KABAKCI-THESIS-2015.Pdf (4.811Mb)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Copyright by Ahmet Serkan KABAKCI 2015 The Thesis Committee for Ahmet Serkan Kabakci Certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: Multicomponent-Seismic Characterization of the Utica Shale APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Supervisor: William Fisher Bob A. Hardage David Mohrig Multicomponent-Seismic Characterization of the Utica Shale by Ahmet Serkan Kabakci, B.S. Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geological Sciences The University of Texas at Austin May 2015 Dedication I dedicate this thesis to my family Nuran, Necmi and Hakan KABAKCI and Ozge Aktuna for their support, encouragement and endless love. Acknowledgements As an industry partner, Geokinetics and Geophysical Pursuit provided the 3C3D seismic data; Chesapeake Energy provided the digital well data. Landmark Graphics Corporation provided software for the 3C3D seismic interpretation via the Landmark University Grant Program. Some of the illustrations were prepared by the Bureau of Economic Geology graphics department. I would like to thank Dr. Bob A. Hardage and Dr. William Fisher for their thoughtful guidance. My gratitude is also to my committee member Dr. David Mohrig. I would like to offer my special thanks to Michael V. De Angelo for his great support in every steps of my research. His guidance was not only for research purposes but also for life experiences. His thoughts would always be remembered for all my career work. This study was also accomplished by thanks to the Turkish Petroleum Corporation for providing scholarship program and being sponsor for my graduate work in the University of Texas at Austin. Lastly, I would like to thank my friends for all their support and love during my research. v Abstract Multicomponent-Seismic Characterization of the Utica Shale Ahmet Serkan Kabakci, MSGeoSci The University of Texas at Austin, 2015 Supervisors: William Fisher, Bob A. Hardage Recent development of gas shales in North America yield worldwide interest in gas production from shale formations. The methodology used in this thesis was to demonstrate multicomponent seismic technology for the characterization of shale-gas systems. The study area covers the Utica Shale across the Appalachian Basin in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. Concepts documented in this thesis can be used for other shale-gas systems. Unlike most shale-gas system studies, S-wave modes were used in addition to P- wave data in this study to better characterize the Utica Shale. Fast S-converted shear (P- SV1) and slow S-converted-shear (P-SV2) volumes provide new seismic imaging options for shale-gas studies and enable expanded seismic attributes that can be used to characterize shale-gas systems. vi Table of Contents List of Tables ...........................................................................................................x List of Figures ........................................................................................................ xi CHAPTER 1 GEOLOGIC OVERVIEW OF THE UTICA SHALE ................................1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................1 Stratigraphy of the Utica Shale ................................................................................7 Depositional Environment of the Utica Shale .......................................................14 Tectonic Setting of the Utica Shale .......................................................................16 Total Petroleum System of the Utica Shale ...........................................................18 Biostratigraphic Setting of the Utica Shale ............................................................23 The Corynoides Americanus Zone ...............................................................23 The Orthograptus Ruedemanni Zone ............................................................23 The Climacograptus Spiniferus Zone ...........................................................23 The Geniculograptus Pygmaeus Zone ..........................................................24 vii CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH DATABASE ............................................................26 Introduction ............................................................................................................26 Well Data ...............................................................................................................26 Time-to-Depth Calibration Using Synthetic Seismograms ...................................28 3C3D Seismic Data ................................................................................................28 CHAPTER 3 INTERPRETATION OF MULTICOMPONENT SEISMIC DATA ............32 Introduction ............................................................................................................32 Seismic Data Quality .............................................................................................33 Frequency Spectra Analysis ...................................................................................36 P-P Depth Registration of Geologic Horizons .......................................................39 Time-to-Depth Calibration.....................................................................................41 Seed Horizons ........................................................................................................46 Equivalent P and S Horizons in Image Time Spaces .............................................49 Utica Shale Interval................................................................................................51 Utica Shale Structural Interpretation .....................................................................57 Amplitude Attributes across the Utica Shale Interval............................................64 Stratal Surfaces of the Utica Shale.........................................................................69 VP/VS Ratio Analysis for the Utica Shale ..............................................................71 Utica Shale S-Wave Anisotropy ............................................................................74 Trenton Limestone Structural Interpretation .........................................................76 Queenston Sandstone .............................................................................................80 CONCLUSION .........................................................................................................85 Appendix ................................................................................................................87 viii REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................89 ix List of Tables Table 1: Well data ..................................................................................................87 Table 2: Ranges of VP/VS (Domenico, 1984) ........................................................88 x List of Figures Figure 1: Distribution of Middle-Upper Ordovician Utica Shale in the Appalachian Basin (Ryder, 2008). ...........................................................................2 Figure 2: Correlation of the Utica Shale across the Appalachian Basin (Patchen et al., 2006). ..................................................................................................3 Figure 3: Cross Section of the Utica and Marcellus Shale in New York to Pennsylvania (modified by geology.com). .........................................4 Figure 4: Cross Section of the Utica and Marcellus Shale in Ohio to Pennsylvania (modified by geology.com). ................................................................4 Figure 5: Depth in feet to the base of the Utica Shale (Marcellus.psu.edu). ...........5 Figure 6: Thickness of the Utica Shale in the northern Appalachian Basin (Marcellus.psu.edu).............................................................................6 Figure 7: Stratigraphic column for the study area (Nyahay et al., 2007).................9 Figure 8: Utica Shale and its correlatives (Wickstrom et al., 1992). .....................10 Figure 9: Middle Ordovician chronostratigraphic cross section showing members of the Utica (Goldman et al., 1999, Smith and Leone, 2010). ..............12 Figure 10: Flat Creek Member in Florida, Montgomery Co. (Martin et al., 2008).13 Figure 11: Dolgeville member in Little Falls, NY (Martin et al., 2008). ..............13 Figure 12: Indian Castle member in Little Falls, NY (Martin et al., 2008). ..........14 Figure 13: Utica Shale paleomap (Scotese, 2003). ................................................15 Figure 14: Schematic diagram of development of foreland basin (Quinlan and Beaumont, 1984). ..............................................................................17 Figure 15: Depositional environment of organic rich mudrocks in New York (Smith and Leone, 2010). .............................................................................18 xi Figure 16: Distribution of weight percent total organic carbon (TOC) content in the Utica Shale (Ryder, 2008). ................................................................20 Figure 17: Vertical mineral trends for the Trenton (TR) to the Lorraine (LO) groups (modified from Thériault, 2012a). ....................................................22 Figure 18: Stratigraphic ranges of Utica Shale graptolites in the Mohawk Valley (Riva, 1969). .....................................................................................24