Abstract
During the drilling of oil wells is common the presence of layers consisting of clay minerals with high degree of hydration and arranged in laminar packages. When in contact with water, the packets of the clay are separated as the water enters in the basal spacing. Argillaceous formations such as shales containing smectite are sensitive to the presence of water and the greater the amount of smectite, higher reactivity in the presence of water. This phenomenon is known as expansion or swelling. So, the aim of this paper is to characterize the shales from two different regions of the country and to explain the susceptibility of hydration of each of these formations. The characterization was done by making use of CEC, XRF and XRD. The obtained results showed that among the studied shales, those with the greatest degree of clay fractions (smectite) in its composition showed higher swelling index according to the methodology of Foster.
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