Influence of Rock Texture and Composition on Anisotropic Geomechanical Properties in the Eagle Ford Formation

Kosanke, Tobi; Rosen, Richard; Sharf-Aldin, Munir; Narasimhan, Santosh; Paiangle, Meghana

Geomechanical and acoustical properties were measured representing various geologic facies within the Late Cretaceous Eagle Ford formation of South Texas. The Eagle Ford Formation (also called the Eagle Ford Shale) is largely composed of inter-bedded carbonates and marls whose geomechanical and acoustic properties correlate with rock composition and texture. Maximum compressive strength and Young's modulus, for example, are proportional to the amount of calcite and are large for limestones, intermediate in value for carbonate laminated marls, and lowest for homogenous marls. Compressive strength and Young's modulus are also dependent on grain-to-grain contacts, and given limestones with equal calcite volume, are lower for more matrix-supported rocks. The Eagle Ford exhibits increasing anisotropy with degree of lamination: highly laminated marls are more anisotropic than less laminated marls, and non-laminated limestones are least anisotropic.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90163©2013AAPG 2013 Annual Convention and Exhibition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, May 19-22, 2013