Shale gas prospectivity in South Australia

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 718
Author(s):  
Anthony Hill ◽  
Sandra Menpes ◽  
Guillaume Backè ◽  
Hani Khair ◽  
Arezoo Siasitorbaty
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Gas Generation ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Gas Potential ◽  
Gas Bearing ◽  
Excellent Source ◽  
Cooper Basin

Potential shale gas bearing basins in SA are primarily dominated by thermogenic play types and span the Neoproterozoic to Cretaceous. Whilst companies have only recently commenced exploring for shale gas in the Permian Cooper Basin, strong gas shows have been routinely observed and recorded since exploration commenced in the basin in 1959. The regionally extensive Roseneath and Murteree shales represent the primary exploration focus and reach maximum thicknesses of 103 m and 86 m respectively with TOC values up to 9%. These shales are in the gas window in large parts of the basin, particularly in the Patchawarra and Nappamerri troughs. Outside the Cooper Basin, thick shale sequences in the Crayfish Subgroup of the Otway Basin, in particular the Upper and Lower Sawpit shales and to a lesser extent the Laira Formation, have good shale gas potential in the deeper portions of the basin. TOC averages up to 3% are recorded in these shales in the Penola Trough; maturities in the range of 1.3–1.5% have been modelled. Thick Permian marine shales of the Arckaringa Basin have excellent source rock characteristics, with TOC’s ranging 4.1–7.4% and averaging 5.2% over an interval exceeding 150 m in the Phillipson Trough; however, these Type II source rocks are not sufficiently mature for gas generation anywhere in the Arckaringa Basin. Shale gas has the potential to rival CSM in eastern Australia; its potential is now being explored in SA.

scholarly journals SHALE GAS SWEET SPOT POTENTIAL OF TUNGKAL GRABEN, JAMBI SUB-BASIN SOUTH SUMATERA BASIN

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-114
Author(s):  
Taufik Ramli ◽  
M. Heri Hermiyanto Z ◽  
Andy Setyo Wibowo
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Organic Geochemistry ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Organic Content ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Sweet Spot ◽  
Gas Generation ◽  
Spot Area ◽  
Total Potential ◽  
Gas Bearing

The Tungkal Graben is located in Jambi Sub-basin, the northern part of South Sumatera Basin. This basin is known as one of the largest hydrocarbons producing basin in Indonesia. There are several proven source rocks in the South Sumatera Basin. The paralic shales and coal horizon of Talangakar Formation (TAF) are known as primary source rock in this basin and considered as a reservoir of shale gas-bearing in Tungkal Graben Area as well. This study used surface geological data that was collected from the southern foot of Tiga Puluh Mountain as the outcrop analogy and subsurface data (existing well and seismic data) in Tungkal Graben Area. This study applied integrated methods including environmental deposition analysis, organic geochemistry analysis, petrophysical analysis, seismic interpretation, sweet spot delineation, and volumetric of gas in place (GIP) calculation. TAF observed both on the outcrop and well is transition deposit that consists of the dominance of shale and siltstone with interbedded of coal, sandstone, and limestone. Shale and siltstone of TAF have characteristic which is appropriate as a shale gas bearing, with sufficient organic content richness, suitable kerogen type, its maturity entering the early gas generation and proper brittleness index (BI). The sweet spot area is an area that has met the criteria for potential shale gas and determined by pay zone criteria. Depend on the criteria, Net to gross for shale gas is 0.158, early gas generation estimated at a depth of 10250 feet, and sweet spot area reaches 8.9 x 108 ft2. Thus, the total potential of shale gas resources from the calculation using the Ambrose method is 2.12 TCF.

Emerging continuous gas plays in the Cooper Basin, South Australia

2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 671
Author(s):  
Sandra Menpes ◽  
Tony Hill
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Flood Plain ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Early Permian ◽  
Gas Shale ◽  
Freshwater Lakes ◽  
Gas Desorption ◽  
Wet Gas ◽  
Cooper Basin

Recent off-structure drilling in the Nappamerri Trough has confirmed the presence of gas saturation through most of the Permian succession, including the Roseneath and Murteree shales. Basin-centred gas, shale gas and deep CSG plays in the Cooper Basin are now the focus of an escalating drilling and evaluation campaign. The Permian succession in the Nappamerri Trough is up to 1,000 m thick, comprising very thermally mature, gas-prone source rocks with interbedded sands—ideal for the creation of a basin-centred gas accumulation. Excluding the Murteree and Roseneath shales, the succession comprises up to 45% carbonaceous and silty shales and thin coals deposited in flood plain, lacustrine and coal swamp environments. The Early Permian Murteree and Roseneath shales are thick, generally flat lying, and laterally extensive, comprising siltstones and mudstones deposited in large and relatively deep freshwater lakes. Total organic carbon values average 3.9% in the Roseneath Shale and 2.4% in the Murteree Shale. The shales lie in the wet gas window (0.95–1.7% Ro) or dry gas window (>1.7% Ro) over much of the Cooper Basin. Thick Permian coals in the deepest parts of the Patchawarra Trough and over the Moomba high on the margin of the Nappamerri Trough are targets for deep CSG. Gas desorption analysis of a thick Patchawarra coal seam returned excellent total raw gas results averaging 21.2 scc/g (680 scf/ton) across 10 m. Scanning electron microscopy has shown that the coals contain significant microporosity.

Study on the Forming Conditions of Shale Gas in Coal Measure of Wuli Area, Qinghai Province, China

2013 ◽  
Vol 295-298 ◽  
pp. 2770-2773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dai Yong Cao ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Ying Chun Wei ◽  
Xiao Yu Zhang ◽  
Chong Jing Wang
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Thermal Evolution ◽  
Organic Matter Content ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Coal Measure ◽  
Gas Generation ◽  
Qinghai Province ◽  
Coal Measures

Besides coal seam, the source rocks including dark mudstone, carbon mudstone and so on account for a large proportion in the coal measures. Based on the complex geothermal evolution history, the majority of coal measure organic matters with the peak of gas generation have a good potential of gas. Therefore, shale gas in coal measure is an important part of the shale gas resources. There are good conditions including the thickness of coal measures, high proportion of shale rocks, rich in organic matter content, high degree of thermal evolution, high content of brittle mineral and good conditions of the porosity and permeability for the generation of shale gas in Wuli area, the south of Qinghai province. Also the direct evidence of the gas production has been obtained from the borehole. The evaluation of shale gas in coal measure resources could broaden the understanding of the shale gas resources and promote the comprehensive development of the coal resources.

Multi-component kinetics and late gas potential of selected Cooper Basin source rocks

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Mahlstedt ◽  
R. di Primio ◽  
B. Horsfield ◽  
C.J. Boreham
Keyword(s):  
Source Rocks ◽  
Gas Potential ◽  
Cooper Basin

scholarly journals Emerging unconventional shale plays in Western Australia

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 313 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Ameed R. Ghori
Keyword(s):  
Shale Gas ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Marcellus Shale ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Lower Permian ◽  
Upper Ordovician ◽  
Canning Basin ◽  
The Us ◽  
Gas Potential

Production of shale gas in the US has changed its position from a gas importer to a potential gas exporter. This has stimulated exploration for shale-gas resources in WA. The search started with Woodada Deep–1 (2010) and Arrowsmith–2 (2011) in the Perth Basin to evaluate the shale-gas potential of the Permian Carynginia Formation and the Triassic Kockatea Shale, and Nicolay–1 (2011) in the Canning Basin to evaluate the shale-gas potential of the Ordovician Goldwyer Formation. Estimated total shale-gas potential for these formations is about 288 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). Other petroleum source rocks include the Devonian Gogo and Lower Carboniferous Laurel formations of the Canning Basin, the Lower Permian Wooramel and Byro groups of the onshore Carnarvon Basin, and the Neoproterozoic shales of the Officer Basin. The Canning and Perth basins are producing petroleum, whereas the onshore Carnarvon and Officer basins are not producing, but they have indications for petroleum source rocks, generation, and migration from geochemistry data. Exploration is at a very early stage, and more work is needed to estimate the shale-gas potential of all source rocks and to verify estimated resources. Exploration for shale gas in WA will benefit from new drilling and production techniques and technologies developed during the past 15 years in the US, where more than 102,000 successful gas production wells have been drilled. WA shale-gas plays are stratigraphically and geochemically comparable to producing plays in the Upper Ordovician Utica Shale, Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale and Upper Devonian Bakken Formation, Upper Mississippian Barnett Shale, Upper Jurassic Haynesville-Bossier formations, and Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Shale of the US. WA is vastly under-explored and emerging self-sourcing shale plays have revived onshore exploration in the Canning, Carnarvon, and Perth basins.

Petroleum generation and expulsion characteristics of Lower and Middle Jurassic source rocks on the southern margin of Junggar Basin, northwest China: implications for unconventional gas potential

2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 537-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jigang Guo ◽  
Xiongqi Pang ◽  
Fengtao Guo ◽  
Xulong Wang ◽  
Caifu Xiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Source Rock ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Middle Jurassic ◽  
Junggar Basin ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Coal Bed ◽  
Southern Margin ◽  
Petroleum Generation ◽  
Gas Potential

Jurassic strata along the southern margin of Junggar Basin are important petroleum system elements for exploration in northwest China. The Lower and Middle Jurassic source rock effectiveness has been questioned as exploration progresses deeper into the basin. These source rocks are very thick and are distributed widely. They contain a high total organic carbon composed predominantly of Type III kerogen, with some Type II kerogen. Our evaluation of source rock petroleum generation characteristics and expulsion history, including one-dimensional basin modeling, indicates that Jurassic source rocks are gas prone at deeper depths. They reached peak oil generation during the Early Cretaceous and began to generate gas in the Late Cretaceous. Gas generation peaked in the Paleogene–Neogene. Source rock shales and coals reached petroleum expulsion thresholds at thermal maturities of 0.8% and 0.75% vitrinite reflectance, respectively, when the petroleum expulsion efficiency was ∼40%. The petroleum generated and expelled from these source rocks are 3788.75 × 108 and 1507.55 × 108 t, respectively, with a residual 2281.20 × 108 t retained in the source rocks. In these tight reservoirs, a favorable stratigraphic relationship (where tight sandstone reservoirs directly overlie the source rocks) indicates short vertical and horizontal migration distances. This indicates the potential for a large, continuous, tight-sand gas resource in the Lower and Middle Jurassic strata. The in-place natural gas resources in the Jurassic reservoirs are up to 5.68 × 1012 − 15.14 × 1012 m3. Jurassic Badaowan and Xishanyao coals have geological characteristics that are favorable for coal-bed methane resources, which have an in-place resource potential between 3.60 × 1012 and 11.67 × 1012 m3. These Lower and Middle Jurassic strata have good shale gas potential compared with active US shale gas, and the inferred in-place shale gas resources in Junggar Basin are between 20.73 × 1012 and 113.89 × 1012 m3. This rich inferred conventional and unconventional petroleum resource in tight-sand, coal-bed, and shale gas reservoirs makes the deeper Jurassic strata along the southern margin of Junggar Basin a prospective target for future exploration.

Sonic QP/QS ratio as diagnostic tool for shale gas saturation

Geophysics ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. MR97-MR103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiaomu Qi ◽  
Tobias M. Müller ◽  
Marina Pervukhina
Keyword(s):  
Quality Factor ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Diagnostic Tool ◽  
Wave Attenuation ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
Depth Interval ◽  
Gas Saturation ◽  
Attenuation Profiles ◽  
Gas Potential

Sonic [Formula: see text] ratio obtained from full-waveform acoustic logs in conventional sandstone reservoirs is known to be sensitive to the presence of gas, and it is regarded as a potential diagnostic tool for saturation discrimination. However, it is not known if such a saturation diagnostic tool will be applicable in unconventional reservoirs, such as in gas-saturated shales. We have analyzed the monopole and dipole waveform logs acquired from a shale gas exploration well in the Cooper Basin, South Australia. The depth interval of interest is 300 m thick, and it intersects three shale units in which the two underlying formations contain gas saturation of more than 30% and are identified as the primary exploration targets. We use the statistical average method to extract the [Formula: see text]- and the [Formula: see text]-wave attenuation profiles and obtain an average [Formula: see text]-wave quality factor of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]-wave quality factor of [Formula: see text]. The gas saturation of the lithological layers having [Formula: see text] is appreciably larger than the gas saturation of the others having [Formula: see text]. The net difference indicates that the saturation is a dominant factor in controlling the [Formula: see text] ratio in these shale formations. Based on the criterion [Formula: see text], we identify the intervals with high gas potential. This result is in good agreement with the prediction from an independently obtained saturation log based on petrophysical analysis. Furthermore, we found that the [Formula: see text] ratio can be jointly interpreted with the [Formula: see text] ratio to differentiate between the saturation and the lithology effects for a shale reservoir interbedded with sandstone layers. Our results underpin the concept of using the [Formula: see text] ratio as a hydrocarbon saturation indicator and provide insights into application of this technique for shale gas detection.

Monitoring shale gas resources in the Cooper Basin using magnetotellurics

Geophysics ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. A13-A16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Rees ◽  
Simon Carter ◽  
Graham Heinson ◽  
Lars Krieger
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Bulk Conductivity ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Horizontal Fracture ◽  
Fluid Permeability ◽  
Fracturing Fluids ◽  
Cooper Basin

The magnetotelluric (MT) method is introduced as a geophysical tool to monitor hydraulic fracturing of shale gas reservoirs and to help constrain how injected fluids propagate. The MT method measures the electrical resistivity of earth, which is altered by the injection of fracturing fluids. The degree to which these changes are measurable at the surface is determined by several factors, such as the conductivity and quantity of the fluid injected, the depth of the target interval, the existing pore fluid salinity, and a range of formation properties, such as porosity and permeability. From an MT monitoring survey of a shale gas hydraulic fracture in the Cooper Basin, South Australia, we have found temporal and spatial changes in MT responses above measurement error. Smooth inversions are used to compare the resistivity structure before and during hydraulic fracturing, with results showing increases in bulk conductivity of 20%–40% at a depth range coinciding with the horizontal fracture. Comparisons with microseismic data lead to the conclusion that these increases in bulk conductivity are caused by a combination of the injected fluid permeability and an increase in wider scale in situ fluid permeability.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document