IP Advanced Training

Paul Spooner
IP Product Champion
Clay and Shale

Whats the difference & why is it important?

LIFTING THE FOG OF CONFUSION SURROUNDING
CLAY AND SHALE IN PETROPHYSICS
Paul Spooner, Senergy
SPWLA 55th Annual Logging Symposium, May 18-22, 2014, paper VV

Shale is a rock, typically defined as an indurated, finely laminated,

sedimentary rock, composed primarily of clay, mud and silt.
This definition does not describe the mineralogy but the grain size.
In this definition, clay refers to clay sized particles, i.e. < 1/256 mm.

Whilst clay can refer to grain size it can also refer to clay minerals, and it is
the dual meaning of the word clay that is at the heart of the confusion in the
industry.
Clay minerals are a group of hydrous aluminium silicates with a sheet-like
structure (phyllosilicates), which adsorb water on their surfaces.
In shale, most of the clay sized particles are composed of clay minerals.
LIFTING THE FOG OF CONFUSION SURROUNDING
CLAY AND SHALE IN PETROPHYSICS
Paul Spooner, Senergy
SPWLA 55th Annual Logging Symposium, May 18-22, 2014, paper VV
LIFTING THE FOG OF CONFUSION SURROUNDING
CLAY AND SHALE IN PETROPHYSICS
Paul Spooner, Senergy
SPWLA 55th Annual Logging Symposium, May 18-22, 2014, paper VV
LIFTING THE FOG OF CONFUSION SURROUNDING
CLAY AND SHALE IN PETROPHYSICS
Paul Spooner, Senergy
SPWLA 55th Annual Logging Symposium, May 18-22, 2014, paper VV
LIFTING THE FOG OF CONFUSION SURROUNDING
CLAY AND SHALE IN PETROPHYSICS
Paul Spooner, Senergy
SPWLA 55th Annual Logging Symposium, May 18-22, 2014, paper VV
LIFTING THE FOG OF CONFUSION SURROUNDING
CLAY AND SHALE IN PETROPHYSICS
Paul Spooner, Senergy
SPWLA 55th Annual Logging Symposium, May 18-22, 2014, paper VV
LIFTING THE FOG OF CONFUSION SURROUNDING
CLAY AND SHALE IN PETROPHYSICS
Paul Spooner, Senergy
SPWLA 55th Annual Logging Symposium, May 18-22, 2014, paper VV
LIFTING THE FOG OF CONFUSION SURROUNDING
CLAY AND SHALE IN PETROPHYSICS
Paul Spooner, Senergy
SPWLA 55th Annual Logging Symposium, May 18-22, 2014, paper VV
LIFTING THE FOG OF CONFUSION SURROUNDING
CLAY AND SHALE IN PETROPHYSICS
Paul Spooner, Senergy
SPWLA 55th Annual Logging Symposium, May 18-22, 2014, paper VV
LIFTING THE FOG OF CONFUSION SURROUNDING
CLAY AND SHALE IN PETROPHYSICS
Paul Spooner, Senergy
SPWLA 55th Annual Logging Symposium, May 18-22, 2014, paper VV
LIFTING THE FOG OF CONFUSION SURROUNDING
CLAY AND SHALE IN PETROPHYSICS
Paul Spooner, Senergy
SPWLA 55th Annual Logging Symposium, May 18-22, 2014, paper VV
LIFTING THE FOG OF CONFUSION SURROUNDING
CLAY AND SHALE IN PETROPHYSICS
Paul Spooner, Senergy
SPWLA 55th Annual Logging Symposium, May 18-22, 2014, paper VV
LIFTING THE FOG OF CONFUSION SURROUNDING
CLAY AND SHALE IN PETROPHYSICS
Paul Spooner, Senergy
SPWLA 55th Annual Logging Symposium, May 18-22, 2014, paper VV
LIFTING THE FOG OF CONFUSION SURROUNDING
CLAY AND SHALE IN PETROPHYSICS
Paul Spooner, Senergy
SPWLA 55th Annual Logging Symposium, May 18-22, 2014, paper VV
LIFTING THE FOG OF CONFUSION SURROUNDING
CLAY AND SHALE IN PETROPHYSICS
Paul Spooner, Senergy
SPWLA 55th Annual Logging Symposium, May 18-22, 2014, paper VV
Phi/Sw Vshale workflow

IP has always explicitly been a

Vclay program, but some users
prefer to work with Vshale.

This workflow allows Vshale

users to work the way they want.

It will also clarify the difference

between clay and shale.

In the Vclay module the

Calculate Shale Volume option
changes the default output curve
names and all the labels for
curves and parameters.
Phi/Sw Vshale workflow

In PhiSw the user defines

whether the input curve is Vclay
or a Vshale, there are new
parameters and a new output
curve Vshale.

When creating a PhiSw

parameter set for the first time it
is sensitive to the Calculate
Shale Volume in Vclay.
Phi/Sw Vshale workflow

In the Vclay module the user

makes Wet Shale picks and
outputs VSH curves.
Phi/Sw Vshale workflow

In PhiSw there are parameters

and interactive picks for both Wet
Shale and Wet Clay

CSR (Clay Shale Ratio) converts

between Vshale and Vclay.
CSR is % of clay in the shale
i.e. CSR = Vclay/Vshale

Log Plot shows Vshale

Phi/Sw Vshale workflow

In the Shaley-Sand trend the computed

porosity is exactly the same regardless of
whether you use a Vshale or a Vclay workflow

However, in the Shale trend the effective

porosity will be too high as Vclay will be too
low, unless you make CSR a variable curve

It may be easier to pick the Shale Point

....but you still have to pick CSR

... and it is clay that matters

Vsilt Index

For a given volume of clay we

expect the resultant Phie to be
within a certain range.
If the porosity is lower than this
then something else must be
reducing it.
This is what the VSILT index
represents.
It indicates that the porosity is
lower than expected given the
Vclay. This could be cement silt
or whatever.
It is purely for display purposes
and does not impact on porosity
or Sw calculations.
Limits and Bad Hole

The effective porosity must be less than

the porosity limit line.
Phi Max is set to the maximum porosity in
silt free sand. It is used to calculate the silt
index. Delta Phi Max is then adjusted to
remove unrealistic porosities.
Vcl cutoff removes porosity in shales. It is
useful for cleaning up an interpretation.
Vcl cutoff can also be used to boost the
Archie m parameter in shales, which
removes unlikely hydrocarbon saturations
in shales.
Phi/Sw Grain Density

A Grain Density curve can now be output, for

plotting against core Grain Density data as a QC.

RHOMA output curve is a clay

corrected, clean matrix density.
RHOMA may not match the core
data very well as it is the whole rock,
including the clays as well.
GrainDen should match core better
In clean rocks RHOMA = GrainDen