Please join us for our April 2021 meeting where SPE Distinguished Lecturer
Paul Craddock, Schlumberger, will be presenting a talk on the
Science of Kerogen: Engineering Applications for Shale Exploration & Production.
Title: Science of kerogen: Engineering applications for shale exploration & production
Where: Online via Zoom
Registration: Zoom Registration - SPEGGS April 2021 MeetingAbstract
Kerogen is solid, black organic matter in sedimentary rocks. It is the source of all petroleum and, in organic-rich source rocks, also hosts porosity, influencing storage and transport of petroleum in shale. Despite its importance, kerogen cannot be analyzed by traditional laboratory techniques, such as gas chromatography used to study oils, and the composition and properties of kerogen are not well understood in general.
In this presentation, I will describe analytical developments that have advanced the science of kerogen. Recent studies show that kerogen composition and properties vary substantially, and that this variability is highly correlated to the thermal history of the kerogen and is remarkably similar among major oil- and gas-producing shales globally. I will introduce several applications for shale exploration and development that are made possible by this gained scientific knowledge of kerogen. In one application, more accurate and consistent evaluations of shale porosity and hydrocarbon-in-place are achieved by objectively optimizing petrophysical properties of kerogen needing only knowledge of the thermal maturity of the kerogen. In other applications, kerogen characterization can be used to identify favorable zones for well placement and production as well as new potential enhanced hydrocarbon recovery schemes in shale.
This lecture illuminates the science of kerogen and how it can advance our understanding of industry-disruptive organic-rich shales, from exploration to production.
About the Speaker
Paul Craddock is a geochemist and Senior Research Scientist in the Modeling & Interpretation Department at Schlumberger-Doll Research Center, Boston. His research addresses oilfield petrophysics and formation evaluation using nuclear, X-ray, infrared spectroscopy, and most recently machine learning methods. He has developed methods to: derive resistivity-independent saturation from spectroscopy logs; indicate zones for favorable well placement and production in shale (Reservoir Producibility Index, RPI); combine cuttings and logs for enhanced petrophysics in data-poor shale wells; and optimize kerogen properties for global shale evaluation (Thermal Maturity-Adjusted Log Interpretation, TMALI). Paul received a Ph.D. in chemical oceanography from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2009 and has co-authored 50 journal and conference publications. His paper “Thermal maturity-adjusted log interpretation (TMALI) in organic shales” was awarded Best Paper at the SPWLA 60th Annual Logging Symposium. Paul is twice a SPWLA Distinguished Speaker (2016-17, 2019-20) and a current SPE Distinguished Lecturer (2020-21).