A Novel Approach to Incorporate Full Petroleum System Analysis into Play Risk Assessments

In the last decade, shale resource exploitation has transformed North American production capacity through technological improvements in horizontal drilling and the ability to efficiently stimulate horizontal wellbores using multiple hydraulic fractures. The 2011 U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates there are unproved, technically recoverable shale gas resources of 827 Tcf (in addition to 20.1 Tcf of reserves) in the USA alone. Exploration and exploitation of Middle East organic-rich shales are just beginning, and discovery of economically viable resources requires a concerted effort. While Middle East resources in place could be much greater than those in North America, "sweet spots" need to be found in which established source rocks can also function as reservoirs. Evaluating these opportunities requires refined reservoir characterization workflows rather than the statistical approach that characterized early development of North American shale plays, which benefited from high gas prices, numerous existing wells, and infrastructure to support drilling and fracturing. With lower well density and higher well costs than in North America, successful exploration for unconventional hydrocarbon resources in the Middle East will necessarily rely more on modeling. A petroleum systems–oriented approach defines sweet spots by predicting reservoir quality and potential completion quality. Using proven and effective tools, sweet spots are identified early in the life of unconventional plays. Since reliable, comprehensive data concerning the behavior of shale resource systems under varying conditions are not widely available in the Middle East, petroleum systems modeling would yield key risk and value information. Standard petroleum systems modeling tools have recently been improved, providing more accurate results based on experience of modeling unconventional plays. By extending traditional basin and petroleum systems modeling with sophisticated adsorption functionality, the modeling of hydrocarbon adsorption on kerogen and primary migration within tight source rocks has been significantly enhanced. These methods have the potential to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Middle East shale resource evaluation.

show abstract

Systematic Evaluation of Unconventional Resource Plays Using a New Play-Based Exploration Methodology

Neber

Cox

Levy

et al. 2012

All Days

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

New tools are now available to provide a rigorous and systematic play-based exploration approach to the evaluation of unconventional resources. Coupled with petroleum system modeling, this methodology offers an efficient and effective approach to identify "sweet spots" early in the life of resource plays. Petroleum system modeling can be applied to predict the type and quantity of hydrocarbon in shale formations, as well as the proportion of adsorbed gas and geomechanical properties that are important for hydraulic fracture stimulation of shale reservoirs. Maps of these properties are then converted to chanceof-success maps for hydrocarbon generation, retention, and pore volume that can be integrated with nongeological factors, such as access and drilling depth required to reach target reservoirs. These play-based maps are expressed in probability units, so simple map multiplication provides a map of the play's overall chance of success, delineating the sweet spots. A similar methodology is applicable to evaluation of coalbed methane resources.In this paper, we illustrate this methodology using examples from shale oil and gas shale plays in North America. These include data-rich plays from the North Slope of Alaska and data-poor plays from the northeastern and southern regions of the United States, which are more representative of many Asia-Pacific basins. We show how predictions from petroleum system modeling based on sparse data provide a good match with results of subsequent development drilling and production.Petroleum system-based assessment of resources in place, combined with an assessment of overall play risk, enables companies to make decisions on acquisition of acreage early in the life of unconventional resource plays based on the probability of them containing economically viable resources.

show abstract

scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact Info

hi@scite.ai

10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614

Henderson, NV 89052, USA

Blog Terms and Conditions API Terms Privacy Policy Contact Cookie Preferences Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Made with 💙 for researchers

Part of the Research Solutions Family.

A Novel Approach to Incorporate Full Petroleum System Analysis into Play Risk Assessments

Cited by 5 publications

References 3 publications

Evaluation of Unconventional Resources Using a Petroleum System Modeling Approach

Evaluation of Unconventional Resources Using a Petroleum System Modeling Approach

An Effective Approach to Unconventional Resource Exploration in the Middle East

Systematic Evaluation of Unconventional Resource Plays Using a New Play-Based Exploration Methodology

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About