Marine and Petroleum Geology 105 (2019) 32–44

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Marine and Petroleum Geology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpetgeo

Research paper

Estimation of thermal maturity in the Bakken source rock from a T

combination of well logs, North Dakota, USA
Arash Abarghania,∗, Mehdi Ostadhassana, Bailey Bubacha, Peiqiang Zhaob,a
a
Department of Petroleum Engineering, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, 58202, United States
b
Institute of Geophysics and Geomatics, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Numerous attempts have been conducted to construct a reliable model to relate petrophysical and geomecha-
Bakken source rock nical characteristics of shale to geochemical properties. In this study, continuous logs were built to predict the
Bitumen reflectance thermal maturity of the Bakken Formation from a set of petrophysical logs. First, dynamic modulus (Ed) was
Thermal maturity created from shear and compressional sonic and, density logs and then converted to Ei (nanoindentation based
Wireline logs
Young's modulus) using the existing experimental relationship between Ed and Ei. Next, continuous TOC logs
were generated for the Bakken Shales based on an empirical relationship between well log derived Ei and TOC
contents that were measured in the lab. There was found an acceptable difference between estimated log-based
TOC and measured values in three separate wells. Solid bitumen reflectance as a reliable indicator of thermal
maturity was measured on all samples from the same wells in the scarcity/absence of vitrinite maceral. The
relationships between GR/NPHI/RHOZ wireline logs versus solid bitumen reflectance (BRO%) as the maturity
index was then investigated in twelve wells. Based on the strength or weight of the relationship between each log
and BRO%, a new parameter “Ʈ” was defined to represent thermal maturity from well logs. A good agreement
between parameter Ʈ and BRO% values was observed which provided an empirical equation to make the esti-
mation of BRO% values for the whole length of the shale members possible. Ultimately, the continuity of BRO%
values, would enable us to establish a relationship between BRO% and measured Tmax values to generate con-
tinuous Tmax logs for the Bakken Shale members. Using these newly developed well logs, it would become
possible to make a 3D property models for BRO% and Tmax (the thermal maturity property cube) for an accurate
petroleum system evaluation based on GR/NPHI/RHOZ logs.

1. Introduction
The Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin is one of the most
important shale plays in North America. The Late Devonian - Early
Mississippian Bakken overlies portions of North Dakota, Montana and
the Canadian Manitoba and Saskatchewan (Fig. 1). It consists of four
members; Upper and Lower members which are known as the Bakken
source rock and comprise of black shales, rich in organic matters, and
the middle and Pronghorn members that are the reservoir rocks and
mainly composed of fine-grained carbonate-rich sandstone and siltstone
with very low porosity and permeability. Bakken Formation is under-
lain by Three Forks Formation and overlain by Lodgepole Formation
(Webster, 1984; Meissner, 1991; Khatibi et al., 2018; Abarghani et al.,
2018). Bakken Formation has no surface outcrops, and drill cuttings
and core samples are the only sources for the Bakken studies. In North
Dakota, the Bakken Formation has a maximum thickness of 46 m
(150 ft) in the central part of the basin (LeFever et al., 1991). The very
high gamma-ray response is the most recognizable petrophysical fea-
ture and characteristic of the Bakken Formation (> 200 API units) from
the Upper and Lower Shale members (Webster, 1984). Therefore, such
features of the Bakken are widely used for the correlation purposes
across the Williston Basin. Considering the fact that, there are lots of
wells in the Bakken Formation with a complete set of petrophysical log
data, we believe, if we can manage to establish a robust model to relate
petrophysical properties from the logs to the main geochemical char-
acteristics of the source rock such as total organic carbon (TOC) or
thermal maturity, it will be possible to construct continuous geo-
chemical logs which lead to a 3D model for the source rock thermal
maturity and richness evaluations, basin wise. This model can help to
better understand source rock and carry out more accurate petroleum
system evaluation and finally reserve estimation.

∗
Corresponding authors.
E-mail addresses: arash.abarghani@und.edu (A. Abarghani), mehdi.ostadhassan@und.edu (M. Ostadhassan).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2019.04.005
Received 3 August 2018; Received in revised form 1 April 2019; Accepted 5 April 2019
Available online 09 April 2019
0264-8172/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A. Abarghani, et al.
Fig. 1. Study area in North Dakota portion of the Williston Basin and wells location.
2. Methods and materials
Twelve wells were selected across North Dakota portion of the
Williston Basin to improve spatial resolution. All wells contain a full set
of wireline logs including GR/NPHI/RHOZ (gamma ray, neutron por-
osity, and density). Out of twelve wells, three also had shear and
compressional sonic logs which were used to calculate geomechanical
parameters. A total of forty core samples of the Bakken Formation was
collected from the North Dakota Geological Survey Wilson M. Laird
Core and Sample Library located on the University of North Dakota
campus. All samples were analyzed as the bulk powder using Basic/
Bulk-Rock method by Rock-Eval 6 pyrolysis in order to obtain geo-
chemical parameters. In this technique, about 60 mg of ground bulk
samples were heated for 3 min isothermally in an unreactive gas at-
mosphere in the pyrolysis chamber and then, temperature was in-
creased with a rate of 25 °C/min up to 650 °C. Residual carbon from the
pyrolysis stage were transferred into the oxygen oven and was burnt in
the oxidation stage. Using the IFP's (Institute France du Petrole) tra-
demark Basic/Bulk-Rock method, geochemical parameters such as TOC
(total organic carbon) content, HI (hydrogen Index) and Tmax were
calculated (Table 1). A detailed description of the programmed pyr-
olysis technique can be found in Behar et al. (2001). Polished epoxy-
mounted whole-rock blocks were prepared for all samples to carry out
BRO% (bitumen reflectance) measurements in the scarcity/absence of
primary vitrinite maceral. BRO% was measured using a LEICA DM
2500-P microscope equipped with a J&M photometer TIDAS MSP-200
under TSOP/ICCP protocols and suggested procedures with a Sapphire
and a GGG (GadoliniumeGallium-Garnet) standard of 0.589% RO and
1.716% RO, respectively.
3. Results and discussion
Numerous studies have been conducted by several researchers to
establish a robust relationship between geochemistry data and petro-
physical and geomechanical parameters (e.g., Schmoker and Hester,
1983; Passey et al., 1990; Aoudia et al., 2010; Kumar et al., 2012;
Bocangel et al., 2013; Shukla et al., 2013; Dietrich, 2015). These cor-
relations are necessary to calibrate field data, predict properties from
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Marine and Petroleum Geology 105 (2019) 32–44
one to another, and create continuous geochemistry property models.
Furthermore, it may occur occasionally that there might not be ade-
quate access to the potential source rock samples in a basin (frontiers
especially), or there isn't any published data to describe the source rock
with good areal extensions throughout the basin (Dembicki, 2016). In
such scenarios, wireline logs are raised as the only source of data for
source rock interpretation. In this study, we tried to employ formation
density log (RHOZ), neutron porosity log (NPHI), GR log, shear and
compressional sonic log (DTSH3 and DTCO3, respectively) as well as
geochemical data and solid bitumen reflectance to construct a con-
tinuous geochemical log for the Bakken Formation. The main goal was
to establish a method to investigate the thermal maturity of the Bakken
Formation based on wireline logs. Using acoustic velocity measure-
ments of studied wells with a complete set of wireline log data (wells
no. 5, 9, and 11) including compressional (DTCO3) and shear (DTSH3)
sonic and density log (RHOZ) and using empirical relations to estimate
dynamic elastic properties, “Eq. (1)” (Fjar et al., 2008), the dynamic
elastic modulus was determined for each well:
3 ts 2 4 tp 2
Ed = 2 2
ts ts tp 2 (1)
where Ed is the dynamic elastic modulus, ρ is the formation density, Δts
and Δtp are the shear and compressional sonic travel time, respectively.
Shukla et al. (2013) developed a set of empirical relationships between
geomechanical data (nanoindentation Young's modulus – Ei) and other
properties such as porosity, mineralogy and total organic hydrocarbon
(TOC) for various shale plays such as Barnett, Collingwood, Eagle Ford,
Haynesville, Kimmeridge, Wolfcamp, and Woodford. They argued that
the nanoindentation method is an effective way to evaluate Young's
modulus in shales. They found a good agreement between na-
noindentation measured Young's modulus (Ei) and calculated dynamic
Young's modulus (Ed) using acoustic velocities and density in the above-
mentioned shale plays. In order to compare the Bakken's wireline based
Ed values with other shale plays, calculated Ed values were transformed
to Ei through the following empirical relations “Eq. (2)”presented by
Shukla et al. (2013):
Ed = 0.97 × Ei + 1.91 (2)
A. Abarghani, et al. Marine and Petroleum Geology 105 (2019) 32–44

Table 1 Then, we established a new model between resulted Ei values and

Rock-Eval 6 pyrolysis Tmax, TOC and HI results for the studied samples, mea- Rock-Eval pyrolysis derived TOC (wt.%) for 18 core samples from the
sured BRO and Parameter “Ʈ” values. Bakken from wells no. 5, 9, and 11 (Fig. 2). Considering the residual
Well No. Member Depth Tmax TOC HI BRO Parameter Ʈ plots in Fig. 3 that are obtained from regression models of Fig. 2, it can
be seen that, although regression model is representing a low correla-
(ft.) °C wt.% mg HC/g % – tion coefficient but analysis of the various residual plots of the regres-
TOC
sion model confirm that the data distribution is normal and can be
1 L. Bakken 3774.0 420 3.53 611 0.38 2.59 utilized in this study for prediction of TOC amounts that are estimated
3785.0 410 14.93 526 0.37 6.75 with an acceptable margin of error. Therefore, it would be possible to
3 U. Bakken 5996.0 425 16.29 550 0.47 10.77 generate continuous TOC logs for the shale members of the Bakken
5999.0 426 7.33 491 0.53 2.69
based on wireline derived geomechanical data (Fig. 5). Similar to other
4 U. Bakken 8325.0 428 16.27 557 0.44 6.24
5 U. Bakken 7337.5 438 12.1 470 0.51 8.11 shale plays (Barnett, Collingwood, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Kimmer-
7342.7 437 10.86 434 0.51 7.42 idge, Wolfcamp, and Woodford - Shukla et al., 2013) Young's modulus
L. Bakken 7419.0 435 17.13 428 0.52 7.95 values decrease with increase in TOC amounts which are confirmed in
7431.1 435 13.06 431 0.52 12.74 several studies for examining the effect of organic matter on Young's
6 U. Bakken 7625.5 436 17.82 465 0.47 1.91
modulus with nanoindentation. Additionally, the Bakken exhibits more
7631.0 431 21.22 481 0.43 4.65
L. Bakken 7707.2 437 14.65 392 0.44 6.14 amounts of TOC (wt.%), and smaller Young's modulus values (GPa)
7718.6 435 14.01 479 0.43 8.32 compared to other studied shale plays (Fig. 4).
7 U. Bakken 8203.2 431 18.07 569 0.47 8.01 Estimating the total organic carbon content of the source rock is the
8207.5 425 20.98 558 0.47 12.17
first step in source rock richness or petroleum system evaluation. The
L. Bakken 8279.0 431 13.17 494 0.44 7.76
8291.7 431 14.61 559 0.44 6.11
next step and the most important stage is to investigate the thermal
8 L. Bakken 8987.5 435 6.09 395 0.46 4.67 maturity of the source rock which is a governing factor to decide if the
8995.5 434 14.03 453 0.50 7.45 source rock has produced any hydrocarbons. In this regard, various
9 U. Bakken 10433.0 448 11.92 276 0.74 3.42 techniques are suggested by different researchers to quantify thermal
10435.7 447 14.93 316 0.77 4.19
maturity of the source rock such as the measurement of vitrinite, bi-
10436.4 447 12.69 260 0.76 4.72
10437.0 450 13.39 349 0.85 4.42 tumen or zooclasts reflectance, programmed pyrolysis (e.g., Rock-Eval
L. Bakken 10527.0 448 16.66 270 0.83 7.00 pyrolysis), thermal alteration index, the crystallinity of clay minerals,
10541.0 448 11.16 255 0.81 3.56 fluid inclusion analysis, liptinite maceral group fluorescence (e.g.,
10547.0 448 13.13 253 0.74 4.47
Kübler, 1967; Staplin, 1969; Alpern et al., 1978; Stach et al., 1982;
10555.0 449 13.26 257 0.72 5.38
10 L. Bakken 9886.0 432 15.76 531 0.49 5.07
Espitalie, 1986; Sweeney and Burnham, 1990; Mukhopadhyay and
11 U. Bakken 11158.0 452 12.31 177 0.99 3.28 Dow, 1994; Lowrie et al., 1996). However, all of these methods would
11159.0 453 9.34 171 0.94 2.97 provide us with discrete data points, are exhaustive and require good
11162.0 451 10.42 176 0.98 3.27 accessibility to the samples. Wireline logs are another important source
L. Bakken 11201.0 452 16.36 171 1.00 6.83
of data to get valuable information about the thermal maturity of
11203.0 451 9.08 151 0.95 3.81
11205.0 451 9.77 151 0.92 2.38 source rocks. They are important since unlike all above-mentioned
12 U. Bakken 9447.5 426 12.66 592 0.47 6.03 approaches which provide discrete data points, wireline logs could
9453.5 424 14.80 615 0.42 5.92 generate continuous data. This continuous data can later be used as an
L. Bakken 9503.5 425 17.32 563 0.44 11.53
input for establishing 3D property models for a better insight about the
9507.1 422 19.78 572 0.25 18.19
14 U. Bakken 9670.4 429 11.11 550 0.48 2.69
source rock in the basin scale.
9673.3 428 6.99 473 0.46 3.07 Resistivity and sonic wireline logs have frequently been used for
interpreting thermal maturity in source rocks. Meissner (1978) used

Fig. 2. The relationship between nanoindentation Ei and Rock-Eval pyrolysis derived TOC.

34
A. Abarghani, et al. Marine and Petroleum Geology 105 (2019) 32–44

Fig. 3. Residual plots and details of statistical analysis for the regressed linear trend between Ei and TOC.

Fig. 4. Indentation Young's modulus (Ei) versus TOC for the Bakken samples and other major shale plays (modified after Shukla et al., 2013). Note that, the Bakken
samples exhibit higher values of TOC and smaller Young's modulus compared to other shale plays.

resistivity logs from the Bakken to differentiate immature areas/inter-
vals and generate mature zones by mapping the resistivity values based
on the idea that resistivity would increase as a result of hydrocarbon
generation. Later as a follow up to this method, it was explained that
expulsion of hydrocarbons out of kerogen can lead to replacement with
formation salt water if porosity is good enough (Dembicki, 2016) which
can influence the resistivity response of the source rock. Passey et al.
(1990) proposed a technique based on sonic transit time and resistivity
logs (Δlog R overlay technique) to quantitatively estimate of TOC (wt.
%). Experiments demonstrated this approach is an effective technique
for predicting TOC (wt.%) for maturity levels less than about LOM 10.5
(Level of Organic Metamorphism - a measure of thermal maturity).
However, this would underestimate TOC (wt.%) at higher maturities
(Passey et al., 2010; Dembicki, 2016). A combination of formation

35
A. Abarghani, et al.
Fig. 5. Continuous TOC logs and core samples TOC values for the whole length of the Upper and Lower members for wells no. 5, 9 and 11.
density and neutron porosity logs with resistivity were used by Hinds
and Berg (1990) for predicting thermal maturity of the Upper Cretac-
eous Austin Chalk Formation in Texas Gulf Coast. There was not any
estimation of thermal maturity in this study and only a qualitative
description was presented.
Other researchers (e.g., Smagala et al., 1984; Schmoker and Hester,
1990) tried to establish a correlation between vitrinite reflectance (as a
major indicator of thermal maturity - Mukhopadhyay and Dow, 1994)
and wireline resistivity logs (Dembicki, 2016). Similar attempts were
proposed by Lang (1994) and McTavish (1998) to estimate thermal
maturity based on the relationship between vitrinite reflectance and
sonic wireline log. Lang (1994) argued that it would be possible to
predict source rock maturity based on sonic travel time difference
considering that both sonic transit time and thermal maturity should
increase with depth. The same approach was employed by Tyagi et al.
(2011) for setting up a correlation between acoustic transit time and
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Marine and Petroleum Geology 105 (2019) 32–44
vitrinite reflectance for the Cambay Basin in India. Another correlation
between vitrinite reflectance and acoustic transit time, formation den-
sity, resistivity, and neutron porosity log were presented by Ge and Li
(2003) for determining the maturity in coal beds. Same combination
(resistivity/formation density/neutron porosity) were used by Zhao
et al. (2007) for calculating vitrinite reflectance and interpreting
thermal maturity for the Barnett Shale. However, this study was not
able to establish a continuous VR log for the whole thickness of the
formation. Zhao et al. (2015) established a relationship between for-
mation density and neutron porosity logs to determine the coal ranks
(equal to thermal maturity in the source rock). While, this method is not
applicable to shales due to a significant difference in geochemical
characteristics between coal and shale (Zhao et al., 2019). Continuous
evaluation of vitrinite reflectance for shale gas reservoirs is presented
by Jin (2015) based on the relationship between total porosity and
vitrinite reflectance in the Jiaoshiba area. Kadkhodaie and Rezaee
A. Abarghani, et al. Marine and Petroleum Geology 105 (2019) 32–44

(2017) used sonic time difference and resistivity logs to define a new
index (RRS) which illustrates that, an increase in vitrinite reflectance
should exhibit an increase in acoustic transit time and oil saturation as
well. The vitrinite reflectance index (RRS) was then defined based on
the sonic transit time and the reciprocate of the resistivity index.
Though, considering the fact that organic-rich shale resistivity is not
defined only by oil saturation, but TOC contents too, some limitations
on its general application is expected. Collectively, as Dembicki (2016)
has discussed, independent models should be generated locally for each
source rock because of the complexity of parameters that can affect
thermal maturity and also various parameters which may influence
wireline logs recordings.
To make a reliable database as a reference for comparing log de-
rived data from the thermal maturity point of view, forty core samples
were selected from the Bakken Upper and Lower shales, and after
preparing crushed rock pellets, reflectance measurements were carried
out on them. In the scarcity/absence of vitrinite maceral in the samples,
bitumen particles reflectance was considered as thermal maturity in-
dicator. Vitrinite is derived from high plants, therefore vitrinite will be
scarce or absent especially in Lower Paleozoic and also in some marine
strata such as the Bakken. Many studies (e.g., Gentzis and Goodarzi,
1990; Khorasani and Michelsen, 1993; Mukhopadhyay, 1994; Landis
and Castaño, 1995; Schoenherr et al., 2007; Kelemen et al., 2010;
Mastalerz et al., 2018) argued that solid bitumen can be used as the Fig. 7. SGR log of the Well No. 14. Uranium clearly has a larger contribution in
the Bakken gamma-ray emission compare to Thorium.
indicator of maturity in the scarcity/absence of vitrinite. However, due
to some reasons such as the presence of multiple populations of solid
bitumen in the studied samples or variation in texture and morphology, reflected light microscopy (Fig. 6), at least 50 measurements were done
employing bitumen reflectance as thermal maturity should be exercised on each sample and results were reported as BRO% (Table 1).
with cautious (Mastalerz et al., 2018). Selecting an appropriate group of The cross-plots of measured BRO% with GR, NPHI, and RHOZ log
bitumen population in samples based on petrographic studies under the values from twelve wells are shown in Fig. 8 (A, B, and C). These figures

Fig. 6. Solid bitumen was used in the scarcity/absence of vitrinite maceral. Photomicrographs of the Bakken solid bitumen samples. (A) Elongated grain of solid
bitumen (BRO,ran = 0.45%), Well #14 depth 9670.4 ft (B) Solid bitumen (BRO,ran = 0.53%), Well #6 depth 7631 ft; (C) Blocky grain of solid bitumen
(BRO,ran = 0.62%), Well #5 depth 7419 ft; (D) Solid bitumen particle with relatively high reflectance (BRO,ran = 0.76%), Well #6 depth 7707.2 ft. The red square in
the middle of each image is a scale of 5 μm of each side. All photomicrographs were taken using a 50× oil immersion objective. (For interpretation of the references
to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)

37
A. Abarghani, et al.
Fig. 8. Cross-plots of BRO% versus NPHI (A), GR (B) and RHOZ (C). The relationship between BRO% and parameter “Ʈ” (D).
represent that measured BRO% values have a relatively good agreement
with NPHI and RHOZ logs but a weak relationship with GR log. How-
ever, statistical analysis of the residual plots (Fig. 9) is not exhibiting
any specific patterns and therefore data distribution is normal. In-
creasing thermal maturity (high BRO% values), hydrocarbons are gen-
erated and expelled, and therefore TOC and hydrogen index
(HI = 2TOC ) amounts in source rocks decreases (Daly and Edman,
S × 100
1987; Dembicki, 2016). As a result of this process, RHOZ values start to
increase with an increase in BRO% values. Considering organic matter
lower density (∼0.9–1.1 g/cc) compared to shale's mineral matrix
(∼2.25 g/cc), formation density log (RHOZ) could be used for esti-
mating organic matter content of the source rock zones (Meyer and
Nederlof, 1984; Dembicki, 2016). NPHI values also decrease due to
petroleum generation and expulsion from the source rock. In this pro-
cess, the hydrogen contents will be decreased, and, as a result, smaller
values will be recorded by neutron porosity (NPHI) log. Neutron por-
osity log hydrogen index (IH) which is an indicator of the formation
richness of hydrogen content is the main factor considered by neutron
log and defined as the hydrogen content of the formation (wt.%) to the
weight (%) of hydrogen in water. Fresh water has a hydrogen index of
1.0. Organic matter has a high hydrogen index and an increase in
neutron log, especially when combined with decreasing in density log
(due to organic matter's low density compared to surrounding minerals)
could be a very effective approach for recognizing organic rich intervals
in the sedimentary sequences (Rider, 1986; Dembicki, 2016). Previous
studies (e.g., Webster, 1984; Osadetz et al., 1992; Osadetz and
Snowdon, 1995; Jin and Sonnenberg, 2014; Khatibi et al., 2018;
Abarghani et al., 2018) indicate that, amorphous oil-prone marine type
II kerogen is the most abundant constituent organic matter in the
38
Marine and Petroleum Geology 105 (2019) 32–44
Bakken. Kerogen type II has a moderately high H/C and moderate O/C
atomic ratios and produces mainly naphthenic oil (Dembicki, 2016).
Increasing thermal maturity, aliphatic components (rich in hydrogen)
content start to decrease due to contrithe bution of hydrogen atoms in
the generated and expelled petroleum from the kerogen composition,
while aromatic components (rich in oxygen) show an increasing trend
(Khatibi et al., 2018). Considering the fact that hydrogen will decrease
in kerogen chemical composition during thermal maturity advance-
ment, neutron log starts to read lower amounts of hydrogen index. This
being said, the observed trend between BRO% as an indicator of thermal
maturity and neutron log value (Fig. 8, A) could be verified. GR values
demonstrate a weak relationship with BRO%, though, collectively, there
is a decrease in BRO% with increasing GR values. The gamma-ray log
measures the natural gamma ray emitted by Uranium, Thorium, and
Potassium. Generally, organic-rich source rocks should high gamma-ray
emissions due to their high uranium (U) contents. This is explained by
the existence of suitable conditions for uranium concentrations in the
depositional environments of organic matters under anoxic/euxinic
circumstances (Fertl and Chilingar, 1988; Dembicki, 2016). The Spec-
tral Gamma-Ray log of well no. 14 indicates that uranium has a large
contribution in the Bakken gamma-ray emission compared to Th
(Fig. 7). Therefore, the increasing values in the bulk gamma-ray could
infer to an increase in the total organic matter. Considering, the higher
amounts of TOC in the Bakken immature samples (with lower BRO%
values), this decrease in BRO% values which takes place with an in-
crease in gamma-ray values could be well justified.
The correlation coefficient (R2) represents the degree of the re-
lationship between two parameters in cross-plot diagrams. A higher
correlation coefficient value refers to a stronger agreement between
A. Abarghani, et al.
Fig. 9. Residual Plots of statistical analysis for the regressed line between BRO and NPHI, GR, RHOZ, and Ʈ presented in Fig. 8. No specific pattern is recognized in the
residual plot diagrams.
related parameters if the primary reason for the relationship is valid. In
our study, based on the above discussion this relationship can be ex-
plained as GR and NPHI values both decrease with thermal advance
which is equivalent to the increase of RHOZ values. This happens when
hydrocarbons expel from the OM which causes an increase in formation
density. Therefore, based on equation (3), when the attempt is to relate
multiple log values such as GR/NPHI/RHOZ that are correlated to a
separate parameter (BRO%) individually, multiplication of R2 (corre-
lation between each log and BRO%) to each log value (GR/NPHI/
RHOZ) would represent the weight (strength) of each correlation (GR-
BRO, NPHI-BRO and RHOZ-BRO) in overall estimation of the new
parameter (Ʈ). Considering different observed correlations between
BRO % with GR/NPHI/RHOZ logs separately, we decided to define a
new empirical parameter based on the weight of the relationships be-
tween these three logs individually and BRO% value. In the next step,
depending on the type of the relationship between each log with BRO%,
a new empirical parameter “Ʈ” can be defined as follows:
2 2
(RGR BRo × GRValue) × (RNPHI BRo × NPHIValue )
= 2
(RRHOZ BRo × RHOZ Value )
where, RGR2
BRo is the correlation coefficient between GR and measured
BRO% (equal to 0.0474 for this study), RNPHI2
BRo and RRHOZ BRo are the
2
correlation coefficients between NPHI and RHOZ with measured BRO%,
respectively (equal to 0.3183 and 0.2177, respectively for this study). Ʈ
is a parameter showing the overall relationship between GR, NPHI and
RHOZ at each depth related to organic matters concentration. Ʈ is
larger in intervals with the higher concentration of organic matter,
where higher GR and NPHI values and lower RHOZ values are re-
corded.
We then, calculated parameter “Ʈ” for forty samples and cross-
plotted it versus measured BRO% (Fig. 8, D) to find out the relationship
Marine and Petroleum Geology 105 (2019) 32–44
between Ʈ and BRO%. It is found that “Ʈ” values decrease with in-
creasing BRO% values in the Bakken samples. Using obtained empirical
relationship between measured BRO% and “Ʈ”, now continuous logs of
estimated BRO% for the entire section of the Upper and Lower shale
members of the Bakken formation with a relatively high degree of ac-
curacy can be generated, as seen in Fig. 10 (A to G) for wells no. 1, 3, 5,
6, 7, 8 and 12 with the Bakken depth less than 10000 ft.
However, some errors in estimated values for wells with depths
above than 10000 ft were identified. As it could be seen in Fig. 8-D,
there is a steep slope in the regression line between parameter “Ʈ” and
measured BRO% > 0.7. This is inferred that as the maturity increases
and the source rock enters the oil window (Tmax about 435 °C) a rapid
increase in BRO% values occurs (Fig. 11-A). The previous study by the
authors (Abarghani et al., 2018) indicates that such BRO% values could
be detected in wells where the Bakken depths is more than 10000 ft.
Furthermore, the rapid decrease in HI value amounts is also visible for
samples with depth beyond 10000 ft (Fig. 11-B). To remedy this pro-
blem and decrease the error margin in the estimated BRO% values, a
constant should be added to the conversion equation. Using true mea-
(3) sured BRO% values, it was decided to add 0.2% per 1000 ft for the wells
where the Bakken depths becomes deeper than 10000 ft. Applying this
conversion coefficient to the correlation equation for well 9 and 11
where the Bakken is deeper than 10000 ft (Fig. 10H and I). has led to a
good estimation of BRO% in these two wells as well.
Cross-plot of measured BRO% and Tmax for 40 samples of the Bakken
cores (Fig. 12), confirms a good agreement between these two im-
portant parameters for interpreting thermal maturity. Converting esti-
mated BRO% values for the entire section of the Upper and Lower Shale
members to the equivalent Tmax values enables us to generate con-
tinuous Tmax logs for each shale members in all wells and evaluate
thermal maturity in a continuous format. In the next step, using these
continuous logs, we can make 3D property models for BRO% and Tmax
39
A. Abarghani, et al. Marine and Petroleum Geology 105 (2019) 32–44

Fig. 10. Continuous BRO% logs for the whole length of the Upper and Lower members of the Bakken Formation. Very good agreement between estimated and real
measured values for BRO% is seen for wells no. 6, 5, 8, 1, 7, 11, and 9. Acceptable values were estimated for wells no. 12 and 3.

to generate a cube of thermal maturity for source rock evaluation based could be calculated in a similar approach for other source rocks in
on GR/NPHI/RHOZ logs in basin scale. It is noteworthy to mention various basins.
that, due to the complexity of the various parameters which can affect
BRO% and Tmax in different basins, we cannot develop a universal es- 4. Conclusion
timation from this method and it exclusively should be used for the
Bakken Shale members. However, the newly defined parameter "Ʈ" In this study, we used to shear and compressional sonic logs and

40
A. Abarghani, et al.
Fig. 10. (continued)
formation density log to calculate dynamic Young's modulus (Ed). Using
experimental relationship developed for other major shale plays such as
the Barnett, Collingwood, Eagle Ford, Haynesville, Kimmeridge,
Wolfcamp and Woodford shales, calculated Ed values were converted to
equivalent indentation Young's modulus (Ei). Continuous TOC logs
were generated based on the relationship between Ei and core samples
Rock-Eval 6 pyrolysis derived TOC values. In the scarcity/absence of
vitrinite maceral, solid bitumen reflectance measurement as a reliable
thermal maturity indicator was carried out on all core samples.
Relationships between BRO% and GR/NPHI/RHOZ wireline logs were
investigated and based on the strength in the relationship between each
log and BRO% values; a new empirical parameter “Ʈ” was defined.
Continuous BRO% logs for the whole length of the Upper and Lower
members of the Bakken Formation were created based on the empirical
41
Marine and Petroleum Geology 105 (2019) 32–44
relationship between our newly defined parameter and measured
BRO%. Resulted logs are in good agreement with true measured BRO%
values and could be used directly for thermal maturity interpretation or
conversion to Tmax values. This was done through the correlation that
was obtained between these two parameters for the Bakken core sam-
ples. Finally, this enables us to perform thermal maturity interpretation
based on estimated Tmax values. Using this new technique, it is possible
to utilize continuous BRO% or Tmax data in generating thermal maturity
3D models and provide a better insight of the source rock in the basin
scale. Although this method exclusively has developed for the Bakken
shale members, the procedure for developing parameter “Ʈ” could be
used for any other source rock to create a parameter specific to that
basin.
A. Abarghani, et al. Marine and Petroleum Geology 105 (2019) 32–44

Fig. 10. (continued)

42
A. Abarghani, et al. Marine and Petroleum Geology 105 (2019) 32–44

Fig. 11. Cross-plots of Tmax and Hydrogen Index vs depth. There is a clear boundary between immature and mature samples on ∼435 °C after a depth of 10000 ft (A).
A fast decrease in HI values could be seen after this depth in the samples (B).

Fig. 12. The observed relationship between real measured BRO% and Rock-Eval 6 pyrolysis derived Tmax.

43
A. Abarghani, et al.
Acknowledgment
The authors wish to thank North Dakota Geological Survey, Core
Library, for giving us access to the Bakken core samples, particularly
Jeffrey Bader, state geologist as well as Kent Hollands, lab technician.
We'd also like to express our appreciation to Dr. Thomas Gentzis and Dr.
Humberto Carvajal-Ortiz from Core Laboratories in Houston, TX, for
providing us with the geochemistry data and fruitful discussions on
solid bitumen reflectance. Sincere thanks to anonymous reviewers for
constructive comments which improved the quality of the manuscript.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2019.04.005.
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