The Importance of Geochemical Parameters and Shale Composition on Rock Mechanical Properties of Gas Shale Reservoirs: a Case Study From the Kockatea Shale and Carynginia Formation From the Perth Basin, Western Australia

Abstract

Evaluation of the gas shale mechanical properties is very important screening criteria for determining the potential intervals for hydraulic fracturing and as a result in gas shale sweet spot mapping. Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio are two controlling mechanical properties that dictate the brittleness of the gas shale layers. These parameters can be determined in the laboratory by testing the rock sample under different conditions (static method) or can be calculated using the well-logging data including sonic and density log data (dynamic method). This study investigates the importance of the shale composition and geochemical parameters on the Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio using log data. The data set of this study is coming from five different wells targeting the Kockatea Shale and Carynginia formation, two potential gas shale formations in the Perth Basin, Western Australia. The results show that converse to the common idea the effect of organic matter quantity and maturity on the rock mechanical properties of the gas shale reservoirs is not so much prominent, while the composition of the rock has an important effect on these properties. Considering the weight percentage of shale composition and organic matter quantity it could be concluded that effect of these parameters on rock mechanical properties is dependent on their weight contribution on the shale matrix. As well as effect of thermal maturity on the shale matrix and consequently on the rock mechanical properties of the shale is dependent on the organic matter content itself; therefore, obviously with a low organic matter content thermal maturity has no prominent effect on the brittleness as well.