Effect of clay content on shale

properties with application to pressure

analysis (edited for public release)
Keith Katahara
Hess Corporation
SPE/AAPG/SEG Pore Pressure Workshop
San Antonio, TX, USA, 11-12 March 2014
Outline
Clay content inferred from well logs
Pressure mechanism: Fluid-Expansion vs. Load-
Transfer
Conclusion
2
Neutron Porosity Density Porosity Crossplot
3
DPHI DEPTH
NPHI
QUARTZ
CLAY
Neutron Porosity Density Porosity Crossplot
4
DPHI DEPTH
NPHI
SANDS
SHALES
Clay
Water
Quartz
Density
Porosity
Neutron Porosity
Clay as
fraction
of solid
Clay as fraction of solids from NPHI and DPHI
Clay
Water
Quartz
Density
Porosity
Neutron Porosity
Clay as
fraction
of solid
Clay as fraction of solids from NPHI and DPHI
Clay point depends on
(usually unknown)
mineralogy, well-log
environmental
corrections,
Outline
Clay content inferred from well logs
Pressure mechanism: Fluid-Expansion vs. Load-
Transfer
Conclusion
7
Well 3, shales
WELL: AAPG Compendium
ZONE: 0. 000 - 20000.000 FT
DATE: 28 Jun 2000 @ 17: 14
SONIC, us/ ft
70 170 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160
D
E
N
S
I
T
Y
,

g
/
c
c
2
2
.
6
2
.
0
5
2
.
1
2
.
1
5
2
.
2
2
.
2
5
2
.
3
2
.
3
5
2
.
4
2
.
4
5
2
.
5
2
.
5
5
D
E
P
T
H
,

f
t
4
8
0
0
1
2
9
0
0
6
1
5
0
7
5
0
0
8
8
5
0
1
0
2
0
0
1
1
5
5
0
Normal
Pressure
High Pressure
SONIC DT (1/Vel)
D
E
N
S
I
T
Y


D
E
P
T
H


Public-domain
Gulf of Mexico
well
Well 3, shales
WELL: AAPG Compendium
ZONE: 0. 000 - 20000.000 FT
DATE: 28 Jun 2000 @ 17: 14
SONIC, us/ ft
70 170 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160
D
E
N
S
I
T
Y
,

g
/
c
c
2
2
.
6
2
.
0
5
2
.
1
2
.
1
5
2
.
2
2
.
2
5
2
.
3
2
.
3
5
2
.
4
2
.
4
5
2
.
5
2
.
5
5
D
E
P
T
H
,

f
t
4
8
0
0
1
2
9
0
0
6
1
5
0
7
5
0
0
8
8
5
0
1
0
2
0
0
1
1
5
5
0
SONIC DT (1/Vel)
D
E
N
S
I
T
Y


D
E
P
T
H


Smectite-rich
Illite-rich
Well 3, shales
WELL: AAPG Compendium
ZONE: 0. 000 - 20000.000 FT
DATE: 28 Jun 2000 @ 17: 14
SONIC, us/ ft
70 170 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160
D
E
N
S
I
T
Y
,

g
/
c
c
2
2
.
6
2
.
0
5
2
.
1
2
.
1
5
2
.
2
2
.
2
5
2
.
3
2
.
3
5
2
.
4
2
.
4
5
2
.
5
2
.
5
5
D
E
P
T
H
,

f
t
4
8
0
0
1
2
9
0
0
6
1
5
0
7
5
0
0
8
8
5
0
1
0
2
0
0
1
1
5
5
0
SONIC DT (1/Vel)
D
E
N
S
I
T
Y


D
E
P
T
H


If pressure drains
off and effective
stress increases,
the load-transfer
model says that
overpressured
shales will move
along the dark
red dashed line.
The fluid-
expansion model
says shales will
move along the
orange solid line.
GoM sonic-density xplot with ~clay volume in color
11
SONIC DT
D
E
N
S
I
T
Y
C
l
a
y

v
o
l
u
m
e



Same well as previous plot with transition
zone removed, and with clay proxy in color.
The overpressured section has clay
contours that are parallel to the
compaction trends. The point of this talk is
that this clay contour pattern is generally
not consistent with fluid expansion.
Shale Loading/Compaction
12
This diagram schematically shows how sediments
compact. Velocity and density both increase with
increasing effective stress. Compacting shales tend to
fall on a linear sonic-density crossplot, moving from lower
right to upper left with compaction. Sonic slowness is
1/velocity.
Unloading: Fluid-expansion or Load-transfer
13
If pore pressure is increased, at constant confining stress,
velocity decreases significantly, but density decreases
very little. So on a sonic-density crossplot a shale point
will move off to the right of the original trend.
Reloading: Fluid-expansion
14
If overpressure is due to fluid expansion, then if effective
stress increases after the initial unloading, velocity and
density will reverse until they reach the original
compaction curve. They will then move along the original
compaction curves. The reloading paths are shown in
green.
Reloading: Load-Transfer
15
The load-transfer concept is that if effective stress
increases after unloading, the shales will move along a
new compaction trend. The reloading path is shown in
green.
Effective stress variation on sonic-density crossplot
16
Sonic Slowness
Density
Sonic Slowness
Density
Fluid-Expansion Load-Transfer
The solid green reloading arrows must cut across
contours of constant effective stress for
overpressured shales, as indicated on the next slide.
Sonic-Density-Effective Stress Contours
17
Sonic Slowness
Density
Sonic Slowness
Density
Fluid-Expansion Load-Transfer
Eff. Stress Contours
Eff. Stress contours
Sonic-Density-Clay patterns
18
Sonic Slowness
Density
Sonic Slowness
Density
Fluid-Expansion Load-Transfer
CLAY contours ?
CLAY contours
For fluid-expansion
overpressure, clay contours will
depend on the magnitude of
overpressure, as indicated on
the next slide.
For load-transfer (or for simple
compaction) clay contours will
be parallel to the compaction
trend.
Sonic-Density-Clay patterns
19
Sonic Slowness
Density
Sonic Slowness
Density
Fluid-Expansion Load-Transfer
CLAY contours ?
CLAY contours
High P
Normal P
Normal P
This fluid-expansion scenario is
for a zone that is
overpressured at its center but
is normally pressured at its
margins.
Low P,
sandy, silty
Low P,
sandy, silty
Shale
Pressure Gradient
P at prior max
overpressure
P can drain off
with time.
Overpressure depends on burial rate, time & stratigraphy
This lithology and overpressure profile might give the sonic-
density-clay pattern shown at left on the previous slide.
In this scenario pressure in the shale bed can increase or
decrease with time depending on burial/erosion rate.
Example
Data shown at the workshop is not reproduced here. Schematic
diagrams showing observed shale-property patterns are shown instead.
Well A is at normal pressure as verified by formation test data over a
thick interval with alternating sands and shales.
Well B is highly pressured. Shale vertical effective stress in one thick
section is known because mud weights for a series of connection-gas
observations closely matches several formation test points in that
section.
Example: effective stress contours
22
Sonic Slowness
Density
Sonic Slowness
Density
Fluid-Expansion Load-Transfer
Eff. Stress Contours
Eff. Stress contours
Effective stress contours look like this in the highly
pressured section of Well B. The pattern does not
match the fluid expansion scenario at left.
Example: schematic clay contours
23
Sonic Slowness
Density
Sonic Slowness
Density
Fluid-Expansion Load-Transfer
CLAY contours ?
CLAY contours
Normal P
High P
Clay contours are parallel to the compaction trend in both high and
normally-pressured sections. Clay contours line up nicely between
Well B with high pressure and Well A with normal pressure. The
patterns do not match the expected fluid-expansion scenario at left.
Well A
Well B
Well B
Well A
Conclusion
Clay content can help distinguish between fluid-expansion and
load-transfer (or disequilibrium compaction) mechanisms.
Sonic-density-clay and sonic-density-stress patterns in shales in
the example wells A and B are not consistent with fluid-
expansion.
The observed crossplot patterns indicate that the overpressured
shales are on a compaction trend. This is consistent with either
load-transfer unloading, or with disequilibrium compaction as
pressure mechanisms.
(Circumstantial evidence, not shown here, indicates that the
load-transfer version of smectite-illite transformation is a
significant cause of overpressure in Well B. But this point was
questioned during Q&A at the workshop.)
END
25
25
I am grateful to Hess for permission to present, and to Mark
Alberty and Glenn Bowers for enlightening discussions.