstment regim
me with rela
atively
low royalty (12.5%) and corpora
ate income tax (25%). Nearly all o
of the counttrys sedime
entary
eased for co
onventional petroleum e
exploration. Regulation
ns governing
g the
basins have been le
ment of deep
p shale oil/g
gas resource
es have not yet been prromulgated in Mongolia
a. No
developm
shale leasing or ex
xploration drilling
d
activ
vity has occcurred, alth
hough Petro
o Matad Lttd. is
evaluatin
ng the Khoid Ulaan Bulag oil shale deposit.
d
INTROD
DUCTION
With
W a popula
ation of abo
out 3 million people, Mon
ngolia has tthe worlds lowest population
density only 1.8 in
nhabitants per
p km2 or about
a
half th
hat of Cana
ada. Mining
g developme
ent is
helping to boost Mon
ngolias GDP
P by an expected 25% p
per annum o
over the com
ming decade
e and
xpected to re
each $10,00
00 by 2020, up three-folld from the ccurrent level. Oil
per-capitta GDP is ex
consump
ption is rising
g rapidly as the
t country develops
d
itss considerab
ble mineral and coal deposits,
including
g what soon may be the worlds large
est copper m
mine at Oyu Tolgoi.
Most
M
of Mong
golia is cove
ered by igne
eous and m
metamorphic rocks but tthere are se
everal
relatively
y shallow and sparsely drilled
d
sedim
mentary basin
ns, Figure X
XXI-1. Oil prroduction is small
at about 5,000 bbl/da
ay, limited to
o two oil fields in the Ea
ast Gobi Bassin in southe
eastern Mon
ngolia
e border witth China.
near the
Mongolia
M
ha
as no comm
mercial natu
ural gas pro
oduction norr gas
pipeline infrastructurre. Petroleu

um drilling se
ervices are a
available loccally in the East Gobi B
Basin,
while add
ditional capa
ability may be sourced out
o of oil field
ds in northea
ast China.
Three
T
of Mon
ngolias sed
dimentary ba
asins may h
have limited shale oil potential, butt only
two basin
ns could be quantitative
ely evaluated
d; geologic data are sp
parse. The m
most prospe
ective
June, 2013
XX
XI-3
XXI. Mongoolia
EIA/ARI W
areas forr both conve

entional and
d shale oil exploration
e
a
are the Eastt Gobi and Tamtsag ba
asins.
These ba
asins are relatively small and somewhat comple
ex structurally; only the East Gobi B
Basin
has small commercia
al oil producttion.
In
n addition, th
here is a no
on-productive
e and poorlyy defined De
evonian dep
posit in north
hwest
Mongolia
a close to th
he border with
w Russia that
t
may ha
ave conventiional and sh
hale oil pote
ential,
although public data
a there are lacking. Th
hese include
e RipheanCambrian ccarbonates w
which
o platforms
s of the Sib
berian passiv
ve margin, predating a
assembly of the presen
nt-day
formed on
Mongolia
an basemen
nt. Devonian shale also
o is presentt here and oil seeps have been n
noted.
Carbonife
erousPerm
mian coal and
a
coaly mudstone samples im
mmediately postdate tthese
Paleozoic collisions and represe
ent the begin
nning of non
n-marine de
eposition in ccentral Mong
golia.
portedly is lo
ow (0.58% to
o 1.68%) an
nd oil prone (Tmax of 429
9 to 441).1 Moreover, tthese
TOC rep
source ro
ocks are rem
mote, poorly understood,, and appea r to have little shale oil p
potential.
1.
EAST
E
GOBII BASIN
1.1
In
ntroduction
The
T 25,000-m
mi2 East Gob
bi Basin is lo
ocated in so
outheastern Mongolia clo
ose to the border
with Chin
na, accessib
ble along th
he main highway betwe
een the cap
pitol Ulan Bataar and n
northcentral China.
C
Mongolias only significant commercial
c
oil-producin
ng region, th
he basin is a
along
strike witth and simillar to oil-pro
oductive Me
esozoic rift b
basins in no
ortheast Chiina, where m
much
more ge
eologic data
a are availa
able.
The East Gobi Basin sharres similar stratigraphyy and
structural geology with these adjoining basin

ns in northwe
est China.
The
T
East Go
obi Basin co
omprises a number of discontinuou
us, fault-bou
unded rift basins
containin
ng Jurassic to
t Early Crettaceous fluv
vial to lacusttrine sedime
ents, Figure XXI-2. The thick
Lower Crretaceous shales that occur in the East
E
Gobi B asin frequen
ntly have hig
gh TOC but were
deposited
d under lacustrine cond
ditions. The
ermal maturrity of the shale is imm
mature at sh
hallow
depths, becoming
b
oill prone in the
e deep troug
ghs that sou rced the sha
allow conven
ntional oil fie
elds.
June, 2013
XX
XI-4
XXI. Mongoolia
EIA/ARI W
Fiigure XXI-2. Stratigraphy

S
of
o Shale Sourcce Rocks and Conventional Reservoirs inn Mongolia
Source: ARI,, 2013
The
T East Gob
bi Basin con
ntains four main
m
sub-bassins within a 200- by 40
00-mi area th
hat is
defined broadly by gravity and
d seismic da
ata.2
The ssub-basins contain disccontinuous deep
depressio
ons, separa
ated by base
ement highs that are exxposed overr much of th
he region. D
Deep,
fault-bounded trough
hs with good
d quality sou
urce rock mu
udstones can occur. Ho
owever, the deep
over only a relatively small area.
areas (>6,000 ft) co
2
ns are the U
Unegt
The largesst sub-basin
(3,090 mi
m ) and Zuunbayan (1,6
600 mi ), Fig
gure XXI-3. Uplifted fau
ult blocks occcur within tthese
troughs, some formin
ng conventio
onal oil traps
s.
June, 2013
XX
XI-5
XXI. Mongoolia
EIA/ARI W
Figuree XXI-3: Seismic Line Acro

oss the Zuunb
bayan and Uneegt Sub-basinns within the E
East Gobi Basin
Showing theeir Relatively Small
S
Size andd Complex Sttructure.
Source: Manas Petroleum Corp.,

C
2012
Conventional
C
reservoirs in the East Gobi Basin
n currently p
produce abo
out 5,000 bb
bl/day
out 6
from two
o small antic
clinal oil fields. The Zu
uunbayan o il field has produced a total of abo
million ba
arrels from shallow
s
deptths (2,000 to
o 2,500 ft), w
while the nea
arby Tsagaan Els oil field
d has
produced
d smaller volumes
v
from depths of
o 4,265 to
o 4,600 ft.
ds produce from
Both field
conventio
onal reservo
oirs comprising lacustrin
ne siltstoness, sandstone
es and cong
glomerates w
within
the Tsag
gaantsav and
d Zuunbayan
n formations
s, which werre sourced b
by the interb
bedded lacusstrine
shales. Original oil in place at the two fields totaled an estimate
ed 150 Mmilllion barrels. Oil
gravity av
verages 28 API.3
Each
E
sub-bas
sin contains up to 13,00
00 ft of Midd le Jurassic tto Tertiary ssedimentary rock,
including
g thick lacusttrine-depositted mudston
ne. Northeasst-trending, mainly norm
mal and strikke slip
(left-laterral) faults bo
ound the su
ub-basins. The structu
ural history of the regio
on includes MidJurassic to Early Cretaceous
C
arly Cretace
eous north-ssouth
rifting (north-south exttension), Ea
ng pre-existting faults, rrenewed sed
dimentation and right-la
ateral
compression and inversion alon
ment along
g northeast faults durring the M
Mid-Cretaceo
ous, followe
ed by postt-Late
displacem
Cretaceo
ous east-wes
st shortening
g.
Basement
B
in the East Go
obi Basin co
onsists of me
etamorphose
ed sandston
ne and carbo
onate
of the Pa
aleozoic Tav
van Tolgoy sequence. The oldestt sedimentarry unit is the Lower to Mid
Jurassic Khamarkho
oovor Forma
ation, a pre--rift sequencce consisting
g of up to 2
2,500 ft of ffluvial
nes and lacu
ustrine-deltaiic shale, including thin ccoal seams. Although a potential so
ource
sandston
June, 2013
XX
XI-6
XXI. Mongoolia
EIA/ARI W
rock, the
e Khamarkho
oover seldo
om crops ou
ut and rema
ains poorly u
understood. Unconform
mably
overlying
g this unit is
s the Sharly
yn Formation
n, containing
g up to 600
0 ft of fluvia
al sandstone
e and
conglome
erate with minor
m
lacustriine shale.
Overlying
O
the
e Sharlyn Fm
F are the primary sha
ale targets iin the East Gobi Basin
n, the
Lower Crretaceous Ts
sagaantsav and Zuunba
ayan formati ons. The Tssagaantsav Fm, a late ssynrift
sequence
e 1,000 to 2,300
2
ft thick
k that locally can contain
n thick oil sha
ale, is mainlly an organicc-rich
shale section interbe
edded with dark
d
gray sa
andstones a
and conglom
merates, siltsstones, brigh
ht-red
d basalt. Th
he unit grade
es upward from alluvial ffan to lacusttrine facies, becoming a lithic
tuffs, and
sandston
ne reservoir at the Tsaga
aan Els and Zuunbayan oil fields.
A 125-m thick
k core sectio
on in the Tsa
agsaantsav Fm was desscribed as co
onsisting of finely
laminated
d mudstone
e and micritte, dolomitic
c breccia, a
and calcare
eous siltston
ne.
These fine-
grained units are in

nterbedded with grains
stone and tthin, norma
ally graded sandstone beds
ed as distal lacustrine tu
urbidites. An
noxic, stratiffied lake-botttom conditio
ons are indiccated
interprete
by micro-lamination, biogenic py
yrite, high TO
OC, and carrbonate preccipitation. T
TOC ranges from
ale, mainly oil-prone
o
Typ
pes I and II kerogen. S
S1 and S2 vvalues are a
above
1.5% to 15% for sha
0.5 and 10,
1 respectiv
vely, indicating good quality source rocks. The
ermal maturity is immatu
ure to
middle oil
o window. Oil
O quality is
s waxy with
h 20-35% pa
araffin and high pour p
point. Oil tyyping
indicates
s a lacustrine
e algal sourc
ce.4
The
T other po
otential shale
e target is th
he Lower C retaceous Z
Zuunbayan F
Formation, w
which
consists of up to 3,2
200 ft of sa
ands and miinor interbed
dded shaless and tuffs deposited d
during
n time underr non-marine
e to paralic e
environmentts. Howeverr, the Zuunb
bayan
Hauteriviian to Albian
is coaly, probably cla
ay-rich, and likely less brittle,
b
thus n
not a very prrospective ta
arget for sha
ale oil
developm
ment.
Deep
D
portions (6,000 to 10,000
1
ft) off the Unegt, Zuunbayan, and other ssub-basins iin the
East Gob
bi Basin may be oil pron
ne and offerr potential s hale oil targ
gets. Burial history mod
deling
suggests
s that peak oil
o generation occurred during
d
the C
Cretaceous ((90 to 100 M
Ma), continuiing at
a lower rate to the present day
y. Howeverr, the East G
Gobi Basin is structurally complex,, with
us closely sp
paced faults that
t
may lim
mit its potenti al for shale oil developm
ment.
numerou
June, 2013
XX
XI-7
XXI. Mongoolia
1.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Within
W
the 4,6
690-mi2 high
h-graded pro
ospective are
ea of the Un
negt and Zuunbayan tro
oughs
in the Ea
ast Gobi Ba
asin, the Low
wer Cretace
eous Tsagaa
antsav Form
mation contains an estim
mated
300 ft (net) of organic-rich lacus
strine shale at an averag
ge depth of 8,000 ft. T
TOC average
es an
estimated
d 4.0% and is oil-prone
e (Ro averag
ging 0.8%). Porosity m
may be signifficant (6%) g
given
the silty lithology. Th
he reservoir pressure gra
adient is norrmal.
1.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T Tsagaan
ntsav Forma
ation contain
ns an estima
ated 29 Tcf of risked sh
hale gas in-place
and 43 billion
b
barrels
s of risked shale
s
oil in-p
place, of wh
hich 2.3 Tcf of associate
ed shale gass and
1.7 billion barrels of shale oil may
m be techn
nically recovverable (both
h risked), Table XXI-1. The
nternational analog appe
ears to be th
he oil-prone window of tthe REM laccustrine shales in
closest in
the shalllow western
n Cooper Ba
asin, although these ha
ave not yett been provven commerrcially
productiv
ve.
1.4
Exploration
E
n Activity
No
N shale oil or shale ga
as exploratio
on or leasing
g has occurrred in the E
East Gobi B
Basin.
Calgary-b
based Mana
as Petroleum Corp. is conducting petroleum exploration for conventtional
targets in
n this basin
n but has no
ot discussed
d its shale potential.5 London-bassed Petro M
Matad
Limited is
s evaluating
g Khoid Ulaa
an Bulag oil shale depossit in Block IV for poten
ntial mining. This
deposit reportedly
r
has
h
similar mineralogy to the Gree
en River Fo
ormation in Wyoming, USA,
containin
ng carbonate
e, quartz, an
nd feldspar mineralogy.
m
Extended F
Fischer Ana
alysis yielded
d one
6
liter of 29
9 API oil fro
om a 10-kg sample.
s
TAMTSAG
T
BASIN
2.1
In
ntroduction
Although
A
geo
ologically sim
milar to the East Gobi Basin, the 6,700-mi2 T
Tamtsag Bassin in
extreme eastern Mongolia has no

n commerc
cial oil and g
gas producttion. The ba
asin comprisses a
o isolated, fault-bounde
f
ed troughs th
hat trend WS
SW-ENE alo
ong an exten
nt of about 8
80 by
number of
300 km, Figure XXI--4. Just as in the Eastt Gobi Basin
n, potential source rockks are the L
Lower
Cretaceo
ous Tsagaan
ntsav and Zu
uunbayan formations, wiith TOC ave
eraging abou
ut 3%.
June, 2013
XX
XI-8
XXI. Mongoolia
EIA/ARI W
Figure XXI-4. Westeern Tamtsag Basin

B
Showing Small Isolatted Structural Troughs wheere Source Roock
Shales are
a Buried to Over
O 5,000 ft and
a May Reachh Oil-window Thermal Matuurity.
Source: Petro
P
Matad Ltd., 2012
In
nternally the
e Tamtsag Basin
B
comprises a num
mber of uplifted fault bllocks and d
downfaulted grabens
g
crea
ated by rifting and Mid
d-Cretaceouss basin inve
ersion, Figu
ure XXI-5.7 Late
Cretaceo
ous transpre
ession forme
ed structura
al traps in cconventionall targets, no
otably tilted fault
blocks and anticlines
s. Structura
al complexity
y is most prronounced in the southw
west, decrea
asing
ast.
towards the northea
The basement co
onsists of D
Devonian to Permian m
metamorphicc and
intrusive rocks.8
June, 2013
XX
XI-9
XXI. Mongoolia
EIA/ARI W
Figure XX
XI-5. Seismic line
l in the Tsaamtsag Basin Showing Souurce Rocks Buuried to a Deptth of about 6,0000 ft.
Source: Petroo Matad, 2010
The
T Tamtsag
g Basin conttains up to 13,000
1
ft of Mid-Jurassicc to Tertiaryy non-marine
e and
volcanic sedimentarry rocks.
Grain
G
texture
e fines upw
ward from co
oarse contin
nental rift-fill and
fluvio-deltaic conglomerates and sandstone

e in the low
wer section transitionin
ng into lacusstrine
mudstones and shale
es. The bas
sal Upper Ju
urassic conssists mainly o
of volcanic d
deposits (ba
asaltic
sitic) with minor
m
interbe
edded sedim
ments.
to andes
The
e overlying Lower Crettaceous dep
posits
consist of
o fluvio-deltaic conglo
omerates an
nd sandsto nes that fine upward into deepw
water
lacustrine
e shales. Younger
Y
Cen
nozoic conglomerates, ssandstones, and mudsto
ones cover m
much
of the basin, concealling the Mes
sozoic units.9
The
T
Tamtsag
g Basin is on trend with
w
the Ha
ailaer Basin
n of northeastern Chin
na, a
stratigrap
phically and genetically similar Mesozoic rift ba sin. Althoug
gh the Haila
aer Basin ha
as not
experienced shale ex
xploration, itt is oil produ
ucing and thu
us has much
h better data
a control. Similar
e Hailaer Ba
asin actually
y comprisess over 20 in
ndividual fau
ult-bounded subto the Tamtsag, the
basins. Coal depos
sits and carrbonaceous mudstoness within the upper portion of the L
Lower
ous Nantun Formation are
a considerred the majo
or petroleum
m source roccks in the Ha
ailaer
Cretaceo
Basin. The
T Hailaer Basin oil fie
elds produce
e with high w
water cut an
nd have loca
ally elevated
d CO2
levels.
June, 2013
XX
XI-10
XXI. Mongoolia
EIA/ARI W
The
T
Nantun Formation was
w depositted within fa
an delta fron
nt, pro-fan d
delta, marsh
h and
lacustrine
e environme
ents. Organ
nic carbon content
c
of th
he organic-rich mudston
ne within thiss unit
ranges frrom 0.23% to
t 16.67%, averaging
a
2.56%. The mudstone b
becomes oil--prone (Ro a
above
0.7%) be
elow a depth of about 6,500 ft, Fig
gure XXI-6,110 while Tmaxx averages 4
447C with most
samples above 435
5C, indicatiing oil-prone kerogen.111
Limited conventiona
al oil produ
uction
n the Hailaerr Basin, evidently due to poor reservvoir condition

ns and high water satura
ation.
occurs in
In additio
on, the Lowe
er Cretaceou
us conventio
onal sandsto
one reservoiirs can conta
ain elevated
d CO2
levels of up to 90%, which has been
b
isotopically linked with granite
e intrusions emplaced d
during
the Yans
shan Orogen
ny.12
Figure XX
XI-6. Vitrinite Reflectance Increases
I
to About
A
0.8% Roo at a Depth of 2.5 Km in the Wuerxun Trrough
of Chinas
C
Hailaeer Basin, Adjacent to the Taamtsag Basin in Mongolia.
Souurce: Liu et al., 2009

2
June, 2013
XX
XI-11
XXI. Mongoolia
2.2
EIA/ARI W
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
Within
W
the 5,4
440-mi2 high
h-graded pro
ospective are
ea that is distributed am
mongst nume
erous
small troughs within the Tamtsag

g Basin, the Lower Creta
aceous Tsag
gaantsav Fo
ormation con
ntains
o
lacustrine sshale at an a
average dep
pth of 7,000 feet.
an estimated 250 feet (net) of organic-rich
TOC ave
erages an estimated
e
3.0% and is oil-prone (R
Ro averagin
ng 0.8%).
Porosity ma
ay be
significan
nt (6%) given
n the silty lith
hology.
2.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
The
T
Tsagaan
ntsav Forma
ation contain
ns an estima
ated 26 Tcff of shale ga
as and 43 b
billion
barrels of
o shale oil in
n-place, of which
w
2.1 Tcff of associate
ed gas and 1.7 billion ba
arrels of sha
ale oil
may be technically recoverable (both riske
ed), Table X
XXI-1. The closest inte
ernational an
nalog
dow of the REM
R
lacustrin
ne shales in the shallow
w western Co
ooper
appears to be the oill-prone wind
y been pro
oven comme
ercially produ
uctive.
Basin, although these have not yet
2.4
Exploration
E
n Activity
No
N shale oil or
o shale gas
s exploration
n or leasing has occurre
ed in the Tamtsag Basin
n, nor
does the
e basin pro
oduce oil orr gas from conventiona
al reservoirrs.
PetroCh
hina is currrently
conductin
ng exploratio
on drilling for convention
nal reservoirrs in this bassin.
REFERE
ENCES
1 Petroleum
m Authority of Moongolia, personaal communicationn, July 2011.
2 Prost, G..L., 2004. Tecctonics and Hyddrocarbon Systeems of the Easst Gobi Basin, Mongolia. Am
merican Associaation of
Petroleum
m Geologists, Buulletin, vol., 88, p.
p 483-513.
3 Pentilla, W.C.,
W 1994. Thee Recoverable Oil
O and Gas Resoources of Mongoolia. Journal off Petroleum Geoology, vol. 17, p. 89-98.
4 Johnson, C.L., Greene, T.J., Zinniker, D.A., Moldowan, J.M., Henddrix, M.S., and Carroll, A.R., 2003. Geochhemical
Characteristics and Corrrelation of Oil and Nonmarine Source Rocks ffrom Mongolia. American Asssociation of Pettroleum
Geologistts, Bulletin, vol., 87, p. 817-846.
5 Manas Peetroleum Corp., Corporate
C
Preseentation, Septem
mber, 2012, 29 p .
6 Petro Mattad Limited, Interrim Results for thhe Six Months Ended
E
30 June, 22012, 10 p.
7 Petro Mattad Limited, Corpporate Presentattion, November 2010.
8 Henk, A., Davaa, B., Geeerdts, P., Vogler, M., and Wem
mmer, K., 2007. Structure and Evolution of thee Tamtsag Basiin / NE
Mongolia. Geophysical Research Abstraacts, vol. 9, p. 24415.
9 Geerdtz, P.,
P Vogler, M., Davaa,
D
B., and Henk,
H
A., 2006. Evolution of thhe Tamtsag Bassin / NE-Mongolia part I: Bassin Fill.
Poster, TSK 11 Goettingeen,
June, 2013
XX
XI-12
XXI. Mongoolia
EIA/ARI W
10 Liu, X.Y
Y., Deng, H.W., Di, Y.X., Gao, X.P., Wang, J.K., and Long, G
G.Q., 2009. H
High Quality Souurce Rocks of Nantun
Formationn in Wuerxun Deepression, Hailaer Basin. Petrooleum Geology aand Testing, vol.. 31, p. 68-73 (inn Chinese).
11 Wang, J.G., Chen, G.P., and Wang, T.Q
Q., 2010. The Geochemical
G
Chaaracteristics of C
Coal Measure Strata and Coal-D
Derived
Hydrocarrbon in Huhehu Sag, Hailaer Baasin, China. American Associaation of Petroleuum Geologists, Search and Disscovery
Article #10266.
12 Gao, Y.Q
Q., Liu, L., and Hua,
H W.X., 20099. Petrology and Isotopic Geocchemistry of Daw
wsonite-Bearing Sandstones in Hailaer
Basin, Noortheastern Chinna. Applied Geoochemistry, vol. 24, p. 1724-17338.
June, 2013
XX
XI-13
XXII. Thailand
XXII.
EIA/ARI W
THA
AILAND
D
SUMMA
ARY
While
W
no sha
ale gas/oil exploration
e
activity
a
has been reportted to date in Thailand
d, this
large Southeast Asia
an country has
h significa
ant prospecttive shale ga
as and shale oil potentiial, in
at, Northern Intermontan
ne and Centtral Plains ba
asins, Figure
e XXII-1.
the Khora
ure XXII-1. Pro
ospective Shaale Gas and Shhale Oil Basins of Thailand..
Figu
Source: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
XX
XII-1
XXII. Thailand
EIA/ARI W
The
T
Khorat Basin
B
in northeast Thailand has a
an estimated
d 5 Tcf of rrisked techn
nically
as resources, Table XX
XII-1. In add
dition, shale oil potentia
al in the Norrthern
Intermon
ntane and Ce
entral Plains
s basins cou
uld be substtantial but w
was not quan
ntified due tto the
paucity of
o available public data. Block faulting has dissrupted Thaiilands onshore shale basins
and may
y complicate
e future sha
ale drilling and developm
ment. Overrall, Thailan
nds shale gas/oil
potential is promising
g but needs to be better defined by ffurther data gathering and analysis.
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XX
XII-1. Shale Gas
G Reservo
oir Propertiess and Resourrces of Thailand.
Khorat
Basin/Grosss Area
(32,400 mi )
Shale Form
mation
Geologic Age
Depositional En
nvironment
2
mi )
Org
ganically Rich
Th
hickness (ft)
Nett
Inteerval
Deepth (ft)
Aveerage
m
Nam Duk Fm
Permian
Marine
1,750
400
200
6,000 - 12,0000
9,000
Mod. Overpresss.

%
Th
hermal Maturity (%
% Ro)
Cllay Content
3.0%
2.50%
Low
Gaas Phase
Dry Gas
2
83.0
Riisked GIP (Tcf)
21.8
Riisked Recoverable (Tcf)
5.4
Thailands
T
gre
eatest poten
ntial appears
s to be shale
e gas depossits contained
d in Permian
n and
Triassic shale sourc
ce rocks in the Khorat, the countrrys largest onshore sedimentary b
basin.
These shales can be locally thick,
t
organ
nic-rich, dry gas prone
e, deeply bu
uried, and overpressure
ed. Deposite
ed under shallow marine
e conditionss, they are likely to mine
eralogically b
brittle
and suita
able for hydraulic fractu
uring. The Khorat
K
Basi n has an exxisting gas p
pipeline netw
work,
local drillling rigs, and
d active inde
ependent oill and gas prroducers wh
hich could fa
acilitate shale
e gas
developm
ment.
Thailands
T
sh
hale oil pote
ential appea
ars to be m
more limited. Small iso
olated sub-basins
within th
he Northern Intermontane and Central Plainss basins con
ntain organic-rich shale
es of
Oligocen
ne to Early Miocene
M
age. These units
u
source
ed the basin
ns conventio
onal oil deposits,
including
g the 30,000-b/d Sirikit-1 oil field. Th
hermally imm
mature oil shale depositts that are lo
ocally
June, 2013
XX
XII-2
XXII. Thailand
EIA/ARI W
mined att the surfac

ce may conttain mobile hydrocarbon
ns at depth
h. Howeverr, these low
w-rank
Tertiary shales
s
were deposited under
u
lacustrine sedime ntary conditions and ma
ay be high in
n clay
content with
w low frac
ckability.
INTROD
DUCTION
During
D
the pa
ast three de
ecades Thailand has bu
uilt up a substantial oil and natura
al gas
productio
on industry. The country
y produced 393,000 b/d
d of crude oil and liquidss in 2011 an
nd 3.6
Bcfd of natural
n
gas in
i 2011.1 Nearly
N
90% of
o its curren t petroleum output com
mes from offsshore
fields in the Gulf of Thailand
d, with only limited p
production ffrom small onshore ffields.
Approxim
mately 40% of Thailand
ds primary energy co nsumption is supplied by natural gas,
including
g most of the
e countrys power genera
ation and gro
owing vehicle fuel usage
e.
Essentially
E
all of the oil and gas curre
ently producced in Thaila
and comes frrom conventtional
sandston
ne and carb
bonate reserrvoirs. While a handfu
ul of coalbed
d methane exploration wells
were drilled in Thaila
and during 2004-6,
2
witho
out commerccial successs, and some low-permea
ability
g targeted in
n convention
nal anticlinal traps in the
e Khorat, the
ere have bee
en no
carbonattes are being
reports of
o unconventional shale
e/tight oil or gas explora
ation & deve
elopment to
o date. The
e only
tangible sign of activ
vity for Thailands uncon
nventional rresources was an MOU signed betw
ween
a
PTTEP in January
y 2011 cov
vering poten
ntial joint sstudies of cconventional and
Statoil and
unconventional resou
urces in Tha
ailand and otther countrie
es.2
ARIs
A
review
w of publishe
ed geologic
c literature i ndicates tha
at Thailand has three main
onshore sedimentary
y basins which may hav
ve unconven
ntional oil an
nd gas poten
ntial, Figure XXII1. These
e include the
e large Khorrat Basin in the
t northeasst; a series o
of smaller, issolated pull--apart
basins (s
such as Ma
ae Sot) in th
he Northern Intermonta ne Basin, w
where shale oil depositss are
being mined; and the
e similarly co
omplex Cen
ntral Plains B
Basin, which
h hosts the 3
30,000-b/d S
Sirikit1 oil field
d.
Permo-Triass
P
sic shale so
ource rocks in the Khorrat Basin, th
hought to have sourced
d the
overlying
g Permian carbonate
c
conventional
c
reservoirs,, may offer Thailands best shale
e gas
resource
e potential. These marine-deposite
ed shales arre thick, org
ganic-rich, w
within the dryy gas
thermal maturity
m
window, often over-pressur
o
red, and ma
ay be minera
alogically brrittle. The K
Khorat
Basin ho
osts an existing gas pipe
eline network, a local su
upply of suita
able drilling rigs, and a small
group of active indep
pendent oil and
a gas prod
ducers.
June, 2013
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XII-3
XXII. Thailand
EIA/ARI W
Oil-prone
O
sha
ale/tight res
sources in Thailand
T
ap
ppear to be
e less prosp
pective, alth
hough
available
e geologic in
nformation is scanter. The most o
obvious oil-prone shale
e potential is the
downdip extension of
o lacustrine
e oil shale (s
solid minera
al) deposits which are m
mined on a small
scale in the
t northern
n inter-monta
ane basins. Similar sha
ale/tight oil d
deposits also
o may be pre
esent
in the Central
C
Plain
ns Basin.
These
T
oil-prrone shaless appear less prospecttive due to their
lacustrine
e origin, low
w apparent thermal ma
aturity, as w
well as the general pa
aucity of pu
ublicly
available
e subsurface
e geologic da
ata.
1. KHO
ORAT BASIIN
1.1
In
ntroduction
The
T
Khorat Basin
B
in norrtheast Thailand appearrs to have tthe countryss best shale
e gas
potential. Thailands
s largest ons
shore sedime
entary basin
n, the 35,000
0-mi2 petrolifferous Khora
at lies
e southern half
h of the Khorat
K
Plateau, a large roughly circcular physiog
graphic provvince.
within the
Ringed by
b mountain
n ranges, the
e Plateau ittself is relatiively flat witth 200-m avverage eleva
ation.
Drained by the Moin and Chi Rivers, the Khorat Pla
ateau receives less rain
nfall than ce
entral
Thailand, with more extreme dry
y and wet seasonality. The local e
economy of this rural arrea is
mainly ag
gricultural ba
ased, with fe
ew large citie
es or industrrial centers.
The
T
Khorat Basin
B
is sep
parated from
m the Sakon Nakhon Ba
asin to the n
north by the
e Phu
Phan antticline. The Khorat rests
s on the Indo
ochina tecto
onic micropla
ate, which iss bordered b
by the
Shan Th
hai and Sou
uth China plates
p
to th
he west and
d north, resspectively.
Its sedime
entary
sequence
e comprises
s a series of Late Cambrian through
h Recent stra
ata, which a
are interrupte
ed by
numerou
us unconform
mities and dominated by Permo--Carbonifero
ous, Triassic/Mesozoic, and
Tertiary/ Quaternary deposits. Figure
F
XXII-2
2 illustrates the stratigra
aphy and pe
etroleum sysstems
of the Kh
horat Basin.3 The shallo
ow marine to
o basinal Pe
ermian Saraburi Group iis considere
ed the
primary source
s
rock,, while the fluvial to lacu
ustrine Triasssic Kuchina
arai and Hua
ai Hin Lat Grroups
offer add
ditional sourc
ce rock pote
ential. Perm
mian dolomite
e and karste
ed limestone
es form the main
conventio
onal petroleu
um reservoirrs.
The
T
structura
al Khorat Ba
asin depress
sion was inittiated during
g the Middle
e Paleozoic,, with
widespre
ead deposittion of clas
stic and ca
arbonate se
edimentary rocks, beg
ginning with
h the
Carbonife
erous Si Tha
at Formation
n.4 Tectonic
c extension d
during the Ea
arly Permian
n broke the basin
apart into
o numerous horst and graben blocks separated by high-ang
gle normal fa
aults. Carbo
onate
reef depo
osits of the Pha Nok Kh
hao Formatio
on formed o
on regional h
highs, while clastic and sshale
June, 2013
XX
XII-4
XXII. Thailand
EIA/ARI W
deposits of the Na
am Duk Fo
ormation we
ere depositted in the troughs, w
with some a
areas
hing 20,000 feet thick. Mixed sediments of th
he Hua Na Kham Form
mation were then
approach
deposited
d during the
e Middle to Upper Perm
mian. Later basin-scale
e compressio
on and inve
ersion
caused regional
r
uplift and thrustting. Seism
mic and therm
mal maturityy data indica
ate that uplifft and
erosion removed
r
3,0
000 to 9,000 feet of sedim
mentary covver during this event.
Figure XX
XII-2. Stratigrraphy and Petroleum System
ms of the Khoorat Basin. Shhallow Marine Permian Saraaburi
Group iss the Primary Source
S
Rock. The Fluvial to
o Lacustrine TTriassic Kuchhinarai and Huuai Hin Lat Grooups
Also Have
H
Potential. Permian Do
olomite and Kaarsted Limestoones are the M
Main Conventional Petroleuum
Reservoirs.
R
Source: Thaailand Ministry off Energy, 2007.
June, 2013
XX
XII-5
XXII. Thailand
EIA/ARI W
Following the
e Indosinian orogeny, Ea
arly Triassicc continental and lacustrrine sedimen
nts of
the Kuch
hinarai Group began to unconforma
ably fill the e
extensional g
grabens of tthe Khorat B
Basin.
A second orogenic collision ma
arked by vo
olcanics folllowed, afterr which Late
e Triassic ffluvial
clastics were
w
depositted. A further erosional or non-dep ositional hia
atus occurred
d until the M
Middle
to Late Jurassic, after
a
which non-marine
e clastics a nd shales of the Kho
orat Group were
d. After a Middle Crettaceous periiod of deforrmation and volcanic evvents, evapo
orites
deposited
and clastics of the Mahasarakha
M
am Formatio
on were dep
posited. Fin
nally, the Te
ertiary Himalayan
out regional uplift
u
and ero
osion, removving up to 6,000 feet of rock.
orogeny brought abo
Figure XXII-3
3 shows a southwest-northeast o
oriented seissmic time ssection from
m the
western Khorat Basiin. It highlig
ghts possible Permian S
Saraburi Grroup and Triiassic Kuchiinarai
Group so
ource rock shales
s
and carbonates,
c
which
w
may b
be prospectiive for shale
e gas explora
ation.
These sttrata are ove
erlain by fluv
vial and alluv
vial clastic ro
ocks of the JJurassic Kho
orat Group; tthese
are not considered
c
prospective
p
due to theirr low TOC ccontent. No
ote significa
ant faulting o
of the
Saraburi Group and, to a lesser extent, Kuch
hinarai Grou
up rocks.
Figure XXII-4
4 is a south
h-north orien
nted seismicc time sectiion from the
e eastern K
Khorat
Basin. Here,
H
the low
w-TOC Carbo
oniferous Si That Forma
ation is overlain by posssible conventtional
reservoirrs of the Permian Pha Nok
N Khao Formation.
F
T
The primaryy Saraburi F
Formation so
ource
rock doe
es not appea
ar to be pres
sent in this part of the b
basin, while
e the Huai H
Hin Lat Form
mation
source ro
ock is relatively thin. These
T
Carboniferous, P
Permian, an
nd Triassic rrocks were block
faulted and
a
overlain by fluvial and
a
alluvial clastic rockks of the Ju
urassic Khorat Group. This
prelimina
ary informatiion suggests
s that the western
w
Kho
orat Basin m
may be more
e prospectivve for
shale gas
s exploration
n than the ea
ast.
Figure XXII-5 is a sch
hematic, no
on-directiona
al cross-secction of the Khorat B
Basin
ng conventional petroleum play conc
cepts. Note the Permo-Triassic sou
urce rock sha
ales illustratin
- the prim
mary targets
s -- are quite
e discontinu
uous, block ffaulted, and
d eroded in many portio
ons of
the basin
n. The patc
chy shale diistribution and structura
al and erosio
onal comple
exity are like
ely to
complica
ate shale gas
s exploration
n in the Khorrat Basin.
June, 2013
XX
XII-6
XXII. Thailand
EIA/ARI W
Figure XX
XII-3. Southweest-Northeast Seismic
S
Time Section in Weestern Khoratt Basin, Show
ws Permian Saraburi
Group an
nd Triassic Ku
uchinarai Grou
up Source Rocck Shales andd Carbonates, Overlain by FFluvial and Allluvial
Classtic Rocks of the
t Jurassic K
Khorat Group.
Figu
ure XXII-4. So
outh-North Seismic Time Seection from Eaastern Khorat Basin, Showiing Low-TOC
Carbo
oniferous Si That Formation
n Overlain by Conventional Reservoirs oof the Permian Pha Nok Khaao
Formatio
on. The Sarab
buri Formation
n Source Rock Does Not Apppear to be Prresent in this Part of the Baasin,
While th
he Huai Hin Laat Formation Source
S
Rock iss Relatively T hin. Note Siggnificant Faulting of the PerrmoCarbonifferous Sequennce.
June, 2013
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XII-7
XXII. Thailand
EIA/ARI W
Figurre XXII-5. Schematic Non-directional Cro

oss-section of the Khorat Baasin, Showingg Conventionaal
Petroleum Play Conceepts. Note thee Primary Perm
mo-Triassic Soource Rock Shales are Disccontinuous, B
Block
Faulteed, and Partlyy Eroded acrosss the Basin. This Structurral Complexityy may Compliccate Shale Gaas
Exxploration.
Although
A
the Khorat Bas
sin is overma
ature for oil, a small num
mber of con
nventional na
atural
gas disco
overies have
e been mad
de. These fields
f
target Permian ca
arbonate and Triassic cclastic
reservoirrs within antticlines and stratigraphic traps. N
Natural gas likely was ssourced by older
organic-rrich Permo-T
Triassic shalles, with gas
s being gene
erated during the Early T
Tertiary follo
owing
Cretaceo
ous burial, and then possibly migratiing along fra
actures and faults cause
ed by extenssional
rifting.5
es a detailed seismicc structure time map
p and strucctural
Figure XXII--6 illustrate
interpreta
ation of a sm
mall gas field in the central Khoratt Basin. No
ote the deep
p Triassic so
ource
rock kitc
chen, the up
plifted anticlinal fold thatt formed a co
onventional gas trap, an
nd the interp
preted
clockwise
e rotation alo
ong strike-sllip faults that created thi s local struccture.
Energy hollds several license bloccks in the K
UK-based
U
ind
dependent Salamander
S
Khorat
Basin. At
A last reporrt, Salamand
der was acq
quiring 3D s eismic, cond
ducting basin modeling, and
planning its first exp
ploration well in 2012-13 to test co
onventional Permian ca
arbonate targ
gets.6
Earlier th
his year Yan
nchang Petro
oleum, Chin
nas fourth la
argest state--owned petrroleum comp
pany,
reportedlly entered into a contra
act with Thailands Min
nistry of Energy to exp
plore natural gas
opportun
nities in the Khorat. Coastal
C
Enerrgy and Hesss also havve interests in Khorat B
Basin
blocks bu
ut have not reported
r
activity in the past
p
two yearrs.7,8
June, 2013
XX
XII-8
XXII. Thailand
EIA/ARI W
Figure XX
XII-6. Seismicc Structure Tim
me Map and In
nterpretation of Small Gas Field in the Khorat Basin. Note
Deep Triaassic Source Rock Kitchen
n, Anticlinal Fold, and Inteerpreted Clockkwise Rotationn along Strikee-Slip
Faults.
Source: Salamander Energyy PLC.
1.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Thick,
T
organic-rich sourc
ce rock sha
ales and ca
arbonates off Permian a
and Triassicc age
occur at prospective
e depth in the
t
Khorat Basin, altho
ough mapping the loca
ation and sizze of
as is not po
ossible with current data
a. These sh
hales are th
hermally dryy-gasdepth-screened area
e or no liqu
uids potentia
al. Deposite
ed under sh
hallow marin
ne to
prone to over-maturre, with little
s
y conditions,, these shales are thou
ught to havve sourced the conventtional
basinal sedimentary
Permian carbonate and Triass
sic clastic reservoirs o f this regio
on, including
g two signifficant
producing gas fields..
Shallow
S
mariine shales also
a
occur in
n the Carbo
oniferous Si That Forma
ation, typica
ally at
depths below
b
13,00
00 feet.9
However,
H
ba
asin maturitty modeling estimates that this unit is
thermally
y over-mature and not prospective for shale g
gas development (Ro off 3 to 4%). The
Early Pe
ermian Nam Duk Forma
ation contain
ns several tthousand fe
eet of contin
nental to sh
hallow
marine sediments,
s
in
ncluding som
me organic--rich shale. TOC reporrtedly can e
exceed 3%, while
depth ranges from 8,000
8
to more than 10,0
000 feet and
d the formattion often iss over-presssured.
culated vitrin
nite reflectan
nce is over 2.5%,
2
thus tthe Nam Du
uk Fm is a potential dryy gas
The calc
shale tarrget that is unlikely to be prospective
e for liquids.
June, 2013
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XII-9
XXII. Thailand
EIA/ARI W
Fluvial and lacustrine deposits

d
of the Triasssic Kuchinarrai Group also have been
d as petroleu
um source ro
ocks in the Khorat
K
Basin
n, with high--TOC interva
als of unrep
ported
identified
thickness
s. The Kuchinarai Grou
up reportedly averages a prospectiive 6,500 to 7,000 feet deep
within the
e basin. Th
hermal matu
urity modelin
ng suggests it reaches tthe dry gas window, with no
liquids po
otential (Ro> 2.0%).
1.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
As
A discussed
d above, the Permian Na
am Duk Forrmation conttains organicc-rich shaless with
suitable depth
d
and th
hermal matu
urity and app
pears to be tthe most pro
ospective tarrget for shale
e gas
developm
ment. Additiional shale gas
g potentia
al may exist in other orga
anic-rich sha
ales, such a
as the
Triassic Kuchinarai Fm,
F but thes
se were not assessed d
due to lack o
of data. The limited pu
ublicly
e data on th
he Khorat Basin
B
is nott sufficient tto constrain
n the region
nal distributio
on of
available
suitable thickness, depth,
d
TOC,, thermal maturity, and prospective
e area. Avverage value
es for
arameters we
ere estimate
ed and augm
mented by a nalogs with commercial North Ame
erican
these pa
shale pla
ays that have
e been more
e thoroughly studied.
A good North
h American analog
a
for th
he Nam Dukk Fm could b
be the Wolfcamp Shale iin the
1
Permian Basin, We
est Texas.10
These formations share sim

milar age (L
Lower Perm
mian),
onal setting (shallow ma

arine), thickn
ness (>1,000
0 ft), litholog
gy (high in ccarbonate, lo
ow in
depositio
clay), TO
OC content (average
(
3%
%), over-pres
ssuring (unccertain in the
e Khorat bu
ut assumed to be
0.6 vs 0.7 psi/ft for th
he Wolfcamp). The Kho
orat Basin a ppears to be
e structurallyy more defo
ormed
and faulted than the Permian Ba
asin but the difference
d
iss not extreme
e. Furtherm
more, the Perrmian
Basin Wo
olfcamp is le
ess thermallly maturity, ranging
r
from
m the black oil to wet ga
as windows,, thus
the analo
ogy is imperffect.
The
T Nam Du
uk Fm is well over 1,000
0 ft thick, w ith reported average 9,0
000 ft depth
h, 3%
average TOC, and fa
alls within th
he dry-gas th
hermal matu
urity window (Ro > 2.5%). The Nam
m Duk
n the basin due
d to uplift a
and erosion. Prospectivve area coulld not
is discontinuously present within
be rigoro
ously mappe
ed due to la
ack of data but
b is assum
med to be 5
5% of the Khorat Basin area
(~1,750 mi
m 2). Net organic-rich
o
shale
s
thickness also is u
uncertain bu
ut is assume
ed to be 200
0 feet,
much les
ss than 20% of formation
n thickness. Known to b
be over-presssured but not known to what
extent, th
he pressure gradient wa
as assumed to be 0.6 pssi/ft, slightly below the W
Wolfcamp an
nalog.
ARI assu
umed 6% po
orosity based
d on the Wollfcamp analo
og.
June, 2013
XXIII-10
XXII. Thailand
EIA/ARI W
Based
B
on the
ese data and
d assumption
ns, the Nam
m Duk Forma
ation in the K
Khorat Basin
n was
estimated
d to have 22 Tcf of risked shale gas in-pllace, with 5 Tcf of rissked, techn
nically
as resources
s, Table XXIII-1. More d
detailed stud
dy is recomm
mended to d
define
and map
p these para
ameters and
d estimate the
t
full shalle gas resource potential of the K
Khorat
Basin.
1.4
Recent
R
Activ
vity
No
N shale gas
s activity has
s been reported in Thaila
ands Khoratt Plateau.
2. CENTRAL PLA
AINS BASIN
N
2.1
In
ntroduction
Thailands
T
Ce
entral Plains
s Basin is located in th
he south-ce
entral portion
n of the cou
untry,
including
g the Bangko
ok region an
nd the highly
y productive
e rice-growin
ng regions o
of the lower Chao
Praya River. Coveriing a 25,000
0-mi2 area, the
t Central P
Plains Basin
n is not a co
ontinuous de
eposit
mprises a number
n
of small, deep
p, north-sou
uth trending
g and
like the Khorat but rather com
nuous half-grabens of Tertiary
T
age, formed due
e to transpre
essional pulll-apart tecto
onics.
discontin
The province includ
des the pro
ominent Ph
hitsanulok, S
Suphan Bu
uri, Kampha
aeng Saen, and
Petchabu
un petrolifero
ous sub-bas
sins, among others.
The
T
Central Plains Bas
sin is oil-pro
one and cu
urrently prod
duces oil from conventtional
Miocene sandstone reservoirs as
a well as pre-Tertiary
p
fractured grranites. Mio
ocene lacusstrined shales, wh
hich are orga
anic-rich and considere d the primarry source ro
ocks in this b
basin,
deposited
appear to
o have Thailands best potential
p
for shale oil exxploration. H
However, sh
hale oil prospects
which may be identtified by future work are likely to be limited in size, refllecting the small
discontin
nuous nature
e of the sub-basins.
uctural histo
Similar
S
to most
m
of Thailands basiins, the stru
ory of the Central Pla
ain is
punctuated by period
ds of extens
sion and sub
bsequent ero
osion. Lacu
ustrine shale
es and sedim
ments
were dep
posited durin
ng Oligocen
ne to Early Miocene
M
tim
me.11 An acttive margin developed in the
Middle Miocene,
M
de
epositing intterbedded fluvial sandsstones and mudstoness.
Alluvial-ffluvial
sedimentts were then deposited towards the end of th

he Tertiary a
and into the
e Quaternaryy. In
some are
eas, up to 26
6,000 feet off Cenozoic strata
s
have b
been preservved.
June, 2013
XXIII-11
XXII. Thailand
EIA/ARI W
Middle
M
Mioce
ene sandsto
ones (and more
m
recentlyy pre-Tertia
ary granites)) are the priimary
conventio
onal target in the variou
us Central Plains
P
sub-b
basins, such
h as at Sirikkit field within the
Phitsanulok Basin. Thailands
T
la
argest onsho
ore oil field, the Sirikit (n
now called S
S-1) comme
enced
productio
on in the ea
arly 1980s, with over 250 wells driilled and 17
70 MMBO produced to date.
The oil is
s inferred to have been sourced
s
from
m the underllying lacustrrine shales. PTTEP acq
quired
the S1 fie
eld from Tha
ai Shell in 20
003 and plan
ns to extractt an addition
nal 40 to 50 MMbbls ove
er the
next 10 years.
y
Duriing Q3-2012
2 PTTEP prroduced an average 30,000 b/d of oil from Sirikit-1,
while continuing to drill new de
evelopment wells there.. PTTEPs o
onshore foccus has bee
en on
d drilling and
d exploration
n techniques
s.12
advanced
In
n the Phitsa
anulok Basin
n, the main organic-ric h lacustrine
e shales com
mprise the Early
Miocene Chumsaeng
g Fm, which
h was depos
sited in a de
eep lake en
nvironment. Stratigraph
hically
nt sediments
s are also no
oted in the Suphan
S
Buri and other sub-basins, u
usually unna
amed.
equivalen
These type I/II sourc
ce rocks disp
play high to variable
v
TOC
C (average >
>2.0%13), wiith high hydrrogen
eaching ove
er 700 mg HC/g.14 Gross thickness averages 1,300 feet, with a net org
ganicindices re
rich shale interval of
o at least 600 feet.
eper parts o
of Central P
Plain basinss, the
In the dee
eng and Earrly Miocene lacustrine shales

s
may rreach maxim
mum depths of nearly 15
5,000
Chumsae
feet. Oil generation depths in th
he smaller Suphan
S
Buri Basin avera
age 7,000 fe
eet, suggestting a
large ran
nge in therma
ally mature depths
d
for liq
quids producction.
Figure XXII-7
7 illustrates the stratigrraphy and cconventiona
al petroleum
m systems o
of the
Central Basin.
B
Oligo
ocene Nong
g Bua and Sarabop
S
form
mations, the oldest sedimentary roccks in
the Centtral Basin, re
est unconfo
ormably on pre-Tertiary
p
basement. Fluvial to lacustrine shales
within the Oligocene
e to Early Miocene
M
Ch
hum Saeng Group act as the ma
ain source rrocks.
Clastic ro
ocks of the Oligocene Lan
L Krabur and
a Miocene
e Pratu Nam
m Nan forma
ations, depo
osited
under alluvial plains settings, are
e the conventional rese
ervoir targetss. These in turn are ove
erlain
by Late Miocene
M
to Recent alluvial fan dep
posits source
ed by region
nal uplift asssociated witth the
Himalaya
an Orogeny.
Figure XXII-8
8 shows a west-east
w
orriented, unin
nterpreted se
eismic time section from
m the
o
of nume
erous sub-b
basins within
n the overall Central Pla
ains Basin. The
Phitsanulok Basin, one
urce rocks are
a fluvial to lacustrine shales
s
within
n the Oligoccene to Earlyy Miocene C
Chum
main sou
Saeng Group,
G
which
h appear to be discontiinuously pre
esent on top
p of pre-Mio
ocene basem
ment.
Significant normal faulting may hinder
h
shale oil developm
ment in this basin.
June, 2013
XXIII-12
XXII. Thailand
EIA/ARI W
Figure XX
XII-7. Stratigraaphy and Petro
oleum System
ms of Thailandds Central Bassin. Fluvial too Lacustrine S
Shales
within th
he Oligocene to
t Early Mioceene Chum Saeeng Group aree the Main Souurce Rocks, w
while Alluvial P
Plain
Clasticss of the Oligoccene Lan Krab
bur and Mioceene Pratu Nam
m Nan Formations are Convventional Targets.
Source: Thailand Ministry off Energy, 2007
Figure XX
XII-8. West-East Seismic Tim
me Section in the Phitsanullok Sub-basinn within the Ceentral Plains B
Basin.
The Main Source Rocks are Fluvial to
t Lacustrine Shales
S
within the Oligocene to Early Mioocene Chum S
Saeng
Group
p, Discontinuo
ously Present on Top of Pree-Miocene Bassement. Notee Significant N
Normal Faultinng.
Source: Thaailand Ministry off Energy, 2007
June, 2013
XXIII-13
XXII. Thailand
EIA/ARI W
3. NOR
RTHERN IN
NTERMONT
TANE BASIN
3.1
In
ntroduction
Thailands
T
Northern Inte
ermontane Basin
B
is a la
arge looselyy defined area covering
g the
north-cen
ntral and northwestern portions
p
of the country. Similar to tthe Central Plains Basin
n and
quite unlike the relattively continu
uous Khoratt Basin, the Northern Inttermontane Basin comp
prises
numerou
us small an
nd complete
ely isolated structural ttroughs tha
at are sepa
arated by uplifts.
Several of
o these pull-apart basin
ns, such as the Fang B
Basin, produce oil in antticlinal traps from
conventio
onal sandsto
one reservoiirs that were
e sourced byy organic-ricch Miocene lacustrine sh
hales.
In additio
on, solid oil shale minerral resources near the ssurface in th
he Mae Sot Basin are u
under
small-sca
ale mining development
d
t. These orrganic-rich la
acustrine-de
eposited sha
ales may beccome
thermally
y more matu
ure and con
ntain mobile oil in the d
deeper troug
ghs, althoug
gh ARI could not
map this due to very sparse data
a control.
Mae
M
Sot Sub
b-Basin. The
T
Mae Sott Sub-basin of northwestern Thaila
and is one o
of the
more prrominent in
ntermontane
e basins in
n this topo
ographicallyy mostly rugged Norrthern
Intermon
ntane region. This north-south tren
nding basin extends over an area of approxim
mately
900 mi2, with one-third of the are
ea extending
g across the
e Moei River into Myanm
mar on the w
west.15
c
th
he topograph
hy of the ba
asin itself, w
which
Gently undulating hills and alluvial plains comprise
s about 650 feet above sea
s level.
averages
The
T Mae Sott Basin is div
vided into no
orth and sou
uth sub-basins, with the
e southern re
egion
having th
he thickest sedimentary
s
y section. It contains m
mainly non-m
marine Cenozzoic sedime
entary
units ove
erlying Permian to Jurassic carbonatte and clastiic rocks thatt were depossited in pull--apart
basins and
a
half gra
abens.
Th
hese units include the Mae Rama
at, Mae Pa
a, and Mae
e Sot
formation
ns, the latterr recognized for its oil sh
hale depositss.
exploration
Hydrocarbon
H
n of the Mae
M
Sot Ba
asin began with Swisss and Japa
anese
geologistts in the late
e 1930s. In
n 1947 Thaillands Depa
artment of M
Mineral Reso
ources condu
ucted
an oil sh
hale reserve
e evaluation.. During the 1980s, th
he German and Japane
ese governm
ments
conducte
ed feasibility
y analyses of
o the oil sha
ale potentia l. Since 20
000 Thailand
ds Mineral F
Fuels
Division has renewed
d its researc
ch on Thailan
nds oil shale
e deposits.
June, 2013
XXIII-14
XXII. Thailand
EIA/ARI W
Fang Sub-Basin. The crescent-shaped Fang Sub-basin in the far north of Thailand,
located about 150 km north of
o Chiang Mai,
M
is a ffault-bounde
ed intermonttane depoccenter
containin
ng Cenozoic sediments, Figure XXIII-9. The 220
0-mi2 trough
h trends NW
W-SE and bo
orders
a steep mountain
m
ran
nge to the ea
ast. The Fan
ng Basin is g
generally fla
at with slightlly rolling hillss and
an avera
age elevatio
on of 1,500 feet above
e sea level..16
A high geothermal gradient e

exists
througho
out the half-g
graben, evid
denced by ho
ot springs in
n the northern region. S
Site of Thaila
ands
first commercial oil field, over 240 wells have
e been drille
ed to date in the Fang Su
ub-Basin.
Figure XX
XII-9. Stratigraaphy and Petro
oleum System
ms of Thailandds Central Bassin. Fluvial too Lacustrine S
Shales
within th
he Oligocene to
t Early Mioceene Chum Saeeng Group aree the Main Souurce Rocks, w
while Alluvial P
Plain
Clastics of Oligocene Lan Krabur and Miocenee Pratu Nam N
Nan Formationns are Convenntional Targets.
Source: Thaailand Ministry off Energy, 2007
During
D
the early Tertiary
y, extensional faults and
d rifting asssociated with
h the Indian
n and
Himalaya
an collision opened up the basin. Syn-rift seq
quences of alluvial-fluvial and lacusstrine
sedimentts were dep
posited durin
ng the Eoce
ene to Mioccene, followe
ed by post-rrift sequencces of
younger alluvium and
a
marked by a sign
nificant unco
onformity.
Overlying tthese rockss are
entiated grav
vels, sands, soils,
s
and clays of Quate
ernary to Re
ecent age. T
Total thickne
ess of
undiffere
the sedim
mentary sequence reach
hes 10,000 ft.
f
The
T stratigraphy of the Tertiary
T
rock
ks generally can be divided into tw
wo units, the Mae
Fang and underlying
g Mae Sot formations. Interbedde
ed coarse ssandstone and red to yyellow
claystone
e occur in th
he Late Mioc
cene to Pleis
stocene Mae
e Fang Form
mation; these
e were depo
osited
in an allu
uvial-fluvial environment
e
and average 1,400 feett thick. Belo
ow this unit, fluvial sandsstone
layers wiithin the Mae
e Sot Forma
ation have been
b
the prin
nciple reservvoirs for conventional oil field
June, 2013
XXIII-15
XXII. Thailand
EIA/ARI W
productio
on in the basin, beginning in the 19
920s. As th
he Northern Intermontane regions most
productiv
ve locale, th
he Fang Ba
asin has yiielded six o
oil fields, allthough the Pong Nokk and
Chaiprak
karn were ab
bandoned in
n the mid 1980s. These
e reservoirs apparently were source
ed by
lacustrine
e mudstones
s and shales
s within the Mae Sot Fo
ormation itse
elf, most likely the main sshale
oil explorration target within the Fang
F
Basin.
3.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Mae
M
Sot Sub-Basin. The
T
Paleoce
ene Mae Ra
amat Forma
ation contain
ns mostly alluvial
conglome
erate, sand
dstone, lime
estone, and mudstone units that unconforma
ably overlie pre17
Tertiary strata.
s
Th
he Mae Ram
mat Fm is up
p to 700 fee
et thick and deeper than
n 3,300 feett (the
maximum
m total deptth of available well da
ata).
Overlyying the Ma
ae Ramat F
Fm is the U
Upper
Oligocen
ne Mae Pa Formation,
F
which
w
contains lacustrin
ne and fluvia
al deposits, including shales
and marls, along with prevalentt limestone lenses in th
he southern sub-basin. Minor oil sshale
w
the 30
00-ft thick Mae Pa Fm, a
albeit interbe
nts of
deposits can occur within
edded with large amoun
low-TOC
C strata. The
e Mae Pa Fm
F averages
s about 3,00
00 ft deep. O
at and
Overall, the Mae Rama
Mae Pa formations are not con
nsidered via
able source rocks due to lack of o
organic richness,
undeterm
mined shale thickness an
nd low therm
mal maturity.
The
T most org
ganically rich
h shale in the
e Mae Sot B
Basin is the M
Miocene Ma
ae Sot Forma
ation,
which is dominated by shale witth minor clas
stics. One interval with
hin the Mae Sot Fm con
ntains
y thin (10 to
t 15 feet) oil shales beds within
n sandy sh
hale assemb
blages, alth
hough
relatively
maximum
m thickness can exceed
d 33 feet. Rock minerralogy is dom
minated by quartz, feld
dspar,
calcite, dolomite,
d
and clay (prroportions not
n reported
d).
In the northern ssub-basin, tthese
lacustrine
e oil shale deposits are
e grey to grreen and ne
early 100 fe
eet thick. K
Kerogen con
nsists
mainly off exinite, with immobile oil
o content ra
anging from 2.5 to 62 ga
allons per to
on (1% to 26
6% by
weight). Oil shale grade
g
is highest in the middle-lowe
er section off the unit. T
This formatiion is
0 feet deep
p across mu
uch of the M
Mae Sot Ba
asin. Overa
all, the Mae
e Sot
typically about 2,000
on appears too
t shallow and
a immature for shale oil development, with Ro well below
w the
Formatio
0.7% thre
eshold.
Fang Sub-Ba
asin. The Mae
M Sot Formation of M
Miocene to P
Pliocene age can be divvided
e units: a lo
ower section
n of brown to
t reddish sa
andstone; a middle zon
ne of organicc-rich
into three
lacustrine
e claystone,, shale, and
d coal with interbedded sandstone; and an upp
per layer off gray
claystone
e, mudstone
e, and sands
stone along with fossil iinclusions. The conven
ntional sandsstone
June, 2013
XXIII-16
EIA/ARI W
XXII. Thailand
reservoirrs have 25%

% porosity an
nd 0.2 to 2.0
0 Darcies of permeabilityy. The crude oil rangess from
16 to 38 degrees AP
PI gravity.18
The
T
rich bitu
uminous sha
ales of the middle unitt are the re
ecognized ssource rock, with
calculate
ed total orga
anic carbon averaging 15% (Type I or II).19 Grross formatio
on thicknesss can
be up to 2,100 feet,, while high--TOC shale intervals in
nterbedded w
with sandsto
one average
e 300
k (net). The formation was
w penetratted in conve
entional wellss at depths o
of 3,000 to 3
3,500
feet thick
feet, but these likely
y were drille
ed on structtural highs. Absent vitrrinite reflecttance data b
burial
m
su
uggests an Ro of 0.5%
% is not rea
ached until about 4,000
0-ft depth.
history modeling
The
minimum
m depth for mobile
m
oil ge
eneration (0.7% Ro) mayy be about 6
6,000 ft. Onlly a small po
ortion
of the Fa
ang Basin appears to meet
m
these screening
s
crriteria. ARI is unable to
o quantify su
uch a
prospective area give
en limited av
vailable data
a.
REFERE
ENCES
U.S. Energgy Information Administration,

A
Thailand Country Brief, February 20, 2013.
PTTEP, neews release, Maarch 18, 2011.
Polachan, S., 2007. 2007 : The 20th Bidding Round. Thailand

T
Ministryy of Energy, Deppartment of Mineeral Fuels, June 19, 40
p.
Koysamraan, S. and Comrrie-Smith, N., 20011. Basin Moddeling of Block L26/50, Easternn Khorat Plateauu, Northeast Thaailand.
Departmeent of Mineral Fuels,
F
Ministry of
o Energy, Banggkok, Thailand, The 4th Petroleeum Forum: Appproaching to thhe 21st
Petroleum
m Concession Biddding Round, May 26 27, 8 p.
Schenk, C.J.,
C 2010. Asssessment of Unndiscovered Oil and Gas Resoources of Southeast Asua. United States Geoological
Survey, 722 p.
Salamander Energy PLC,, Macquarie Expplorers Conferennce, January 100, 2011, 22 p. (ccompanys moree recent reports do not
mention thhe Khorat Basin.)
Coastal Ennergy, Corporatee Presentation, October,

O
2012.
Hess Corpporation, News Release,

R
November 2, 2012.
Departmennt of Mineral Fueels, Thailand Peetroleum Provincces. Ministry off Energy, Bangkkok, Thailand, 6 pp.
10
Fairhurst, B., Hanson, M.L.,

M
Reid, F., and
a Pieracacos, N., 2012. W
WolfBone Play Evolution, Soutthern Delaware Basin:
Geologic Concept Modifiications That Have
H
Enhanced Economic SucccessAmerican A
Association of Petroleum Geoologists,
Search annd Discovery Artticle #10412, possted June 18.
11
Ronghe, S. and Surarat, K., 2002. Acooustic impedancce interpretation for sand distribbution adjacent tto a rift boundarry fault,
Suphan Buri
B basin, Thailaand. Bulletin, American Associaation of Petroleuum Geologists, vv. 86, no. 10, p. 7767-780.
12
PTTEP, 2012.
2
Managem
ment Discussion and
a Analysis of Operating Resuults for the Third Quarter of 20122, October 25.
13
An Integrated O
Patience, R.L., Rodriguess, S.L., Mann, A.L.,
A and Poplettt, I.J.F., 1993. A
Organic Geochem
mical and Palyonfacies
Evolution of A Series of Lacustrine Sedim
ments from Thailaand. ASCOPE 93 Conference Proceedings, Baangkok, p. 75-844.
June, 2013
XXIII-17
XXII. Thailand
EIA/ARI W
14
Bal, A.A., Burgisser, H.M

M., Harris, D.K., Herber, M.A., Rigby, S.M., TThumprasertwong, S., and Winkkler, F.J., 1992.. The
Tertiary Phitsanulok
P
Lacuustrine Basin, Thailand. Nationnal Conference oon Geological R
Resources of Thhailand, Departm
ment of
Mineral Resources, Bangkok, p. 247-258..
15
Gibling, M.R., Tantisukrrit, C., Uttamo, W., Thanasuthhipitak, T., and Harluck, M., 1985. Oil Shale Sedimentologgy and
Geocehem
mistry of Mae Soot Basin, Thailannd. American Association
A
of Peetroleum Geologgists, v. 69, no. 55, p. 767-780.
16
Lertassaw
waphol, P., 20088. Spatial Distribution and Relationship of Petrooleum Reservoirrs in the Fang O
Oil Field, Amphoee Fang,
Changwatt Chiang Mai. Department
D
of Geology,
G
Chulaloongkorn Universi ty, 106 p.
17
Suwannathong, A. and Khummongkil, D., 2007. Oil Shaale Resource in Mae Sot Basin, Thailand. Coloorado School of Mines,
27th Oil Shhale Symposium
m, October 15-177, 8 p.
18
Settakul, N., 2009. Fangg Oilfield Development. Walailaak Journal of Sciience & Technollogy, vol. 6, p. 1--15.
19
Giao, P.H
H., Doungnoi, K.,
K Senkhamwonng, N., and Srihiran, S., 2011. Assessment oof Petroleum Reesources for thee South
Fang Bassin: Uncertaintiees and Difficultiees. Departmennt of Mineral Fuuels, Ministry off Energy, Bangkkok, Thailand, TThe 4th
Petroleum
m Forum: Approaaching to the 21sts Petroleum Conncession Biddingg Round, May 266 27, 74 p.
June, 2013
XXIII-18
XXIII. Indonesia
XXIII..
EIA/ARI W
IND
DONESIIA
SUMMA
ARY
In
ndonesia ha
as shale ga
as and sha
ale oil pote
ential within selected m
marine-depo
osited
formation
ns, as well as
a more exte
ensive shale
e resources within non-m
marine and o
often coaly sshale
deposits,, Figure XXIIII-1. The best overall potential
p
app
pears to be mostly oil-p
prone, lacusstrinedeposited
d shales within the Ce
entral and South
S
Suma
atra basins,, which sou
urced the prolific
nearby conventional
c
oil and gas fields. Kalimantans K
Kutei and Tarakan basins also have thick
lacustrine
e source roc
ck shales witth oil and ga
as potential.
Fig
gure XXIII-1. Shale
S
Basins oof Indonesia
Source: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
XX
XIII-1
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
In
ndonesia ha
as an estim
mated 46 Tcf
T and 7.9
9 billion ba
arrels of rissked, techn
nically
as and shale oil resources out of 3
303 Tcf and 234 billion barrels of rrisked
shale gas and shale
e oil in-place
e, Tables XX
XIII-1 and XX
XIII-2. Seve
eral compan
nies (AWE, B
Bukit,
gy) have rep
ported early
y-stage evaluations of sshale gas p
potential in Sumatra, bu
ut no
NuEnerg
PSCs ha
ave been aw
warded nor has
h shale-rellated drilling activity bee
en reported.
R
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
Ph i l E t t
PhysicalExtent
B i D t
BasicData
Table XXIII-1.
X
Shalee Gas Reservo
oir Properties and Resourcees of Indonesia.
Basin/Grross Area
C Sumatra
C.
S. Sumatra
(45,170 mi )
Shale Fo
ormation
Geolog
gic Age
Brrown Shale
P
Paleogene
L
Lacustrine
Prospective Areea (mi )

O
Organically
Rich
Thickness (ft)
N
Net
I
Interval
Depth (ft)
A
Average
Average TOC (w
wt. %)
Thermal Maturitty (% Ro)
Clay Content
Gas Phase
Normal
Noormal
6.0%
0.80%
Medium
A
Assoc.
Gas
5
5.0%
0.70%
H
High
Assooc. Gas
19.6
41.5
3.3
225.0
6
67.8
4.1

Risked GIP (Tcf))
(7,510 mi )
Talan
ng Akar
Balikpapan
Naintupo
Eocene--Oligocene Mid.-U. Mioocene L. Miocene
Lacustrine
Lacustrine
Lacustrine
155,490
9
918
3
367
3,3000 - 8,000
7,000
Bintuni
(35,840 mi
m )
4,700
295
266
6,5560 - 10,496
8,530
Reservoir Presssure
Tarakan
Kutei
(336,860 mi )
(15,200 mi )
Meliat
Tabu
ul
Aifam Group
Mid. Miocene U. Mioccene
Permian
Lacustrine
Lacustrrine
Marine
1,6300
1,010
880
5100
3,340
750
900
1,000
1,5000
1,000
450
400
6000
500
375
3,300 - 155,000 6,600 - 16,000 33,300 - 13,120 3,300 - 6,600
6
5,000 - 15,000
9,0000
11,500
10,000
5,0000
9,500
Highlyy
Normal
Norm
mal
Normal
Normal
Overpreess.
4.0%
%
5.0%
3.0%
3.0%
%
1.5%
0.70%
%
1.50%
1.15%
0.70%
%
1.50%
Highh
High
High
Highh
Low
Assoc. Gas
G
Dry Gas
Wet Gas
Assoc. Gas
Dry Gas
62.1
16.2
1.3
170.7
34.5
5.2
37.33
3.8
0.2
142.3
25.1
3.8
213.8
114.3
28.6
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XXIII-2. Shalee Oil Reservoir Properties aand Resourcees of Indonesiaa.
June, 2013
Basin/Gross Area
C. Sumatra
S. Sumatra
(45,170 mi )
(36,860 mi )
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Depo
ositional Environmen
nt
Brown Shalee
Paleogene
Lacustrine
n
Tarakan
Kutei
(7,510 mii )
(35,840 mi )
Talang Akar
Balikpapan
Eocene-Oligocenne Mid.-U. Miocene
Lacustrine
Lacustrine
Meliat
Mid. Miocene
Lacustrine
Tabul
U. Miocene
U
L
Lacustrine
4,700
295
266
6,560 - 10,4966
8,530
15,490
918
367
3,300 - 8,000
7,000
1,630
900
450
3,300 - 15,000
9,000
880
1,000
400
3,300 - 13,120
10,000
510
1,500
600
3,300 - 6,600
5,000
Reservo
oir Pressure
Normal
Normal
Highly Overpress.
Normal
Normal

Clay Co
ontent
6.0%
0.80%
Medium
5.0%
0.70%
High
4.0%
0.70%
High
3.0%
1.15%
High
3.0%
0.70%
High

Organically Rich
R
Thickneess (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (fft)
Average
Oil
Oil
Oil
Condensate
Oil
OIP Con
ncentration (MMbbl/m
mi )
32.8
50.2
64.7
7.1
103.7
Risked OIP (B bbl)
69.4
136.2
16.9
1.3
10.6
2.77
4.09
0.68
0.04
0.32
Oil Phaase
2
XX
XIII-2
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
In
n general, western
w
Indo
onesia has comparative
c
ely simple sttructure but is dominate
ed by
the non-marine shale types, wh
hereas easte
ern Indonessia has abun
ndant marine shale dep
posits
m
comple
ex. Eastern Indonesia (Sulawesi, Seram, Burru, Irian Jayya) is
but is structurally more
ally more com
mplex but ha
as excellent marine-depo
e source rockks.
osited shale
tectonica
INTROD
DUCTION
In
ndonesia is the
t worlds fourth
f
most populous
p
co
ountry (250 m
million) and a major prod
ducer
of coal, oil,
o and natural gas. Forrmerly an oill exporter an
nd OPEC member, Indo
onesias decclining
oil produ
uction and in
ncreasing do
omestic consumption ha
ave made th
he country a net oil imp
porter
since 2004. In 2011
1 Indonesia produced an
a average 2.5 million b
bbl/day of crude oil from
m 4.0
arrels of pro
oved reserve
es, while co
onsuming 3. 1 million bb
bl/day. Indo
onesia rema
ains a
billion ba
major ex
xporter of LNG
L
and pip
peline-conve
eyed natura
al gas, prod
ducing an average 7.4 Bcfd
during 2011 while exporting
e
3.7
7 Bcfd.1 However, Ind
donesias do
omestic gass consumption is
ster than its output. Ga
as prices ha
ave risen sig
gnificantly in recent years and new LNG
rising fas
import terminals are being constructed in Jav
va, Indonesiias most de
ensely popula
ated island.
In
ndonesias Ministry
M
of Energy
E
and Mineral Ressources (MIIGAS) administers upsttream
investme
ent policy an
nd awards exploration
e
and
a producti on licenses in the coun
ntrys oil and
d gas
industry. A separate
e organizatio
on BPMIGA
AS administe
ers the imple
ementation o
of these lice
enses
and work programs.
Howeverr, a recent (November 2012) judiccial decision

n by Indone
esias
c
unexp
pectedly diss
solved BPM
MIGAS, direccting MIGAS
S to implem
ment oil and
d gas
highest court
investme
ent. Indones
sias 2001 Oil
O and Gas Law
L
is expe
ected to be rrevised durin
ng 2013 to cclarify
these sig
gnificant changes and cle
ear up the current regula
atory uncerttainty.
Domestic
D
and foreign companies
c
are
a active in
n Indonesia
as oil and gas sector, with
foreign companies
c
operating the
e bulk of prod
duction. Pe
ertamina, Ind
donesias wh
holly state-ow
wned
oil comp
pany, plans to eventua
ally transitio
on into a l isted compa
any with significant prrivate
ownership. PGN (Pe
erusahaan Gas
G Negara
a), the domin
nant natural gas pipeline
e operator th
hat is
partly sta
ate- and pu
ublicly owne
ed, is gradu
ually moving
g into the u
upstream business as well,
including
g pursuing unconvention
u
nal gas dev
velopment. Foreign com
mpanies acttive in Indonesia
include Chevron,
C
To
otal, Conoco
oPhillips, Ex
xxonMobil, and BP, ass well as nu
umerous sm
maller
Indonesia
an and foreign operators
s.
June, 2013
XX
XIII-3
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
ARIs
A
review
w of publishe
ed geologic literature indicates thatt Indonesia has a numb
ber of
onshore sedimentary
y basins whiich may hav
ve shale gass/oil potentia
al. These incclude the Ce
entral
b
on Sumatra Islan
nd; the Kuteii and Taraka
an basins in Kalimantan
n; and
and Soutth Sumatra basins
smaller, structurally complex ba
asins in eas
stern Indone
esia (Salawa
ati, Bintuni, Tomori). O
Other
n Indonesia appear
a
to be
e less prosp
pective due tto low TOC, high clay an
nd CO2 conttents,
basins in
and/or ex
xcessive stru
uctural comp
plexity.
The
T petroleum source ro
ocks in onsh
hore Indonessian basins are relative
ely young, m
mostly
Eocene to
t Pliocene, with older Permian
P
sou
urce rocks p resent in the
e east, Figure XXIII-2. Their
depositio
onal setting ranges
r
from deepwater marine in ea
astern Indon
nesia to mostly lacustrine
e and
deltaic en
nvironments
s in central and
a western Indonesia. Many of Ind
donesias orrganic-rich shales
are non-marine coaly deposits that
t
may nott be brittle e
enough for sshale develo
opment. MIGAS,
nd gas reg
gulator in In
ndonesia, h as estimate
ed the coun
ntrys shale
e gas
the upsttream oil an
resource
es at 574 Tc
cf. Howeve
er, neither th
he methodo logy nor the
e basis of this estimate
e has
been rep
ported.
Figure XXIII-2. Straatigraphy of Source

S
Rocks and Conventiional Petroleuum Reservoirss in Indonesia.
BASIN
ERA
NORTH SUMATRA
PER
RIOD
EPOCH
QUATE
ERNARY
Pleistocene
Pliocene
SUMA
ATRA
CENTRAL SUMATRA SOUTH SU
UMATRA
F
Julu Rayou
Serula
Minas
Kasaal
EAST KALIMANTAN
KUTEI
TARAKAN
R
Kampung Baru
Petani
Muara Enim
E
Balikpapan
Telisa/Duri
CENOZOIC
Baong
Peutu/Arrun/Belumai
TERTTIARY
Bampo
Oligocene
Eocene
Jeuku
Bruksah
Air Benakat
Batu Raja
R
Baangko Bekasan
Manggala
Pem
matang Kelesa
Tarakan
Domaring
Keutapang
Miocene
Klinjau
Bebulu
Tabul
Meliat
Naintopo
Mesaloi
Seilor
Sujan
OMORI
TO
EAST IND
DONESIA
BULA
SALAWATI
BINTUNII
N
Biak
K
Kintom
Wahai/Fufa
Poh/Mantawa
Sele
Klasaman
Steenkool
Klasafet
Klasafett
M
Minahaki
M
Matindok
Salas
Tomoori
Kais
Klamogun
Kais
New Guinea Lst
Gumaai
Talang Akar
Lemataang
Lahaat
Bassal clastic
Pamaluan
Atan
Sirga
Faumai
Sembakung
Faumai
Nief
BOH
Waripi
Waripi
Paleocene
Kembelang
Upper
Bangggai Granites
Lower
MESOZOIC
Jass
Kola Sh
Upper
Kembelanggan
(Roabiba-Aalenian Ss)
S
Middle
JURA
ASSIC
Lower
Manusela/
Saman Saman
Lst
Upper
TRIA
ASSIC
PALEOZOIC
Sawai
PERMIAN
Kanikeh
Saku
Middle
Lower
Upper
Tehoru/Taunusa
Lower
CARBON
NIFEROUS
DEVO
ONIAN
SILU
URIAN
Aifam
Kemum
Source Rock
R
June, 2013
Tipuma
XX
XIII-4
Conventional Reservoiir
Absent/Unknown
Tipuma
Aifam
Group
CRETA
ACEOUS
Ainnim
Aifat
Aim
mau
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
NORTH,
N
CE
ENTRAL, AND
A
SOUTH
H SUMATR
RA BASINS
S
1.1
In
ntroduction
Sumatra
S
has
s shale oil and
a
gas potential in th
hree deep b
basin complexes: the N
North,
Central, and South Sumatra

S
bas
sins, Figure XXIII-3. Th e North Sum
matra Basin produces m
mainly
onal gas botth onshore and
a offshore
e. Howeverr, gas producction has de
eclined sharply in
conventio
this basin and the Arun
A
LNG export
e
facility
y is being cconverted to
o handle LN
NG imports. The
S
Ba
asin produce
es mainly oil onshore, notably 300
0,000 bbl/da
ay from the Duri
Central Sumatra
thermal EOR
E
field, and
a is a majo
or consumer of natural gas for stea
am fuel. The
e South Sum
matra
Basin produces both
h oil and inc
creasing vollumes of ga
as from onshore fields. Major coal and
coalbed methane de
entral Suma
eposits also occur in So
outh and Ce
atra, while N
North Sumatra is
largely barren of coa
al. All three basins are back-arc tecctonic settin
ngs containin
ng young, ra
apidly
deposited
d and poorly
y lithified sed
dimentary ro
ocks. Heat fllow and CO2 content oftten are eleva
ated.
Fiigure XXIII-3. Prospective Shale
S
Areas in
n the Central aand South Sum
matra Basins, Indonesia.
Source: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
XX
XIII-5
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
North
N
Suma
atra Basin. A series off northsoutth trending ridges and grabens, fo
ormed
during th
he Early Olig
gocene, bec
came filled with
w predom
minantly mariine depositss. These incclude
deep ma
arine claystones, shales and shallow
w water limesstones on sttructural highs, while sh
hallow
water de
eltaic facies formed in the southeas
st. The main
n source rocks are the Middle Mio
ocene
Lower Baong shale and the Ea
arly Miocene
e Belumai ccalcareous shale. The
e Late Oligo
ocene
b
shale, which form
med in localiz
zed thick an
nd euxinic d
deposits, is a
another pote
ential
Bampo black
source ro
ock.2 The Bampo
B
conta
ains thick, de
eep marine claystones, mudstones and dark shales
and is the
e main source rock for gas
g fields in the northern
n part of the North Suma
atra Basin.
Thermal
T
maturity of the Baong, Belumai, and B
Bampo shalles is gas-prone but TO
OC is
low, seld
dom exceeding 1% (Typ
pe III) while clay is abu
undant (mosstly smectite
e). CO2 and
d H2S
contamin
nation are fairly common
n: output from
m the Arun g
gas field ave
erages about 20% CO2, while
the Peutu
u carbonate reservoir co
ontains 82%
% CO2. Overrall, these so
ource rocks appear to b
be too
low in TO
OC and possibly ductile due to their shallow de
epth, rapid b
burial, high cclay contentt, and
young ag
ge. There ha
ave been no
o reports of shale
s
explorration activityy in the Nortth Sumatra B
Basin
and we do
d not consid
der it to be prospective
p
for
f shale gass/oil develop
pment.
Central
C
Sum
matra Basin
n. Sumatras most imp
portant oil-prroducing reg
gion, the Ce
entral
Sumatra Basin is a trans-tensio
onal pull-apa
art basin bo
ounded by m
major strike--slip faults to the
d south. It developed
d
during the La
ate Cretaceo
ous to Early Tertiary in a back-arc se
etting
north and
as a resu
ult of the Ind
dian Ocean plate subdu
ucting at an oblique ang
gle beneath Southeast Asia.
The basin comprises
s a series off north-south
h trending fa
ault-bounded
d troughs th
hat are sepa
arated
ed horst blo
ocks. The troughs
t
bec
came filled w
with non-ma
arine clasticc, lacustrine, and
by uplifte
marine sediments. Sedimentatio
S
on began witth deposition
n of continental sediments followed
d by a
transgres
ssive/regressive marine
e cycle that started in L
Late Oligoce
ene or Earlyy Miocene. The
Paleogen
ne Pematan
ng Group, Lower Mioce
ene Sihapass Group, and Middle Miocene/ Plio
ocene
Petani Group are the
e main Tertia
ary units.
The
T
Brown Shale Form
mation within the Pem
matang Grou
up is consiidered the most
important oil-generatting formatio
on in the So
outh Sumatra
a Basin, havving generated an estim
mated
60 billion
n barrels an
nd sourced the giant Duri
D
and Mi nas oil field
ds.3,4
The overlying m
marine
Menggala sandstone
es are the main conve
entional pettroleum reservoirs in C
Central Sum
matra,
orted quartzo
ose to subarkosic sandsstones with average >2
20% porosityy and
consisting of well-so
D of permea
ability.
1,500 mD
June, 2013
XX
XIII-6
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
The
T Brown Shale
S
is a lac
custrine-form
med unit, de
eposited in a freshwaterr to brackish
h lake
system with
w anoxic bottom
b
cond
ditions. Varia
ation in oil ccomposition within the b
basin is attrib
buted
to local facies
f
chang
ges which re
eflect the dis
stribution of productivity and paleocclimate conditions
during source rock deposition that resulte
ed in varyin g proportion
ns of algal and terrige
enous
m
The organic-rich
h portion of the
t Brown S
Shale is about 295 ft thicck and is 66
600 to
organic matter.
10,500 ftt deep in the
e troughs (a
average deptth 8,500 ft). Mean TOC
C for this un
nit throughou
ut the
basin is approximate
a
ely 3.7%, rea
aching 7.3% at the well--exposed Ka
arbindo coal mine, with m
mean
25.3 mg HC/g rock petroleum
p
ge
eneration capacity.5
Two
T
organic--rich facies occur
o
within
n the Brown Shale Form
mation. The
e deep lacusstrine
facies co
onsist of darrk brown to black, well laminated, non-calcare
eous shales, containing
g 1 to
15% TOC
C that consis
sts of Types
s I and II kerrogen. The sshallow lacu
ustrine faciess consists of redbrown laminated carbonate and terrigenous mudstones with occasio
onal coal strringers. Thiss unit
4% TOC, derived from algae that ressulted in oil--prone Type I kerogen.6
contains average 3.4
The
T Keruh, Kiliran,
K
Sang
gkarewang, Lakat, and Kelesa Form
mations also
o can be org
ganic
rich, but these are re
elatively imm
mature therm
mally and m
may not be b
brittle. The U. Miocene to L.
Pliocene Binio Form
mation, part of the Petan
ni Group, co
ontains a se
equence of medium- to
o light
grey clay
ystones and
d minor san
ndstones tha
at are charg
ged with low
w-CO2 and isotopicallyy light
biogenic gas. The Binio
B
Fm is overlain by
y the Late P
Pliocene Korrinci Formation, a regre
essive
e of claysto
ones, siltsto
ones, sands
stones, and minor coa
al deposited
d under a ffluvial
sequence
environm
ment.7 The Binio
B
and Ko
orinci formattions are no
ot considered
d to be prosspective for sshale
gas/oil de
evelopment..
South
S
Suma
atra Basin. This basin is a significcant conven
ntional oil an
nd gas producing
area as well as a fo
ocus of coallbed methan
ne exploratio
on. The ba
asin containss late Eocene to
eposits of clastic
c
sediments in ttranspressio
onal pull-apart depresssions.
early Oligocene de
ate Oligocen
ne to the earrly Miocene, enabling m
marine
Thermal subsidence followed riftting in the la
ns to depos
sit fine-grain
ned marine sequences in lows an
nd reefal bu
uildups on highincursion
standing blocks. Co
ontinued sub
bsidence dro
owned the ca
arbonate syystem and ca
aused deposition
es and marls that later became gas-prone hyd
drocarbon so
ource
of organic-rich deep-water shale
ortheast-dire
ected comprression and tectonic inve
ersion began
n in the mid-Miocene, F
Figure
rocks. No
XXIII-4. An estimate
ed 50-90% of
o the faults in
i the basin are potentia
ally active an
nd may be a
at risk
of being triggered du
uring large-sc
cale hydraullic fracturing
g.8
June, 2013
XX
XIII-7
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
Fiigure XXIII-4. Regional and Detailed Crosss Sections off the South Suumatra Basin,, Indonesia.
Source: Hennnings et al., 2012
Petroleum
P
so
ource rock shales
s
in the
e South Su matra Basin
n include alluvial, lacusstrine,
and brac
ckish-water sediments
s
in
n the Lahat Formation
F
a
and coals an
nd coaly sha
ales in the Ta
alang
Akar Forrmation.9 Th
hese units re
each a gross
s thickness o
of approxima
ately 1 km. Mid-late Eo
ocene
to early Oligocene
O
in age, the La
ahat can be oilo or gas-p rone depend
ding on loca
ation.
Because
B
of limited
l
data, the Lahat Formation was not qu
uantitatively assessed. The
Talang Akar
A
Formation is up to over 1 km thick
t
in the South Palem
aging
mbang sub--basin, avera
1,300 ft thick.
t
TOC ranges from
m 1.7% to 8.5%, locally reaching 16
6%. Therma
al maturity is low
(Ro 0.5%
%) down to about
a
6,000
0 ft depth, in
ncreasing to
o about 0.9%
% Ro at a d
depth of 8,000 ft,
averaging about 0.7%
% Ro at 7,00
00 ft.
June, 2013
XX
XIII-8
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
The
T
Miocene
e Muara Enim Formatio
on of the So
outh Sumattra Basin co
ontains impo
ortant
coal and coalbed me
ethane resou
urces that were
w
deposite
ed in a coasstal plain environment d
during
all regressive
e cycle, resu
ulting in a th
hick sequencce of mainlyy clastic sandstone, siltsstone,
an overa
coal, and
d coaly shale.10 Therma
al maturity is quite low, reaching o
only about 0.4% to 0.45% Ro
within tro
oughs up to 4,000 ft deep. Overall, the Muara
a Enim Fm is a coaly an
nd probably nonbrittle no
on-marine deposit,
d
too shallow an
nd thermallyy immature
e to be favorable for sshale
developm
ment.
1.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T general location of the prospecttive deep tro
oughs in the
e Central and
d South Sum
matra
basins is
s well constra
ained by pub
blic data butt, unfortunattely, not the detailed dep
pth distributiion of
the shale
e formations
s.11 Howev
ver, proprieta
ary maps d
developed b
by ARI for ccoalbed metthane
exploratio
on in these basins provided improved control o
on depth and
d thermal maturity, indiccating
that abou
ut 5% of the total basin area
a
could be
b depth- an
nd thermal-p
prospective ffor shale oil. The
North Su
umatra Basin
n is not cons
sidered prosp
pective.
prospective
Central
C
Sum
matra. The high-graded
h
e area for th
he Brown Sh
hale Formatiion in
2
the Centtral Sumatra
a Basin is es
stimated at 4,700-mi
4
ba
ased on the
e extent of th
he deep trou
ughs.
Within th
his prospective area the Brown Shalle averages 266 ft thickk (net) with a
an average d
depth
of 8,530 ft. Average
e TOC is esttimated at 6..0% and is i n the oil win
ndow (Ro of 0.8%). Presssure
gradient is normal an
nd the clay content
c
is co
onsidered me
edium.
South
S
Suma
atra Basin. The Eocene
e to Oligocen
ne Talang A
Akar Formation is prospe
ective
within a large 15,49
90-mi2 area and estima
ated to have
e a 367-ft tthick high-graded zone
e with
a
0.7% Ro.
average 5% TOC and
The pre
essure grad
dient is norm
mal and the
e clay conte
ent is
ed high.
considere
1.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Central
C
Sum
matra Basin
n. Risked, technically recoverable
e resources from the B
Brown
Shale are
e estimated at 3.3 Tcf of
o associated
d gas and 2. 8 billion barrrels of shale
e oil out of 4
42 Tcf
and 69 billion
b
barrels
s of shale gas and shale oil in-placce (all figuress risked). A
ARI considerrs the
shale oil resource in
n the Centra
al Sumatra Basin
B
to be the most prospective sshale potenttial in
a, particularly given th
he extensive
e drilling an
nd transport
rtation infrasstructure alrready
Indonesia
present in what is the
e countrys most
m
importa
ant oil-produ
ucing region..
June, 2013
XX
XIII-9
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
South
S
Suma
atra Basin. The Talang
g Akar Form
mation has a
an estimated
d 4.1 Tcf and 4.1
billion ba
arrels of technically reco
overable shale gas and
d shale oil re
esources, o
out of 68 Tcf and
136 billio
on barrels off shale gas and oil in-place (all figu
ures are riskked).
While
e larger than the
estimated
d Brown Sha
ale oil resou
urce in Centrral Sumatra,, there is mu
uch less pub
blic data available
on the Ta
alang Akar.
1.4
Shale
S
Leasing and Ex
xploration Activity
A
Four shale gas
g
joint stu
udies totalin
ng 5,000 km
m2 in the C
Central Sum
matra Basin were
X
(No
ote that altho
ough classiffied as shale
e gas
initiated by MIGAS in March 2012, Figure XXIII-5.
studies, the main source rocks
s here actually are in the oil wind
dow.)
Fourr companiess are
ng these bloc
cks, includin
ng Bukit Ene
ergy Inc., AW
WE Limited, and New Ze
ealand Oil & Gas
evaluatin
(NZOG).12 Although Indonesia does
d
not yett have forma
al shale licen
nsing regula
ations, these
e joint
e
co
ould lead to Indonesias first shale ga
as PSCs.
studies eventually
Figure XXIII-5.
X
Locatiion of Severall Approved Sh
hale Gas Jointt-Study Areas in The Centraal Sumatra Baasin.
Source: Moddified from AWE

E Limited, April 2012
2
June, 2013
XXIII-10
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
Calgary-base
C
ed Bukit is a small private oil and
d gas E&P company that operate
es or
participattes in seve
eral conventtional petrolleum licensses in the C
Central and
d North Sum
matra
basins. Bukit also has
h applied for unconve
entional sha le gas/oil exxploration blocks in Sum
matra
cipates an aw
ward during 2013.
and antic
Earlier
E
this ye
ear Australia
a-based AW
WE announce
ed that they planned to make a deccision
about the
eir study during Q3 201
12, but to da
ate no decission has bee
en released..13 New Zea
aland
based NZOG
N
holds
s convention
nal petroleu
um PSCs iin the Centtral (Kisaran
n) and Norrthern
(Bohorok
k) Sumatra basins,
b
partn
nering with Bukit
B
in eac h block, and
d also reportts it is evalu
uating
shale ga
as opportunities nearby. No shale
e-related drillling has be
een disclose
ed in Sumattra or
anywhere
e in Indones
sia.
KUTEI
K
AND
D TARAKAN
N BASINS
2.1
In
ntroduction
The
T
Kutei (or Kutai) is Indonesias
I
largest sed
dimentary ba
asin, its 36,000-mi2 onsshore
portion centered arou

und the Mah
hakam Delta
a in eastern Kalimantan,, Figure XXIII-6. The Ku
utei is
o and gas producing
p
re
egion in Indo
onesia afterr Central Sumatra as we
ell as
the second largest oil
Indonesia
as largest gas
g producerr. The Bontang LNG exxport facility on the coasst is the main
n gas
market within
w
this lightly popullated region
n, with a ca
apacity of 2
22.5 million t/yr.
How
wever,
Bontang has been operating at about 16 million t//yr due to declining cconventionall gas
productio
on in East Ka
alimantan.
up the coast in northe
The
T
7,510-m
mi2 Tarakan Basin, loca
ated north u
east Kalima
antan,
contains a similar se
edimentary sequence
s
as
s the Kutei Basin. Fluvvio-deltaic to
o shallow m
marine
shales off Late Eocen
ne age are overlain
o
by Oligocene
O
to
o Early Mioccene open m
marine carbo
onate
platforms
s. Finally Mid-Miocene
M
to Quaterna
ary fluvio-de
eltaic sandsttone, shales, and coals were
deposited
d. The entiire sequenc
ce has been gently defo
ormed with NE-SW tren
nding folds. The
main sou
urce rocks are
a Mid-Late Miocene co
oals and coa
aly shales o
of the Tabul Formation, while
fluvial-de
eltaic sandsttones of the
e Tabul and Plio-Pleisto
ocene Tarakkan Formatiion are the main
conventio
onal reservo
oirs.
June, 2013
XXIII-11
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
Fig
gure XXIII-6. Prospective
P
Shale
S
Areas in the Kutei andd Tarakan Bassins, Eastern K
Kalimantan.
Source: ARI, 2013
The
T Kutei Ba
asin is bound
ded by the Mangkaliat
M
P
Platform on the north, tthe Kuching High
on the west,
w
and the Paternos
ster High on
o the south
h.
It develloped by riffting and syyn-rift
depositio
on during the mid-late Eocene.
E
De
eep marine sediments w
were depossited in the basin
center du
uring the late
e Eocene to
o late Oligoc
cene, with a carbonate p
platform devveloped alon
ng the
basin edge. Figure XXIII-7 sho
ows the gene
eral structurre of the Ku
utei Basin an
nd illustratess that
these ma
arine mudroc
cks are mostly deeper th
han 5 km in the onshore
e basin exten
nt.
June, 2013
XXIII-12
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
Figu
ure XXIII-7. Geeneralized Easst-West Trend
ding Structuraal Cross-Sectioon Across thee Kutei Basin,
Showing Marine Mu
udrocks Mostlyy Deeper thann 5 Km in the O
Onshore Areaas.
Source: Ram
mdhan and Gouty, 2011
The
T main sou
urce rocks recognized
r
in
n the Kutei Basin are M
Mid-Late Mio
ocene mudsttones
and carb
bonaceous shales, with essentially
e
all
a of the convventional oill and gas pro
oduction sou
urced
from thes
se shallowerr Neogene flluvio-deltaic deposits. T
These source
e rocks also
o are the prin
ncipal
shale gas/oil explora
ation targets
s in the basin. Prograd ing deposition during th
he early Mio
ocene
formed deltaic
d
sedim
ments, which
h are rich in
n Type III o
organic mattter in coal sseams and coaly
mudstones. Therma
al maturity of this sequence in the d
deeper troug
ghs is oil-pro
one, ranging from
0
Ro.14
0.6% to 0.9%
The
T
mostly deltaic
d
Mioc
cene shales
s of the Ballikpapan Grroup in the Kutei Basin
n are
characterized by a depositional
d
environmen
nt rich in lan
nd-plant matterial and co
ontaining Tyype III
kerogen.15 TOC ranges from 2%
% to 6% (av
verage 4%) b
but some inttervals have
e over 20% T
TOC.
ale, sand, an
nd coal sequ
uence is ove
er 3,000 feett thick in ma
any areas. D
Depth
The interrbedded sha
to the top
p of the oil generative
g
zone
z
(0.7% Ro) average s 9,000 feett in the onsh
hore Kutei B
Basin,
while Mio
ocene rocks
s become overmature
o
for
f gas belo
ow 19,000 fft depth. Shale oil pote
ential
appears to be largely
y confined to
o the eastern
n Kalimantan
n coast and productive M
Mahakam Delta.
Structural
S
de
eformation started
s
durin
ng the midd
dle Miocene
e, forming steep north-ssouth
trending anticlines with
w more ge
entle synclin
nes. Rapid deposition followed by basin unloa
ading
he Neogene resulted in significant overpressur
o
re, caused b
by gas gene
eration and w
water
during th
being tra
apped in lith
hifying sandstones due to interbed
dded mudsto
one seals. Overpressu
uring,
ranging up
u to more than twice hydrostatic
h
levels
l
(1.0 p
psi/ft), is pre
esent throug
ghout the co
oastal
June, 2013
XXIII-13
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
portion of
o the Kutei Basin starting below a depth of ab
bout 7,000 fft and accelerating marrkedly
below ab
bout 12,000 ft, Figure XX
XIII-8.16 The
e average ssurface temp
perature in th
he Kutei Basin is
30C and
d the averag
ge geothermal gradient is
s about 30C
C/km.
Figure XX
XIII-8. Pressure Gradients in
i the Kutei Basin Can Reacch 1.0 psi/ft B
Below Depths of About 12,000 ft.
Thermal Maturity is Oil-Prone to Im
mmature, with a Very Low Roo/Depth Gradiient.
Source: Ram
mdhan and Gouty, 2011
Further north in the Tara

akan Basin, the
t basin co
ontains Eoce
ene to Mioce
ene deep m
marine
deposits overlain by
y mostly non-marine cla
astic sedime
ents of Miocene and yyounger age
e that
were dep
posited unde
er deltaic co
onditions. The
T principall source rocck is the Late Miocene T
Tabul
Formatio
on, along wiith the Early
y Miocene Naintupo an
nd Middle M
Miocene Me
eliat formatio
ons.17
Unfortunately, these three sourc
ce rocks are
e coal-rich d
deltaic depossits that are
e considered
d less
prospective for shale
e gas explora
ation.
The
T
Naintupo
o contains deltaic sequ
uences of sshale with ffair to good
d organic ca
arbon
content, ranging from
m 1.6% to 12
2.1% (averag
ge 5%). Ke rogen is ma
ainly Type III along with ssome
ate the Nain
ntupo Fm is 1,000 to 1,5
500 feet thick (average 1
1,250
Type II. Well penetrrations indica
ft thick). Depth rang
ges from 6,0
000 ft to ov
ver 16,000 fe
eet (average
e 11,500 ft)). Well data
a and
story modeliing indicate the Naintup
po Fm is in the dry gass window (R
Ro 1.3% to 2
2.0%,
burial his
averaging 1.5%). Lo
ocal structurral uplifts may elevate tthe Naintupo
o to shallow
wer and therrmally
less matu
ure levels, where
w
it could
d be oil pron
ne.
June, 2013
XXIII-14
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
The
T
overlying
g Middle Miocene Melia
at Formation
n includes sshales and cclaystones a
along
with sand
dstone, coal, and dolom
mite layers. Total
T
organicc carbon of tthe deltaic cclays rangess from
0.7% to 6.5% (avera
age 3% TOC
C), mainly Type III kerog
gen. The M
Meliat Forma
ation ranges from
3,300 to 6,600 ft thick (average
e 5,000). Depth varies from 3,300 feet on bassin highs to over
13,000 fe
eet in the trroughs (ave
erage depth 10,000 ft). Thermal h
history analyysis indicates the
Meliat ha
as wet gas maturity
m
(1.0 to 1.3% Ro).
The
T
predominant source
e rocks of th
he Tarakan Basin are shales of th
he Late Mio
ocene
Tabul Fo
ormation, again a non-m
marine, deltaic sequence
e. TOC rang
ges from 0.5
5% to 4%, h
higher
in coal-rich sequence
es. Both lith
hologies con
ntain mixture
es of Type III and III kero
ogen. The T
Tabul
Formatio
on averages about 3,300 feet thick, of which a
approximately 1,500 fee
et is organicc-rich,
while depth ranges from 3,300 feet to 6,600 feet. W
Well data an
nd modeling indicate vittrinite
reflectance averages
s 0.7%, in the oil window
w.
2.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Kutei
K
Basin. Lacustrine
e mudstones
s and carbon
naceous sha
ales in the M
Mid-Late Mio
ocene
Balikpapan Fm are estimated to

t be prospective within
n a 1,630-m
mi2 area nea
ar the Maha
akam
ased on limitted cross-se
ection data and
a augmen ted by ARI-p
proprietary ccoalbed metthane
Delta, ba
mapping. These sh
hales are oiil-prone (Ro 0.7%) even
n at averag
ge 9,000 ft depth within
n this
y immature basin.
thermally
Ne
et thickness is estimate
ed at 450 ft
ft, with averrage 4.0% T
TOC.
Reservoiir pressure is
s elevated above
a
hydros
static.
Tarakan
T
Bas
sin. Three shale-bearing targets a
are present at varying thermal ma
aturity
(oil- to gas-prone). Depth was estimated based
b
on lim
mited cross-ssection data
a and propriietary
m
develop
ped by ARI. Figure XX
XIII-9 is a w
west-east trending strucctural
coalbed methane maps
ction across
s the onsh
hore north-c
central Tara
akan Basin,, showing g
generally simple
cross-sec
structural conditions. The L. Miiocene Tabu
ul Fm avera ges 600 ft tthick (net) and 5,000 ft deep
within its
s 510-mi2 pro
ospective arrea, and has
s 3.0% avera
age TOC that is in the o
oil window ((0.7%
Ro). The
e Meliat Fo
ormation occ
curs at 10,0
000-ft averag
ge depth an
nd is mostlyy in the wett gas
window (R
( o 1.15%), while
w
the Na
aintupo Form
mation avera
ages 11,500 ft deep and is dry-gas-p
prone
(Ro 1.5%
%).
June, 2013
XXIII-15
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
Figure XXIII-9.
X
West--East Trending
g Structural Cross-section
C
Across the Onshore North-Central Tarakkan
Basin, Showing
S
Geneerally Simple Structural Conditions. Souurce Rocks off the Tabul Forrmation Occur at
Pro
ospective Dep
pths of 1 to 2 Km
K with Oil-prone Ro of 0.66% to 0.7%. Veertical Exaggeeration = 3x.
Source: Subbroto et al., 20055
2.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Kutei
K
Basin. Based on the geologic
c conditions described a
above, the B
Balikpapan F
Fm in
the Kuteii Basin has an

a estimated
d 1.3 Tcf and
d 0.7 billion barrels of rissked, technically recove
erable
shale ga
as and shale
e oil resourc
ces, out of risked
r
shale
e gas and o
oil in-place o
of 16 Tcf an
nd 17
billion ba
arrels. Note that this unitt is coaly and may not b
be brittle.
Tarakan
T
Bas
sin. The oil--prone Tabu
ul Formation has an estimated 0.2 T
Tcf and 0.3 b
billion
barrels of
o technically
y recoverable shale gas
s and shale
e oil resourcces, out of 3
3.8 Tcf and 10.6
billion ba
arrels of sha
ale gas and shale oil in-place (riske d). The gass-prone Naintupo and M
Meliat
formation
ns have an estimated
e
5 and 4 Tcf off risked, tech
hnically reco
overable sha
ale gas resou
urces
out of 35
5 and 25 Tcff of risked sh
hale gas in-p
place, respe
ectively. In a
addition, the Meliat Fm h
has a
small volume (0.04 billion
b
barrels
s) of technically recovera
able conden
nsate from shale.
2.4
Activity
A
No
N shale gas
s/oil leasing or
o exploratio
on activity ha
as been repo
orted in the Kutei or Tarrakan
basins.
June, 2013
XXIII-16
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
EASTERN
E
INDONESIA
A BASINS
3.1
In
ntroduction
n and Geologic Settings
Eastern
E
Indo
onesian sediimentary ba
asins are ma
arkedly diffe
erent from tthose in we
estern
Indonesia
a, with sign
nificantly old
der deposits
s generally reflecting a more ma
arine characcter.18
Sulawesi and the islands of eastern
e
Indo
onesia have
e some of the countryys only ma
arinedeposited
d (non-lacus
strine) shale
e. Thermal maturity is h
higher too, p
predominate
ely in the dryy gas
window. These bas
sins tend to be small an
nd tectonica
ally complex, thus we group them into a
single Ea
astern Indonesian region
n for analysis
s, Figure XX
XIII-10.
Figure XXIII-10. Prospectivve Shale Areass in Eastern Inndonesia.
Source: ARI, 2013
June, 2013
XXIII-17
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
The
T
Salawatti and Bintuni basins in
n the Birdss Head region of weste
ern West P
Papua
contain thick source rocks of Pe
ermian age that
t
are rich in Type III coals with ssome contrib
bution
ermature Jurassic marin
ne shales co
ontaining Tyypes II/III ke
erogen. Ho
owever, the main
from ove
source ro
ock is Late Miocene
M
marine shales and marlsto
ones of the K
Kais and Kla
asafet formattions,
which co
ontain Types
s II/III kerog
gen. The Klasafet
K
is o
overlain by thick regresssive shaless and
sandston
nes of the Plio-Pleistocene Klasama
an Formation
n.19 Marine m
marlstones a
and shales o
of the
Klasaman and Kais//Klasafet formations are
e potential shale oil targets. Theyy contain m
mainly
Type II/IIII kerogen, albeit
a
with re
elatively low
w TOC of 0.3
%.20 The Kla
asafet is 1,000 to
3% to 1.1%
over 2,00
00 feet thick in deep trou
ughs, with depth ranging
g from 5,000
0 ft in the ea
ast to over 12
2,000
ft in the Sele Strait and
a Salawati Island to the north an
nd west. Th
hermal matu
urity reachess wet
o 10,000 fee
et.21
gas levells (1.0% Ro) at a depth of
The
T
Klasama
an Formation contains organic-rich
o
shales with
h average 1.7% TOC (rrange
0.6% to 2.3%), main
nly Type II and III kero
ogen. It ran
nges from 3
3,000 to 5,00
00 ft thick in the
Salawati Basin, about 15 to 20% of which contains ellevated TOC
C above 1%
%. Depth ra
anges
from less
s than 3,000
0 ft to more than 10,000
0 ft. Biomarrker data ind
dicate the Kllasaman sou
urced
oil seeps
s in the north
h, where calculated vitrinite reflecta nce values approach 0..7% Ro and up to
1.0% in deeper
d
parts
s of the Salawati Basin.
Bintuni
B
Basiin. The Binttuni Basin, lo
ocated in the
e eastern sid
de of the Birrds Head re
egion,
appears to have the
e simplest sttructural con
nditions and
d best shale
e prospectivity in the ea
astern
Indonesia
a region. The Bintuni Basin
B
is bord
dered to the
e east by the
e Lengguru Fold/Thrust Belt.
The stra
atigraphic se
ection resem
mbles that of the Sala
awati Basin,, with prese
erved Paleo
ozoic,
Mesozoic
c, and Tertia
ary units. Basement consists of Sil urian and D
Devonian me
etamorphic rrocks.
These arre unconform
mably overla
ain by Carbo
oniferous an
nd Upper Pe
ermian clastiic sedimentss and
shales of
o shallow marine
m
origiin (Aifam Group).
G
Ne
ext are inte
erbedded flu
uvial shaless and
sandston
nes of the Triassic-Jura
T
assic Tipuma
a Formation
n and Creta
aceous delta
aic shales o
of the
Kembela
angen Forma
ation.
Limited oil production frrom New Guinea Grou p limestone
es (Kais/Klasafet equiva
alent)
t 1990s ARCO
A
Indon
nesia discovvered the W
Wiriagar Deep
p gas
occurred during the 1930s. In the
s from Midd
dle Jurassic Roabiba a
and Aalenia
an sandston
ne reservoirss and
field, whiich produces
is exportted via the Tangguh LN
NG facility.222 Some so urce rock studies disco
ount the Kla
asafet
shales, since
s
they arre typically im
mmature and
d low in orga
anic contentt, mostly und
der 1% TOC.23
June, 2013
XXIII-18
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
More
M
importa
ant are the Permian and Jurassic ssediments, a
analyzed be
elow for sha
ale oil
potential. The Aifat and
a Ainim fo
ormations are
a the respe
ective lowerr and upper members o
of the
up and con
nsidered to be the mai n hydrocarb
bon generatting rocks in
n the
Permian Aifam Grou
Bintuni.
The older Aifat consists of blac

ck marine ccalcareous sshales.
Lim
mited data show
y modest TO
OC of 1.0% to 1.8%, av
veraging 1.5
5%. Gross thickness ca
an exceed 3
3,500
relatively
feet, whille depth can
n exceed 12,000 ft in the
e Bintuni Bassin.
The
T overlying
g Ainim Form
mation also contains
c
callcareous sha
ales, althoug
gh deposited
d in a
more deltaic setting. Source roc
ck thickness is approxim
mately 2,400 feet. Depth
h averages a
about
eet. This unit contains adequate
a
orrganic matte
er with abund
dant coal se
eams. Hydrrogen
10,000 fe
index is over 300 mg
m HC/g. Vitrinite reflec
ctance is sh
harply lower (0.66% Ro) in the overlying
Ainim compared with
h the older Aifat,
A
indicating an uncon
nformity with
hin the Perm
mian.
In
n addition to
t the Permian, the Jurassic Tipuma Form
mation may be a potential
hydrocarrbon source.. The Tipum
ma contains sandstones and carbon
naceous sha
ales. Analysses of
the shallo
ow marine shales
s
indica
ate maximum
m TOC of 4.5
5 and 7.6%,, mainly hum
mic kerogen. The
Tipuma ranges
r
from 4,000 to nearly 8,000 fe
eet deep. N
Near the Binttuni Basins western limiit, the
Jurassic shales are in the immatture-mature oil window, a
at about 0.6
6% Ro.
The
T Tomori Basin
B
of eastern Sulawe
esi shares m
many similaritties with the
e Salawati/Bintuni
basins, from
f
which iti was transported along
g strike-slip faults. The
e Tomori is a foreland basin
within the
e greater Ba
anggai-Sula
a micro-contiinent, a fold
d-thrust system that devveloped follo
owing
Pliocene collision and
a
thrusting
g of contine
ental crust over ophiolitic materia
al.
Oil and
d gas
on began du
uring the 1980s, resultin
ng in the disscovery of th
he Senoro g
giant gas fie
eld in
exploratio
2001.24 Oil and gas are produce
ed from frac
ctured limesttones of the Lower Mioccene, source
ed by
w
the con
ntemporaneo
ous Tomori Formation,
F
w
which is similar to the Klasafet Fm.
shales within
The
T
Lower Miocene
M
Tom
mori Fm, ran
nging from 5
500 to 1,000
0 ft thick, also is a pote
ential
target for shale exp
ploration. It comprises marine and
d carbonace
eous shale a
along with ssome
e and coal, with the upper section typically mo
ore deltaic in origin. TO
OC is fairly high,
limestone
averaging 2 to 4% and
a
consistiing of Type II/III keroge
en. The low
wer marine section con
ntains
higher Ty
ype II keroge
en but TOC generally is
s less than 1 %. The Tom
mori Fm atta
ains 0.5% Ro at a
depth of 7,200 ft, bec
coming gas prone (> 1.0
0% Ro) below
w a depth off about 11,30
00 ft.25
June, 2013
XXIII-19
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
Finally, the Bula Basin in northeast Seram

S
island
d contains M
Mesozoic to M
Mid-Tertiary open
p
and oceanic dep
posits, including clays, limestones, and thin sa
andstones. This
marine pelagic
assembla
age later co
ollided with Irian Jaya an
nd the Austrralian contin
nental shelf.2
26 Conventtional
oil, sourrced from Triassic-Jura
T
assic marine
e carbonate
e Type II mudstone ssource rockks, is
produced
d from fractu
ured Jurass
sic limestone
e as well ass from Plio-P
Pleistocene marginal m
marine
sandston
nes and lime
estones.27
3.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Only
O
the Binttuni Basin had sufficient data to evvaluate shale
e gas/oil resservoir prope
erties
and reso
ources, while
e the other areas
a
(Salaw
wati, Tomori, Bula) lacke
ed adequate data for dettailed
analysis.
Bintuni
B
Basin. Figure XXIII-1 sho
ows a WSW
W-ENE trend
ding structural cross-se
ection
across th
he east-central Bintuni Basin.28 According
A
to this interprretation, the Permian shales
here are too deep but
b marine shales
s
within
n the Klasaffet Fm dip g
gently to the
e east and a
are at
o 2.5 to 5 km, although as noted above thesse appear to
o have low T
TOC.
prospective depths of
Further east
e
this unitt is structura
ally deformed by thrustin
ng and not cconsidered p
prospective. The
prospective Klasafett shale area is inferred to
t be a north
h-south elon
ngated recta
angle just we
est of
the Lengguru Fold an
nd Thrust be
elt, but this unit
u was not assessed due to its low
w TOC (<1%)).
Figure XXIII-12 shows a west-east trending sttructural cro
oss-section a
across the w
westB
Basin
n. Here the
e organic-rich and prosp
pective Perm
mian Aifam Group (Aifat and
central Bintuni
Ainim forrmations) is about 1.0 to
o 3.5 km de
eep (possiblyy deeper furrther to the e
east), structurally
simple, and
a within th
he volatile oil
o to wet ga
as windows (Ro of 1.0%
% to 1.2%). The prospe
ective
Aifam Group shale region is as
ssumed to be a north--south elong
gated rectan
ngle in the w
westcentral Bintuni
B
Basin.
June, 2013
XXIII-20
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
Figuree XXIII-11. Geeneralized WS

SW-ENE Trend
ding Structuraal Cross-sectioon Across thee Bintuni Basinn,
Showing Marine Shalees in the Klasaafet Fm Dippin
ng Gently to thhe East at Proospective Depths of 2.5 to 5 Km.
Further East thiss Unit is Struccturally Deform
med and Not P
Prospective.
Source: Hill et al., 2001
Figure XXIII-12.
X
West--east Structurral Cross-section Across W
West-central Biintuni Basin. Here the Orgaanicrich and
a Prospectivve Permian Aifam Group (A
Aifat and Ainim
m formations) is about 1.0 too 3.5 Km Deepp,
Structurally Simple,
S
and Within
W
the Volaatile Oil to Wett Gas Window
ws (Ro of 1.0% to 1.2%).
Source: Cheevalier et al., 19886
June, 2013
XXIII-21
XXIII. Indonesia
3.3
EIA/ARI W
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Bintuni
B
Basiin. The pros
spective areas of the Pe
ermian Aifam
m Group hass an estimate
ed 29
Tcf of tec
chnically rec
coverable sh
hale gas res
sources out of 114 Tcf o
of gas in-pla
ace (both rissked),
as define
ed by the Ro contours of
o 1.2% to 1.8%. This m
marine-depo
osited unit ccould be the
e best
shale ga
as target in
n Indonesia,, although its location is relativelyy remote frrom markett and
services..
3.4
Shale
S
Leasing and Ex
xploration Activity
A
No
N shale gas
s/oil leasing or
o exploratio
on activity ha
as been repo
orted in easttern Indonessia.
OTHER
O
BAS
SINS
In
ndonesias other
o
onshorre sedimenta
ary basins a
appear to ha
ave limited p
gas/oil development
d
t.
These areas conta

ain mainly non-marine
e sequences of sandsstone,
siltstone,, coal, and coaly

c
shale that are nott considered
d stable and brittle enou
ugh for horizzontal
frac shale
e well completions.
Bengkulu
B
Bas
sin. Located
d in southwe
est Sumatra
a across the Barisan Mo
ountains from
m the
South
S
Sumatra Basin, this
t
relatively small an
nd structurally deformed fore-arc basin
co
ontains pred
dominantly non-marine clastic and
d sedimentary rocks of Eocene thrrough
Pleistocene
P
age.
a
Geoch
hemical ana
alyses have identified th
he Mid-Late Miocene Le
emau
Formation as
s a potentia
al source ro
ock. This unit consistts of mudsttone, calcarreous
mudstone,
m
co
oal seams, sandstone, and conglo
omerate dep
posited in a mainly shallow
marine
m
envirronment tha
at transitione
ed into man
ngrove and freshwaterr environments.29
In
ntense faulting, steep structural
s
dip
ps, low therm
mal maturityy (Ro averag
ges 0.40%), and
co
oaly non-briittle lithology
y all appearr to make th
he Bengkulu
u Basin unssuitable for sshale
gas/oil develo
opment.
Ombilin
O
Basin
n. This sma
all non-produ
ucing basin is located in
n west-centra
al Sumatra a
along
th
he eastern side
s
of the Barisan
B
Mou
untains. It iss a transpre
essional pulll-apart basin
n that
developed du
uring the Eo
ocene to Mid
ddle Oligoce
ene and wa
as later defo
ormed into ttightly
s trending northwest-southeast. T he basal Eocene Bran
ni and Oligo
ocene
spaced folds
Sangkarewan
S
ng formation
ns were dep
posited in laccustrine rift settings. T
This later evo
olved
in
nto fluvial de
eposits of th
he Late Olig
gocene Saw
wahtambang
g Formation,, followed by the
marine
m
Mioce
ene Ombilin
n Formation
n which resu
ulted from a global se
ea level rise
e and
trransgression
n.
Several
S
shalllow coal min
nes are in operation
o
alo
ong the edg
ge of the Om
mbilin Basin
n, but
only a few conventiona
al oil & ga
as explorat ion wells h
have been drilled. T
These
al sandstone
e reservoirs ccontaining n
natural gas w
with high leve
els of
encountered conventiona
June, 2013
XXIII-22
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
CO
C 2 (50-90%
%). Geochem
mical analys
ses indicate
e that shaless within the
e Sangkarew
wang,
Sawahlunto,
S
and Ombilin
n formations are the besst source roccks in the ba
asin. These units
co
ontain Type
e III kerogen
n that mostly
y has reach
hed the oil w
window (Tmaax 435-447 C).30
Overall,
O
the complex
c
stru
ucture, high CO2 conten
nt, and non--brittle naturre of the Om
mbilin
Basin
B
shales appears to make them poorly suited
d for shale g
gas/oil development.
The
T Northwest Java Bas
sin northeastt of Jakarta is one of th
he larger of the small grraben
sttructures on Java Island
d. The Jatiba
arang sub-b
basin, the onshore exten
nsion of the larger
Northwest
N
Ja
ava Basin, formed
f
by riifting during the Eocene
e when volccaniclastics, tuffs
and interbedd
ded lacustrin
ne shales we
ere deposite
ed.31 Subsid
dence contin
nued into the
e Late
Oligocene
O
an
nd Early Miocene, form
ming a seq uence of shale, coal, and sandsttones
deposited in fluvio-delta
aic, coastal,, and shallo
nts. Deposition
ow marine environmen
ainly carbon
nate during th
he Middle M
Miocene. Byy Late Miocene to Quate
ernary
evolved to ma
ence diminiished, with deposition of regresssive clasticcs and pla
atform
time subside
arbonates.
ca
Miocene
M
sandstone is th
he primary conventional
c
l oil and gass reservoir iin the Jatiba
arang
Basin,
B
source
ed mainly by
b carbonaceous shale and coal o
of the Late O
Oligocene U
Upper
Talang
T
Akar Formation. Organic material
m
conssists mainlyy of Type II and III kero
ogen.
Total
T
organic
c carbon (TO
OC) reaches
s 40-70% in coal, while the shales a
also can be fairly
3
organic-rich (0.5
(
to 9%).32
The inter--bedded sha
ale-clastic se
equence can
n be over 1,0
000 ft
hick, compris
sing coal se
eams, limesttone, and sa
andstone. Depth to the
e Talang Akkar is
th
about 7,500 to
t 11,500 ft. These non
n-marine to m
arine source
e rocks can b
be oil
marginal ma
ne, becoming increasing
gly more ma
ature offshorre. Shales in the Jatiba
arang
and gas pron
Basin
B
are co
oaly and unllikely to be brittle enou
ugh for hydrraulic fracturring in horizzontal
wells.
w
The
T
Barito Basin
B
in so
outhern Kalimantan is a large (70
0,000 km2 onshore exxtent),
sttructurally simple basin
n containing up to 6 km
m of Eocene and youn
nger sedime
entary
ro
ocks which unconforma
ably overlie the igneou
us and meta
amorphic ba
asement. M
Minor
co
onventional oil productio
on (of 30-40 API gravityy) occurs in the northern
n Barito, but most
off the basin is non-produ
uctive. Rece
ent coalbed methane exxploration is underway iin the
so
outhern Barito.
The
T
Middle Eocene
E
to la
ate Early Oligocene
O
Ta
anjung Form
mation is the
e most impo
ortant
petroleum so
ource rock, consisting
c
off fluvial and marginal ma
arine clasticc strata, inclu
uding
hin coal deposits.33 The
e formation is
i over 3,30 0 ft thick in Tanjung Fie
eld in the no
orth.34
th
High-TOC
H
sh
hale and ma
arl is concen
ntrated in itss upper secction, which reaches 2,4
400 ft
th
hick in the deep
d
southe
ern Barito Ba
asin.35 Dep
pth to the Ta
anjung range
es from 3,000 to
12,000 ft, av
veraging abo
out 6,000 ft deep in th e shallow cconventionall anticlinal ffields.
TOC
T
is unce
ertain. The Tanjung ha
as entered tthe oil wind
dow through
hout much o
of the
basin, reaching dry gas maturity
m
in th
he deepest regions. Ho
owever, the shales withiin the
Tanjung
T
Fm are
a coaly an
nd probably not
n brittle.
June, 2013
XXIII-23
XXIII. Indonesia
EIA/ARI W
Overlying
O
the
e Tanjung Fm
F are shallow carbona
ate rocks of the Late Olligocene to Early
Miocene
M
Bera
ai Formation
n, which rec
cord a region
nal marine ttransgressio
on. Above th
hese,
th
he overlying
g Plio-Pleisto
ocene Waru
ukin Formatiion containss marginal m
marine to fluvialdeltaic sedim
mentary rocks
s, including thick, low-ra
ank, sub-bituminous coa
al deposits. The
ack of signifiicant conven
ntional oil an
nd gas prod uction in the
e Barito Bassin, apart fro
om its
la
northernmostt edge, is co
onsidered a negative
n
facctor and makkes this basin unattractivve for
shale gas/oil exploration.
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29 Panggabbean, H. and Heeryanto, R., 20099. An Appraisaal for the Petroleeum Source Roccks on Oil Seepp and Rock Sam
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33 Witts, D., Hall, R., Nichols, G., and Morleey, R., 2012. A
A New Depositionnal and Provenaance Model for tthe Tanjung Form
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Petford, N.
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andd Hydrocarbon Prospects, Tanjjung Formation,, Barito
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June, 2013
XXIII-25
XXIV.
INDIA/PAKISTAN
SUMMARY
India and Pakistan contain numerous basins with organic-rich shales. For India, the
study assessed four priority basins: Cambay, Krishna-Godavari, Cauvery and Damodar Valley.
The study also screened other basins in India, such as the Upper Assam, Vindhyan, PranhitaGodavari, Rajasthan and South Rewa. However, in these basins the shales were thermally too
immature or the data for conducting a rigorous resource assessment were not available. For
Pakistan, the study addressed the areally extensive Indus Basin, Figure XXIV-1.
Figure XXIV-1. Shale Gas and Shale Oil Basins of India/Pakistan
June, 2013
XXIV-1
Overall, ARI estimates a total of 1,170 Tcf of risked shale gas in-place for India/Pakistan,
584 Tcf in India and 586 Tcf in Pakistan. The risked, technically recoverable shale gas resource
is estimated at 201 Tcf, with 96 Tcf in India and 105 Tcf in Pakistan, Tables XXIV-1A and XXIV1B.
In addition, we estimate risked shale oil in-place for India/Pakistan of 314 billion barrels,
with 87 billion barrels in India and 227 billion barrels in Pakistan.
The risked, technically
recoverable shale oil resource is estimated at 12.9 billion barrels for these two countries, with
3.8 billion barrels for India and 9.1 billion barrels for Pakistan, Table XXIV-2A and XXIV-2B.
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XXIV-1A. Shale Gas Reservoir Properties and Resources of India

Cambay
Basin/Gross Area
Krishna-Godavari
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Cauvery
Damodar Valley
2
(7,900 mi )
(7,800 mi )
(9,100 mi )
(2,270 mi )
Cambay Shale
U. Cretaceous-Tertiary
Marine
Permian-Triassic
Permian-Triassic
Marine
Sattapadi-Andimadam
Cretaceous
Marine
Barren Measure
Permian-Triassic
Marine
1,010
1,000
500
7,000 - 13,000
10,000
1,080
1,000
250
3,300 - 6,600
5,000
Normal
Slightly Overpress.
2.3%
1.15%
High
3.5%
1.20%
High
1,060
300
580
1,100
3,900
3,000
Organically Rich
1,500
1,500
1,500
330
500
1,300
Thickness (ft)
Net
500
500
500
100
150
390
Interval
6,000 - 10,000 10,000 - 13,000 13,000 - 16,400 4,000 - 6,000 6,000 - 10,000 10,000 - 16,400
Depth (ft)
Average
8,000
11,500
14,500
5,000
8,000
13,000
Mod.
Mod.
Mod.
Reservoir Pressure
Normal
Normal
Normal
Overpress.
Overpress.
Overpress.
2.6%
2.6%
2.6%
6.0%
6.0%
6.0%
Average TOC (wt. %)
0.85%
1.15%
1.80%
0.85%
1.15%
1.50%
Low/Medium
High
High
High
Clay Content
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
Wet Gas
Wet Gas
55.9
170.5
228.0
6.9
57.8
204.7
119.6
62.9
Risked GIP (Tcf)
35.5
30.7
79.4
3.4
101.4
276.4
30.2
27.2
3.6
6.1
19.8
0.2
15.2
41.5
4.5
5.4
Gas Phase
2
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XXIV-1B. Shale Gas Reservoir Properties and Resources of Pakistan
June, 2013
Lower Indus
Basin/Gross Area
(169,000 mi )
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Sembar
L. Cretaceous
Marine
Ranikot
Paleocene
Marine
26,700
25,560
31,320
26,780
Organically Rich
1,000
1,000
1,000
1,000
Thickness (ft)
Net
250
250
250
200
Interval
4,000 - 6,000 6,000 - 10,000 10,000 - 16,400 6,000 - 13,000
Depth (ft)
Average
5,000
8,000
13,000
9,000
Reservoir Pressure
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Average TOC (wt. %)

Clay Content
2.0%
0.85%
Low
2.0%
1.15%
Low
2.0%
1.50%
Low
2.0%
0.85%
Low
Assoc. Gas
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
Assoc. Gas
Gas Phase
2
14.3
57.0
82.7
17.0
Risked GIP (Tcf)
45.9
174.7
310.8
54.8
3.7
34.9
62.2
4.4
XXIV-2
Table XXIV-2A. Shale Oil Reservoir Properties and Resources of India

BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
Krishna-Godavari
Cambay
Basin/Gross Area
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Cauvery
(7,800 mi )
(9,100 mi )
(2,270 mi )
Cambay Shale
U. Cretaceous-Tertiary
Marine
Permian-Triassic
Permian-Triassic
Marine
Sattapadi-Andimadam
Cretaceous
Marine
Barren Measure
Permian-Triassic
Marine
1,010
1,000
500
7,000 - 13,000
10,000
1,080
1,000
250
3,300 - 6,600
5,000
Normal
Slightly Overpress.
2.3%
1.15%
High
3.5%
1.20%
High

1,060
300
1,100
3,900
Organically Rich
1,500
1,500
330
500
Thickness (ft)
Net
500
500
100
150
Interval
6,000 - 10,000 10,000 - 13,000 4,000 - 6,000 6,000 - 10,000
Depth (ft)
Average
8,000
11,500
5,000
8,000
Mod.
Mod.
Reservoir Pressure
Normal
Normal
Overpress.
Overpress.
Average TOC (wt. %)
2.6%
2.6%
6.0%
6.0%
0.85%
1.15%
0.85%
1.15%
Clay Content
Low/Medium
Low/Medium
High
High
Oil Phase
Damodar Valley
(7,900 mi )
Oil
Condensate
Oil
Condensate
Condensate
Condensate
79.8
19.2
17.5
6.5
30.2
12.1
Risked OIP (B bbl)
50.8
3.5
8.7
11.5
7.6
5.2
2.54
0.17
0.26
0.34
0.23
0.21
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XXIV-2B. Shale Oil Reservoir Properties and Resources of Pakistan
June, 2013
Lower Indus
Basin/Gross Area
(169,000 mi )
Shale Formation
Geologic Age
Sembar
L. Cretaceous
Marine
Ranikot
Paleocene
Marine
26,700
25,560
26,780
Organically Rich
1,000
1,000
1,000
Thickness (ft)
Net
250
250
200
Interval
4,000 - 6,000 6,000 - 10,000 6,000 - 13,000
Depth (ft)
Average
5,000
8,000
9,000
Reservoir Pressure
Normal
Normal
Normal
Average TOC (wt. %)

Clay Content
2.0%
0.85%
Low
2.0%
1.15%
Low
2.0%
0.85%
Low
Oil
Condensate
Oil
36.6
9.1
25.4
Risked OIP (B bbl)
117.4
27.9
81.7
4.70
1.12
3.27
Oil Phase
2
XXIV-3
INTRODUCTION
Evaluating the shale gas and oil resources of India and Pakistan posed a series of
challenges. Only limited publically available data exist on the geologic setting and reservoir
properties of the numerous shale formations in India and Pakistan. In addition, the shale basins
in these two countries are geologically highly complex.
Many of the basins in India, such as the Cambay and the Cauvery, comprised a series of
extensively faulted horst and graben structures. As such, the prospective areas for shale gas
and oil in these basins are often restricted to a series of isolated basin depressions (subbasins). While the shales in these basins are thick, considerable uncertainty exists on the areal
extents of the prospective areas in these basins. To account for this uncertainty, we have
applied prospective area risk factors to each basin. Figures XXIV-2 shows the stratigraphic
column for the key basins of India.
Recently, ONGC drilled and completed Indias first shale gas well, RNSG-1, northwest of
Calcutta in West Bengal. The well was drilled to a depth of 2,000 meters and reportedly had
gas shows at the base of the Permian-age Barren Measure Shale. Two vertical wells (Well D-A
and D-B) were previously tested in the Cambay Basin and had modest shale gas and oil
production from the Cambay Black Shale.1
In Pakistan, the shale gas and oil assessment is restricted to the areally extensive
Central and Southern Indus basins, together called the Lower Indus Basin. The shales in this
basin have sourced the significant volumes of conventional oil and gas discovered and
produced in Pakistan.
However, to date, no shale specific exploration has been publically
reported for Pakistan. Figure XXIV-3 provides the stratigraphic column for the key basins of
Pakistan.
Fortunately, the technical literature on conventional oil and gas exploration in India and
Pakistan often contains information on the nature of the source rocks that have charged the
conventional gas and oil reservoirs, providing a valuable starting point for this resource
assessment. As additional shale-directed geological and reservoir information is collected and
distributed, a more rigorous assessment of Indias and Pakistans shale oil and gas resources
will emerge.
June, 2013
XXIV-4
Figure XXIV-2. Stratigraphic Column for India

BASIN
ERA
CAMBAY
PERIOD
EPOCH
QUATERNARY
Holocene
Pleistocene
Pliocene
CENOZOIC
Miocene
Oligocene
F
Gujarat Alluvium
Jambusar Fm
Broach Fm
Jhagadia Fm
UPPER ASSAM
N
Alluvium
Dhekiajuli Fm
Namsang Fm
Madanam Limestone
Babaguru Fm
Vanjiyur Sandstone
Tarkesvar Fm
Dadhar Fm/
Tarapur Shale
DAMODAR VALLEY
I
Tittacheri Sandstone
Kand Fm
Undifferentiated
Girujan Fm
Tipam Fm
Surma Member
Shiyali
Kovikalappal Fm
Niravi Sandstone
Barail Group
Pandanallur Fm
Moran Fm
Tinali Fm
Kopili Fm
Karaikal Shale
Eocene
Kadi Fm
Paleocene
Younger
Cambay Shale
Deccan Traps
Razole
Raghavapuram Shale
Gollapalli Fm
Upper
TRIASSIC
L. Kamalapuram Fm
PALEOZOIC
PROTEROZOIC
PRECAMBRIAN
Nannilam Fm
Sattapadi Shale
Andimadam Fm
Basement
Supra-Panchet Fm
Red Bed
Dubrajpur Fm
Mandapeta Fm
Panchet Fm
Raniganj Fm
Barren Measures
Barakar Fm
Talchir
Basement
Basement
Absent/Unknown
June, 2013
Rajmahal Traps
Bhuvanagiri Fm
Draksharama Fm
Source Rock
Lakadong
Porto-Novo Shale
Kommugudem Fm
PERMIAN
Prang Member
Narpuh Member
Langpar Fm
Kudavasal Shale
Lower
JURASSIC
Sylhet Fm
Member
Tirupati Sandstone
Upper
CRETACEOUS
U. Kamalapuram Fm
Older Cambay Shale

Olpad Fm
MESOZOIC
Kalol Fm
TERTIARY
INDIA BASINS
CAUVERY
KRISHNA GODAVARI
XXIV-5
Basement
Figure XXIV-3. Stratigraphic Column for Pakistan

PAKISTAN BASINS
BASIN
ERA
SOUTHERN INDUS
PERIOD
EPOCH
QUATERNARY
Pleistocene
CENTRAL INDUS
F
Siwaliks
Siwaliks
Miocene
Gaj
Gaj
Oligocene
Nari
Nari
NORTHERN INDUS
A
CENOZOIC
Pliocene
Eocene
Paleocene
Kirthar
Ghazij/
Baska/Laki
Dunghan
Ranikot
Khadro
Upper
CRETACEOUS
Lower
MESOZOIC
Upper
Middke
Lower
Pab
Mughal Kot
Parh
Goru
Sembar
Takatu/Chiltan
Middke
Kirthar
Wakai
Sakaser
Kohat
Nummal
Kuldana
Dunghan
Patala
Ispikan
Lockhart
Hangu
Rakhshani
Kawagarh
Humai
Ranikot
Pab
Mughal Kot
Parh
Goru
Sembar
Shinawari
Data
Data
Tredian
Mianwali
Zaluch
PALEOZOIC
PERMIAN
PROTEROZOIC
CAMBRIAN
PRECAMBRIAN
Nilawhan
Tredian
Mianwali
Chidru
Wargal
Sardhai
Warcha
Dandot
Tobra
Baghanwala
Juttana
Kussak
Kussak
Khewra
Khewra
Salt Range
Salt Range
Jodhpur
Jodhpur
Basement
Basement
Basement
Source Rock
Absent/Unknown
June, 2013
Kingriali
Juttana
Baghanwala
Sinjrani
Chichali
Shinawari
Kingriali
Lower
Kharan
Samana Suk
Shirinab
Wulgai/Alozai
Lumshiwal
Saindak
Samana Suk
Lorolai/Datta
Upper
TRIASSIC
Kamlial
Murree
Ormara
Chatti
Talar/Hinglas
Parkini
Panjgur
Hoshab
Siahan
Amalaf
TERTIARY
JURASSIC
BALOCHISTAN
XXIV-6
Juttana
Khewra
Salt Range
1.
CAMBAY BASIN, INDIA
1.1

The Cambay Basin is an elongated, intra-cratonic Late Cretaceous to Tertiary rift basin,
located in the State of Gujarat in northwest India.
The basin includes four assessed fault
blocks: Mehsana-Ahmedabad, Tarapur, Broach and Narmada, Figure XXIV-4.

Figure XXIV-4. Depth of Cambay Black Shale, Cambay Basin
June, 2013
XXIV-7
The Cambay Basin is bounded on its eastern and western sides by basin-margin faults
and extends south into the offshore Gulf of Cambay, limiting its onshore area to 7,900 mi2.2
The Deccan Trap, composed of horizontal lava flows, forms the basement of the
Cambay Basin.
Above the Deccan Trap, separated by the Olpad Formation, is the Late
Paleocene and Early Eocene Cambay Black Shale, Figure XXIV-5.3 The Cambay Black Shale
represents the marine transgressive episode in the basin. With a thermal maturity ranging from
about 0.7% to 2%, the shale is in the oil, wet gas and dry gas windows.4
For purposes of this
study, we have assumed that the oil window starts at 6,000 feet of depth, that the wet gas
window starts at 11,000 feet, and that the dry gas window is below 13,000 feet of depth, Figures
XXIV-6 and XXIV-7.
Figure XXIV-5. Generalized Stratigraphic Column of the Cambay Basin.
Source: Silvan, 2008
June, 2013
XXIV-8
Figure XXIV-6. Cross Section of Cambay Black Shale System
Source: Shishir Kant Saxena, 2007
Figure XXIV-7. N-S Geological Cross-Section Across Cambay Basin
Source: P.K. Bhowmick and Ravi Misra, Indian Oil and Gas Potential, Glimpses of Geoscience Research in India.
June, 2013
XXIV-9
The Cambay Basin contains four primary fault blocks, from north to south: (1) MehsanaAhmedabad; (2) Tarapur; (3) Broach; and (4) Narmada (Sivan et al., 2008).3 Three of these
blocks appear to have sufficient thermal maturity to be prospective for shale gas and oil, Table
XXIV-3.5
Table XXIV-3. Major Fault Blocks and Shale Prospectivity of Cambay Basin
Fault Blocks
Comments
1.
Mehsana-Ahmedabad
Prospective for Shale Oil
2.
Tarapur
Prospective for Shale Oil and Wet Gas
3.
Broach
Prospective for Shale Oil and Wet/Dry Gas
4.
Narmada
Insufficient Data, Likely Immature
Mehsana-Ahmedabad Block.
Three major deep gas areas (depressions) exist in the
Mehsana-Ahmedabad Block - - the Patan, Worosan and Wamaj. A deep well, Well-A, was
drilled in the eastern flank of the Wamaj Low to a depth of nearly 15,000 ft, terminating
below the Cambay Black Shale. In addition, a few wells were recently drilled to the Cambay
Black Shale in the axial part of the graben low. A high-pressure gas zone was encountered
in the Upper Olpad section next to the Cambay Shale, with methane shows increasing with
depth. Geochemical modeling for this fault block indicates an oil window at 6,600 ft, a wet
gas window at 11,400 ft, and a dry gas window at 13,400 ft.6
Broach and Tarapur Blocks.
The deeper Tankari Low in the Broach Block and the
depocenter of the Tarapur Block appear to have similar thermal histories as the MehsanaAhmedabad Block. As such, we assumed these two areas have generally similar shale gas
and oil properties as the Cambay Black Shale in the Mehsana-Ahmedabad Block.
1.2

The depth of the prospective area of the Cambay Black Shale ranges from about 6,000
ft in the north to 16,400 ft in the lows of the southern fault blocks, averaging 8,000 ft in the oil
prospective area, 11,500 ft in the wet gas and condensate prospective area, and 14,500 ft in the
dry gas prospective area.
Thermal gradients are high, estimated at 3oF per 100 feet,
contributing to accelerated thermal maturity of the organics. 7 The Cambay Black Shale interval
ranges from 1,500 to more than 5,000 ft thick in the various fault blocks.8 In the northern
June, 2013
XXIV-10
Mehsana-Ahmedabad Block, the Kadi Formation forms an intervening 1,000-ft thick non-marine
clastic wedge within the Cambay Black Shale interval. In this block, the shale thickness varies
from 300 to 3,000 ft, with the organic-rich shale thickness, located in the lower portion of the
Cambay Black Shale interval, averaging 500 net ft, Figure XXIV-8.
The organic matter in the shale is primarily Type II and Type III (terrestrial) with a TOC
that ranges from 2% to 4%, averaging 2.6%, Figure XXIV-9. The shale formation is moderately
over-pressured and has low to medium clay content.
Within the overall 1,940-mi2 Cambay Black Shale prospective area in the Cambay Basin,
we estimate: a 580-mi2 area prospective for dry gas; a 300-mi2 area prospective for wet gas and
condensate; and a 1,060-mi2 area prospective for oil, Figure XXIV-10.
1.3
Resource Assessment
The Cambay Black Shale has resource concentrations of: 228 Bcf/mi2 of shale gas in its
580-mi2 dry gas prospective area; 170 Bcf/mi2 of wet gas and 19 million barrels/mi2 of
condensate in the 300-mi2 wet gas/condensate prospective area; and 80 million barrels/mi2 of
shale oil (plus associated gas) in the 1,060-mi2 oil prospective area.
Within the overall 1,940-mi2 prospective area for the Cambay Black Shale in the Cambay
Basin, we estimate a risked resource in-place of 146 Tcf for shale gas and 54 billion barrels for
shale oil. Based on moderate to favorable reservoir properties, we estimate that the Cambay
Black Shale has 30 Tcf of risked, technically recoverable shale gas and 2.7 billion barrels of
risked, technically recoverable shale oil, Tables XXIV-1A and XXIV-2A.
1.4
Recent Activity
Although the shales in the Cambay Basin have been identified as a priority by India, no
plans for exploring these shales have yet been publically announced. However, two shallower
conventional exploration wells (targeting the oil-bearing intervals in the basin) penetrated and
tested the Cambay Black Shale. Well D-A, a vertical well, had gas shows in a 90-ft section of
the Cambay Basin at a depth of about 4,300 ft. After hydraulic stimulation, Well D-A produced
13 bbl/day of oil and 11 Mcfd of gas. Well D-B, an older vertical well drilled in 1989 to a depth of
6,030 ft, also encountered the Cambay Shale at about 4,300 ft. The well was subsequently
hydrofractured and produced 13 bbl/day of oil and 21 Mcfd of gas.
June, 2013
XXIV-11
Figure XXIV-8. Gross Thickness of Cambay Black Shale, Cambay Basin
June, 2013
XXIV-12
Figure XXIV-9. Organic Content of Cambay Black Shale, Cambay Basin
June, 2013
XXIV-13
Figure XXIV-10. Prospective Areas of the Cambay Black Shale, Cambay Shale Basin
June, 2013
XXIV-14
2.
KRISHNA-GODAVARI BASIN, INDIA
2.1

The Krishna-Godavari Basin covers a 7,800-mi2 onshore area of eastern India, Figure
XXIV-11.9
The basin contains a series of organic-rich shales, including the Permian-age
Kommugudem Shale and the Triassic-age Mandapeta Shale. For purposes of this assessment,
these two shales have been combined into the Permian-Triassic Shale. With thermal maturities
ranging from 0.7% to 2% Ro, these shales are in the oil to dry gas windows. The Upper
Cretaceous Raghavapuram Shale may also have potential but was not assessed by this study.
Figure XXI-11. Krishna-Godavari Basins Onshore Horsts and Grabens
Source: Murthy, 2011.
June, 2013
XXIV-15
Permian-Triassic Shale.
The Kommugudem Shale, the lower unit of the Permian-
Triassic Shale, is a thick Permian-age rock interval containing alternating sequences of

carbonaceous shale, claystone, sand and coal, Figure XXIV-12. The Mandapeta Graben, the
most extensively explored portion of the Krishna-Godavari Basin, provides much of the geologic
and reservoir characterization data for this basin.10
Figure XXIV-12. Stratigraphic Column, Mandapeta Area, Krishna Godavari Basin
Source: Kahn, 2000.
June, 2013
XXIV-16
The Kommugudem Shale was deposited in fluvial, lower deltaic, and lacustrine
environments. While an effective source rock with excellent organic richness, analysis of the
shale indicates hydrogen-deficient organic matter (based on low S2 values from pyrolysis) and
high levels of primary inertinite.
The basal shale in the Mandapeta Formation, the upper unit of the Permian-Triassic
Shale, is a localized, thermally mature (Ro of 0.8% to 1.1%) Triassic-age shale that is
considered the source rock for the oil produced from the overlying Early Cretaceous Golapalli
Sandstone. The Mandapeta Formation and its basal shale are present in the Mandapeta and
Bantumilli grabens but are absent in the Poduru-Yanam High (Draksharama and Endamuru
areas) to the east. While the TOC of the Mandapeta Shale is generally low, 0.4% to 1.6%, we
have included this Triassic shale unit into the overall Permian-Triassic sequence.
Vitrinite reflectance of the Permian-Triassic Shale in the deep graben structures ranges
from 0.7% to 2% Ro, placing the shale in the oil to dry gas windows. Figure XXIV-13 illustrates
the relationship of shale depth and geologic age in the Krishna-Godavari Basin to the thermal
maturity (Ro) in two of the graben structures, Kommugudem (KMG) and Mandapeta (MDP).
Figure XXIV-13. Cross Section for Permian-Triassic Shale, Krishna Godavari Basin
Source: Kahn, 2000.
June, 2013
XXIV-17
2.2

In the prospective area of the Krishna-Godavari Basin, the depth of the Permian-Triassic
Shale ranges from 4,000 to 16,400 ft, averaging 5,000 ft in the oil prospective area, 8,000 ft in
the wet gas and condensate prospective area, and 13,000 ft in the dry gas prospective area.
To better understand the source rock quality of the Permian-Triassic Shale, 140 m of
shale was tested in 10 wells. The data showed the TOC of the shale ranges up to 11%,
averaging 6%, for ten rock samples taken at various depths, Table XXIV-4.
Table XXIV-4. Analysis of Ten Rock Samples, Kommugudem Shale11
AA-1
Depth
(m)
3,320-3,880
TOC
(%)
10.4
7.0
Shale
Interval Tested (m)
110
AA-2
3,585-3,630
4.2
2.9
45
AA-9
3,330-3,360
7.1
6.4
30
AA-10
3,880-3,920
3.1
0.6
40
AA-11
2,890-3,150
7.0
7.9
260
BW-1A
3,915-4,250
5.6
0.8
335
BW-2
2,970-3,085
8.8
5.5
115
BW-2
3,100-3,175
7.8
6.0
75
BW-9
2,800-3,040
11.2
6.9
315
DE-1
1,900-2,040
8.9
13.9
120
Well
S2*
*Volume of hydrocarbon cracked from kerogen by heating to 550oC, measured in terms of mg hydrocarbon/g rock.
The thickness of the shale ranges from 330 to 1,300 ft, with 100 to 390 ft of net organicrich shale, depending on prospective area.
The pressure gradient of the Permian-Triassic
Shale is normal. The reservoir is inferred to have moderate to high clay content based on its
lacustrine deposition. We mapped an 8,000-mi2 prospective area for the Permian-Triassic Shale
in the Krishna-Godavari Basin which encompasses the oil, wet gas/condensate and dry gas
windows.
Raghavapuram Shale. The Cretaceous-age Raghavapuram Shale offers an additional
potential shale resource in the Krishna-Godavari Basin. The TOC of this shale unit ranges from
0.8% to 6.4%, with the lower HG-HR Shale interval of the Raghavapuram Formation having the
higher TOC values, Figures XXIV-1412 and XXIV-15.12 The shale becomes thermally mature for
oil (Tmax 440 to 475o C) at depth below 10,600 ft.21
June, 2013
XXIV-18
Figure XXIV-14. TOC Cross-Section for Raghavapuram Shale, Krishna-Godavari Basin
Source: Prasad, I.V.S.V., 2012.
Figure XXIV-15. TOC Isopach for Raghavapuram Shale, Krishna-Godavari Basin
Source: Prasad, I.V.S.V., 2012.
June, 2013
XXIV-19
However, the great bulk of the Cretaceous Raghavapuram Shale is shallower than
10,600 ft and thus has a thermal maturity (Ro) value less the 0.7% minimum threshold used by
this study. In addition, the data on the area and vertical distribution of the Raghavapuram Shale
is limited.
Thus, this shale has not been included in the quantitative portion of our shale
resource assessment.
2.3
Resource Assessment
The 8,000-mi2 prospective area of the Permian (Kommugudem) and Triassic
(Mandapeta) Shale in the Krishna-Godavari Basin is limited to the four grabens (sub-basins)
shown in Figure XXIV-16. The Permian-Triassic Shale has resource concentrations of: 205
Bcf/mi2 in the 3,000-mi2 dry gas prospective area; 58 Bcf/mi2 of wet gas and 6 million barrels/mi2
of condensate in the 3,900-mi2 wet gas/condensate prospective area; and 18 million/mi2 barrels
of oil (plus associated gas) in the 1,100-mi2 oil prospective area.
Within the overall prospective area, the Permian-Triassic Shale of the Krishna-Godavari
Basin has risked shale gas in-place of 381 Tcf, with 57 Tcf as the risked, technically recoverable
shale gas resource.
In addition, we estimate a risked shale oil in-place for this basin of 20
billion barrels, with 0.6 billion barrels as the risked, technically recoverable shale oil resource,
Tables XXIV-1A and XXIV-2A.
2.4
Recent Activity
The technical literature discusses 16 wells that have been drilled at the Mandapeta
Graben into or through the Permian-Triassic Shale in search for hydrocarbons in conventional
Mandapeta and Gollapalli sandstone reservoirs.
The information from these 16 wells has
provided valuable data for the key cross-sections and other reservoir properties essential for the
shale resource assessment study of the Krishna-Godavari Basin.
June, 2013
XXIV-20
Figure XXIV-16. Prospective Areas for Shale Gas and Shale Oil, Krishna-Godavari Basin
June, 2013
XXIV-21
3.
CAUVERY BASIN, INDIA
3.1

The Cauvery Basin covers an onshore area of about 9,100 mi2 on the east coast of
India, Figure XXIV-17. The basin comprises numerous horsts and grabens, with thick organicrich source rocks in the Lower Cretaceous Andimadam Formation and Sattapadi Shale.
Figure XXIV-17. Cauvery Basin Horsts and Grabens
June, 2013
XXIV-22
The gas- and oil-prone shale source rocks in the Cauvery Basin are the Lower
Cretaceous Andimadam Formation and the Sattapadi Shale, Figure XXIV-18.
The shale
resource prospective area of the Cauvery Basin is limited to four depressions (troughs) - Nagapattnam, Tranquebar, Ariyalur-Pondicherry and Thanjavur - - and the Mannar Sub-basin.
The source rocks are generally shallow marine Type III with some Type II kerogen.
The
thermally mature source rocks in the shallower Sattapadi Shale and the deeper Andimadam
Formation contain thermogenic wet gas and condensate.13
Figure XXIV-18. Generalized Stratigraphy, Cauvery Basin15
Source: Rao, 2010.
June, 2013
XXIV-23
3.2

We have identified a 1,010-mi2 wet gas and condensate prospective area for the shales
in the Cauvery Basin. The thickness of the Lower Cretaceous interval is 3,000 to 5,000 ft, with
the Andimadam Formation and the Sattapadi Shale accounting for the bulk of the gross interval,
Figure XXIV-19. The TOC of the combined Andimadam/Sattapadi Shale is estimated at 2% to
2.5%, averaging 2.3%. The organic shales are distributed irregularly over the Cauvery Basin,
Figure XXIV-20.
Figure XXIV-19. Formation Thickness, Cauvery Basin
Source: P.K. Bhowmick and Ravi Misra, Indian Oil and Gas Potential, Glimpses of Geoscience Research in India
June, 2013
XXIV-24
Figure XXIV-20. Shale Isopach and Presence of Organics, Cauvery Basin
June, 2013
XXIV-25
The Cauvery Basin contains a series of depressions (sub-basins) that hold potential for
shale gas. Two of these - - Ariyalur-Pondicherry and Thanjavur - - contain thick, thermally
mature shales.
Ariyalur-Pondicherry Sub-Basin. The Ariyalur-Pondicherry Depression (Sub-basin) is in

the northern portion of the Cauvery Basin.
The Lower Cretaceous Andimadam and
Sattapadi Shale encompasses a thick interval at a depth of 7,000 to 13,000 ft, averaging
10,000 ft. Organic-rich gross pay thickness is 1,000 ft with net pay of about 500 ft. The
thermal maturity of 1.0% to 1.3% Ro places the shale in the wet gas and condensate
window. The onshore prospective area of this sub-basin is estimated at 620 mi2, Figure
XXIV-21.
Thanjavur Sub-Basin. The Thanjavur Depression (Sub-basin), in the center of the Cauvery
Basin, has a thick section of Andimadam and Sattapadi Shale at a depth of 7,000 ft (top of
Sattapadi Shale) to 13,000 ft (base of Andimadam Fm), averaging 9,500 ft deep, Figure
XXIV-22. The organic-rich average net pay thickness is 500 ft.15 Given limited data, we
assume the TOC and thermal maturity for the shale in this sub-basin is the same as in the
Ariyalur-Pondicherry Sub-basin. The onshore prospective area with thick organic-rich shale
is small, estimated at 390 mi2, Figure XXIV-21.
3.3
Resource Assessment
In the 1,010-mi2 prospective area of the Cauvery Basin, the combined Andimadam
Formation and Sattapadi Shale have an average wet shale gas resource concentration of 120
Bcf/mi2 and a shale condensate resource concentration of 30 million barrels/mi2.
For the combined Andimadam Formation and Sattapadi Shale in the Cauvery Basin, we
estimate risked shale gas in-place of 30 Tcf and risked shale oil in-place of 8 billion barrels. Of
this, 5 Tcf of shale gas and 0.2 billion barrels of shale oil are the risked, technically recoverable
shale resources.
3.4
Recent Activity
We are not aware of any shale gas or oil development in the Cauvery Basin.
June, 2013
XXIV-26
Figure XXIV-21. Prospective Areas for Shale Gas and Shale Oil, Cauvery Basin
June, 2013
XXIV-27
Figure XXIV-22. East to West Cross-Section Across Cauvery Basin.15
Source: Rao, 2010.
June, 2013
XXIV-28
4.
DAMODAR VALLEY BASIN, INDIA
4.1

The Damodar Valley Basin is part of a group of basins collectively named the
Gondwanas, owing to their similar dispositional environment and Permo-Carboniferious

through Triassic deposition. The Gondwanas, comprising the Satpura, Pranhita-Godavari,
Son-Mahanadi and Damodar Valley basins, were part of a system of rift channels in the
northeast of the Gondwana super continent. Subsequent tectonic activity formed the major
structural boundaries of the Gondwana basins, notably the Damodar Valley Basin, Figure XXIV23.
Figure XXIV-23. Damodar Valley Basin and Prospectivity for Shale Gas and Shale Oil
June, 2013
XXIV-29
Sedimentation in the Early Permian was primarily glacial-fluvial and lacustrine, resulting
in significant deposits of coal. As such, the majority of exploration in the Damodar Valley has
focused on the coal resources of the basin, which account for much of Indias coal reserves.
However, a marine incursion deposited a layer of early Permian Shale, called the Barren
Measure Shale in this basin, Figure XXIV-2414. This shale formation was the target of Indias
first shale gas exploration well in the eastern portion of the Damodar Valley. Though present in
other Gondwana basins, such as the Rewa Basin, in central India, data suggest that the Barren
Measure Shale is only thermally mature in the Damodar Valley Basin.15
Figure XXIV-24. Regional Stratigraphic Column of the Damodar Valley Basin, India16.
1 Kilometer
Depth Line
Barren Measure
Source: Chakraborty, Chandan, 2003.
The Damodar Valley Basin comprises a series of sub-basins (from west to east) - - the
Hutar, Daltonganj, Auranga, Karanpura, Ramgarh, Bokaro, Jharia and Raniganj. Though these
sub-basins share a similar geologic history, tectonic events and erosion since the early Triassic
have caused extensive variability in the depth and thickness of the Barren Measure Shale in
these basins.
June, 2013
XXIV-30
Because exploration has focused on the coal deposits within the Damodar Valley Basin,
relatively little geologic data is available on the Barren Measure Shale. Thermal maturity data on
coals adjoining the Barren Measure Shale suggest that the shale is within the wet
gas/condensate (Ro of 1.0% to 1.3%) window, and regional studies have shown favorable TOC,
with average values of 3.5%.
Present-day burial depth and lower pressures are the main limitations for the shale gas
and condensate prospectively of the Barren Measure Shale in the Damodar Valley Basin. In
some sub-basins, regional erosion has removed up to 3 kilometers of overlying sediments.
Based on the regional stratigraphic column, Figure XXIV-25,17 and operator data, the
overall 1,080-mi2 prospective area for the Barren Measure Shale in the Damodar Valley is
limited to the Bokaro, Karanpura and Raniganj sub-basins.
The prospective areas within the Bokaro (110 mi2) and Raniganj (650 mi2) sub-basins
are limited by surface outcrops of formations of the Barren Measure Shale to the west and
north, respectively. We have estimated a 320-mi2 prospective area for the northern half of the
Karanpura Basin, based on statements by Schlumberger and ONGC.18
4.2

Absent data on thermal maturity and organic content specific to each of the three sub-
basins, we assigned average published reservoir property values to these three sub-basins.
TOC is assumed to range between 3% and 6% averaging 3.5%, based on information from
INOC and ESSAR.19,20 Thermal maturity was estimated from the coal formations surrounding
the Barren Measure Shale, indicating values of 1.1% to 1.3% Ro, placing the shale within the
wet gas/condensate window.21 Depth to the Barren Measure Shale averages about 5,000 ft,
based on reports from the shale gas well drilled into the Raniganj sub-basin and from regional
cross sections, Figure XXIV-26. We estimate a weighted average gross interval thickness in the
three prospective sub-basins of about 2,000 ft, of which about 1,000 ft is organic-rich and 250 ft
is net shale.17
June, 2013
XXIV-31
Figure XXIV-25. Generalized Stratigraphic Column of the Gondwana Basin.
Source: Veevers, J., 1995
June, 2013
XXIV-32
Figure XXIV-26. Raniganj Sub-Basin Cross Section.22
Barren Measure Shale
Source: Ghosh, S. C, 2002.
4.4
Resource Assessment
Using the geologic characteristics discussed above, we estimate that the Barren
Measure Shale in the Damodar Valley Basin has a wet shale gas resource concentration of 63
Bcf/mi2 and a shale condensate resource concentration of 12 million barrels/mi2.
Risked shale gas in-place is estimated at 27 Tcf, with the prospect area risk factor
recognizing the significant faulting present in the basin. We estimate 5 Tcf of risked shale gas
may be technically recoverable from the Barren Measure Shale in the Damodar Valley Basins.
In addition, we estimate risked shale oil in-place of 5 billion barrels, with 0.2 billion barrels as the
risked, technically recoverable shale oil resource.
June, 2013
XXIV-33
4.4
Recent Activity
Along with the Cambay Basin, the Damodar Valley Basin has been set as a priority
basin for shale gas exploration by the Indian government. In late September 2010, Indian
National Oil and Gas Company (ONGC) spudded the countrys first shale gas well, RNSG-1, in
the Raniganj sub-basin of the Damodar Valley. The well was completed mid-January 2011,
having reportedly encountered gas flows from the Barren Measure Shale at approximately
5,600 ft. Detailed well test and production results are not publicly available.
This well was the
first of a proposed four-well R&D program in the basin. The plan calls for an additional well to be
drilled in the Raniganj sub-basin and for two wells to be drilled in the Karanpura sub-basin.
June, 2013
XXIV-34
5.
OTHER BASINS, INDIA
5.1
Upper Assam Basin

The Upper Assam Basin is an important onshore petroleum province in northeast India.
The basin has produced oil and some associated gas, mainly from the Upper Eocene-Oligocene
Barail Group of coals and shales. In general, the TOC in the lower source rocks ranges from
1% to 2% but reaches 10% in the Barail Group. These source rocks are in the early thermal
maturity stage (beginning of the oil window) in the bulk of the Upper Assam Basin.23 Although
the shales may reach thermal maturity for oil and gas generation in the deeper parts of the
basin, toward the south and southwest, no data confirming this assumption exists in the public
domain. The reported thermal maturity of the Barail Group Shale ranges from Ro of 0.5% to
0.7%, placing these shales as immature for oil.24 While the shale may reach the oil and wet gas
window in the very deepest portion of the basin, the measured vitrinite reflectance is reported at
only 0.7% at a depth of 14,800 ft.25
5.2
Pranhita-Godavari Basin
The Pranhita-Godavari Basin, located in eastern India, contains thick, organic-rich
shales in Permian-age Jai Puram and Khanapur formations. While the kerogen is Type III
(humic) and thus favorable for gas generation, the 0.67% Ro indicates that the shales are
thermally immature.
5.3
Vindhyan Basin
The Vindhyan Basin, located in north-central India, contains a series of Proterozoic-age
shales.
While certain of these shales, such as the Hinota and Pulkovar, appear to have
sufficient organic richness, no public data exists on their thermal maturity.
5.4
Rajasthan Basin
The Rajasthan Basin covers a large onshore area in northwest India. The basin is
structurally complex and characterized by numerous small fault blocks.
The Permian-age
Karampur Formation is the primary source rock in this basin. While the source rock is Type III
and classified as mature, only limited data are available on the reservoir properties of this shale.
June, 2013
XXIV-35
6.
LOWER (SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL) INDUS BASINS, PAKISTAN
6.1

The Southern and Central Indus basins (Lower Indus Basin) are located in Pakistan,
along westerns border with India and Afghanistan. The basins are bounded by the Indian
Shield on the east and highly folded and thrust mountains on the west, Figure XXIV-27.26
The Lower Indus Basin has commercial oil and gas discoveries in the Cretaceous-age
Goru Fm sands plus additional gas discoveries in shallower formations. The shales in the
Sembar Formation are considered as the primary source rocks for these discoveries.
While oil
and gas shows have been recorded in the Sembar Shale on the Thar Platform, as of yet no
productive oil or gas wells have been drilled into the Sembar Shale.27
Figure XXIV-27. Outline for Southern and Central Indus Basin, Pakistan
June, 2013
XXIV-36
Sembar Shale. The Lower Cretaceous Sembar Formation is the main source rock in
the Lower Indus Basin. The Sembar contains shale, silty shale and marl in the western and
northwestern portion of the basin and becomes sandy in the eastern part of the basin. The
kerogen within the Sembar Formation is mostly Type II with some Type III.
The Lower Indus Basin covers a massive 91,000-mi2 area of western Pakistan. Within
this large basin area, for the Sembar Shale, we have identified a 31, 320-mi2 prospective area
for dry gas (Ro >1.3%), a 25,560-mi2 prospective area for wet gas and condensate (Ro between
1.0% and 1.3%), and a 26,700-mi2 prospective area for oil (Ro between 0.7% and 1.0%). To
account for the limited data on the Sembar Shale in this large basin area, we have highly risked
the prospective areas and the likelihood of development success.
The eastern boundary of the prospective area of the Sembar Shale in the Lower Indus
Basin is the minimum thermal maturity criterion of Ro 0.7%.
The northern and western
boundaries of the prospective area are set by the limits of Sembar Formation deposition and
depth. The southern boundary of the prospective area is the offshore.
Ranikot Formation. The shales in the Paleocene Ranikot Formation are primarily in the
upper carbonate unit which consists of fossiliferous limestone interbedded with dolomitic shale,
calcareous sandstone and abundant bituminous material. The upper unit was deposited in a
restricted marine environment.
West of the Karachi Trough axis, the Ranikot Formation
becomes dominantly shale (Korara Shale) with deep marine deposition.

Within the southern portion of the Lower Indus Basin, we have identified 26,780-mi2 for
the Ranikot Shale that appears to be prospective for oil (Ro of 0.7% to 1.0%). The eastern,
northern and western boundaries of the Ranikot Shale prospective area are set by the 300 m
isopach contour; the southern boundary of the prospective area is the offshore.
June, 2013
XXIV-37
6.2

Sembar Shale. The Sembar Formation was deposited under open-marine conditions.27
In the prospective area of the Lower Indus Basin, the thickness of the Sembar Shale ranges
from 1,000 to over 2,000 ft, Figure XXIV-28. We identified an organic-rich interval 1,000 ft thick
with a net shale thickness of 250 ft. We estimate TOC of approximately 2% and an Ro of 1.0%
to 1.6%. The Sembar Shale, in the shallower portions of the Lower Indus Basin, is in the oil and
wet gas windows, with the lower limit of the oil window at about 4,000 ft and the wet
gas/condensate window at 6,000 to 10,000 ft.27 In the deeper portions of the basin below
10,000 ft, the Sembar Shale enters the dry gas window.
Figure XXIV-28. Isopach of Sembar Shale, Lower Indus Basin, Pakistan26
June, 2013
XXIV-38
The thermal gradients in the basin increase from east to west, from 1.31oF/100 ft on the
Thar Slope in the east to 2.39oF/100 ft in the Karachi offshore in the west. The average thermal
gradient in the basin is 2.1oF/100 ft. The Sembar Shale appears to have low clay content.
Ranikot Formation. The prospective area of the Ranikot Formation has a thickness of
1,000 to 3,000 ft, with a net shale thickness of 200 ft, Figure XXIV-29. We assume 2% TOC
and a thermal maturity of 0.7% to 1.0% Ro, placing the Ranikot Shale in the oil window.
Figure XXIV-29. Isopach of Ranikot Formation, Southern Indus Basin, Pakistan26
June, 2013
XXIV-39
6.3
Resource Assessment
Within the 31,320-mi2 dry gas prospective area, the Sembar Shale in the Lower Indus
Basin has a resource concentration of 83 Bcf/mi2.
Within the 25,560-mi2 wet gas and
condensate prospective area, the Sembar Shale has resource concentrations of 57 Bcf/mi2 of
wet gas and 9 million barrels/mi2 of condensate. Within the 26,700-mi2 oil prospective area, the
Sembar Shale has a resource concentration of 37 million barrels/mi2.
Within the overall prospective area of the Lower Indus Basin, the Sembar Shale has
risked shale gas in-place of 531 Tcf, with 101 Tcf as the risked, technically recoverable shale
gas resource. In addition, the Sembar Shale has 145 billion barrels of shale oil in-place, with
5.8 billion barrels as the risked, technically recoverable shale oil resource.
Within its 26,780-mi2 wet gas and condensate prospective area, the Ranikot Shale has
resource concentrations of 17 Bcf/mi2 of wet gas and 25 million barrels/mi2 of shale
oil/condensate. Within this prospective area of the Lower Indus Basin, the Ranikot Shale has
55 Tcf of risked shale gas in-place and 82 billion barrels of risked shale oil in-place. The risked,
technically recoverable shale resources of the Ranikot Shale are 4 Tcf of wet shale gas and 3.3
billion barrels of shale oil/condensate.
6.4
Recent Activity
No publically available data has been reported on shale gas exploration or development
for the Lower Indus Basin of Pakistan.
REFERENCES
Sharma, Shyam, P. Kulkarni, A. Kulmar, P. Pankaj, V. Ramanathan, and P. Susanta, 2010. Successful Hydrofracking Leads
to Opening of New Frontiers in Shale Gas Production in the Cambay Basin in Gujarat, India presented at the IADC/SPE Asia
Pacific Drilling Technology Confrence and Exhibition, Ho Chi Mihn City, Vietnam, November 3.
Mathur and Rao, 1968. :Tectonic Framework of Cambay Basin. India. Bull. ONGC V 5(1).
Sivan et al., 2008. Aromatic Biomarkers as Indicators of Source, Depositional Environment, Maturity and Secondary Migration
in the Oils of Cambay Basin, India, Organic Geochemistry, vol. 39,)p. 160-1630.
Cambay Petroleum, Investor Presentation. 2008. Accessed at: http://www.infraline.com/nelp-vii/InfraLine.pdf.
Shishir Kant Saxena, et al., 2007. Predicting the Temperature of Hydrocarbon Expulsion from Oil Asphaltene Kinetics and Oil
Source Correlation: A Case Study of South Cambay Basin, India. AAPG Annual Convention, Long Beach, California, April 1-4,
2007.
Mohan, R. 2006. Deep Gas Exploration in Cambay Basin, India - A Case Study. Presentation presented at the SPE India 6th
Annual Confrence, Calcutta, India,. http://www.spgindia.org/conference/6thconf_kolkata06/320.pdf.
June, 2013
XXIV-40
Wandrey, C.J., 2004, Sylhet-Kopili/Barail-Tipam composite petroleum systems, Assam Geologic Province, India: US Geological
Survey Bulletin 2208-D.
Bhandari, L.L. and Chowdhary, L.R., 1975. Analysis of Kadi and Kalol Formations, Cambay Basin, India, AAPG Bulletin, vol.
59, 856-871.
M. V. K. Murthy, et al., 2011. Mesozoic Hydrogeologic Systems and Hydrocarbon Habitat, Mandapeta-Endamuru area,
Krishna Godavari Basin, India. AAPG Bulletin, v. 95, , pp. 147167.
Kahn, et al., 2000. Generation and Hydrocarbon Entrapment within Gondwana Sediments of the Mandapeta Area, Krishna
Godavari Basin. Organic Geochemistry, vol. 31, p. 1495-1507.
10
Murthy, M., P. Padhy, and D. Prasad, 2011. Mesozoic hydrogeologic systems and hydrocarbon habitat, MandapetaEndamuru area, Krishna Godavari Basin, India. AAPG Bulletin 95, p. 147-167.
11
Prasad, I.V.S.V., 2012. Technology Imperatives for Exploration and Production of Oil and Gas. Oil & Natural Gas
Corporation Ltd. Industry-Academia Workshop, ONGC, Rajahmundry, 26-28 March 2012, p. 35.
12
13
P.K. Bhowmick and Ravi Misra, Indian Oil and Gas Potential, Glimpses of Geoscience Research in India.
Goswami, Shreerup, 2008. Marine influence and incursion in the Gondwana basins of Orissa, India: A review. Palaeoworld
17, p. 21-32.
14
15 Rao, V. Potential Shale Gas Basins of India: Possibilities and Evaluations. Presentation presented at the India
Unconventional Gas Forum, New Delhi, India, November 26, 2010.
http://oilnmaritime.com%2FIUGF%2520presentation%2FIUGF_presentation_FINAL.pdf&rct=j&q=potential%20shale%20gas%20
basins%20of%20intia%20possibilities%20&ei=oUVITYOnAcKt8Aado5CNBw&usg=AFQjCNEX2KZ0oPUQTc5laPypQ_BnGaGiv
g&cad=rja.
Chakraborty, Chandan, Nibir Mandal, and Sanjoy Kumar Ghosh, 2003. Kinematics of the Gondwana basins of peninsular
India. Tectonophysics, vol. 377, :p. 299-324.
16
Veevers, J. J., and R. C. Tewari, 1995. Gondwana Master Basin of Peninsular India between Tethys and the Interior of the
Gondwanaland Province of Pangea. Geological Society of America, Memoirs 187p. 1 -73.
17
ONGC chases shale gas in West Bengal. Oil and Gas Journal, September 26, 2010. http://www.ogj.com/index/articledisplay/6840666202/articles/oil-gas-journal/exploration-development-2/2010/09/ongc-chases_shale.html.
18
Chawla, S., 2010. Pre-Confrence on Shale Gas. Presentation presented at the Petrotech 2010, New Delhi, India, October
30. http://www.petrotech.in/pre-conference-shale-gas-tapping-india%E2%80%99s-shale-gas-potential.
19
Sawhney, P., 2011. The State of Domestic Resources - Non Conventional. Plenary Session presented at the India Energy
Forum 9th Petro Summit, New Delhi, India, January 11, 2011. ttp://www.indiaenergyforum.org%2F9thpetrosummit%2Fpresentations%2FPlenary-1%2FPrem-Sawhney.pdf&rct=j&q=the%20state%20of%20domestic%20resources%20%20non%20conventional&ei=JEdITbGFHsT48Aa-ncj_Bg&usg=AFQjCNF5lzKOM5dDxB2SH3bkEhCvGdiuFw&cad=rja.
20
Mishra, H.K., and Cook., A.C., 1992. Petrology and Thermal Maturity of Coals in the Jharia Basin: Implications for Oil and
Gas Origins. International Journal of Coal Geology, vol. 20, p. 277-313.
21
Ghosh, S. C. 2002. The Raniganj Coal Basin: an Example of an Indian Gondwana Rift. Sedimentary Geology 147, no. 1-2p.
155-176.
22
Mathur, N., Raju, S.V. and Kulkarni, T.G., 2001. Improved Identification of Pay Zones through Integration of Geochemical
and Log DataA Case Study from Upper Assam basin, India. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Bulletin, vol. 85,
no. 2.
23
June, 2013
XXIV-41
Wandrey, C., 2004. Bombay Geologic Province Eocene to Miocene Composite Total Petroleum System, India. USGS
Bulletin 2208-F, p. 1-26.
24
Mallick, R.K. and Raju,S.V., 1995. Thermal Maturity Evaluation by Sonic Log and Seismic Velocity Analysis in Parts of Upper
Assam Basin, India, Org. Geochem. vol 23, p. 871-879.
25
Viqar-Un-Nisa Quadri and Shuaib,S.M., Hydrocarbon Prospects of the Southern Indus Basin, Pakistan, AAPG Bulletin, vol. 70,
p. 730-747.
26
Quadri, Viqar-Un-Nisa, and Shuaib, S., 1968 Hydrocarbon Prospects of Southern Indus Basin, Pakistan. AAPG Bulletin 70,
p. 730-747.
27
June, 2013
XXIV-42
XXV. Jordann
EIA/ARI W
XXV. JORD
DAN
SUMMA
ARY
Jo
ordan has tw
wo basins with
w potentiall for shale g
gas and oil, tthe Hamad (Risha area) and
Wadi Sirhan, Figure XXV. The target
t
horizo
on is the org
ganic-rich Sillurian-age B
Batra Shale w
within
the large
er Mudawwara Formation
n.
Figure
F
XXV-1. Base Map an
nd Cross-Secttion Location,, Jordan.
Sourcee: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
XX
XV-1
XXV. Jordann
EIA/ARI W
Our
O assessm
ment is that the Batra Shale
S
in thesse two basin
ns contains 35 Tcf of rrisked
shale gas in-place with
w 7 Tcf of risked, tech
hnically recovverable shale gas resou
urce, Table XXVddition, we estimate
e
tha
at the Batra Shale holdss 4 billion b
barrels of rissked shale o
oil in1. In ad
place, wiith about 0.1
1 billion barrels of riske
ed, technical ly recoverab
ble shale oill resource, T
Table
XXV-2.
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XXV-1. Shaale Gas Reservvoir Propertiess and Resourrces of Jordann

Ham
mad
Basin/G
Gross Area
(6,700 mi )
(4,700 mi )
Battra
Silurrian
Mariine
Batra
Silurian
Marine
3,3000
160
800
6,500 - 10,000
8,5000
1,050
120
60
4,500 - 6,500
5,500
Reservoir Presssure
Norm
mal
Normal
Average TOC (wt.

( %)
Clay Content
2.0%
%
1.300%
Mediium
4.0%
0.80%
Medium
Dry Gas
G
Assoc. Gas
25..3
3.7
Risked GIP (Tccf)
33..4
1.6
6.77
0.2
Shale Formation
F
Geolo
ogic Age
2

Organically Ricch
Thickness (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
Gas Phase
2
Source: ARI 2013.

2
June, 2013
Wadi Sirhan
2
XX
XV-2
XXV. Jordann
EIA/ARI W
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XXV-2. Shaale Oil Reservvoir Propertiess and Resourcces of Jordan

Wadi Sirh
han
Basin/Grosss Area
(4,700 mi )
Shale Form
mation
Geologicc Age
Batra
Siluriann
Marinee
Pro
ospective Area (mi
( )
Organically Rich
Thiickness (ft)
Neet
Intterval
Dep
pth (ft)
Avverage
1,050
120
60
4,500 - 6,5500
5,500
Resservoir Pressurre
Normal

Theermal Maturity (%
( Ro)
Claay Content
4.0%
0.80%
m
Medium
Oil Phase
Oil
2
P Concentration
n (MMbbl/mi )
OIP
8.8
Rissked OIP (B bbl))
3.7
Rissked Recoverab
ble (B bbl)
Source: ARI, 2013.
0.15
INTROD
DUCTION
Eastern
E
Jorda
an contains Silurian-age
e organic-ricch marine sh
hales in the Batra Memb
ber of
the Mud
dawwara Fo
ormation.
Similar Silu
urian organiic-rich shale
es are a m
major sourcce of
hydrocarrbons in Norrth Africa, Ira

aq and Saud
di Arabia. T
The Batra Sh
hale is time equivalent tto the
Tanezzuft Formation
n in Libya an
nd the Qusaiba Shale off the Qalibah
h Formation in Saudi Ara
abia.1
These Lo
ower Silurian-age shale
es are often called Hott Shales be
ecause of th
heir high ura
anium
content, having gamma-ray values of >150 API
A units, Fig
gure XXV-2.2
Additional
A
orrganically en
nriched marrine shales exist in the
e uppermostt Ordovician
n-age
Risha Fo
ormation. These
T
shales
s are 60 to 120 feet th
hick and havve thermal m
maturities fo
or dry
gas.3,4 However,
H
the
e TOC value
es of these Upper
U
Ordovvician shaless generally range from 0.5%
to 1.5%, below the TOC
T
cut-off set
s forth for this
t
study.
June, 2013
XX
XV-3
XXV. Jordann
EIA/ARI W
For the shale

e gas and oill resource as
ssessment o
of Jordan, w
we have draw
wn heavily o
on the
most valluable geolo
ogical work and publica
ations of Lu
uning (2000,,1 20053), A
Armstrong (2
2005,5
20092), Keegan
K
(199
906), and Ahlbrandt (19
9977). In a ddition, Jord
dans Petroleum Directtorate
within the
e Natural Re
esources Au
uthority prov
vided importtant informattion in their 2006 publiccation
entitled, Petroleum
Exploration
E
Opportunitie
es in Jordan.8
Fiigure XXV-2. Lithostratigraaphy for the Ordovician
O
andd Silurian of JJordan and Saaudi Arabia,
Source: Lithhostratigraphy annd chronostratigraphy for the Orrdovician and Sillurian of Jordan and Saudi Arabia, showing
generalized depositional environments for outcrops
o
in the Southern
S
Desert region of Jordann (redrawn from Turner et al., 20005).
Armstrong (2009)
(
LOGIC SET
TTING
1. GEOL
The
T
Batra Shale is pres
sent in the sub-surface
e in the Ham
mad (Risha area) and Wadi
Sirhan ba
asins of eas
stern Jordan, as well as in the near--surface in the Al Jafr area and outccrops
of the So
outhern Des
sert of Jorda
an. The He
ercynian sub
b-crop estab
blishes western limits o
of the
Batra Sh
hale in Jorda
an. The Syrria, Iraq and Saudi Arab
bia borders w
with Jordan set the nortthern,
southern and easterrn limits of the
t
Jordan portion
p
of th
his shale deposit. The Batra Shale
e is a
ale, deposite
ed along the
e margins o
of the receding Gondwa
ana shelf. F
Figure
Type I/II marine sha
d
and arreal extent fo
or the prosp
pective areass of Batra Sh
hale in Jorda
an.3
XXV-3 prrovides the depth
June, 2013
XX
XV-4
XXV. Jordann
EIA/ARI W
The
T Batra Sh
hale contains
s three distin
nct organic-rrich intervalss - - a highlyy organic-rich
h unit
called the Lower Hot Shale, a middle unit within low
wer organic ccontent, and
d the Uppe
er Hot
e Lower Hot Shale a
and the Upper Hot Shale units in
n our
Shale.3 We have included the
e assessmen
nt.
resource
Fig
gure XXV-3. Depth
D
and Pro
ospective Areaas - - Batra Shhale, Jordan
Source: ARI, 20013.
June, 2013
XX
XV-5
XXV. Jordann
EIA/ARI W
The
T
Lower Hot
H Shale unit, deposited at the b
base of the Batra Shale
e and above
e the
underlyin
ng Dubaydib
b Formation, is present in southea
astern Jorda
an (Wadi Sirrhan Basin).. The
Lower Hot
H Shale th
hins to the west,
w
north and
a south in the Wadi S
Sirhan area. The Uppe
er Hot
Shale ex
xists in the Hamad
H
Basins Risha ga
as field area
a along the Iraqi border. The Uppe
er Hot
Shale is
s at the top of
o the Batra Shale
S
interva
al, XXV-Figu
ure 4.3
Ordovician-Siilurian in Jorddan.
Figure XXV-4.
X
Chono
ostratigraphy of the Upper O
Source: S. Luning, 2005.
The
T thermal maturity of the
t Batra Sh
hale increas es from sou
uth to north a
and from we
est to
east. The
e shale is immature to early-maturre in the Al Jafr area, becomes m
middle-maturre (oil
window) in the Wadi Sirhan area
a, and is late
e to post-ma
ature (gas window) in the
e Hamad Ba
asins
Risha arrea.3,7
The determina
ation of the
e thermal m
maturity for the Batra Shale has been
approxim
mated using graptolite re
eflectance an
nd maximum
m temperatu
ure. (Vitrinite
e did not yet exist
during ea
arly Silurian time.)
June, 2013
XX
XV-6
XXV. Jordann
EIA/ARI W
As
A shown in Figure XXV
V-3, we hav
ve mapped a prospectivve area of 1
1,050 mi2 fo
or the
Lower Hot
H Shale in
n the oil-pron
ne Wadi Sirh
han area and
d a prospecctive area of 3,300 mi2 fo
or the
Upper Hot
H Shale in the gas-pro
one Risha arrea.
2. RESE
ERVOIR PR
ROPERTIES (PROSPECTIVE AR
REA)
Lower
L
Hot Shale.
S
In th
he Wadi Sirhan prospecctive area, tthe depth of the Lowe
er Hot
Shale ra
anges from 4,500 to 6,5
500 ft, avera
aging 5,500 ft. Based on analog d
data, we asssume
that the shale
s
in this
s area is at normal pres
ssure. The o
organic-rich gross intervval of the L
Lower
Hot Shale unit in the Wadi Sirh
han prospecttive area ran
30 to 100 ft, with an ave
erage
nges from 3
net pay of about 60
0 ft (using 150 API unitts of backgrround gamm
ma radiation)). Figure X
XXV-5
provides a north to south cross
s-section for the Batra S
Shale in the
e Wadi Sirha
an area.8 (F
Figure
XXV-1 prrovides the cross-sectio
n locations.3,8)
c
Figuree XXV-5. Nortth to South Reegional Cross--Section, Waddi Sirhan Basin.
Source: NRA Petroleum Dirrectorate Jordan, 2006.
June, 2013
XX
XV-7
XXV. Jordann
EIA/ARI W
The
T TOC of the
t Lower Hot
H Shale unit
u ranges ffrom 1.5% to
o 9%, with a
an average vvalue
2 The
of about 4%, Figure XXV-6.
X
e thermal maturity of the
e shale unit is estimated
d at 0.7% to 1.0%
valent, avera
aging 0.8% Ro. We ha
ave used oth
her Silurian--age hot sh
hale deposiits as
Ro equiv
analogs for
f suppleme
ental reservoir data for the
t Lower H
Hot Shale in
n the Wadi S
Sirhan Basin.
Figure XX
XV-6. Bulk Orrganic Carbon
n, Biomarker aand Stable Caarbon Isotope Data.
(A) Total orgganic carbon (TO

OC) content of thhe bulk sedimennt. (B) Hydrogen index (HI) of thee bulk sediment (mg hydrocarboons
(HC)/g TOC
C). (C) Steranes//17-hopanes raatio shows its higghest value at 122.94m above thee base of the Batra formation. (D
D)
13C valuess of organic carbbon (OC) versuss Vienna Peedeee belemnite (VPD
DB) in parts per mil ().Source: Armstrong (20009)
Upper
U
Hot Shale.
S
In the
e Hamad Ba
asin/Risha p rospective a
area, the dep
pth of the U
Upper
Hot Shale ranges frrom 6,500 to
o 10,000 ft, averaging
a
8
8,500 ft. Bassed on limite
ed well test data,
me that the shale is at normal pres
ssure. The o
organic-rich gross intervval of the U
Upper
we assum
Hot Shale unit in the Risha pro
ospective are
ea is about 160 ft thick, with an avverage net p
pay of
about 80
0 ft, based on
n a minimum
m 2% TOC value
v
cutoff. Figure XXV
V-7 providess a north to ssouth
cross-sec
ction for the Batra Sh
hale in the Risha area
a (see Figu
ure XXV-1 ffor cross-se
ection
June, 2013
XX
XV-8
XXV. Jordann
location.)).8
EIA/ARI W
The ave
erage TOC value is ab
bout 2%, a fter exclusio
on of the lo
ower TOC vvalue
intervals using the net

n to gross
s pay ratio. The therm al maturity of the Upp
per Hot Sha
ale is
d at above 1.2% Ro eq
quivalent3. We
W have ussed analog d
data from o
other Silurian
n-age
estimated
hot shale deposits
s for supple
emental rese
ervoirs data for the Upper Hot Shale unit in
n the
Hamad Basin
B
(Risha
a Area).
Figure XXV
V-7. Regional Geologic Cro
oss-Section, E
Eastern Hamadd Basin (Rishaa Area).
Source: NRA Petroleum Dirrectorate Jordan, 2006
Figure XXV-8
8 is an isop
pach map fo
or the Batra
a Shale using the 150 API gamm
ma-ray
und value for determining organically
y rich shale..3
backgrou
June, 2013
XX
XV-9
XXV. Jordann
EIA/ARI W
Figure XXV-8.
X
Isopacch Map of Organic-Rich Silu
urian Shales w
with Total Gam
mma-Ray Valuues Exceedingg 150
AP
PI Correspond
ding to Organicc Richness.
June, 2013
XXV
V-10
XXV. Jordann
EIA/ARI W
3. RESO
OURCE AS
SSESSMEN
NT
Wadi
W
Sirhan Basin. The
e prospectiv
ve area for th
he Lower Ba
atra Shale in
n the Wadi S
Sirhan
Basin is limited on th
he west by th
he thinning and
a thermal maturity of the shale an
nd on the ea
ast by
er. Within the
t
1,050-m
mi2 prospectiive area forr oil, the Ba
atra Shale h
has a
the Jordanian borde
resource
e concentrattion of 9 million barrels
s of oil perr mi2 plus m
moderate volumes of sshale
associate
ed gas.
The
T risked re
esource in-pllace for the shale oil pro
ospective arrea of the W
Wadi Sirhan B
Basin
is estima
ated at 4 billion barrels of
o oil plus 2 Tcf of asso
ociated shale
e gas. Base
ed on moderrately
favorable
e reservoir properties,
p
we
w estimate a risked, te
echnically recoverable shale oil reso
ource
of 0.1 billion barrels plus small volumes
v
of associated
a
s hale gas forr the Batra S
Shale in the Wadi
Sirhan Basin.
Hamad/Rish
H
a Area. Th
he prospecttive area forr the Upperr Batra Shale in the Ha
amad
Basin/Ris
sha area is limited on the west by th
he pinch-out of the shale
e and on the north, south
h and
2
east by the
t Jordania
an border. Within
W
the 3,300-mi
3
pro
ospective arrea for wet and dry gass, the
Batra Shale has a re

esource conc
centration off 25 Bcf/mi2.
The
T risked sh
hale resourc
ce in-place for
f the gas p
prospective area is estimated at 33
3 Tcf.
Based on
o moderattely favorab
ble reservoir propertie
es, we estimate a rissked, techn
nically
as resource
e of about 7 Tcf for the Batra Shale
e in the Ham
mad Basin/R
Risha
area.
4. RECE
ENT ACTIV
VITY
A number of
o deep exp
ploration we
ells have b
been drilled
d in the Wadi Sirhan area
prospecting for oil. One
O well (W
Wadi Sirhan #4)
# is reportted to have produced 25
5 barrels pe
er day
s
associated with the Ba
atra Shale, w
while other exploration wells
of 42o API oil from sandstones
have rep
ported shows
s of light oil.8 However, much of the
e data from these deep exploration wells
remains confidential. Another series of wells (31) have
e been drille
ed in the Ham
mad Basin/R
Risha
o the Risha tight sandsto
one memberr of the Ordo
ovician-age D
Dubaydib Fo
ormation. Five of
area into
the wells
s are reported to be prod
ducing at a combined
c
ratte of 30 MMcfd.7 The Batra Shale, iin the
overlying
g Silurian-a
age Mudaw
wwara Form
mation, is considered the sourcce of this gas
accumula
ation.
June, 2013
XXV
V-11
XXV. Jordann
EIA/ARI W
REFERE
ENCES
Luning, S. et al., 2000. LLower Silurian H

Hot Shales in Noorth Africa and A
Arabia: Regionaal Distribution annd Depositional M
Model,
Elsevier Earth-Science
E
Reviews,
R
vol. 49, p. 121-200.
Armstrongg, H.A. et al., 2009. Black Shhale Deposition in an Upper O rdovicianSiluriaan Permanentlyy Stratified, Peri-glacial
Basin, Soouthern Jordan. Elsevier Paleogeography, Paleeoclimatology, P
Paleoecology, vool. 273, p. 3683377.
Luning, S. et al., 2005. A

Anatomy of a Woorld-Class Sourcce Rock: Distrib ution and Depossitional Model of Silurian Organnic-Rich
Shales in Jordan and Impplications for Hyddrocarbon Potenntial. American Association of P
p. 1397-1427.
Based on H. Ramini, 19955, personal comm

munication with S.
S Luning.
Armstrongg, H.A. 2005. Origin, Sequennce Stratigraphyy and Depositionnal Environment of an Upper O
Ordovician (Hirnnantian)
Deglacial Black Shale, Joordan. Elsevier, Paleogeographhy, Paleoclimatoology, Paleoecology, vol. 220, p.. 273-289.
Keegan, J.B., Rasul, S.M., and Shaheen, Y., 1990. Palynnostratigraphy oof Lower Paleozooic, Cambrian too Silurian, Sedim
ments of
o Jordan. Revv. Palaeobot. Pallynol., vol. 66, p.. 167-180.
the Hasheemite Kingdom of
Ahlbrandt, T.S., Okasheh, O.A., and Lewaan, M.D., 1997. A Middle East Basin Center Hydrocarbon Acccumulation in Paleozoic
Rocks, Eastern Jordan, Western Iraq annd Surrounding Regions. Ameerican Association of Petroleum
m Geologists, Abbstract,
Austria.
Internatioonal Conference and Exhibition, 7-10 Septemberr 1997, Vienna, A
Natural Resources
R
Authhority, Petroleum
m Directorate, the
t Hashemite Kingdom of Joordan, 2006. P
Petroleum Explloration
Opportunnities in Jordan.
June, 2013
XXV
V-12
XXVI. Turkeey
XXVI.
EIA/ARI W
TUR
RKEY
SUMMA
ARY
This
T
resource assessme
ent address
ses two sha
ale basins in
n Turkey - - the South
heast
Anatolia Basin in so
outhern Turk
key and the
e Thrace Ba
asin in westtern Turkeyy, Figure XX
XVI-1.
wo basins ha
ave active shale
s
oil and
d gas explorration underrway by the Turkish nattional
These tw
petroleum
m company (TPAO) and
d several international ccompanies. Turkey mayy also have sshale
gas reso
ources in the
e Sivas and
d Salt Lake basins. H
However, only limited re
eservoir data
a are
available
e for these tw
wo lightly exp
plored basin
ns.
Figu
ure XXVI-1. Maajor Shale Bassins of Turkeyy
Source: ARI, 2013.

June, 2013
XXVI-1
XXVI. Turkeey
EIA/ARI W
We
W estimate that the Dad
das Shale in
n the SE Ana
atolian Basin
n and the Ha
amitabat Sha
ale in
the Thra
ace Basin contain 163 Tcf of riske
ed shale ga
as in-place, with 24 Tccf as the rissked,
ble shale ga
as resource, Table XXV
VI-1. In addition, we esttimate that tthese
two shale
e basins also
o contain 94
4 billion barre
els of risked shale oil in--place, with 4
4.7 billion ba
arrels
as the ris
sked, technic
cally recoverrable shale oil
o resource,, Table XXV
VI-2.
Table XXVI-1.
X
Shalee Gas Reservvoir Propertiees and Resouurces of Turkkey
BasicData
PhysicalExtent
Reservoir
Properties
Resource
SE
E Anatolian
Bassin/Gross Area
Thrace
Sh
hale Formation
G
Geologic
Age
Deposittional Environmentt
2

Organically Rich
Thickness (ft)
Net
Interval
Depth (ft)
Average
Reservoir Pressure
(6,500 mi )
Dadas
Silurrian-Devonian
Marine
Hamitabat
M. - L. Eocene
Marine
3,540
394
216
6,000 - 11,5000
9,000
500
377
207
5,500 - 13,000
9,500
150
210
680
500
500
500
250
250
250
10,000 - 13,0000 13,000 - 16,400 14,000 - 16,400
11,500
14,500
15,000
Mod.
Mod.
Mod.
Mod. Overpreess.
Overpress.
Overpress.
Overpress.
2.0%
3.6%
2.0%
2.0%
0.85%
1.15%
1.15%
2.00%
Medium
Med./Highh
Medium
Medium
Mod. Overpresss.
OC (wt. %)
Average TO
Thermal Maturity
M
(% Ro)
Clay Conteent
3.6%
0.85%
Med./High
Gas Phasee
(332,100 mi )
Assoc. Gass
Wet Gas
Assoc. Gass
Wet Gas
Dry Gas
GIP Conceentration (Bcf/mi )
48.2
91.4
34.7
81.8
104.1
Risked GIP
P (Tcf)
102.4
27.4
1.9
6.2
25.5
Risked Reccoverable (Tcf)
10.2
6.9
0.1
1.2
5.1
Resource
Reservoir
Properties
PhysicalExtent
BasicData
Table XXVI-2.
X
Shalee Oil Reservo
oir Propertiees and Resouurces of Turkkey
June, 2013
SE Anatoliaan
Basin/Grosss Area
Thrace
Shale Formaation
Geologic Age
A
(32,100 mi )
(6,500 mi )
Dadas
Silurian-Devonnian
Marine
Hamitabat
M. - L. Eocene
Marine
Pro
ospective Area (m
mi )
3,540
500
150
2110
394
377
Orgaanically Rich
5
500
5000
Thickness (ft)
Net
207
2
250
2550
216
6,0000 - 11,500 5,500 - 13,000 10,0000 - 13,000 13,000 - 16,400
Interrval
Depth (ft)
Averrage
9,500
111,500
14,500
9,000
Mod.
M
Mod.
Mood.
Mod.
Reservoir Pressure
O
Overpress.
Overpress.
Ove rpress.
Overppress.
3.6%
3.6%
2
2.0%
2.00%
0.85%
Thermal Maturity (%
% Ro)
1
1.15%
0..85%
1.15%
M
Med./High
Meed./High
Meedium
Meddium
Claay Content
Oill Phase
Oil
Conndensate
Oil
Condeensate
OIP
P Concentration (MMbbl/mi
(
)
41.0
14.2
3
33.8
8
8.0
Rissked OIP (B bbl)
87.1
4.2
1.8
0
0.6
Rissked Recoverablee (B bbl)
4.36
0.21
0
0.07
0.02
XXVI-2
XXVI. Turkeey
EIA/ARI W
1.
SOUTHEAS
S
ST ANATOLIAN BASIIN
1.1
In
ntroduction
The
T
SE Anattolian Basin covers a la
arge, 32,100
0-mi2 area in
n southeaste
ern Turkey. The
basin con
ntains the Silurian Dada
as Shale, loc
cated in the ccentral basin
n portion of the basin, F
Figure
XXVI-2.
d on the no
orth by the Zagros sutture zone, w
which markss the
The basin is bounded
juncture of the Arabian and Eurrasian tecton

nic plates. T
The basin iss bounded o
on the south
h and
t Syria, Iraq and Turk
key border. The SE An
natolian Bassin is an acttive, primarilly oileast by the
prone ba
asin with abo
out 100 oil field
f
discove
eries to date
e. While the
e bulk of the
e oil productiion is
from Marrdin Group carbonate
c
fo
ormations, th
he basin also
o has deep P
Paleozoic re
eservoirs succh as
the Bedin
nan Sandsto
one that conttains light, 40
4 o to 50o AP
PI gravity oil..
Figure XX
XVI-2. Outline and Depositio
onal Limit of D
Dadas Shale, S
SE Anatolian Basin
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
XXVI-3
XXVI. Turkeey
EIA/ARI W
In
n the early Paleozoic, Silurian-age
e shale form
mations werre deposited
d throughou
ut the
northern Gondwana super-continent (present day North
h Africa and
d the Middle
e East), follo
owing
d by melting
g of Ordovic
cian-age glacciers. Regio
onal lows and offshore d
deltas
sea level rise caused
with anoxic condition
ns preserved organic-ric
ch sedimentts. The SE Anatolian B
Basin was pa
art of
hern edge off the Gondw
wana super-c
continent, w hich later se
eparated to form the Ara
abian
the north
plate. As
s such, the SE
S Anatolian Basin sha
ares similar g
geology with
h the oil-prod
ducing regio
ons of
Saudi Arrabia and Ira
aq, although it experienc
ced more inte
ense faulting
g and thrustting from collision
with the Eurasian
E
Pla
ate.
The
T SE Anattolian Basin contains thrree source rrocks - - the
e deep Silurian Dadas S
Shale,
the Late Cretaceous
s Karabogaz
z organic-ric
ch limeston e, and the organic-rich
h deposits in
n the
Jurassic Jodi Group.1
Triassic-J
The most prospective

e of these ssource rockks is the Sillurian
Dadas Shale,
S
the basal
b
membe
er of which, called Dad
das I, is the
e organic-ricch shale intterval
evaluated
din this reso
ource study, Figure XXV
VI-3.
In ge
eneral, the D
Dadas Shale
e is oil prone but
may be wet
w gas-pron
ne in the dee
eper northern area of the
e basin.
ARI
A mapped a 4,040-mi2 area of the Dadas Sha
ale in the no
orth-central p
portion of th
he SE
Anatolian
n Basin as prospective
p
for
f shale gas
s and shale o
oil developm
ment. The prrospective arrea is
bounded on the eastt by the 10-m
m Dadas I Shale
S
isopacch, on the so
outh and we
est by the -1,500ea depth con
ntour for the
e Dadas Sha
ale (approxim
mately equivvalent to an Ro of 0.7%)), and
m sub-se
on the north
n
by the
e Hazro Uplift.2
Figure
e XXVI-41 p
provides a n
north to sou
uth cross-se
ection
through the
t center of
o the basin, illustrating the presencce and depth of the Dad
das Shale. (The
location of
o the cross--section is sh
hown on Fig
gure XXVI-2)).
1.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
The
T
Dadas Shale of the
t
SE Ana
atolian Bassin containss a 3,540-m
mi2 central area
prospective for shale oil and a smaller, no

orthern 500
0-mi2 prospe
ective area for wet gass and
condensa
ate, Figure XXVI-5. Because of limited data on vitrinite
e reflectance
e, we have used
Tmax of 455oC as a proxy for the Ro of 1.0%
1
bound ary between
n the oil pro
one and the
e wet
densate pron
ne area, Figu
ure XXVI-6.3 The south ern 0.7%-Ro boundary ffor the oil window
gas/cond
follows th
he -1,500-m sub-sea depth contour for the Dada
as Shale.
June, 2013
XXVI-4
X
XXVI. Turkey
EIA/ARI W
Figure XXVI-3. SW Anatolia Basiin Stratigraphic

Column2
Figure XXVI-4.
X
SW Anatoliian Basin Cross-S
Section1
D
DadasShale
Dadas
Source: E. Aytac,
A
2010.
S
Source: A. Aydemir, 2010.
JJune, 2013
XXVI-5
XXVI. Turkeey
EIA/ARI W
Figuree XXVI-5. Dadas Shale Prosspective Area,, SE Anatoliann Basin, Turkeey
Source: ARI, 2013
Figure XX
XVI-6. Relation
nship of Tmax and Thermal Maturity for B
Basal Dadas I Shale
Source: M. Mitchell, 2013.
June, 2013
XXVI-6
XXVI. Turkeey
EIA/ARI W
A series of key
k wells prrovided valu
uable inform ation on the
e reservoir properties o
of the
Dadas Shale.
S
The key wells in
ncluded: (1) the Goksu-#
#1R (with 3
30 feet of co
ore, detailed rock
mineralogy and mic
cro-seismic data); (2) the
t
Bahir-#1
1 (with core
e-based vitrrinite reflecttance
information and rese
ervoir pressu
ure data); an
nd (3) the C
Caliktepe-#2 (with 5 Dad
das Shale co
ores).
The loca
ation of these three key reserv
voir charactterization w
wells, plus the Shell/T
TPAO
Saribugd
day-#1 well are
a shown on Figure XX
XVI-5.
The
T depth off the Dadas Shale in the
e SE Anatoliian Basin ra
anges from 6
6,000 ft to 13
3,000
ft, averag
ging 9,000 ftt in the oil window and 9,500
9
ft in the
e wet gas and condensa
ate window. The
total Dad
das Shale Fo
ormation ha
as an extens
sive gross th
hickness of o
over 1,000 fft, with, its lo
ower,
200-ft thick basal porrtion consid
dered the primary organi c-rich sourcce rock.2
Based
B
on core analyses
s information
n from the kkey wells disscussed abo
ove, the Dadas I
Shale co
ontains Type
e II (oil and gas)
g
marine kerogen witth a TOC off 2% to 7%, averaging 3
3.6%.
The form
mation oil sam
mples tested
d at 40o to 50
0o API. The shale matrix has a poro
osity of 6% tto 7%
with low water saturration. The
e mineralogy
y of the Dad
das Shale in the Bahir #1 well sho
owed
moderate
ely high clay
y (34%) with 39% quartz
z.3 The form ation is overr-pressured..
1.3
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Within
W
the 3,540-mi2 oil prospective area, the D
Dadas Shale
e in the SE Anatolian B
Basin
has an estimated res

source conce
entration of 41 million ba
arrels/mi2 off oil plus asssociated gas. We
b
of ris
sked shale oil
o in-place a
and 102 Tcff of associatted shale ga
as inestimate 87 billion barrels
on barrels of shale oil and
a
10 Tcf of associate
ed shale ga
as as the rissked,
place, with 4.4 billio
ble shale res
sources.
2
Within
W
the 500-mi
5
wet gas and condensate
c
area, the Dadas Sha
ale has reso
ource
concentrrations of 91 Bcf/mi2 for wet

w gas and
d 14 million b
barrels/mi2 fo
or condensa
ate. We estiimate
the Dada
as Shale contains a risk
ked wet sha
ale gas in-pllace of 27 T
Tcf, with 7 T
Tcf as the rissked,
ble shale gas resource. This area a
also holds rissked shale o
oil/condensa
ate inplace of 4 billion barrrels, with 0.2 billion barrels as the risked, tech
hnically reco
overable sha
ale oil
e.
resource
June, 2013
XXVI-7
XXVI. Turkeey
EIA/ARI W
Overall,
O
we estimate
e
thatt the Dadas I Shale in th
he SE Anato
olian Basin ccontains 91 b
billion
barrels of
o risked sha
ale oil in-pla
ace and 130 Tcf of ris ked shale g
gas in-place
e, with 4.6 b
billion
barrels of
o shale oil/condensate
e and 17 Tcf of wet shale gass as the rissked, techn
nically
recoverable shale resources.
While
W
the Dadas
D
Sha
ale formatio
on has rellatively favvorable properties for gas
developm
ment, the prrospective areas
a
exhibit heavy fau
ulting and th
he shale ha
as moderate
e clay
content, two factors that
t
could po
ose significa
ant developm
ment risks.
1.4
Recent
R
Activity
TPAO,
T
the Turkish Na
ational Oil Company, and Shell are curre
ently drilling
g the
Saribugd
day-#1 well in License Area
A
4925 tes
sting the Da
adas Shale. Shell has a
announced a fivewell exploration prog
gram for the area. Anato
olia Energy drilled their first Dadas Shale evalu
uation
o their Bism
mil lease area in early Ja
anuary, 2012.4 The sha
ale section in the
well, Caliktepe-#2, on
viding valuab
ble informattion on the rreservoir pro
operties of the Dadas S
Shale,
well was cored, prov
Atlantic Petro
oleum reporrted flowing gas and lig
ght oil
as reportted earlier in this chaptter. TransA
from their two Dadas
s Shale test wells, Goksu-#1 and Ba
ahir-#1. TPA
AO reported
d their Oiksor well
flowed 15
52 barrels off 60o API gra
avity oil durin
ng a three-h our test in th
he Dadas Sh
hale.
June, 2013
XXVI-8
XXVI. Turkeey
EIA/ARI W
2.
THRACE
T
BA
ASIN
2.1
In
ntroduction
The
T
Thrace Basin coverrs an 6,500--mi2 area in
n the Europe
ean portion of Turkey. The
Basin is bordered on
n the north by
b the Istran
nca Massif, b
by the Rhod
dope Massiff on the wesst and
arya Massiff on the south, Figure XXVI-7.
the Saka
T
Tertiary-age (Eocene th
hrough Mioccene)
deposits reach nearlly 30,000 ft thick in the center of th

he basin. Fo
ollowing the discovery o
of the
at Gas Field
d in 1970, the Thrace Ba
asin became
e Turkeys m
most importa
ant gas producing
Hamitaba
area, acc
counting forr 85% of the
e countrys total gas prroduction. About 350 wells have been
drilled in thirteen gas fields and
d three oil fie
elds in this basin. The
e Thrace Basin is prima
arily a
tight sand
d gas play, sourced
s
by adjoining
a
and deeper sh
hales.
Fig
gure XXVI-7. Outline
O
and Depositional
D
Liimits of the Thhrace Basin
Source: ARI, 2013.
June, 2013
XXVI-9
XXVI. Turkeey
EIA/ARI W
The
T Thrace Basin
B
contaiins two shale source ro ck formation
ns with oil a
and gas pote
ential,
the Middle Eocene Hamitabat
H
Fo
ormation and
d the Lower Oligocene M
Mezardere F
Formation, F
Figure
ation contain
ns a thick ssequence off sandstone, shale and marl
XXVI-8.5 The Hamiitabat Forma
deposited
d in a shallo
ow marine environment
e
t. The Meza
ardere Form
mation, deposited in a deltaic
environm
ment, contain
ns inter-bedd
ded layers of sandstone
e, shale and marl. In the
e deeper are
eas of
the basin
n, these shalles have suffficient therm
mal maturity tto be in the gas window
w.
The
T
prospecttive areas for the shale
es in the Th
hrace Basin are based on total org
ganic
content, appropriate
e depth an
nd adequate
e thermal maturity.
of their com
mplex
Because o
onal environm
ments, accu
urately locating prospecttive shale in
ntervals withiin the Mezardere
depositio
and Ham
mitabat forma
ations requires detailed
d geologic da
ata, and a m
more extenssive set of ccrosssections than were available
a
for this basin, Figure
F
XXVI--9.5
The
T 1,040-mii2 prospectiv
ve area identified for the
e Hamitabat Formation iss based prim
marily
on depth
h and therma
al maturity data.
d
The Hamitabat
H
F
Formation co
ontains modest-size oil (150mi2) and wet gas/con
ndensate (21
10 mi2) areas and a larg
ger, 680-mi2 prospective area for dryy gas.
ortion of the dry gas area
a in the centter of the basin is deepe
er than the 5
5,000Howeverr, a major po
m threshold used forr this analysis and thus was
w not inclluded in thiss prospective
e area. While we
mapped the areal extent and th
hermal matu
urity of the Mezardere Shale, we d
did not iden
ntify a
prospective area for this shale be
ecause the recent
r
core d
d TOC value
es less than 2%.6
data showed
2.2
Reservoir
R
Properties
P
(Prospectiive Area)
Hamitabat
H
Shale.
S
The deepest and
d oldest sh ale formatio
on in the Th
hrace Basin
n, the
Hamitaba
at Shale is also the mo
ost thermally mature. The shale is in the dryy gas windo
ow at
depths of
o 14,000 to 16,400 ft in the cente
er of the bassin, with Ro ranging fro
om 1.3% to over
2.5%.7 Organic
O
conttent is highly
y variable th
hroughout th
he formation
n, ranging fro
om fractionss of a
percent to
t above 6%
%. Within the
e prospectiv
ve area, TOC
C ranges fro
om 1% to 4%
%, averaging
g 2%.
The net shale
s
of the Hamitabat Shale
S
averag
ges 250 feett, Figure XXV
VI-10.8
Mezardere
M
Shale.
S
The Mezardere
M
Shale
S
is a ssecond thickk, regionallyy extensive sshale
interval in
n the Thrace
e Basin, Figu
ure XXVI-11.8 Howeverr, because o
of low organic content (<
<2%),
this shale
e formation has
h not been
n quantitativ
vely assesse
ed.
June, 2013
XXVI-10
X
XXVI. Turkey
EIA/ARI W
Figure XXVI-8. Th
hrace Basin Stratigraphic Column5
Figuree XXVI-9. Thrace B

Basin Cross Sectiion 5
Mezardere
Hamitabat
Mezarde
ere
Hamitabat
S
Source: Grgey, Kaddir, 2005.
JJune, 2013
Source: Grgey, Kadir, 2005.
XXVI-11
XXVI. Turkeey
EIA/ARI W
Figure XXVI-10. Ham

mitabat Shale Formation of tthe Thrace Baasin, NW Turkkey
Source: ARI, 2013.
Figure XXVI-11. Mezzardere Shale Formation of the Thrace Baasin, NW Turkkey
Source: AR
RI, 2013.
June, 2013
XXVI-12
XXVI. Turkeey
2.3
EIA/ARI W
Resource
R
Assessmen
A
nt
Within
W
their respective prospective areas, AR I calculatess a dry sha
ale gas reso
ource
concentrration of 104
4 Bcf/mi2, a wet shale gas resource
e of 82 Bcf/m
mi2, and a sshale oil reso
ource
concentrration of 34 million
m
barrels/mi2 for the
e Hamitabat Shale.
The
T
Hamitab
bat Shale co
ontains riske
ed shale ga
as in-place o
of 34 Tcf, w
with 6 Tcf as the
ble shale ga
as resource, Table XXVII-1. The Ha
amitabat Shale also con
ntains
risked sh
hale oil/condensate in-place of 2 billion barrels, with 0.1 billion barrels a
as the techn
nically
recoverable shale oill resource.
2.4
Recent
R
Activity
Much
M
of the activity in the Thrace Basin is fo
or tight gass, particularly by TPAO
O and
TransAtla
antic Petrole
eum. While these comp
panies have begun to ap
ppraise the sshale gas an
nd oil
in this ba
asin, no inforrmation has been releas
sed on shale
e well tests o
or performan
nce.
REFERE
ENCES
Aytac, E., 2010. Lower Paleozoic Oil Potential

P
of SE Turkey, Districtts X & XI preseented at the Peetform Panels, A
Ankara,
January 11, 2010. http://ww
ww.petform.org.trr/images/yayinlar/sunum_ve_konnusmalar/aytac__eren.pdf.
1
2 Aydemir, A., 2010. Potential Shale Ga

as Resources Inn Turkey: Evaluuating Ecologicaal Prospects, Geeochemical Propperties,
Surface Acccess & Infrastruucture. TPAO Turkish
T
Petroleuum Corporation , presented at the Global Shaale Gas Summitt 2010,
Warsaw, Pooland, July 19, 2010. http://www..global-shale-gas-summit-2010.ccom/index.asp
Mitchell, M.,
M 2013. Compparison of the Daadas Shale to thhe Woodford Shaale Developmennt. TransAtlantic Petroleum, Feebruary
12.
3
Anatolia Energy, 2013. U

Unlocking Turkeyys Shale Resources. March, 2 013.
Grgey, K., Philp,R.P.,, Clayton,C.,Em

miroglu, H., annd Siyako,M., 2005. Geocchemical and IIsotopic Approaach to
Maturity/souurce/mixing Estimations for Nattural Gas and Associated
A
Conddensates in thee Thrace Basin, NW Turkey. A
Applied
Geochemisttry, vol. 20, no. 11,p.
1
2017-20377.
5
Sari, A., annd Kars,A.S., 20008. Source Rock Characterization of the Tertiaary Units in Havssa-Edirne Area: Thrace Basin/TTurkey.
Energy Sources, Part A: Reecovery, Utilizatioon, and Environm
mental Effects, vvol. 30, no. 10, pp. 891.
6
Aydmir, A.,
A 2010. Potential Unconventtional Reservoirss in Different B
Basins of Turkeyy. Presented att the AAPG European
Region Annual
A
Conferrence, Kiev, Ukraine, Occtober 17. hhttp://www.searcchanddiscovery.nnet/abstracts/pddf/2010/
kiev/abstraccts/ndx_Aydemirr.pdf.
7
TransAtlanntic Petroleum, 4Q12 Preliminarry Financial and Operations Revview, March 19, 2013
June, 2013
XXVI-13

A - EIA - ARI - 2013 World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment

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A - EIA - ARI - 2013 World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment

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EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and

Shale Oil Resource Assessment

U.S. Energy Information Administration

Advanced Resources International, Inc.

EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment

CANADA ....................................................................................................................................................... I-1

AUSTRALIA ................................................................................................................................................ III-1

N. SOUTH AMERICA ................................................................................................................................ IV-1

ARGENTINA ................................................................................................................................................ V-1

BRAZIL ....................................................................................................................................................... VI-1

OTHER S. SOUTH AMERICA ................................................................................................................... VII-1

POLAND (Including Lithuania and Kaliningrad) ........................................................................................ VIII-1

RUSSIA ...................................................................................................................................................... IX-1

EASTERN EUROPE (Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine)..................................................................................... X-1

UNITED KINGDOM .................................................................................................................................... XI-1

SPAIN ........................................................................................................................................................ XII-1

NORTHERN AND WESTERN EUROPE .................................................................................................. XIII-1

MOROCCO (Including Western Sahara and Mauritania) ........................................................................ XIV-1

ALGERIA ................................................................................................................................................... XV-1

SOUTH AFRICA ....................................................................................................................................... XIX-1

MONGOLIA .............................................................................................................................................. XXI-1

THAILAND ............................................................................................................................................... XXII-1

INDONESIA ............................................................................................................................................ XXIII-1

INDIA/PAKISTAN .................................................................................................................................. XXIV-1

JORDAN ................................................................................................................................................. XXV-1

TURKEY ................................................................................................................................................ XXVI-1

EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND STUDY RESULTS

EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment

*Includes Lithuania and Kaliningrad. **Includes Western Sahara & Mauritania

EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment

EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment

SUMMARY OF STUDY FINDINGS

Shale Oil Resources.

The previous EIA/ARI study did not assess shale oil

Adding the U.S. shale oil resource

EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment

North America (Ex. U.S.)

North America (Ex. U.S.)

EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment

245 10. Canada

1,535 11. Others

EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment

IV. N. South America

VII. Other S. South America

XIII. Other Western Europe

*Includes Western Sahara & Mauritania

Risked Gas Technically Risked Oil

EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment

COMPARISON OF STUDY FINDINGS

Table 4. Comparison of 2011 EIA/ARI Study and

North America (Ex. U.S.)

EIA/ARI World Shale Gas and Shale Oil Resource Assessment

Table 5. Selected Comparison of 2011 and Current EIA/ARI Estimates

May 2013 Report

7 basins vs. 12 basins.

Better data on areal extent.

Improved dry and wet gas areal

New dedicated chapter.

Included associated gas; better

Higher TOC criterion, better data

Better data on SE Basin in France.

Eliminated speculative area for