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A Geologic Play Book for Utica Shale Appalachian Basin Exploration

A Geologic Play Book for Utica Shale Appalachian Basin Exploration

Full Title: A Geologic Play Book for Utica Shale Appalachian Basin Exploration
Author(s): Appalachian Oil and Gas Consortium at West Virginia University
Publisher(s): Appalachian Oil and Gas Consortium at West Virginia University
Publication Date: July 1, 2015
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):

This “Geologic Play Book for Utica Shale Appalachian Basin Exploration” (hereafter referred to as the “Utica Shale Play Book Study” or simply “Study”) represents the results of a two-year research effort by workers in five different states with the financial support of fifteen oil and gas industry partners. The Study was made possible through a coordinated effort between the Appalachian Basin Oil & Natural Gas Research Consortium (AONGRC) and the West Virginia University Shale Research, Education, Policy and Economic Development Center.

The Study was funded by industry members of the Utica Shale Appalachian Basin Exploration Consortium (the Consortium). The 15 industry members of the Consortium were joined by individuals from four state geological surveys, two universities, one consulting company, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), who collectively comprised the Research Team members of the Consortium.

This play book incorporates and integrates results of research conducted at various granularities, ranging from basin-scale stratigraphy and architecture to the creation of nanoporosity as gas was generated from organic matter in the reservoir. Between these two end members, the research team has mapped the thickness and distribution of the Utica and Point Pleasant formations using well logs; determined favorable reservoir facies through an examination of outcrops, cores and samples at the macroscopic and microscopic scales; identified the source of the total organic carbon (TOC) component in the shales and estimated the maturation level of the TOC; and searched for reservoir porosity utilizing scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technology.

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