A Comparison of Core and Well Log Data to Evaluate Porosity, TOC, and Hydrocarbon Volume in the Eagle Ford Shale

Abstract

Abstract The Eagle Ford Shale hydrocarbon-fluid properties depend on the source rock maturity and, within the formation, occur in varying degrees of gas, gas condensate, and oil. Using conventional logs and pyrolysis data, several log-core regressions, such as delta log R, density, and uranium, can be derived to predict total organic carbon (TOC). The TOC can be used in conjunction with geochemical elemental measurements for a more accurate assessment of the formation kerogen and mineralogy, as well as hydrocarbon volumes. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) porosity measures an apparent total porosity in the organic shale plays, measuring only the fluids present and excludes the kerogen. The complex refractive index method (CRIM) in conjunction with the mineralogy log data can be used to compute accurate dielectric porosities, which exclude both kerogen and hydrocarbon. Integrating the core TOC, predicted TOC, mineral analysis, NMR, and dielectric information, a final verification of the kerogen volume, hydrocarbon content, and mineral analysis can be assessed. This paper will describe the integration of conventional logs, a geochemical log, an NMR log, and dielectric to predict TOC, kerogen volume, and hydrocarbon volume, as well as, total porosity and mineralogy. The data is compared to the actual core data from three Eagle Ford wells, and it will be shown how the proposed approach will eliminate some coring operations. Finally, it will be shown how these interpretation results can be rolled up to make decisions on where to drill the lateral.