Characterization and Assessment of the Gas Potential in the Eastern Interior Basins: Norhwestern Appalachian Basin.

摘要

The assessment and characterization of Upper Devonian shales of the Illinois and Appalachian Basin is being used to accelerate the exploitation of this unconventional source of natural gas by: determining total and recoverable reserves, identifying key source and reservoir rock parameters, and selecting basin regions with high producing potential. Analysis of pressure-cores recovered from two, EGSP wells suggests that the current estimates of total gas reserves (> 500 trillion cubic feet (TCF), 14 x 10 exp 12 m exp 3 ) are conservative. The impermeable nature of the rocks in the Upper Devonian interval results in source rocks which are also reservoir rocks. The total and potential gas content of these rocks is primarly dependent on the organic carbon content, thermal maturation, and organic matter type. The high potential source rocks of the western Appalachian Basin have gas contents similar to the more mature but lower potential source rocks to the east. Similarity in gas content makes the shallower, western shales a preferential exploration target. (ERA citation 05:014822)