Sequence Stratigraphy of Unconventional Shale Plays

(with co-instructor Cecilia Lopez-Gamundi)

course length

3 days (light version) to 5 days (full version)

TARGET STUDENTS

Geologists, geophysicists, petroleum and reservoir engineers that work or intend to work on unconventional shale plays.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The ultimate objective of the course is to provide the geologists, geophysicists and engineers practical knowledge in sequence stratigraphic tools and methodologies used to investigate unconventional resource plays.

COURSE Overview and Content

This course covers the basic concepts of sequence stratigraphy as applied to the evaluation of unconventional shale plays. All concepts are illustrated with examples of outcrop, well-log, core and seismic data.

TYPES OF UNCONVENTIONAL RESOURCES

  • Oil and gas shales and subtypes

  • Coal bed methane (CBM)

  • Tight sandstones

  • Naturally fractured reservoirs

PRINCIPLES OF SEDIMENTOLOGY AND DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS OF SHALES, COALS AND TIGHT SANDSTONES

RELATIONSHP BETWEEN SMALL-SCALE MECHANICAL STRATIGRAPHY AND DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

DUCTILE-BRITTLE TRANSITION

GENERAL CRITERIA TO IDENTIFY SEQUENCES AND SYSTEMS TRACTS

  • GR log response

  • Faunal changes   

  • Variation in mineralogy, organic matter content and seismic signatures

SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHIC SURFACES AND SYSTEM TRACTS IN SILICA-RICH UNCONVENTIONaL RESOURCES ("SHALES")

SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHIC SURFACES AND SYSTEM TRACTS IN CARBONATE-RICH UNCONVENTIONaL RESOURCES ("MUDSTONES")

INORGANIC AND ORGANIC CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY OF SILICA- AND CARBONATE-RICH UNCONVENTIONAL RESOURCES

  • Organic geochemical assessment of thermal maturity of unconventional resources (mudstones)

  • Unraveling organic matter sources using organic geochemistry (Rock-Eval and biomarkers)

  • Inorganic and organic geochemical paleoproductivity and paleoredox proxies for mudstones

    • Production vs preservation: understanding TOC distribution in a sequence stratigraphic framework

    • Applying enrichment factors in mixed carbonate-siliciclastic systems

  • Biomarkers and burrows – identifying reoxygenation events in deepwater environments

Sequence Stratigraphy in Carbonate Environments

  • Controls on carbonate sedimentation

  • Carbonate slopes and platforms in seismic. Seismic Facies and sequence-stratigraphic models

CORE, THIN SECTION AND XRD ANALYSES

SELECTED CASE STUDIES

  • Unconventionals of the Permian Basin (Wolfcamp, Bone Springs), west Texas

  • The Eagle Ford Shale (mid to Late Cretaceous), south Texas

  • Vaca Muerta (Tithonian - Valanginian), Neuquen basin, Argentina