Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • TOC From Well Logs

    Uploaded by

    jombibi
    2 views13 pages
    TOC From Well Logs

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    TOC From Well Logs

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    2 views13 pages

    TOC From Well Logs

    Uploaded by

    jombibi
    TOC From Well Logs

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 13
    Total Organic Carbon Content Determined From Well Logs Walter H. Fertl, SPE, Atlas Wireline Services George V. Chilingar, SPE, U. of Southern California Summary. Total organic-carbon (TOC) content present in potential source rocks significanly alfects the response of various well logs. This paper discusses and illustrates well-log anomalies caused by TOC as observed on various wireline measurements, including resistivity (or conductivity), acoustic, nuclear (density and neutron), gamma ray, natural gamma ray spectra, and pulsed neutron [sigma and carbon/oxygen (C/O) rato} Field examples of these well-log responses in open and/or closed wellbores are presented from several countties. Several correlations between TOC and individual andor combinations of various logging responses are also reviewed. Introduction Several geophysical well logs can be used to evaluate the organic- ‘carbon content of subsurface strata, such as shale formations, and to provide an indicator forthe source rock potential. In the earliest stages of ol and gas exploration, one must be certain that sufficient source rock is present forthe generation of hydrocarbons. ‘Adsorption of uranium (U) from U-bearing formation waters is ‘controlled by pH; Eh; temperature; activities of U*S, U*4, and ‘other cations and anions; and the type(s) of adsorbers present ‘Uranium adsorption by organic matter depends largely on its ype, ‘amount, and degree of maturity; and pH/Eh conditions. ‘Uranium is easily adsorbed inthe presence of carbonaceous m- {terial present in layers or in a dispersed form, particularly in areduc- ing environment. Such processes involve the eduction of hexavalent ‘uranium (U *8) from solution to U*# adsorbers based on their high ion-exchange capacity and formation of uranium/ organic col- loids and/or compounds. Organic compounds present in subsurface formations, therefore, play a significant role in the accumulation ‘and concentration of uraaium, “Although marine black shales, which occur worldwide, usually ‘exhibit U concentrations in the range of 15 to 60 ppm, some of these shales contain enough uranium tobe considered as future ura- nium resources. For example, the massive black shale deposit at Ranstad, located in southern Sweden, has an average U3Os con- tent of 300 ppm. This translates into about 300,000 tons [272103 Mg] of uranium, which according to Jankovic! represents about 15% of the world's uranium reserves Generally, dark, organi-rich shale intervals exhibit increased natural radioactivity compared with lighter-colored shales that con= tain ess organic matter. Both laboratory studies and natura gamma- ray spectral logging in open and/or cased wellbores indicate this increase in radioactivity o be primarily a result of inreased U con- In addition to suitable temperature and time conditions, the type and quantity of organic material and associated depositional envi- ‘ronment wll afect both volume and properties ofthe hydrocarbons ‘generated. Wide variations exist in both organic matter and hhydrocarbon contents of source rocks, as compiled by Hunt? from ‘many investigations. ‘According to Jones, a majority of the world's major ol ac~ ‘cumulation originated in source rocks with a TOC conten in excess of 2.5 w%—i.e, the Kimmeridgian shale in the northern North ‘Sea; the upper Miocene Monterey formation of California; the Cre- taccous black shale overlying the major unconformity ofthe North ‘Slope (Prudhoe Bay) in Alaska; the Bakken and Woodford shales ‘of the Paleozoic in the U.S. midcontinent region; the Silurian shales of Algeria; the Duvernay shal ofthe Devonian in Alberta, Canad; the Cretaceous La Luna formation in Venezuela; and the source rocks ofthe Middle East and Siberia, USSR. In contrat, in several Tertiary dela systems—e.g., the Mississippi River of the U.S. gulf ‘opr 888 Sot of Perum Engrans [SPE Formation Evalastion, June 1988 coast and Niger River of Aftica—the source rocks underlying poten- tial reservoirs exhibit TOC content ranging from 0.3 t0 0.5 wi%.. ‘The minimum concentration of orgenic-carbon content required for a source rock to become a source of commercial hydrocarbon accumulations has frequently been stated as being 0.5 wi. A, prerequisite for the generation and accumulation of commercial hhydrocarbon reserves isthe optimum interaction of numerous pa- rameters including source rocks, reservoir rocks, migration, seals (caprocks), timing, and sequence of geologic events, Geophysical Well-Log Responses to TOC Content ‘Natural Gamma Ray Spectral Logs. Since the late 1930's, natural ‘gamma ray logging hasbeen an integral pet of formation evaluation, ‘when it was recognized that natural gmima ray intensities vary with lithology. Today, natural gamma ay spectrum logging devices, in addition to total gamma ray counts, record the individual contribu tions of potasium-40 isotope, uranium series nuclide bismuth-214,, tnd thorium series nuclide thallium-208. [Natural gamma ray logging devices, commercially available to the industry, are scintillation spectrometers that detect and measure the natural gemma rays. Gamma ray count rates from multiple ener- £8 Windows are used to determine concentrations of K, U, and Th ‘The measured concentrations are corrected forthe effec of spectral interference and Compton scatering. Various data-fiterin tec niques are also used. Furthermore, natural gamma ray logging pletion and/or recompletion attempts in the more permeable and/or fractured intervals of such shale formations. Field experiences in clude investigations in the Eagle Ford shale ofthe Cretaceous car- ‘Donate trend of south Texas; the Cretaceous Niobrara and Pierre shales of Colorado; the Woodford shale ofthe Lower Mississippian and Upper Devonian Ages of Oklahoma and west Texas; the Devo- nian shales of the Appalachian basin; the Miocene Moaterey shale ‘of California: the Ordovician black shales of Quebec, Canada; and the Upper Jurassic Bazhenov shale in the mid-Ob/Iniysh region of western Siberia, USSR. 407 L0G 18 [EAGLE FORD. SHALE ‘WOODFORD ‘SHALE Fig. 1—Typical natural gamma ray spectral ig response in ‘organic-ieh shales (, U, Th. Log 1A le from the Eagle Ford ‘shal in Caldwell County, TX, and Log 1B Is rom the Wood- {ord shale in Oklahoma, ‘Sach frequently fractured, brite, often micaceous, and fossiifer- ‘ous shales with some sil laminae and with occasionally ecrystalized Solomite-lime steaks that exhibit «highly oil-aturated matrix characterized by low values of potassium and thorium, but exces- ‘sively high uranium content. In contrast, typically dark, organic- ‘ch shales exhibit high potasiom, high thorium, and excessively high uranium content (Fig. 1). ‘The use of radioactive elements as tracers in sedimentological studies to assist in defining the source rocks of ol had been pro- posed as early as 1944.5 A 1945 study ofthe natural radioactivity and the organie-carbon content of $10 sediment samples showed ‘a marked relation between cera types of organic content and nat al radioactivity. © Supernaw ef a. proposed a method for the in-situ evaluation of the organie-carbon conten of subsurface shale strata based on 3200 3700 4812401254656 URANIUM, ppm ORGANIC CARBON, % Fig. 2—Emplrical correlation of organie-earbon content and iatural gamma ray spectral data in Albany shale. Organic-car~ bon contents shown In percent vs. UIK ratio and U content moasured inthe shale,” ‘natural gamme ray spectra logging techniques. Fig. 2 shows the empirical correlation of organic-carbon content (in percent) with ‘the uranium/potassium ratio and with wraniam confent only in @ [New Albany shale. The strong correlation betwen the natural gar= ‘ma ray spectral information snd the organic-carbon content ofthe Shale i reflected in cortelation coefficient of 0.966 for U and 0.975 for U/K, respectively Fig. 3 favorably compares variations in the measured uranium ‘content and organic carbon as a function of depth of the Devonian black shales of Jackson County, WV.* A composite of onganic- ‘arbon-content data vs. uranium concentrations in Devonian black shales of Jackson and Lincoln counties, WV, Perry County in Ken- tucky, and West Valley in New York is shown in Fig. 4. A more refined approach, which partially corrects for lithological variations inthe shales, uses a reatonship between the thorium/uranium ratio and the organie-carbon content (Fig. §). Similarly, one can also apply other ratios, such as KIU. ‘The previously described and oer similar studies clearly indicate ‘hat natural gamma ray specral logging provides a continuous es- timate of the organic-carbon content of shales in open and cased ‘wellbore, both in a verical and lateral direction. Furthermore natural gamma rey spetral logging can also assis in biostatigrapic reconstruction studies because a significant relationship exists be- ‘ween the high organic-arbon content associated with restricted : Pye l2x10-3y42.877 witha standard deviation of 0.02 gfem? for oy in intervals aver- aged over 20 ft [6 ml, and bp =— 1.29% 10-9 42.896 with & standard deviation of 0.018 gem? for py in 18 intervals, 20 t0 170 A [6 to 52 my] thick. Fig. 17 schematically illustrates the linear correlation, but also points out several factors that can influence the correlation of such logging data ‘Schmoker end Hester™ determined the TOC conten in the up- per and lower members ofthe Mississippian and Devonian Bakken formation in the Williston basin from the density log to be ‘TOC=(154.497/ py) ~37.261, where TOC is in weight percent and py isthe bulk formation density as measured by density logs ‘The above empirical correlation is based on 59 Bakken shale sample analyses from 39 wells loated in North Dakots, with the TOC valve ranging from approximately 6 to 20% ‘The natural gamma ray spectral log response over the Bakken formation in a North Dakota wel ia Fig. 18 shows the typicel response fora shale coataining a high orgaic-carbon conte, i.e, high potassium, high thorium, and very high uranium content. Com: parisons of (1) TOC determined from shale samples in the laboratory ‘SPE Formation Evaluation, June 1988 kenoaen ‘CONSTITUENT WEIGHT PERCENT —> wo 7 s0 0 5 6 70 (OIL VIELD (GALLONSITON OF SHALE) | Fig. 14—Consttuent srolght pecan of eh, kerogen, mineral 03, and moisture ve. .log-derived formation density and (2) TOC determined from ‘core analysis vs. density-log derived data are presented in Figs. 19 and 20, respectively. Significant correlations canbe observed. The average of the absolute values ofthe differences between organic- ‘carbon content determined from core and density logs is 1.1% In tis particular study, a regional depletion of organic carbon has been observed, which parallels present-day isotherms, that reflets the conversion of organie matter to oil and subsequent ex- pulsion ofthe oil from the Bakken formation. Similar to many other basins around the world, this stdy in the Williston basin shows that a large percentage ofthe oil expelled from source rocks has been dispersed into noneconomical concentrations of totaly lost. ‘The assumption that 167 mg hydrocarbons/g TOC has migrated ‘out of the mature Bakken shales suggests that hydrocarbons equva- lent to 132 billion bois of 43°API [21x 10? m? of 0.81-gem"] cil have been expelled from the U.S. portion ofthe Bakken forma tion in the Walston basin Mendelson and Toks6r'> correlated the density-log response to ‘TOC values (based on controlled pyrolysis) measured on samples of the Kimmeridge shale in the North Sea and the Monterey for ration in California. Fig. 21 illustrates the correlations between ‘TOC and log-0 defines source rock, Results of this discriminant analysis can be summarized as fol- lows: D= ~6.906+3.186 log!” 41+0.487 log? R for the acous- tic and resistivity logging combination, D=2.278-7.324 log!® ‘95 +0.387 log!” R for the density and resistivity logging combi- 80 DENSITY Loc. 40 TOG (wt, %) DETERMINED FROM 09 00 40 80 120 160 200 TOC (wt, %) DETERMINED FROM (CORE ANALYSIS Fig. 20—TOC content celculated from density log vs. TOC ‘value measured on core samples In Bakken shale, ND. SPE Formation Evatoton, June 1988 co ] oy \ \ af ‘ of \ of \ | sk \ 6 \ ‘0 \ 9 \ ob ASSAY YIELD, gal 2 4 6 810 15 20 90 50 INTERVAL VELOCITY, tsec as \ rae fs [ie NS * z | ‘ y 3 ‘ ~ ~~ |» \ | ~ “Ty mK . oe Blk dear. eal Fig. 22—Int ll-shale depost.® ‘and Monterey shale in California. ? nation; D=—8,094+0.739 log! GR+3.121 log!? r+0.399 —_Inallshese equations and the data shown inthe crossplots (Figs. log!” R forthe gamma ray, acoustic, and resistivity logging com- 28 and 28), the resistivity values, R, have boen normalized, i.e, bination; and -D=0.817 +0.856 log}? GR—7.524 log” p+ back-caleuated tothe standard temperature of 75°F [24°C]. This, (0.292 log! Rfor the gamma ray, density, and resistivity logging extensive study clearly shows that bh density resistivity and acous- ‘combination, ticlesitivty crosspats ean be used o identify source rocks, provi a6 [SPE Formation Evaluation, June 1988 rere selithon BonosiTy, vei Fig. 24—TOC content vs. neutron log response in Kimmeri shale, North Sea, and Monterey shale in Callfornia. ® 3 = | a BREN Seg] nti See 2 Se femal [fe tacos roan ve ecu tan ety sus | ere the inherent constraints of such techniques are taken into account Figs, 30 and 31 present additional examples of thse log responses in addtional study well “Mendelson and Toks5t!? focused on three main objectives: es- tablishing a physical model to describe log responses relative to source-rock properties; recognizing igh source-rock potential from several well log responses; and investigating the quantitative rela- Lionships between well log response and the TOC determined on rock samples by controlled pyrolysis. In ths tudy, the data base consisted of 68 sidewall and 22 dril-core samples of Kimmeridge ‘shale in four wells located in the British North Sea sector and 22

    You might also like