Predicting TOC, Organic Porosity and Gas Retention Distribution in a Shale-Gas System Using Petroleum

Basin Modelling*

Maria-Fernanda Romero-Sarmiento1, Mathieu Ducros1, Bernard Carpentier1,

François Lorant, Sébastien Rohais1, Isabelle Moretti1, and Alain-Yves Huc1

Search and Discovery Article #40973 (2012)**

Posted July 16, 2012

*Adapted from oral presentation at AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Long Beach, California, April 22-25, 2012
**AAPG © 2012 Serial rights given by author. For all other rights contact author directly.

1
IFP Energies Nouvelles, Rueil-Malmaison, France (maria-fernanda.romero-sarmiento@ifpen.fr)

Abstract

Natural gas can be stored as a condensed phase on shale matrix and organic materials or as conventional free gas in porous spaces (Lu
et al., 1995). During the last decade, gas shale has been considered as important unconventional reservoirs in which part of the gas is
stored in adsorbed state (Ross and Bustin, 2007). Several processes control fractionation and indeed retention mechanisms of gas
hydrocarbons as the relative solubility of petroleum compounds in kerogen (Ritter, 2003), the gas adsorption on mineral surfaces
(Brothers et al., 1991), in organic matter (Lamberson and Busting, 1993) or in nanopores of vitrinite (Ritter and Grover, 2005). In
addition, several studies have paid attention to the distribution of pore system structures to further elucidate the gas storage process in
these gas shales (Loucks et al., 2009).

Most nanopores in these rocks are linked to the thermal cracking of the organic matter and are observed as intraparticle organic pores.
This organic contribution to the shale porosity is a good candidate for "in situ" gas storage. Gas retention can be likely controlled by
the evolution of TOC in the source rock. In this work, a method is proposed to calculate, at the basin scale, the evolution of TOC,
organic porosity and gas retention capacity through time and space in shale gas. Application is done on a 3D basin model of the
Barnett Shale in Texas, calibrated for thermal maturity on Rock-Eval and vitrinite reflectance data. In order to predict the evolution of
TOC within shale, an organic carbon balance was derived from a compositional kinetic approach containing 18 classes (Behar et al.,
2008). Also, gas adsorption potential on organic material was calculated using a modified-Langmuir model implemented within the
basin simulator which takes into account temperature and remaining TOC. To reproduce the present-day average TOC distribution, an
initial TOC map was determined by inversion of 3D calculations. Original TOC from 5% to 8% were consistent with observed TOC
and maturity stages. Accordingly, organic matter cracking would be at the origin of more than half of the total shale porosity in mature
zones. Applying the modified-Langmuir law, most retained gas in the Barnett Shale is concentrated in mature areas ranging from 40 to
100 kg/m2. Under these conditions, the Barnett Shale can generate more late gas by secondary cracking and simultaneously these
generated gases can likely be retained in these higher maturities zones.

References

Behar, F., F. Lorant, and L. Mazeas, 2008, Elaboration of a new compositional kinetic schema for oil cracking: Organic
Geochemistry, v. 39/6, p. 764-782.

Brothers, L., M.H. Engel, and Bernd M. Krooss, 1991, The effects of fluid flow through porous media on the distribution of organic
compounds in a synthetic crude oil: Organic Geochemistry, v. 17/1, p. 11-24.

Jarvie, D.M., R.J. Hill, T.E. Ruble, and R.M. Pollastro, 2007, Unconventional shale-gas systems; the Mississippian Barnett Shale of
North-Central Texas as one model for thermogenic shale-gas assessment, in R.J. Hill, and D.M Jarvie, (authors), Special Issue;
Barnett Shale: AAPG Bulletin, v. 91/4, p. 475-499.

Lamberson, M.N., and R.M. Bustin, 1993, Coalbed methane characteristics of Gates Formation coals, northeastern British Columbia;
effect of maceral composition: AAPG Bulletin, v. 77/12, p. 2062-2076.

Loucks, R.G., R.M. Reed, S.C. Ruppel, and D.M. Jarvie, 2009, Morphology, genesis, and distribution of nanometer-scale pores in
siliceous mudstones of the Mississippian Barnett Shale: JSR, v. 79/12, p. 848-861.

Lu, X.-C., F.-C. Li, and A.T. Watson, 1995, Adsorption studies of natural gas storage in Devonian Shales: SPE 26632, 4 p.

Pollastro, R.M., 2003, Geologic and production characteristics utilized in assessing the
Barnett Shale continuous (unconventional) gas accumulation, Barnett-Paleozoic total petroleum system, Fort Worth Basin, Texas:
Barnett Shale Symposium, v. 1, p. 7-14.
Pollastro, R.M., D.M. Jarvie, R.J. Hill, and C.W. Adams, 2007, Geologic framework of the Mississippian Barnett Shale, Barnett-
Paleozoic total petroleum system, Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin, Texas, in R.J. Hill, and D.M. Jarvie, (authors), Special Issue; Barnett
Shale: AAPG Bulletin, v. 91/4, p. 405-436.

Ritter, U., 2003, Fractionation of petroleum during expulsion from kerogen, in J.M. Verweij, H. Doust, C.J. Peach, C.J. Spiers, and
R.A.J. Swennen, (eds.), Proceedings of Geofluids IV: Jounal of Geochemical Exploration, v. 78-79, p. 417-420.

Ritter, U., and A. Grover, 2005, Adsorption of petroleum compounds in vitrinite; implications for petroleum expulsion from coal:
International Journal of Coal Geology, v. 62/3, p. 183-191.

Ross, D.J.K., and R. M. Bustin, 2009, The importance of shale composition and pore structure upon gas storage potential of shale gas
reservoirs: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 26/6, p. 916-927.
 Predicting TOC, Organic Porosity and Gas
Retention Distribution in a Shale-Gas System
using Petroleum Basin Modeling
Maria-Fernanda Romero-Sarmiento, Mathieu Ducros, Bernard Carpentier,
François Lorant, Sébastien Rohais, Isabelle Moretti, Alain-Yves Huc

IFP Energies Nouvelles

Long Beach AAPG / ACE 2012

The Shale Gas balance

Net gas in place:

Gas Generation
Available gas play at time t = f Storage Capacity
Expelled gas

Stored Gas

Free • Porosity

Dissolved
• Micro-fractures

Adsorbed

AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
Special attention has been recently dragged on
the instrumental role of the kerogen itself on
the amount of gas stored in shale
Horn River Basin, British Columbia

Ross & Bustin 2007

Ross & Bustin 2009

AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
 Organic Porosity potentially occurs as micro- and
nano-porosity likely fitted to accommodate HC
Kerogen micro-porosity Kerogen nano-porosity
« Loucks’ porosity »

« Large »
asphaltene

Loucks et al. (2009)

« molecule »
5 nm
Formation La Luna – Venezuela (Image 2011)
« Small » After Rouzeaud & Romero-Sarmiento (work in progress)
asphaltene
« molecule »

n-alkanes
Cyclohexane

Benzene
Methane

0 5 10 15
1µm Size (nm)
Sketch from H. Marsh,
Carbon 2006 conference

4 AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
 Focus on the HC associated with the Kerogen, more
specifically on CH4 adsorption modeling; with
application to Lower Barnett shale, Fort Worth Basin

The presented approach involves a specific module

fully coupled to an integrated basin model

The module relies on:

The generation of CH4 and the formation of organic

porosity, derived from a new compositional model
(Behar and Jarvie, in press)
The back-calculation of the initial TOC of the SR
A Langmuir derived formalism accounting for the
maximum adsorption capacity of the remaining TOC in
the thermally matured SR

5 AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
Generation of CH4 and of Organic Porosity
Gas generation and Computation of Carbon mass balance
( Kerogen C loss  organic φ ), are derived from a new 19 fractions
compositional thermal maturation modeling
Jarvie, in press).
(Behar and Jarvie,

SOURCE ROCK EVOLUTION

Immature kerogen

expulsion and migration

Maturation

Mature kerogen + NSOimm1 + NSOmob1 + Liquid HC + Early Gas1

Early gas

2 2
Gas2
Pyrobitumen + NSO + Liquid HC + Gas

3 3
Lategas
Dead kerogen + Late Gas
MFRS (2012)
simplified from Behar & Jarvie (in press)

AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
 Gas adsorption formalism

Approach accounting for gas adsorption Maximum

adsorption
maximum
retention
threshold
retention
2
(kg/m ) (kg/m2)
capacity

on organic matter: capacity (kg/m 3)

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
0

"Langmuir-
"Langmuir-based" adsorption 1000

Maximum retention capacity

= f (P, T, Remaining TOC)
TOC)
2000

depth (m)(m)
Depth
Accounting on HC composition (herein
3000

applied to CH4) 4000

5000

6000

AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
 Application to Lower Barnett Shale Unit
Fort
Fort Worth
Worth Basin
Basin

Inverted foreland

Max Burial:
Permian

Erosion:
late Permian
to Cretaceous

Source Rock:
Upper Barnett Shale

Lower Barnett Shale

modified from Pollastro (2003)

8 AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
Measured Present-Day Average TOC Distribution
...from data available in the literature..... Blakely 1 well
a present-day TOC map: Present-day TOC
63 wells 4.5 wt.%
average TOC from Pollastro et
al., (2007); Jarvie et al., (2007)
2 outcrops Jack
Tarrant_A3

average TOC 11.4 wt.% from Wise

Palo Pinto
Jarvie et al., (2007) Blakely
Blakely_1 1
Parker

Erath
Comanche
Johnson

Mills
Hamilton
Bosque

Hill
3

Present-day TOC (wt.%)

? McLennan
4

10
TemisFlow
12
USGS Province 45 Boundary Hamilton County borderlines and names
Geographic extend of Barnett Blakely_1 Well location

AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
Thermal Maturity (%Ro, TR), 3D Model outputs
99°00'00"W 98°30'00"W 98°00'00"W 97°30'00"W 97°00'00"W

TemisFlow

34°00'00"N
Wichita

Calculation based on Clay

33°30'00"N
Archer Montague Cooke Grayson

specific kinetic and Jack Wise Denton

Collin

33°00'00"N
Throckmorton Young

stoechiometric parameters Stephens

Palo Pinto Parker Tarrant
Dallas

32°30'00"N
Shackelford

determined for the Callahan Eastland

Hood

Somerve
Johnson
Ellis

32°00'00"N
Barnett Kerogen
Erath

Hill

Comanche Bosque
Brown 0.10

31°30'00"N
n
0.26

na

vitrinite reflectance (% Ro)

Hamilton

en
cL
Mills 0.42

M
Coryell 0.58

31°00'00"N
San Saba Lampasas 0.74
Bell
0.90
Williamson 1.06

30°30'00"N
1.22
1.38
1.54
1.70

Approx. Scale in Miles

USGS Province 45 Boundary

AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
 Remaining TOC distribution in the Lower Barnett Shale

Blakely 1 well Blakely 1

Remaining TOC
4.5 wt.%

? 3

10

12
TemisFlow
USGS Province 45 Boundary Remaining TOC (wt.%)
Geographic extend of Barnett
County borderlines

11 AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
 Initial TOC distribution in the Lower Barnett Shale

... from basin simulations...

Blakely 1 well
Initial TOC = 5.1 wt.% Blakely 1

? 3

10

12

USGS Province 45 Boundary

TemisFlow Initial TOC (wt.%)
Geographic extend of Barnett
County borderlines

12 AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
 Mature zone of the Lower Barnett Shale unit
Blakely 1 well
%Ro = ~1.2

3.5
5.2
TOCO = 5.1 wt.% ΦOP = 3.4%

Organic Porosity (%)

3.0
TOC (%)(%)

5.0

2.5
TOC

4.8

Organic porosity (%)

2.0
Remaining
Remaining

4.6
1.5
TOCR = 4.5 wt.%
4.4
1.0
Organic porosity

4.2
0.5
Remaining TOC

4.0
ΦOP = 0% Age (Ma) 0
Carboniferous Permian Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous Paleogene Neogene
Mississippian Pennsylvanian Cisuralian Guada Loping Scy. Middle Trias. Late Triassic Lower Jurassic Middle Ju. Upper Juras. Early Cretaceous Late Cretaceous Paleoc. Eocene Oligoc. Miocene Pli P

-300 -250 -200 -150 -100 -50 0

Age (Ma)

13 AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
 Computed organic porosity in the Lower Barnett Shale

Blakely 1 well
ΦOP = 3.4 %

Blakely_1

USGS Province 45 Boundary

County borderlines

Organic porosity (%)

0

TemisFlow 4

14 AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
 Mature zone of the
Lower Barnett Shale unit
e.g. Blakely 1 well
3.03.0
Generated CH4 = 3 kg/m3 (~60 scf/t) Ewing 2006
2.52.5
Adsorbed CH4 = 1.8 kg/m3 (~35 scf/t)
CH4 (kg/m3)

2.02.0
CH4 yield (kg/m3)

1.51.5

1.01.0 Adsorbed CH4 = maximum adsorption capacity

0.50.5

00 for an average present-day remaining TOC = 4.5 wt.%

Carboniferous Permian Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous Paleogene Neogene
Mississippian Pennsylvanian Cisuralian Guada Loping Scy. Middle Trias. Late Triassic Lower Jurassic Middle Ju. Upper Juras. Early Cretaceous Late Cretaceous Paleoc. Eocene Oligoc. Miocene Pli P

-300 -250 -200 -150 -100 -50 0

-300 -250 -200Age (Ma) -150 -100 -50 0
Age (Ma)
AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
Computed amount of CH4 adsorbed on Organic Matter
Lower Barnett Shale
Organically adsorbed CH4 = 1 to 3 kg/m3
~20 to 60 scf/t
Blakely 1

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5
USGS Province 45 Boundary
3
TemisFlow Geographic extend of Barnett
Adsorbed CH4 (kg/m3)
County borderlines

AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
 Conclusions

In the perspective to assessing shale gas prospects, a
method is proposed to model the evolution of TOC, organic
porosity and gas adsorption potential associated with kerogen
moieties.

The approach results in a specific numerical module fully

coupled to an integrated basin model.

The methodology has been applied to the Lower

Carboniferous (Mississipian
(Mississipian)
Mississipian) Lower Barnett unit in the Fort
Worth Basin.

AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
 Conclusions

The modelling exercise provides a map of initial TOC,
performed thanks to an inversion procedure and accounting for
the specific reactivity of the considered Kerogen.
Kerogen.

The computed data honour the current measured remaining

TOC distribution as well as the maturity map of the Barnett
shale.

According to the model, the thermal cracking of organics

creates an organic porosity up to 4% in mature areas.

In mature areas of the basin, the part of the gas which is

adsorbed on organics in the Lower Barnett Shale is suggested
to range between 1 to 3 kg/m3 .
AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012
 www.ifpenergiesnouvelles.com

Acknowledgements
The construction of the initial 3D model of the Fort Worth

has been done through the GASH consortium.

maria-
maria-fernanda.romero-
fernanda.romero-sarmiento@ifpen.fr

19 AAPG 2012 Annual Convention & Exhibition — Long Beach, California 22–25 April 2012