The effect of thermal maturity on porosity development in the Upper Devonian –Lower Mississippian Woodford Shale, Permian Basin, US: Insights into the role of silica nanospheres and microcrystalline quartz on porosity preservation

We have derived relationships between organic carbon and acoustic properties in the Woodford Shale, an Upper Devonian organic-rich shale in the Permian Basin, Texas. Extensive core data enable us to relate measured total organic carbon (TOC) on core samples to gamma log response; in turn, gamma log-calculated TOC is compared with P-wave [Formula: see text] and S-wave [Formula: see text] velocities, density, and derivative properties including [Formula: see text], Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text]. Because we sampled two wells at very different thermal maturity (early oil window and wet gas window), we can examine the effect of thermal maturity on these parameters. In both wells, [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] decrease with increasing TOC, exhibiting a rapid decrease from 0% to approximately 1.5% TOC, and a slower decrease above 1.5% TOC, similar to results from ultrasonic experiments on core samples, that we attribute to a shift from a mineral grain load-bearing to an organic matter load-bearing fabric. The [Formula: see text] decreases by 28% and [Formula: see text] by 20% over the range of 0.5%–12% TOC. [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] correlate more strongly to neutron porosity than to TOC in the less mature well, related to the development of a bitumen phase that is relatively soft and less dense and has greater impact on rock physical properties than kerogen; this effect disappears in the high-maturity well in which bitumen was further cracked to petroleum and physical properties of bitumen changed with increased aromatization. The effect of increased thermal maturity is to increase [Formula: see text] by approximately 12%, [Formula: see text] by 25%, and P-wave impedance by 12%. [Formula: see text] ratios decrease with increasing TOC, contrary to the behavior expected for the incorporation of a soft material into a rock. We suggest that the rock develops a horizontal planar fabric at lower TOC values that absorbs S-wave energy, counteracting the effect of the organic matter.

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Pyrolysis and Hydrocarbon Source Bed Potential of the Upper Devonian Woodford Shale, Hovey Channel, Southern Permian Basin, West Texas

AAPG Bulletin ◽

10.1306/20b24588-170d-11d7-8645000102c1865d ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 75 ◽

Author(s):

HUSSAIN, MAHBUB, and MARK A. BLOOM,

Keyword(s):

Upper Devonian ◽

Permian Basin ◽

Woodford Shale ◽

West Texas

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A sequence-stratigraphic framework for the Upper Devonian Woodford Shale, Permian Basin, west Texas

AAPG Bulletin ◽

10.1306/05221312077 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 98 (1) ◽

pp. 23-47 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Nikki T. Hemmesch ◽

Nicholas B. Harris ◽

Cheryl A. Mnich ◽

David Selby

Keyword(s):

Upper Devonian ◽

Permian Basin ◽

Woodford Shale ◽

Sequence Stratigraphic ◽

West Texas ◽

Stratigraphic Framework

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Regulation role of ibuprofen toward the morphology of porous silica nanospheres during its in situ encapsulation

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science ◽

10.1016/j.jcis.2010.02.012 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 345 (2) ◽

pp. 269-277 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Xin Du ◽

Junhui He

Keyword(s):

Porous Silica ◽

Silica Nanospheres

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Rapid Quantification of Mineralogy, Organic Matter, and Thermal Maturity of Cuttings With Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy, Permian Basin

Proceedings of the 5th Unconventional Resources Technology Conference ◽

10.15530/urtec-2017-2671423 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

MaryEllen L. Loan ◽

Michael M. Herron ◽

Abigail Matteson ◽

Alyssa Charsky ◽

Romain Prioul ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Fourier Transform ◽

Diffuse Reflectance ◽

Fourier Transform Spectroscopy ◽

Thermal Maturity ◽

Permian Basin ◽

Diffuse Reflectance Infrared ◽

Rapid Quantification

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Advisory Committees and Partnerships in the Permian Basin

Workforce Education at Oil and Gas Companies in the Permian Basin - Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-8464-3.ch005 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 79-99

Author(s):

Julie Neal

Keyword(s):

Community Colleges ◽

Workforce Education ◽

Collaborative Partnerships ◽

Permian Basin ◽

Advisory Committees ◽

Program Success ◽

Development Officers ◽

Informal Setting ◽

Industry Professionals

This chapter benefits various individuals and organizations, including community colleges and programs leading to higher education and the workforce. Community colleges, workforce programs, business, and industry utilize advisory committees. Whether they meet in a formal or an informal setting, the benefit of their input is critical to program success. The workforce is strategic and innovative when it uses collaborative partnerships to provide individuals in communities with training and retraining to compete in a changing workforce. This information helps institutions use advisory committees to the fullest to bring about negotiations and partnerships to advance skills for workers. This chapter focuses on the role of advisory committees in workforce education. Those who can benefit from the information presented include committee development officers, business/industry professionals, administrators, and workforce-education specialists. The collaborative nature of the partnerships within workforce-education programs creates opportunities to benefit professionals in a variety of specializations.

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The significance of karst unconformities on overlying resource shales: Lessons learned from the Devonian Woodford Formation applied to the Permian Wolfcamp Shale

Interpretation ◽

10.1190/int-2019-0042.1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. SK33-SK43

Author(s):

Jing Zhang ◽

Roger Slatt

Keyword(s):

Lessons Learned ◽

Central Basin ◽

Permian Basin ◽

Woodford Shale ◽

Sequence Stratigraphic ◽

Stratigraphic Model ◽

Slug Model ◽

Unconventional Resource ◽

Maximum Flooding Surface ◽

Unconformity Surface

We have summarized the threefold significance of karst unconformity boundary: (1) The development of a sequence stratigraphic model for the Devonian Woodford Shale Formation is transferable to the Upper Wolfcamp in the Permian Basin, (2) demonstration of the more general application of that model beyond the Woodford to other resource shales, and (3) illustration of a modification of common sequence stratigraphy models specifically to unconventional resource shales. During early transgression, marine encroachment into the paleolows created anoxic, hypersaline marine “pockets” conducive to the preservation of organic matter. The result is deposition of thick, laterally discontinuous, organic-rich strata stratigraphically at or near the unconformity surface. This pattern of deposition and distribution of the organic-rich shale has been well-documented in the Devonian Woodford Shale and is applicable to other resource shales, in this case to the Permian Upper Wolfcamp Formation in the Central Basin Platform of the Permian Basin. The stratigraphy of the distribution of the Upper Wolfcamp on top of the Upper/Middle Wolfcamp Unconformity is similar to that of the Woodford, suggesting a similar origin and distribution. The resulting stratigraphy in both cases resembles that of the classical Exxon sea slug model except that rather than a single organic-rich deposit defining the condensed section and maximum flooding surface, a second organic-rich deposit occurs stratigraphically lower, at or near the unconformity surface. This theoretical summary can support the discovery of potential drillable target zones in the Woodford Shale and the Wolfcamp Shale.

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