UNCONVENTIONAL

RESERVOIRS OVERVIEW

By Young Petroleum Geoscientists (YPG)

Ahmed Anwar - Hussam Muhammad - Abdoulrahman Emad

Ain shams University

Faculty of Science
CONTENTS
 Introduction
 Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing
 Fracturing fluids
 Fracture Estimation and Characterization
 Microseismic monitoring
 Importance of unconventional reservoirs
 Types of unconventional reservoirs
 Shale Gas
 Shale gas in Egypt
UNCONVENTIONAL
RESERVOIRS
Introduction

Oil and natural gas companies traditionally focus on exploring and producing conventional oil
and natural gas reservoirs, where oil and gas exist in high quality reservoir.

After extensive geological and geophysical analysis, these more difficult to predict and more
isolated reservoirs are typically drilled straight down. Vertical exposure to the productive rock
allows oil and/or gas to flow up to the surface.

However, a great deal of oil and natural gas, in North America as well as other parts of the
world, is trapped in rocks in small unconnected pores.

These reservoirs are comprised of shale, a rather low quality rock type that contain best amount
of oil and gas trapped deep beneath the earth's surface.

The shale formations which are located throughout the US have been difficult to extract
volumes from economically.

Advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have now made production from these
difficult reservoirs commercially viable.

The risk of not finding the targeted reservoir and encountering oil and gas has also gone down.

Unconventional reservoirs

They are hydrocarbon reservoirs that have low permeability (less than 0.1 mD) and porosity and
so are difficult to produce.

Often enhanced recovery techniques, such as fracture stimulation or steam injection etc. must
be performed, making the process more difficult than a conventional play.

Operators are now developing more complex and costly oil and gas plays.

Understanding the geomechanical behavior of such systems throughout the production lifetime is becoming
increasingly important.

Geomechanical analysis of the evolving stress state in the reservoir and the surrounding formations, in
conjunction with understanding the migration and maturation of the hydrocarbons they contain, leads to
improved understanding of how to place and design wells for maximum efficiency and stability.
1-Horizontal drilling
Horizontal drilling is used to provide greater access to the gas trapped deep in the producing
formation.

First, a vertical well is drilled to the targeted rock formation. At the desired depth, the drill bit is
turned to bore a well that stretches through the reservoir horizontally, exposing the well to
more of the producing shale.

Horizontal drilling enables operators to drill multiple wells from one well site, thereby,
minimizing disturbance to the surface.

Vertical section of wellbores typically has 2 to 3 smaller diameter layers of steel casing
cemented into place to stabilize the well as it is being drilled to greater depths.
These layers of casing and cement also serve as barrier between underground fresh water
aquifer and the materials which will eventually flow through the pipes to Earth's surface.
The cementing process depth coincidence with the aquifer's, which are several thousands of
feet [6000-7000 ft]

The horizontal well is also cased and cemented.

Once drilling is completed, small chargers are used to punch holes in the horizontal casing.

Now it's time for hydraulic fracturing to commence.

2-Hydraulic Fracturing
Hydraulic fracturing (commonly called "fracking" or "hydrofracking") is a technique in which
millions of gallons of water, chemicals (Proppants) , and sand are pumped into the well at a very
high pressure to unlock the hydrocarbons trapped in shale formations by opening cracks
(fractures) in the rock and allowing natural gas to flow from the shale into the well.

The pressurized fluid, pushing against the rock, causes fractures creating tiny microfractures
Known as fissures [deep narrow cracks] in the vicinity of the wellbore.

After the fluid has effectively fractured the rock, fluid injection stops. Sand particles and
proppants are displaced in these small fractures and help hold them open, so oil, gas and water
can flow from the impermeable rock into the wellbore.

Hydraulic fracturing creates network of fractures (interconnected pore spaces)

Typically, a mixture of water, proppants and chemicals is pumped into the rock or coal
formation. There are, however, other ways to fracture wells. Sometimes fractures are
created by injecting gases such as propane or nitrogen, and sometimes acidizing occurs
simultaneously with fracturing. Acidizing involves pumping acid (usually hydrochloric
acid), into the formation to dissolve some of the rock material to clean out pores and
enable gas and fluid to flows more readily into the well.
Some studies have shown that more than 90% of fracking fluids may remain
underground. Used fracturing fluids that return to the surface are often referred to
as Flowback, and these wastes are typically stored in open pits or tanks at the
well site prior to disposal.

The combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has opened up

massive resources of previously inaccessible domestic oil and natural gas
US started to drill 45,000 horizontal wells at the end of 2012,
24 times that in 2013
Fracturing fluid

The ideal fracturing fluid should:

 Be able to transport the propping agent in the fracture

 Be compatible with the formation rock and fluid

 Generate enough pressure drop along the fracture to create a wide fracture

 Minimize friction pressure losses during injection

 Be formulated using chemical additives that are approved by the local environmental
regulations.

 Exhibit controlled-break to a low-viscosity fluid for cleanup after the treatment

 Be cost-effective.
Proppants

A proppant is a solid material, typically sand, treated sand or man-made ceramic materials,
designed to keep an induced hydraulic fracture open, during or following a fracturing treatment.
Fractures estimation & characterization

Better reservoir knowledge and increasingly sensitive technologies are making

production of unconventional reservoirs economically viable and more efficient.
This efficiency is bringing tight gas, shale, coalbed methane, and gas hydrates
resources into the reach of more companies around the world.

The development of naturally fractured reservoirs is significantly

influenced by the characteristics of the fracture network since these
control the volume and flow direction of the fluid through the reservoir
rocks.

The knowledge of fracture characteristics provides many benefits:

 Allows the design of

well paths that
intersect a larger
number of permeable
fractures, thus
increasing production.
 Enables optimized
placement of injectors
for improved sweep
efficiency and better
control of the reservoir
pressure.
 Enables prediction of
preferential flow paths Fracture analysis using shear wave splitting
which may lead to premature water breakthroughs or,
conversely, act as barriers to impede production.

A good understanding of the fracture network in terms of intensity,

orientation, and spatial distribution is therefore essential for improved
reservoir development.
Fracture Characterization

Fracture information can be obtained from:

 Core observations and image log interpretation

o provide fracture characterization on a centimeter scale
o these data are only valid in the vicinity of the borehole and
when extrapolated beyond this lead to erroneous
prediction of the overall reservoir mechanics
 Structural interpretation and basin models
o describe faulting on a kilometer scale
o obtained from conventional seismic data volumes
 Seismic azimuthal anisotropy
o describes fractures in the 10m range
o CGG derives fracture density and orientation from
anisotropy measurements obtained from
 shear wave splitting from multicomponent data
 pre-stack measurements of VVAZ (velocity variation
with azimuth) and AVAZ(amplitude variation with
azimuth) followed by fracture analysis using FractAL
 Inversion for isotropic elastic parameters
using simultaneous inversion
 attributes extracted from limited angle and azimuth-
sectored stacked cubes using FracVista

In order to obtain accurate azimuthal anisotropy measurements, the

seismic data must be sampled at as many azimuths as possible,
therefore wide azimuth, or multi-azimuth data, are a pre-requisite for
fracture characterization.

Azimuthal Anisotropy - VVAZ and AVAZ

All unconventional gas plays rely on the presence of natural fractures to enhance or create
permeability in the reservoir. Fractures cause significant, measureable changes in 3D seismic
data. These changes appear as variations in seismic amplitudes (AVAZ) and velocities (VVAZ)
with shot-receiver azimuth and incident angle (or offset), and are known as seismic azimuthal
anisotropy. These are best observed on pre-stack data displayed as Common-Offset-Common-
Azimuth (COCA) cubes.

Wide-azimuth acquisition is required to provide sufficient azimuthal information to measure

these effects, and multicomponent data can provide additional information from analysis of the
converted waves.
Microseismic Monitoring
Microseismic monitoring is the passive observation of very small-scale
earthquakes which occur in the ground as a result of human activities or
industrial processes such as mining, hydraulic fracturing, enhanced oil
recovery, geothermal operations or underground gas storage. Microseismic
science grew out of earthquake seismology and focuses on micro-
earthquakes (i.e. magnitude less than zero). These micro-earthquakes are
too small to be felt on the surface, but they can be detected by sensitive
equipment such as geophones and accelerometers.

Unlike traditional 3D seismic technologies which measure acoustic

reflections from an energy source, microseismic monitoring is a passive
method, meaning that it listens for seismic energy which is already occurring
underground. Passive seismicity is also commonly referred to as "induced
seismicity."

Passive methods provide a continuous 4D record of seismicity in the

monitoring region, rather than individual snapshots in time obtained by
conventional 3D seismic methods. Microseismic results are often delivered
in real-time, and can literally offer a video recording of what is happening
deep underground as a result of industrial operations.
 What is a microseismic event?
Large-scale earthquakes are caused when energy is released as a result of
rock failure along a fault. In contrast, microseismic events are caused when
human activities such as mining or oil and gas production change the stress
distribution or the volume of a rockmass.
When the rock attempts to redistribute the stress within the rockmass, it will
suddenly slip or shear along pre-existing zones of weakness such as along
faults or fracture networks.

What can microseismic monitoring tell us?

Basic microseismic monitoring aims to answer three fundamental questions
about microseismic events:
1. When did the microseismic event occur?
2. Where did the microseismic event occur?
3. How big was the microseismic event?
Traditional microseismic mapping determines the location and magnitude of
the event. When microseismicity is observed over time, operators may start
to see patterns of seismicity related to production activities.

Advanced microseismic analysis performed by ESG can reveal more

detailed information about the microseismicity of the area and how the rock
is responding to mining or oil and gas production activities, leading to
increased efficiency and optimized operations.

This small failure results in the release of energy in the form of seismic
waves and is known as a microseismic event.
Why do we need Unconventional Reservoirs ?
 World daily life is built on different types of energy

 Despite economy suffers ups and downs as a general trend energy demand goes up

 Growing population and income per capita

 BRICS conglomerate’s economy is highly energy demanding

 Modern life depends basically on electricity and/or natural gas

 Globalization has incremented traveling around the globe, thus increasing

different types of fuel demand for air, sea and ground transportation

 Conventional sources are running out

 No more giants like Saudi Arabia

 Large reserves in environmentally sensitive areas (Alaska, Florida, Pacific)

 Subsalt discoveries in Brazil - expensive

 Counterpart in Africa – expensive

 Self-sufficiency is critical for certain countries under the world political

scenario

 Renewables (Wind, Solar, Biodiesel, Biomass, Geothermal, Nuclear, Hydropower, Marine

power, Anaerobic digestion/algae) are not enough to fill in the gap of total energy
demand

Types of unconventional reservoirs

Oil Shale

Gas Shale

Tight reservoirs

Coalbed methane

Hydrates Tar sands and heavy oil sandstones

Coal Bed Methane (CBM)
What is Coal Bed Methane?

Coal Bed Natural Gas (CBNG), or Coal Bed Methane (CBM), wells produce gas from the coal
seams which act as both the source and the reservoir. Natural gas can be sourced by
thermogenic alterations of coal or by biogenic action of indigenous microbes on the coal.

There are some horizontally drilled CBM wells and some that receive hydraulic fracturing
treatments. However, wells frequently produce water as well as natural gas. Some CBM
reservoirs are also underground sources of drinking water and, as such, there are restrictions
on hydraulic fracturing. CBM reservoirs are mostly shallow as the coal matrix does not have
the strength to maintain porosity under the pressure of significant overburden thickness.

CBM plays also provide a very good means of CO2 sequestration because CO2 molecules
displace CH4 methane molecules on the face of the coal, generating greater methane
production while sequestering the CO2 in the coal bed.

Seismic Solutions

CGG has developed many tools that can be used to:

 Increase productivity by identifying sweet spots:

o Permeability (open cleats) can be identified using fracture analysis,
discontinuity measures, curvature analysis, stress estimation and azimuthal
anisotropy.
o Thin beds can be identified using stratigraphic and stochastic inversion
o Cleat density can be determined from multicomponent fracture analysis
o CO2 sequestration can be tracked using 4D seismic
 Reduce risk:
o Water influx from neighbouring formations can be identified using a range
ofinversion solutions

The use of 3D seismic to measure seismic azimuthal anisotropy for fracture analysis is now
well developed and indicates higher producing areas of natural fractures in unconventional gas
reservoirs such as coalbed methane. Seismic fracture estimates are shown to be the best
predictors of well EUR (Estimated Ultimate Recoverable).
Tar sands

Tar sands (also referred to as oil sands) are a combination of clay, sand, water, and bitumen, a
heavy black viscous oil. Tar sands can be mined and processed to extract the oil-rich bitumen,
which is then refined into oil. The bitumen in tar sands cannot be pumped from the ground in its
natural state; instead tar sand deposits are mined, usually using strip mining or open pit
techniques, or the oil is extracted by underground heating with additional upgrading.

Tar San resources

Much of the world's oil (more than 2 trillion barrels) is in the form of tar sands, although it is not
all recoverable.

While tar sands are found in many places worldwide, the largest deposits in the world are found
in Canada (Alberta) and Venezuela, and much of the rest is found in various countries in the
Middle East

The Tar Sands Industry

Currently, oil is not produced from tar sands on a significant commercial level

Canada has a large-scale commercial tar sands industry, though a small amount of oil from tar
sands is produced commercially in Venezuela

Currently, tar sands represent about 40% of Canada's oil production

The tar sands are extracted both by mining and in situ recovery methods

Tar Sands Extraction and Processing

Tar sands deposits near the surface can be recovered by open pit mining techniques

After mining, the tar sands are transported to an extraction plant, where a hot water process
separates the bitumen from sand, water, and minerals.
Oil/Gas Shale
Oil or gas shale, also known as kerogen shale, is an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock
containing kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds) from which natural gas
called shale gas and liquid hydrocarbons called shale oil can be produced

Shale oil is a substitute for conventional crude oil; however, extracting shale oil from oil shale
is more costly than the production of conventional crude oil both financially and in terms of its
environmental impact.

Deposits of oil shale occur around the world, including major deposits in the United States.
Estimates of global deposits range from 4.8 to 5 trillion barrels (760×109 to 790×109 m3) of oil
in place.

Oil shale gains attention as a potential abundant source of oil whenever the price of crude oil
rises.

At the same time, oil-shale mining and processing raise a number of environmental concerns,
such as land use, waste disposal, water use, waste-water management, greenhouse-gas
emissions and air pollution.

Estonia and China have well-established oil shale industries, and Brazil, Germany, and Russia
also utilize oil shale.
SHALE GAS
Shale gas
Refers to natural gas that is trapped within shale formations. Shales are fine-grained
sedimentary rocks that can be rich sources of petroleum and natural gas.

Over the past decade, the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has
allowed access to large volumes of shale gas that were previously uneconomical to produce. The
production of natural gas from shale formations has rejuvenated the natural gas industry in the
United States.

Shale gas is overwhelmingly abundant in USA

USA has twice as much natural gas as Saudi Arabia has oil

Shale gas is found in shale "plays" which are shale formations containing significant
accumulations of natural gas and which share similar geologic and geographic properties. A
decade of production has come from the Barnett Shale play in Texas. Experience and
information gained from developing the Barnett Shale have improved the efficiency of shale gas
development around the country.

Other important plays are the Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale in the eastern United States; and,
the Haynesville Shale and Fayetteville Shale in Louisiana and Arkansas. Surveyors and geologists
identify suitable well locations in areas with potential for economical gas production by using
both surface-level observation techniques and computer-generated maps of the subsurface.
Shale under microscope

That’s what goes on in the middle of this rock

Dark space shows where the gas

is located
Shale Gas vs. Conventional Gas

Shale gas Conventional gas

Shale gas resources form within the
organic-rich shale source rock. The low
permeability of the shale greatly inhibits
the gas from migrating to more permeable
reservoir rocks. Without horizontal
drilling and hydraulic fracturing, shale gas
production would not be economically
feasible because the natural gas would not
flow from the formation at high enough
rates to justify the cost of drilling.
Conventional gas reservoirs are created
when natural gas migrates toward the
Earth's surface from an organic-rich
source formation into highly permeable
reservoir rock, where it is trapped by an
overlying layer of impermeable rock.
Shale gas in Egypt
Egypt begins shale gas exploration

Egypt has signed its first contract to extract gas by fracking

with Apache and Shell Egypt, the Egyptian oil ministry said
on December 17. The deal, with an estimated value of $30-
40 million (€24-32 million), covers drilling of three wells in
the Abu al-Ghardeeq region of the Western Desert,
approximately 200 kilometers west of the capital Cairo.

"The project will require horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing,

which is the same as the shale gas production method used in the
United States," the ministry said in a statement. According to
Reuters, gas resources in the Western Desert will require the
operators to drill to depths of over 4,200 meters.

The deal is an attempt of the Egyptian government to address the

country’s worst energy crisis in decades, caused by declining gas
production and rising consumption. Other measures include an
agreement with Norway's Hoegh LNG for a long-delayed LNG import
terminal, to be developed by the end of March 2015, in time to receive
gas before power demand peaks in summer. The country is also
seeking a second floating LNG import terminal to boost its import
capacity, Reuters reported.
Apache completes studies to explore shale
gas in Al-Obayyed

First Shale Gas Production in Egypt

MONDAY, 25TH MAY 2015
In February 2016, Egypt will witness its first shale gas production on the hands of Royal
Dutch Shell and American Apache, reported Daily News Egypt.
Production will be made from the Apollonia field in the Western Desert, where Khalda
petroleum company will carry out the operations on behalf of the two companies, where it will
begin by drilling two experimental wells, data and pilot wells.
Core samples and logging will be taken to study and evaluate the field, said Tarek El Molla,
Chairman of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC). In December, the EGPC
chairman signed an agreement with Apache and Shell Egypt with an investment value that
ranges between $30m and $40m to produce shale gas.
Construction works of surface facilities will start from September until December 2015, while
the first well will be linked to the facilities by the beginning of January 2016.
References
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PBCTXHqZec
https://www.earthworksaction.org/issues/detail/hydraulic_fracturing_101
http://geology.com/energy/shale-gas/
http://petrowiki.org/Fracturing_fluids_and_additives

https://www.spwla.org/content/students

http://www.slb.com/~/media/Files/industry_challenges/unconventional_gas/brochures/well_e
valuation_shale_gas_reservoirs_07of125.pdf

http://www.total.com/en/energies-expertise/oil-gas/exploration-production/strategic-
sectors/unconventional-gas/presentation/three-main-sources-unconventional-gas

http://geology.com/energy/shale-gas/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuGrawkuA2s

http://www.cgg.com/default.aspx?cid=3667&lang=1