TY - GEN
T1 - Nano-to microscale pore characterization of the utica shale
AU - Swift, Alexander
AU - Sheets, Julia
AU - Cole, David
AU - Anovitz, Lawrence
AU - Welch, Susan
AU - Gu, Xin
AU - Mildner, David
AU - Chipera, Steve
AU - Buchwalter, Edwin
AU - Cook, Ann
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright 2014, Unconventional Resources Technology Conference (URTeC).
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - The Utica Shale has proven to be a major unconventional hydrocarbon play. However, due to its relatively high clay content and complex bedding it is often a challenging environment for maximizing resource extraction. Both total and rate of resource extraction from a hydraulically fractured formation such as the Utica Shale is the macroscale outcome of micro and nanoscale processes, which in turn are associated with measurable pore-scale formation characteristics. One notable characteristic is anisotropy of the rock fabric, which includes differences in grain shape, pore geometry, tortuosity, and permeability, as measured parallel and perpendicular to bedding. Anisotropy that occurs in any laminated, clay-rich mudstone impacts orientation-specific strength, induced fracture propagation, and 4D modeling of flow and consequent resource extraction from material accessible through fractures. The preliminary work described here therefore addresses the following questions: How does Utica Shale anisotropy change as a function of scale, and with facies and texture type - and which mineral assemblages most impact the observations?.
AB - The Utica Shale has proven to be a major unconventional hydrocarbon play. However, due to its relatively high clay content and complex bedding it is often a challenging environment for maximizing resource extraction. Both total and rate of resource extraction from a hydraulically fractured formation such as the Utica Shale is the macroscale outcome of micro and nanoscale processes, which in turn are associated with measurable pore-scale formation characteristics. One notable characteristic is anisotropy of the rock fabric, which includes differences in grain shape, pore geometry, tortuosity, and permeability, as measured parallel and perpendicular to bedding. Anisotropy that occurs in any laminated, clay-rich mudstone impacts orientation-specific strength, induced fracture propagation, and 4D modeling of flow and consequent resource extraction from material accessible through fractures. The preliminary work described here therefore addresses the following questions: How does Utica Shale anisotropy change as a function of scale, and with facies and texture type - and which mineral assemblages most impact the observations?.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84959226451&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.15530/urtec-2014-1923522
DO - 10.15530/urtec-2014-1923522
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84959226451
T3 - Society of Petroleum Engineers - SPE/AAPG/SEG Unconventional Resources Technology Conference
BT - Society of Petroleum Engineers - SPE/AAPG/SEG Unconventional Resources Technology Conference
PB - Society of Petroleum Engineers
T2 - SPE/AAPG/SEG Unconventional Resources Technology Conference
Y2 - 25 August 2014 through 27 August 2014
ER -