SHALE GAS LOG EVALUATION FOR GAS VOLUME CALCULATIONS

E. R. (Ross) Crain, .Pet,rophysical Consultant, Calgary Alberta Canada

Hassan Aharipour, Mohamadmehdy Ahi, Amin Abbasi
Raya Energy Pars Petro (REPPCO)
Ayda Aharipour
University of Azad, Tehran, Iran

Copyright 2018, Shaanxi Petroleum Society

This paper was prepared for presentation at the 2018 International Field Exploration &Development Conference in
Xi’an, China 18-20 September 2018.

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porosity. The “Simandoux” equation is preferred to use

Keywords: Unconventional petrophysics, Shale gas for determining water saturation. The simultaneous
reservoirs, log evaluation, gas volume calculations. equation solutions are widely used in multi-mineral
evaluation for mineral and fluids volumes determinations.
Abstract The TOC and sand volume fractions are key requirements
for definition of cutoff criteria. The total in-placed gas
The log analysis of shale gas resource are more volume comes from contribution of adsorbed gas at the
complicated than conventional reservoirs. The shale gas surface of kerogen and free gas found in the kerogen
plays are source rocks characterized by complex pore pores. The suite of logs plus additional modern logs; ECS,
systems low to moderate multiple porosity and ultra-low NMR, FMI, DSI are needed for valid log evaluation.
permeability. The in-situ pore volume to take account both
free gas and adsorbed gas. The kerogen includes organic 1. Introduction
carbon. The shale gas reservoirs show remarkable
variation in lithology from clay-stone to marl-stone, mud- Essentially there is decline in the world conventional oil
stone to sandstone and carbonate. Log analysis of reservoirs production. Shale gas reservoirs are an
unconventional reservoirs calls for core support for extensive gas resources, however they require additional
evaluating organic content (TOC) and guide to silly technology to enable them to be produced. The
results, if conventional methods used for log conventional resources, which correspond to light crude
interpretation. Validation of mineral model is achieved oil and sweet natural gas trapped into porous and
through direct comparison of the resulting elemental permeable reservoirs. These resources can be produced at
composition with XRD and XRF and may adjusting a relatively low cost because hydrocarbons flow out of
mineral end-points in lithology model. The NMR the reservoir by natural depletion and no expensive
primarily benefits inorganic porosity and estimates more upgrading processing is required. But when the reservoir
valid effective free porosity than neutron density. or the fluid properties, or both deteriorate, it becomes
Generally calculated free gas porosity from neutron necessary to apply specific technologies to extract and/or
density is higher than NMR porosity, so a cross plot upgrade these resources. The application of these
of nmr_phi versus Phi_nd is a good test for technologies comes at an increasing financial and
calibration of Phi_nd. The total carbon content environmental risk, which makes unconventional
calculates from “Rock-Eval. Pyrolysis Analysis” and resources more challenging for development. The
vitrinite reflectance measure kerogen weight%, kerogen unconventional reservoirs worldwide are large volume but
type identification, kerogen maturity and adsorbed gas hard to develop. The organic-rich rocks are usually
content. The conventional logs (density, sonic, GR, composed of three components, rock matrix, solid organic
resistivity) are used for up-scaling measured parameters. matter and the fluid(s) filling the pore space, while non-
The clay volume is calculated from spectral gamma ray source rocks are composed primarily of only two
(NGS). The calculated total porosity should be corrected components, the rock matrix and the fluid filling the pore
to shale and kerogen effects and determined effective space.
 2. Methodology, Processing, Mathematics Where,
and Equations: TOC: total organic carbon weight%
Rhob: formation density as measured by density log
2.1 TOC Characterization from Logs
The Kerogen Weight Fraction form Passay and
Shmoker/Hester Methods are used for TOC analysis from
logs.

2.1.1 Passays Method:

The deep resistivity log and a porosity log (density or
Table 1. Geochemical lab data with TOC weight % values
sonic) are used in this method and it is called “DlogR”.
The separation between resistivity and porosity logs show
shale gas play.
2.1.3 TOC Correlations:
SlogR = log (RESD / RESDbase) + 0.02 * (DTC –
DTCbase)  TOC is increased while density and Pe logs
Wtoc = SF1s * (SlogR * 10^(0.297 – 0.1688 * LOM)) + are decreased.
SO1s  TOC is increased while resistivity increased.
OR  TOC is increased while uranium increased.
DlogR = log (RESD / RESDbase) -- 2.5 * (DENS –
DENSbase)
Wtoc = SF1d * (DlogR * 10^(0.297 – 0.1688 * LOM)) +
SO1d
Where,
RESDbase, DTCbase and DENSbase: baseline log reading
in non-source rock in the shale
SlogR or DlogR or NlogR: Passey’s number from sonic or
density or neutron log (fractional)
LOM: level of organic maturity (unitless) from vitrinite
reflectance
Wtoc: total organic carbon from Passey’s method (weight
fraction) Figure 2. Correlation of core measured TOC and DlogR
SF1s,d,n and SO1s,d,n: scale factor and scale offset to TOC
calibrate to lab values of TOC
The constants in the Passey equations require DTC values
in usec/ft and density in g/cc.
The results should be calibrated with measured
geochemical laboratory TOC weight%.

Figure 3. Correlation of core measured TOC and

resistivity log

Figure 1. Passay’s DlogR Plot Figure 4. Correlation of core measured TOC and density
log
2.1.2 Shmoker/Hester Method:

TOC (wt%) = (154.497/Rhob) – 57.261

 organic fraction. Total organic carbon is often taken to
mean the same thing as kerogen, but this is not the case.
Kerogen is made up of oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, and
hydrogen, in addition to carbon. The standard pyrolysis
lab procedure measures only the carbon, so total organic
carbon excludes the other elements.
About 80% of a typical kerogen (by weight) is carbon, so
the weight fraction of TOC is 80% of the kerogen weight.
The factor is lower for less mature and higher for more
mature kerogen:
Kerogen volume is calculated by converting TOC weight
Figure 5. Correlation of core measured uranium
fraction (Wtoc). The lab TOC value is a measure of only
the carbon content in the kerogen. The kerogen also
contains oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, etc, so conversion of
TOC into kerogen has to take this into account. The
kerogen conversion factor (KTOC) is the ratio of carbon
weight to the total kerogen weight. The factor can range
from 0.68 to 0.95, with the most common value near 0.80.
Converting mass fraction to volume fraction are follows:
Wtoc = TOC% / 100 from core
or
Wker = Wtoc / KTOC
VOLker = Wker / DENSker
VOLma = (1 - Wker) / DENSma
Figure 6. Kerogen density determinations
VOLrock = VOLker + VOLma
Vker = VOLker / VOLrock
Where,
KTOC: kerogen conversion factor Range = 0.68 to 0.95,
default = 0.80
Wker: mass fraction of kerogen (unitless)
DENSker: density of kerogen (Kg/m3 or g/cc)
DENSma: matrix density (Kg/m3 or g/cc)
VOLxx: component volumes (m3 or cc)
Vker: volume fraction of kerogen (unitless)
DENSker is in the range of 1200 to 1400 Kg/m3, similar
to good quality coal. Default = 1300 Kg/m3.

Figure 7. Confirmation of TOC by FMI image log 2.1.5 Deterministic and Multimin
Solutions for Log Evaluation

Deterministic Solution
2.1.4 Analyzing TOC in the laboratory The deterministic method follows below steeps for
log evaluation of free porosity and fluids.
The total organic carbon content of rocks is obtained by
heating the rock in a furnace and combusting the organic Shale volume
matter to carbon dioxide. The amount of carbon dioxide
liberated is proportional to the amount of carbon liberated Shale volume calculations from a uranium corrected
in the furnace, which in turn is related to the carbon gamma ray curve (CGR) is the best.
content of the rock. The carbon dioxide liberated can be VSHcgr = (CGR - CGR0) / (CGR100 - CGR0)
measured several different ways. The most common When CGR is not available, we fall back to the thorium
methods use a thermal conductivity detector or infrared (TH) curve from a spectral gamma ray log
spectroscopy. Many source rocks also include inorganic VSHth = (TH - TH0) / (TH100 - TH0)
sources of carbon such as carbonates and most notably When TH are missing, the total gamma ray curve (GR)
calcite, dolomite, and siderite. These minerals break down can still be used by moving the clean (GR0) and shale
at high temperature, generating carbon dioxide and thus (GR100) lines further to the right compared to
their presence must be corrected in order to determine the conventional shaly sands.
organic carbon content. Generally, the amount of VSHgr = (GR - GR0) / (GR100 - GR0)
carbonate is determined by acid digestion (normally 50% The calculated clay volume should be calibrate with XRD
HCl) and the carbon dioxide generated is measured and clay volume weight%.
then subtracted from the total carbon dioxide to obtain the
Kerogen and Shale corrected Porosity Phi (kerogen) = Phi (ND) - Phi (nmr)

Effective porosity is best done with the shale corrected

density neutron complex lithology model, also modified to
correct for kerogen volume.
PHIDker = (2650 – DENSker) / 1650 (if PHIN is in
Sandstone Units)
PHIdc = PHID – (Vsh * PHIDsh) – (Vker * PHIDker)
PHInc = PHIN – (Vsh * PHINsh) – (Vker * PHINker)
PHIe = (PHInc + PHIdc) / 2
PHINker is in the range of 0.45 to 0.75, similar to poor
quality coal. Default = 0.65. Figure 10. Kerogen porosity
If density log do not available or is affected by rough
borehole, the shale corrected sonic log porosity (PHIS) Lithology
can be used instead:
PHISker = (DTCker – 182) / 474 (if PHIN is in Sandstone Lithology is calculated with a kerogen and shale corrected
Unit 3-mineral model using kerogen-and shale corrected Pe,
PHISc = PHIS – (Vsh * PHISsh) – (Vker * PHISker) density, and neutron logs and results is calibrate o XRD
PHInc = PHIN – (Vsh * PHINsh) – (Vker * PHINker) data. To achieve a reasonable match the mineral end
PHIe = (PHINc + PHISc) / 2 points should be modified.
DTCker is in the range of 345 to 525 usec/m, similar to
good quality coal. Default = 425 usec/m.
Effective porosity from a nuclear magnetic resonance Water Saturation
(NMR) log does not include kerogen or clay bound water,
so this curve, where available is a good test of the Water saturation is best done with the Simandoux
modified density neutron cross plot method. equation, which is better behaved in low porosity than
In all cases, good core control is essential. If porosity is most other models.
too low compared to the core porosity, then shale volume
or kerogen volume are too high and should be recorrected.

Where,
Rt: true resistivity (ohm,m)
m: cementation Exponent (unitless)
n: saturation exponent (unitless)
Sw: water saturation (fractional)
Vcl: cly volume (fractional)
Rcl: clay resistivity (ohm.m)
Rw: formation water resistivity (ohm.m)
A: tortiosity factore (unitless)
Figure 8. Kerogen free porosity and organic matter Phi: porosity (fractional)

Figure 9. Shale gas porosity model

Kerogen Porosity Estimation

The kerogen porosity is calculated from NMR porosity

and neutron density porosity Figure 11. Log interpretation of a shale gas formation
Permeability GIPadsorb = KG6 * Gc * DENS * THICK * AREA
DENS = layer density from log or lab measurement (g/cc)
An alternative is the exponential equation derived from KG6 = 1.3597*10^-6
regression of core permeability against core porosity. The
equation takes the form of ; Perm = 10 ^ (A1 * PHIe + 3. Shale Gas Core Analysis
A2). Typical values for A1 and A2 are 20.0 and –3.0
respectively. This model will match conventional core 3.1 Sample Preparation
permeability quite well, but will probably not match the 300 g of sample is removed from preserved core by
permeability derived from crushed samples based on longitudinal slice with a band saw using nitrogen as
American Research Institute (GRI) protocol. High perm lubricant. Each sample is weighed and bulk volume is
data points caused by micro or macro fractures should be measured by mercury immersion. These initial
eliminated before performing the regression. measurements are used to determine sample bulk density.
At the second stage the sample (300 g) is crushed and
sieved through 20 and 35 US mesh screens. The material
Cutoff retained on the 35 mesh screen, 100 g is used for Dean
Stark and 50 g for permeability. The permeability
The key requirements for definition of cut-off parameters measurement values have uncertainty, because the sample
are: is crashed.
• Sand volume fraction
• Brittleness 3.2 Core Objectives
• Porosity • On-Site gas content and gas composition
• TOC determination
• Net pay • Total Organic Carbon analysis from Rock Eval-
Pyrolysis
• Vitrinite Reflectance (Kerogen types and level of
Total Gas In-place thermal maturity)
• Permeability, Porosity and Fluid Saturations
The total gas in-place for a shale gas reservoir: • Adsorbed gas content (Langmuir method)
• Rock mechanical properties
Total GIP = Free GIP + Adsorbed GIP • Acoustic properties
• Core gamma (Spectral Gamma Recommended)
 Free Gas In-place • Thin section description
• Petrography, scanning Electron Microscopy
Free gas in place is calculated from the usual volumetric (SEM)
equation: • XRD and XRF analysis

GIPfree = KV4 * PHIe * (1 - Sw) * THICK * AREA / Bg 3.3 Rock-Eval Pyrolysis Analysis
Bg = (Ps * (Tf + KT2)) / (Pf * (Ts + KT2)) * ZF
Rock-Eval is a method of pyrolysis in an open
Where, environment and it is a direct measurement of TOC is
Bg = gas formation volume factor (fractional) accomplished at the well site and data is available within
Pf = formation pressure (psi) about 30 minutes of sample collection. During pyrolysis
Ps = surface pressure (psi) the sample is heated up to 600°C, while derived
Tf = formation temperature ('F) hydrocarbons. Heating distills free compounds (bitumen,
Ts = surface temperature ('F) S1) then cracked pyrolytic products from insoluble
ZF = gas compressibility factor (fractional) organic matter (kerogen, S2).
KT2 = 460'F
KV3 = 7758
KV4 = 0.000 043 560

 Adsorbed Gas In-place

Gas content from a best fit line versus TOC can be applied
to log derived TOC: Table 2. Shale gas rock quality classification based on S2
Gc = KG11 * TOC% Pick
Where,
Gc = gas content (scf/ton)
TOC% = total organic carbon (percent)
KG11 = gas conversion factor range = 5 to 15, default = 9
Adsorbed gas in place is derived from:
 Sweet spots are defined as the most prospective volumes
of the shale play. They are primarily targeted to achieve
early economic production. The identification of sweet
spots has been synthesized into recognizing zones of good
Table 3. Classification of oil and gas based on hydrogen hydrocarbon reservoir quality (TOC and thermal maturity,
index por-perm character, fluid saturations, gas in place) and
good completion quality (stress regime, mineralogy,
natural fractures). Thus, a sweet spot can be described as a
formation volume that has the following characteristics:
• low water saturation with high TOC content and
hence high kerogen content
• low clay content and hence high brittleness index
for hydraulic fracture ability
• higher porosity
• inter particle permeability
Figure 12. Kerogen S2 pick from Rock-Eval Pyrolysis
3.4 Adsorbed Gas Content (Long Muir
Isotherm method))
Adsorption isotherms indicate the maximum volume of
methane that a gas shale can store under equilibrium
conditions at a given pressure and temperature. The direct
method of determining adsorption isotherm involves
cutting core that is immediately placed in canisters,
followed by measurements of the gas volume evolved
from the shale over time. When the sample no longer
evolves gas, it is crushed and the residual gas is measured Figure 15. Sweet spot identification from depth vs vitrinite
(scf/ton). reflectance (R0)

3.6 Multimineral Solution

The simultaneous equations solution are used for
determination of mineralogy, porosity and fluids
volumes. A petrophysical model is generated based
on reservoir lithology and fluids. The mineral end
points are calibrated to the core and XRD. The
kerogen is included as a mineral to lithology model
to estimate kerogen volume. The below lithogy
Figure 13. Longmuir isotherm (Gs) model demonstared for a carbonate formation.

Figure 14. Kerogen types from vitrinite reflectance Figure 16. Multi-mineral model for a carbonate formation

3.5 Shale Gas Sweet Spot Identification

4 Conclusions DlogR: Passay’s method for TOC determination
RD: deep resistivity
• Shale gas resources are unconventional reservoirs Rhob: bulk density
within low to moderate multiple porosity and CGR: corrected GR (TH, K)
ultra-low permeability. GIP: free gas in-place
Gs: adsorbed gas content
• The organic matter is in the form of solid Bg: gas formation volume factor
kerogen. Vcl: clay volume
• The reservoir gas volume comes from both free Phi: porosity
gas and adsorbed gas volumes. Sw: water saturation
GRI: American Gas Research Institute
• The logs are used for up-scaling core measured XRD: X Ray Diffraction
parameters. PHISc: corrected sonic porosity
• The core samples are prepared based on GRI PHIDc: corrected density porosity
protocol. PHINc: corrected neutron porosity

• The Rock-Eval Pyrolysis is used for kerogen 7 References

weight% measurement,
• The adsorbed gas content measured by Vitrinite [1] E.R. (Ross) Crain, Crain’s Petrophysical Handbook
analysis (Long Muir method). online at www.spec2000.net , 2018
• The DlogR and Schmoker/Hester methods are [2] Gary A. Simpson., and Neil S. Fishman, Hess
used for TOC determinations from logs. Corporation “A Call for New Standardized Core
Analysis Workflows and Research, 2015.
• The clay volume is calculated from spectral GR [3] Q. R. Passey, K. M. Bohacs, W. L. Esch, R.
and calibrated with XRD data. Klimentidis, and S. Sinha, ExxonMobil
Upstream Research Co. “From Oil-Prone Source
• The effective porosity is calculated from neutron
Rock to Gas-Producing Shale Reservoir – Geologic
and density logs, kerogen and clay effects
and Petrophysical Characterization of
corrected. The neutron density porosity is
Unconventional Shale-Gas Reservoirs” SPE
calibrated with NMR porosity.
Conference, Beijing China, 2010.
• The kerogen type identified by measured LOM. [4] Robert C. Hartman1, Pat Lasswell2, and Nimesh
The kerogen type 3 is gas. Bhatta1, “Recent Advances in the Analytical
Methods Used for Shale Gas Reservoir Gas-in-Place
• The calculated lithology is calibrated with thin
Assessment” AAPG annual conference 2008.
sections and petrography.
[5] Robei Sarra Thesis “Characterization of Shale Gas
• Generally Simandoux equation calculates valid Reservoirs By Logging and Geological Studies”,
water saturation results. 2014
[6] Quaid Khan Jaddon “Petrophysical Study of Shale
• The measured S2 (mg gas/ gr rock) by pyrolysis gas Potential from the Permain Roseneath and
analysis is used for classification of the source Murteree Formations in the Cooper Basin
rock quality. Australia”, James Cook University, Australia.
• The total gas volume calculated from both free
gas volume and adsorbed gas volume.

5 Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the
REPPCO and reference support from E.R. (Ross) Crain,
Crain’s Petrophysical Handbook online at
www.spec2000.net , 2018. We would like to thank Mr.
Ross Crain for his valuable advises.

6 Nomenclature
TOC: total carbon content
LOM: Kerogen thermal level of maturity
S2: kerogen volume (mg gas/gr rock)