Shaly Sands

Shale Effects on Log Response and Log Analysis

Depend on:
1. The Distribution of the clay material
2. The Type of clay material
3. The Amount of clay material
4. The Salinity of the formation water
5. The Water Saturation

November 2007 FPP RMB 1

 Shaly Sands Characteristics

November 2007 FPP RMB 2

 Effects on Log Readings

• Resistivity lowered
• Hydrocarbon effects on fN & fD masked
• Apparent porosities raised

Net Result:
• Sw computes “too high”
• Legitimate pay overlooked
• Completion & production opportunities
passed up
• Reserves under-estimated
November 2007 FPP RMB 3
 Non-Archie Rocks

November 2007 FPP RMB 4

 Additional Conductance

November 2007 FPP RMB 5

 Shaly Sand Electrical Models

November 2007 FPP RMB 6

 Rsh - Vsh Models vs. CEC Models

November 2007 FPP RMB 7

Major Shaly Sand Saturation Equations

November 2007 FPP RMB 8

 “Old” Shaly Sand Equations

November 2007 FPP RMB 9

 1/Rt = Sw2 • Rw + X

November 2007 FPP RMB 10

 Shale Conductivity

November 2007 FPP RMB 11

 Bound/Free Water

November 2007 FPP RMB 12

 Bound Water vs. Irreducible Water

November 2007 FPP RMB 13

 Electrostatic Bonding

November 2007 FPP RMB 14

 Irreducible vs. Bound Water

• Swirr >> Sbw in clean reservoirs by a factor of 10,000

BUT in shaly reservoirs, Sbw may increase by a factor of 100,000

• Sbw may equal Swirr in shaly formations

November 2007 FPP RMB 15

 Partitioning of Shaly Sand

November 2007 FPP RMB 16

 CEC Depends on Clay Type

November 2007 FPP RMB 17

 Shale Conductivity and CEC
• Natural double layer at clay – electrolyte interface houses
exchange cations & bound water
• Clays conduct electricity by cation exchange
• Clays have immense surface areas depending on type
• Clays are extremely conductive
• Most sediments contain clays
• Conductivity is effective for describing layering
• Bound water volume is small compared to irreducible unless
shaly

November 2007 FPP RMB 18

 Factors Affecting Shale Conductivity
• Double Layer and Exchange Cations (another
conductive mechanism other than Electron & Ion
flow)
• Bound Water and Double Layer Thickness
• Bound Water vs. Irreducible Water
• Surface area of clay minerals
• Conductivity of clay minerals

November 2007 FPP RMB 19

 Problems with Double Layer Models

November 2007 FPP RMB 20

 CEC of Clay Minerals

November 2007 FPP RMB 21

 Surface Area of Clay Minerals

November 2007 FPP RMB 22

 CEC & Specific Surface Area

November 2007 FPP RMB

Courtesy Bateman 23
 Which Sw Model to Use?

November 2007 FPP RMB 24

 Practical Analysis

• Correct porosity log readings for shale

• Compute total and effective porosities
• Compute total and effective water saturation
– Waxman-Smits Technique
– Dual Water Model
– Indonesia Equation
– Total Shale Equation
• Compare with irreducible Sw

November 2007 FPP RMB 25

 Interpretation Models

• Laminated Shales & Sands

• Dispersed clay systems
• Structural Shales
• Electrochemical models

November 2007 FPP RMB 26

 Sand – Shale Mixes

November 2007 FPP RMB 27

 Tools Cannot Resolve Thin Laminae

November 2007 FPP RMB

Courtesy Bateman 28
 Rt Reduction in Laminated Sand

November 2007 FPP RMB

Courtesy Bateman 29
 Laminated Sand Shales Layers

November 2007 FPP RMB

Courtesy Bateman 30
 Resistivity in Laminated Sand/Shale

November 2007 FPP RMB 31

 Litho-Porosity Tools Response
Identical

November 2007 FPP RMB

Courtesy Bateman 32
 Clay Distribution Patterns

November 2007 FPP RMB 33

Shale Points on Neutron Density Xplot

November 2007 FPP RMB 34

 V-Shale from Neutron Density Xplot

November 2007 FPP RMB 35

Gulf Coast
Example

November 2007 FPP RMB 36

Courtesy Bateman
Low Resistivity
Low Contrast
PAY

November 2007 FPP RMB 37

Courtesy Bateman
North Sea
Well A

November 2007 FPP RMB 38

Courtesy Bateman
 Well A Test Result

November 2007 FPP RMB Courtesy Bateman 39

 Shaly Sand Analysis Summary
• Resistivity of “pay” sands “lowered” by presence of
conductive clay minerals
• Effective porosity lowered by clay filling of pore spaces
• Permeability lowered by clay blocking pore throats
• Irreducible water saturation is higher than in clean sands
(65% +)
• If you don’t have k at least gun for kh
• NMR will help many cases

November 2007 FPP RMB 40