Anne Grau, Triangle Petroleum - Tight Oil From Shale Plays World ...

2011
JANUARY
Applied Petrophysics in Reservoir
Characterization of the Bakken
(What makes Parshall special?)
Dr. Anne Grau – Triangle Petroleum
Robert Sterling – Cirque Resources LP

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Outline
Going Back to the Beginning
• A brief history of the Bakken Play evolution in the Williston Basin
• Parshall Field Discovery in North Dakota
Parshall Field Attributes
• High EURS and rates of production
Why Parshall is Special
• Unique Middle Bakken Reservoir
• Lithology & Stratigraphy
• Diagenesis
• Fracturing
• Thick ―H‖
• Unique Stratigraphic Trap
• Unique Maturity Setting http://bakkenshaleoil.blogspot.com/
• Unique pressuring
• High Oil Saturation (Low water cut)
Petrophysics
• Applying Saturation models to multiple play types within the complex Middle Bakken

Middle Bakken: Large Area, Variable Deposition Patterns
(Multiple Play types, Multiple Reservoir Targets)
SASKATCHEWAN
MANITOBA
WILLISTON BASIN
Poplar
Dome
Nesson
Anticline
Parshall Field
2005
MONTANA
WYOMING
Cedar Creek
Anticline
Little Knife
Anticline
Billings
Anticline
NORTH
DAKOTA
SOUTH
DAKOTA
Location Map with Structural Elements (after Heck et al., 2004,)

Bakken Petroleum System
• Source Rock: Upper and Lower Bakken Shales are World
Class
• High TOC
• Thermal History, Kitchen Identified by USGS (Price)
• Generated 400+ Billion Barrels (USGS)
• Unconventional Regional Reservoirs: Sourcerock/Reservoir
couplets
• Middle Bakken Mixed lithologies
• Three Forks Dolomite, Silts and clays.
• Tight: 4-8% Porosity, 0.01-0.001 md Perm
• Lodgepole in US is thick impermeable Seal to Bakken.
• “In-situ” Oil accumulation within Kitchen
• Documented Lateral Migration of Bakken to NE into Canadian
Fields where Bakken Source Rock is immature (migration)
• Limited Documentation of Vertical Migration
• Fracturing of Tight Reservoir Key to Producibility
• Multiple Scales of Natural Fractures
• Microfracturing within specific facies/lithologies
• Macro fractures at bedding scale
• Vertical (Tectonic)
• Horizontal (Hydraulic from Oil Generation)
• Composite/Oblique
• Areal Lineaments, Faults, Fracture swarms
• Areal Lineaments, Faults, Fracture Swarms
• Completion Strategy Key to accessing reserves
Jack Flannery and Jeff Kraus
Search and Discovery Article #10105 (2006)
Posted May 23, 2006
5

Bakken Exploration In the Williston Basin
‣ Vertical Well Production 1990’s Fractured
Shale along Depositional Boundaries
‣ Horizontal Wells:
1. Early 2000’s Elm Coulee, MT
• Unstimulated or Hail-Mary Frac’s
• Shorter laterals 320’s
BRIGHAM
HYBRID
COMPLETIONS
2. 2005-2009: Parshall and North Dakota
• Staged Completions (5-8),
• Longer laterals 640’s and 1280’s
ELM COULEE
MT
EOG
PARSHALL
DISCOVERY
ND
3. 2009+
• Hybrid Extensive Staged
Completions (―Brigham‖-style)
• Longer Laterals 1280’s+
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/3868

Parshall Field Discovery 2006: Bakken Horizontal
Drilling in North Dakota
From Wikipedia: ―Bakken‖
The greatest Bakken oil production comes from Elm Coulee Oil Field, Richland County, Montana, where
production began in 2000 and is expected to ultimately total 270 million barrels. In 2007, production from
Elm Coulee averaged 53,000 barrels per day (8,400 m 3 /d) — more than the entire state of Montana a few
years earlier. [12]
New interest developed in 2007 when EOG Resources out of Houston, Texas reported that a single well it
had drilled into an oil-rich layer of shale below Parshall, North Dakota was anticipated to produce
700,000 barrels (111,000 m 3 ) of oil. [13] This, combined with other factors, including an oil-drilling tax break
enacted by the state of North Dakota in 2007, [14] shifted attention in the Bakken from Montana to the North
Dakota side. [citation needed] The number of wells drilled in the North Dakota Bakken jumped from 300 in 2006 [15]
to 457 in 2007. [16] Those same sources show oil production in the North Dakota Bakken increasing 229%,
from 2.2 million barrels (350,000 m 3 ) in 2006 to 7.4 million barrels (1,180,000 m 3 ) in 2007.

Evolution of Parshall Field Area
How did EOG get here first and why did they like this
prospect?
EOG was actively exploring in this area
EOG was actively playing Elm Coulee
EOG had a unique experience in all disciplines in
unconventional reservoirs at that time
Jim Peterson & team were looking for
• Resistivity anomalies
• Elm Coulee analogues
2005: Jim P. Identified several resistivity anomalies
east of Nesson Anticline
• Leased and drilled the Nelson Fms 1-24 to try to test
―clean zone‖ seen in Gulf Nelson Fms. 1
• Digital data derived an Archie SW model
• Land block at Parshall area looked interesting based
on petrophysical model
• Purchased acreage from Mike Johnson, et al
Drilling as of 12/31/2005
2006 PARSHALL DISCOVERY WELL WAS
DRILLED IN 2006

Evolution of Parshall Field Area
2005: EOG Resources & Hess drilled
Nelson Fms 1-24 (8/2005)
4500’ lateral
Single stage frac 463K#
IP 155 BOD 102 BWD
1981
Lear Petroleum Exploration
Parshall SD 1
s. 3 152N 90W
Upper Shale
Later 2005:
EOG acquired ~38,200 gross acres from
Mike Johnson, et al, to drill a well near the
Lear Parshall SD 1
Middle
Bakken
Lower Shale
Drilling as of 12/31/2005

Evolution of Parshall Field Area: Lear Well
1981
Lear Petroleum Exploration
Parshall SD 1
s. 3 152N 90W
Prospect Generator: Mike Johnson noted
• Resistivity anomaly
• A possible Elm Coulee analog (―sand‖)
• Very Subtle Shows
Ultimately, EOG drilled Parshall 1-36H Discovery Well
1200’ away from this well

EOG Parshall 1-36 (Parshall Discovery Well)
Lear Parshall
SD1
EOG Parshall
1-36H
1200’
Middle Bakken
•EOG Drilled the Parshall 1-36H and completed the well in 6/2006 flowing
463 BOD and 0 BWD
•The total lateral length was approximately 1800‟
•Open Hole unstimulated
•Well experienced severe pressure and oil and gas to surface while drilling.
Pressure was way more than expected
•“Clean Zone” was not encountered in the wellbore

Evolution of Parshall Field Area:
Parshall Discovery Well
Parshall 1-36H lateral did not see ―clean
zone‖ (Elm Coulee Analog) but indications of
high pressure and flowing oil encouraged
EOG to drill second well
Core from Parshall 2-36 provided much
understanding of the nature of the
accumulation.
The Parshall 2-36H was the first multistage
frac in the Williston Basin Bakken
• Recommended by Engineer Barb
Ganong due to previous experience
in Monterey, Barnett and other EOG
unconventional programs.
Engineering solutions for well drilling and
completion advanced the play to its present
state
A fully integrated approach with all disciplines
from geology, engineering and land led to the
success of Parshall Field.

Drilling as of 12/31/2005 12/31/2006 12/31/2007 12/31/2008 12/31/2009 12/31/2010

EUR Bakken Wells Only

Parshall’s Special Attributes
• Unique Middle Bakken Reservoir
• Lithology & Stratigraphy
• Diagenesis
• Fracturing
• Thick “H”
• Unique Stratigraphic Trap
• Unique Maturity Setting
• Unique pressuring
• High Oil Saturation (Low water cut)
• High EURS and rates of production

Blakey Depositional Setting for Bakken
• Widespread Carbonate Deposition in NA
• Williston Basin on Equator
• Bakken: Mixed Carbonate Clastics
• Clastic influence from Landmass
NE, E, and SE
Ron Blakey, NAU Geology

Present-Day Belize Model
Mixed Carbonate Clastic Equatoiral Setting
• Shallow Shelf & Shoreline
• Transitional facies Pattern
• Sediments from Maya Mountains (SW)
• Point sources of Sand Influx (rivers)
• Distribution of sand by long shore drift to
south
• Barrier Reef acts as protection to carbonate
restricted area (N)
Dr. Clif Jordan, 2002
Belize image from Geology.com
1 mi

Middle Bakken: Large Area, Variable Deposition Patterns
(Multiple Play types, Multiple Reservoir Targets)
SASKATCHEWAN
MANITOBA
WILLISTON BASIN
Poplar
Dome
Nesson
Anticline
MONTANA
WYOMING
Cedar Creek
Anticline
Little Knife
Anticline
Billings
Anticline
NORTH
DAKOTA
SOUTH
DAKOTA
Location Map with Structural Elements (after Heck et al., 2004, Belize image from Geology.com)

ISOPACH
TOTAL MIDDLE BAKKEN
•Represents what most consider to be the
distribution of ―the Bakken play‖
•Consists of all Middle Bakken lithologies
•Depositional thick along and east of
Nesson Anticline
Total Middle Bakken
Isopach Interval

ISOPACH
LOWER MIDDLE BAKKEN
•Consists of heterogeneous lithologies
•Depositional thick along and east of
Nesson Anticline
Lower Middle Bakken
Isopach Interval
Photos from NDIC and NDGS

ISOPACH
UPPER MIDDLE BAKKEN
•Facies consistant across this part of the basin
•Primary sedimentary structures preserved
•Interbedded algal and dolomite material
•Represents a resticted, hypersaline environment
•Lagoonal restriction caused by movement of
Nesson Anticline- time of Dolomitization
Upper Middle Bakken
Isopach Interval
Photos from NDIC and NDGS

Stratigraphic Model for Parshall
EOGR
Shell Creek 1-01
S1 152N 90W
2.1 Miles
Lear Petroleum
Parshall SD 1
1.3 Miles
S3 152N 90W
EOGR
Parshall Parshall 2-36
S36 153N 90W

Diagentic Model for Parshall
Dolomitization shortly after deposition of Upper Middle Bakken
•Upper Middle Bakken- Time of Dolomitization
• Algal laminated facies at Parshall
• Dolomitic silts with organic rich algal laminae
•Shoal: ―Clean Gamma‖ Unit
• Limey Ooid to Skeletal Grainstone
• Very low porosity; Self cementing at deposition
• Intermittent in eastern ―Parshall‖ trend
•Lower Middle Bakken
• Bioturbated facies
Dolomitization
– Represents Early conversion of
– CaCO3 -- CaMg(CO3)2
– Recrystallization with larger Crystals
– Results in New Rock Fabric
– Creates Porosity
– Microfractured Texture at Parshall
– BETTER RESERVOIR ROCK
– Associated with Higher Oil
Saturation at Parshall
• Dolomitic and limey silt interbeds
• Poor dolomitization underneath shoals
DOLOMITIZATION
Limey ooid shoal
Little or no Dolomite
SHOAL
SHADOW
SHOAL
Upper Middle Bakken
Lower Middle Bakken

Diagentic Model for Parshall
Dolomitization shortly after deposition of Upper Middle Bakken
Ubiquitous
Dolomitization
Increases
Reservoir H
Limey ooid shoal
Little or no Dolomite
Upper Middle Bakken
Lower Middle Bakken

Middle Bakken Reservoir Properties at
Parshall Field
Horizontal Fractures in EOG Hoff 1-H
Photo from NDIC Website
Fracturing at All Scales
Contributes to
Reservoir Performance
Parshall Area
Lineaments
Vertical Fracture in EOG Long 1-H
Photo from NDIC Website

Middle Bakken Reservoir Properties at
Parshall Field
Facies
Parshall 2-36 Pilot Hole
Discovery Well
~35+ Feet of Reservoir H
All Porous Dolomite (>4%)
Scales of Fracturing
Microfractured, Microporous
Stratigraphy
Diagenesis
Fracturing
Control Development of
Parshall “Super” Reservoir

Whiting Stratigraphic Model for Sanish Field
Modified from Whiting Petroleum
GR MKR
UMB
LMB

Maturity Models
• Parshall is at edge of Maturity Window
• Several Schools of thought:
• Power-charged by thick lower Bakken Source rock
west of Parshall Field
• Upper Middle Bakken Internal TOC (Algal
Dolomites) in-situ sourcing
• Thermal Maturity Barrier acts as Pressure Trap

Lower Bakken Shale Isopach
Lower Bakken Shale Isopach (ft)
Red = > 45’
Bakken EURS Bubbles
Qualitative

Middle Bakken: Internal source of TOC
Algal Bioherm in EOG Hoff 1-H
Photo from NDIC Website

Source Rock Maturity
• Map initially made with Upper Shale
cuttings Rock Eval data from Price
(USGS)
• 10 wells had core and cuttings Rock
Eval data
• Correcting cuttings to core (approx 4
deg shift up)
• TMAX 426 contour appears to
coincide with onset of generation
• Lineament distribution and
magnitude appear to control
basement heat flux
– Accounts for lateral “shoulders” in
updip maturity
TMAX Upper Shale

Upper Bakken Shale – Hydrogen Index „Surface
Hydrogen Index as a Proxy for Maturity by R. J. Coskey
Parshall-Austin
The „HI Wall‟
HI
HI < 100
Mature
HI > 600
Immature
Bailey Area
n = 579

Pressure Gradient Map
Middle Bakken Formation
• Gradient highest at
Parshall Oil Field
• Pressure decreases
towards Sanish Field
• Over pressured trend
continues to the
north
• TMAX 426 Contour
shows updip of
thermal Maturity
.43 .71
Sterling 2010

Water Saturation for Upper Middle Bakken
• Upper Middle Bakken
– Lithofacies 4 (LaFever)
– Lithofacies D (Cantor)
• Best regional zone to map
due to consistent
Lithology
• Maximum Saturation at
Parshall Oil Field
• Lineaments effect
distribution of oil
saturation
• TMAX 426 contour shows
updip thermal maturity
limit
.25 .60
Sterling 2010

Pressure and Sw (UMB) Correlate

Relationship of Sw and Pressure Gradient
Sw vs BHP Gradient
Water Saturation vs Bottom Hole Pressure Gradient for Upper Middle Bakken
1
0.9
0.8
Parshall Field
y = -0.2652Ln(x) + 0.2887
R 2 = 0.6722
0.7
0.6
Gradient
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Calculated Water Saturation in Upper Middle Bakken

Bakken Petrophysical Challenges
• Archie Equation works well
– Sw = (a * Rw / ( RT * PHIA^m) )^(1/n)
• Heterogeneous lithology
– 15-30% QTZ
– 20-60% Calcite
– 30-50% Dolomite
• Highly saturated formation water
• Cementation (m) and Saturation (n)
Exponents are variable with lithology
• Matrix density varies with lithology
• Calibrating logs to core is
essential in finding
solutions

Comparison of similar log character in Core
(and the trouble with Rasters)
West NESSON ANTICLINE
East Southeast
Silty Clay-rich Limestone
Partially Dolomitized
Limestone
Dolomite
Clay-rich Silt

Acknowledgements
• EOG Bakken Team, Past, Present, and Future
• Bob Coskey
• Mike Johnson
• USGS Price Dataset
• Cirque
• Triangle