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Shales Moving Forward

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July 21, 2011

Shales Moving Forward Workshop

Purpose and Scope

Shale gas has evolved into shale liquids because of the disparity in pricing between gas and liquid hydrocarbons. Issues of organic maturity, multiphase flows, wettability, etc., now figure more prominently into the exploitation picture. We will broaden the scope of our discussions and include topics specific to these new interests. Hydraulic fracturing remains key to exploiting these resources and will continue to be a topic of vital scientific, economic and legal interest. Zipper fracs, simulfracs and multistages numbering as high as 40 are pushing frac technologies to new limits. Each of these field experiments costs millions of dollars; also, we don’t know if they are inducing damage or stimulating gas production. The measurement of fundamental physical properties of shales continues to be of great concern, especially now that we are actively pursuing more viscous hydrocarbons. Service companies have basically agreed to disagree regarding the standardization of their measurement procedures, leaving the user to develop their own scaling relationships. Of even more interest is how the microstructure, especially of the organics, changes with maturity and how this influences hydrocarbon storage and deliverability. We will have a mix of presentations based on field and experimental studies.

Informational Brochure (PDF)

Program Agenda (PDF)

Presentations

Lithostratigraphy of the Woodford Shale, Anadarko Basin, West-Central Oklahoma (PDF)
Craig Caldwell, Cimarex Energy Co.

Investigating the Microstructure of Gas Shales by FIB/SEM Tomography & Stem Imaging (PDF)
Mark Curtis, The University of Oklahoma

Exploration/Appraisal of Shales (PDF)
Rick Lewis, Schlumberger

Transformative Technology Impacting Traditional Energy Systems (PDF)
Michael Ming, Oklahoma Secretary of Energy

Haynesville Shale Next Steps-One Operator's Perspective (PDF)
Richard Newhart, Encana Oil & Gas

Microseismic Frac Mapping: Beyond the Dots from an Engineering Perspective (PDF)
Michael Noe, MicroSeismic Inc.

Hydraulic Fractures, Acoustic Emissions and Shearing (PDF)
Carl Sondergeld, The University of Oklahoma

Let's Put Engineering Back into Fracture Stimulation! (PDF)
Neil Stegent, Pinnacle