Petrophysical Evaluation of the Haynesville Shale

in Northwest Louisiana and Northeast Texas

Dan Buller¹ and Michael C. Dix²

¹Halliburton, 416 Travis St., Ste. 505, Shreveport, Louisiana  71105

²Halliburton Sperry Drilling, 3000 N. Sam Houston Pkwy. E., Houston, Texas  77032

ABSTRACT

The Upper Jurassic Haynesville Shale is an unconventional, overpressured gas reservoir located in northeastern Texas and northwestern Louisiana.  Relatively high natural gas prices and recent success in other shale gas plays led a number of operators to invest significantly in the Haynesville.  It has great potential for development by applying all the new technology that is available in the oil and gas industry today.

Petrophysical evaluation of reservoirs has long been used for exploration and reserves estimates.  New logging tools and analysis techniques have been developed to provide more precise data about target zones and bounding layers that are important when considering hydraulic fracturing for unconventional reservoirs. 

A processed log interpretation calibrated for the Haynesville Shale is computed using a typical triple combo suite of logs (gamma ray, resistivity, and neutron/density).  Other log data such as borehole imaging, magnetic resonance, dipole sonic, and spectral gamma ray will improve and verify the interpretation.  Core samples provide essential data on mineralogy, total organic carbon (TOC), and rock mechanical properties to calibrate this processed log computation and improve the accuracy of the total shale interpretation.

Identification of the following reservoir characteristics provides the starting point for completion and hydraulic fracture stimulation design:  free gas zones, rock types and mineralogy, total organic content, quantification of effective shale porosity, estimates of shale permeability, mechanical stress measurement for hydraulic fracturing design, and classification and orientation of marginal, open conductive, and drilling induced fractures.

A number of Haynesville Shale examples are presented to highlight all interpretation techniques and variations in the shale itself within its proven productive area.  This interpretation can be critical for the hydraulic fracture design approach for the Haynesville Shale.

Buller, D., and M. C. Dix, 2009, Petrophysical evaluation of the Haynesville Shale in northwest Louisiana and northeast Texas:  Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 59, p. 127-143.

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90093 © 2009 GCAGS 59th Annual Meeting, Shreveport, Louisiana