Utica shale
Transcript of Utica shale
Utica Shale – Eastern Ohio The Ordovician-aged Utica Shale is distributed across several US states as well as Quebec, Canada and is found approximately 2,000+ ft below the Marcellus Shale. The shale is generally shallower to the West and deepens to the East. As more information becomes available, the size and extent of the Utica Shale resource will become more evident. In addition to the Utica Shale, other formations such as the Devonian shale, Marcellus shale, Clinton sandstone, Medina Sandstone, Trenton Limestone, Black River, Beekmantown dolomite and Rose Run all are potential targets below the Second Berea.
With the recent technological advances in drilling techniques, numerous operators have started looking at the Utica as the next oil frontier with several operators comparing its potential to the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas and the Bakken Shale in Williston Basin of North Dakota and Montana. While it is still very early in the play operators like Chesapeake Energy, Antero, Magnum Hunter, Gulfport Energy, EV Partners, Anadarko, Petroleum Development Corp and Devon (to name a few) have been acquiring acreage in Ohio.
Recent results – Utica Shale wells
In October 2012, the USGS estimated the Utica shale to have 38 Tcf of recoverable natural gas, 940 MMbbl of oil and 208 MMbbls of associated liquids.
Source USGS - http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1194/
Source - http://magnumhunterresources.com/corporate_presentations.html
Characteristics of the Utica Shale The Utica Shale extends approximately
170,000 square miles throughout the Appalachia Basin in the United States and Canada
Ordovician-aged organic rich black shale with inter bedded limestone with target intervals ~150 feet thick at depths between 7,500 feet and 9,500 feet
Similar to the Eagle Ford Shale with three distinct windows: oil, wet gas/condensate, and dry gas with the majority of the activity focused on the wet gas and condensate window
The “Sweet Spot” for liquids-rich gas occurs in eastern Ohio along a narrow band which generally follows geologic structure
Optimum thermal history
Depth, pressure and hydrocarbon composition result in excellent recoveries
Total Organic Carbon (“TOC”) is a measure of organic content and is indicative of the quantity of kerogen in the rock, which is the source material for oil and gas
TOC is derived from core analysis; however, it can also be inferred from open hole log resistivity measurements where sufficient data exists for a good correlation
There is a general correlation between higher gross interval thickness and larger TOC values
East of the Ohio River, the Utica/Point Pleasant is sufficiently deep for the formations to produce dry gas; these areas of high TOC also correspond to high Ro values