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Puckette, Jim

Publications and source records attributed to Puckette, Jim.

Field Evaluation of the Caney Shale as an Emerging Unconventional Play, Southern Oklahoma

The Mississippian-age Caney Shale is an emerging unconventional oil and gas (UOG) resource play in the southern Midcontinent and is prospective in the Anadarko, Ardmore, Marietta and western Arkoma basins. This play is enigmatic in that time equivalent Fayetteville Shale in the eastern Arkoma basin and Barnett Shale in the Ft. Worth Basin are major unconventional plays, whereas Caney Shale production is sparse and unpredictable (Cardott, 2017). In the Anadarko, Ardmore and Marietta basins, the Caney Shale is in the oil window, but its resource potential has not been adequately assessed. The Caney reservoir is about 60-300 m thick, is rich in total organic carbon, contains a large oil resource base, and has a strong natural gas drive; however, development has been hampered by high clay content and reactivity of the formation with water. The main objective of this initial four-year research project was to address these issues by establishing a Caney Shale Field Laboratory in the Ardmore Basin of southern Oklahoma to (a) conduct a comprehensive field characterization (b) perform field experiments, and (c) validate cost-effective technologies that will lead to a comprehensive and efficient development strategy plan for Caney Shale.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Geochemical and Microstructural Characterization of Shale Rock: A Workflow for Site Evaluation for Energy–Fluids Storage

Shales are a central component of petroleum systems, as source, seal, and unconventional reservoir rocks. Unlike traditional unconventional shale, a newly emerging Caney Shale play is regarded as an unconventional of unconventional shales (UUS), due to its high content of fine-grained materials, lower reservoir porosity, dominance of nanopores, and a scarcity of visible natural fractures. Other developed unconventional shales such as the Woodford and Barnett have larger average pore size, higher porosity, and extensive natural fractures at core scale that contribute to reservoir quality. In this work, the Caney Shale was cored in entirety to characterize its interbedded ductile and reservoir intervals and establish criteria for their recognition. Representative ductile and reservoir intervals known as D2 and R3, respectively, were selected for detailed analysis including variations in elemental composition, mineralogy, facies, and the presence of natural fractures at well and core scales using X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, and thin section and core description. Characteristics of microstructure and microgeochemistry at nano- and microscales are compared using field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy and lowpressure nitrogen adsorption isotherms with fractal dimension analysis. The ductile (detrital clay-rich) member D2 is characterized by higher concentrations of Ti and Al and lower Si, while the reservoir R3 (possibly biogenic silica-accumulated) is characterized by lower Ti and Al and higher Si. Eight mixed carbonate–siliciclastic facies are recognized, and R3 shows a higher heterogeneity of facies stacking and average fracture abundance than D2. Further, R3 shows a more microscopically heterogeneous fabric/texture of matrix and a higher microporosity than D2 that has a higher pore surface heterogeneity. A fundamental understanding of the compositional and microstructural characteristics of UUS and further ductile/reservoir intervals will allow for a better assessment of reservoir quality, more effective production of hydrocarbons, and optimized selection of safe caprocks in carbon sequestration and subsurface hydrogen storage.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Multiscale Characterization of the Caney Shale — An Emerging Play in Oklahoma

From a hydrocarbon perspective, the Caney Shale has historically been evaluated as a sealing unit, which resulted in limited studies characterizing the rock properties of the Caney Shale and its suitability for hydraulic fracturing. The objective of our research is to help bridge the current knowledge gap through the integration of multiscale laboratory techniques and to characterize the macro- and microscale rock properties of the Caney Shale. We employed an integrated approach for the characterization of the Caney using 200 ft (61 m) of Caney core from a target well in southern Oklahoma. Core observation and petrographic analysis of thin sections were combined to characterize the general rock types and associated fabrics and textures. Mineralogical composition, pore system architecture, and rock fabric were analyzed using x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), and focused ion beam (FIB)-SEM. In addition, rebound hardness and indentation testing were carried out to determine rock hardness (brittleness) and elasticity, respectively. With the integrated multiscale characterization, three mixed carbonate-siliciclastic rock types were identified — mudstone, calcareous siltstone, and silty carbonate — likely representing a spectrum of deposition from low to relatively high energy environments in the distal portions of a ramp system. Silty carbonate contains mostly interparticle pores. The calcareous siltstones and silty mudstones contain a combination of organic matter pores and interparticle pores. Each of the rock types shows unique mineralogical compositions based on XRD. The mudstone lithofacies has the highest clay content and the least carbonate content. Calcareous siltstones show moderate carbonate and clay content. Silty carbonate indicates the highest carbonate content with the least clay content. In an order of mudstone, calcareous siltstone, and silty carbonate, rebound hardness and Young’s modulus show an increasing trend. As a result of rock-fluid interactions, there are potential scaling reactions during completion and production that could ultimately affect permeability and production rates. Overall, the proposed multiscale integration approach is critical for the geologic characterization of most rocks. However, in shale reservoirs dominated by microporosity and microstructure where engineered fractures are expected to provide permeability at a reservoir scale, successful integration is essential. An optimized, integrated geological characterization of the Caney Shale that is well aligned with the engineering designs in drilling, completing, and producing wellbores will ultimately lead to optimal production while providing safe and environmentally responsible operations.

Wang, Yulun↗

Computed Tomography Scanning and Geophysical Measurements of the Caney Shale Formation from the Tomaney #1-35-34-27 Well

Evaluation of reservoir samples can support resource estimation and determination of effective extraction methodologies. While it is common for commercial entities to perform these characterizations, the resources necessary to conduct these analyses are not always available to the broader interest base, such as state agencies, universities, and research-based consortiums. To meet the growing need for comprehensive and high-quality lithologic data for collaborative research initiatives, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has used available resources in conjunction with previous techniques and new, innovative methodologies to develop a systematic approach for the evaluation of cores. This report focuses on the Tomaney #1-35-34-27 well. Tomaney #1-35-34-27 was drilled in southwestern Stephens County, Oklahoma within section 35, township 2S, and range 4W. The Tomaney #1-35-34-27 was drilled in January/February of 2020 and targeted the Devonian Woodford Shale Formation and cored the Mississippian Caney Shale formation within the Ardmore Basin.

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS↗

Quantification of Thermal Oxidation in Metallic Glass Powder using Ultra-small Angle X-ray Scattering

In this paper, the composition, structure, morphology and kinetics of evolution during isothermal oxidation of Fe 48 Cr 15 Mo 14 Y 2 C 15 B 6 metallic glass powder in the supercooled region are investigated by an integrated ex-situ and in-situ characterization and modelling approach. Raman and X-ray diffraction spectra established that oxidation yielded a hierarchical structure across decreasing length scales. At larger scale, Fe 2 O 3 grows as a uniform shell over the powder core. This shell, at smaller scale, consists of multiple grains. Ultra-small angle X-ray scattering intensity acquired during isothermal oxidation of the powder over a wide Q-range delineated direct quantification of oxidation behavior. The hierarchical structure was employed to construct a scattering model that was fitted to the measured intensity distributions to estimate the thickness of the oxide shell. The relative gain in mass during oxidation, computed theoretically from this model, relatively underestimated that measured in practice by a thermogravimetric analyzer due to the distribution in sizes of the particles. As a whole, this paper introduces the first direct quantification of oxidation in metallic glass powder by ultra-small angle X-ray scattering. It establishes novel experimental environments that can potentially unfold new paradigms of research into a wide spectrum of interfacial reactions in powder materials at elevated temperatures.

42 ENGINEERING↗