Comparison of the Utica Shale Reservoir Characteristics of Quebec, Canada and NY/PA, U.S.A.

Dan A. Billman¹ and John P. Martin^2
1Billman Geologic Consultants, Inc., Mars, PA 16046, [email protected]
²New York Energy Research and Development Authority, Albany, NY 12203, [email protected]

Exploratory drilling is underway to initiate production from the Utica Shale in both the St. Lawrence Lowlands of Quebec, Canada and further south in both New York and Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

The Utica Shale is a massive, fossiliferous, organic-rich, thermally-mature black to gray-black shale deposited in a subsiding trough that generally trended north-south. In the U.S.A., the Dolgeville (“Lower Utica”) is interpreted as a slope facies peripheral to the Trenton platform, interfingers with the basal Flat Creek (“Middle Utica”) black shale member. Source rock for the organic-rich black shale was supplied from the eroding Taconic highlands to the east. As the deep marine trough was filled in, the deposition of the lower members of the group onlapped westward over the carbonate platform. The basal Flat Creek member thickens considerably in the eastern half of New York and uppermost Indian Castle (“Upper Utica”) member spreads widely across the Appalachian Basin.

The exploration fairway in New York and Pennsylvania has been defined though analysis of cuttings and cores defining unit properties, Rock-Eval parameters S₂, T_max , and HI (Hydrogen Index). Initial work shows that the Utica has TOC values between 1.5 and 3 and with higher original TOC.

Reservoir characteristics of the Canadian Utica Shale reservoir will be compared to that of the Utica Shale in New York and Pennsylvania. Available data from early tests indicates that the shale has differing reservoir characteristics from north (Canada) to south (U.S.A.).

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90095©2009 AAPG Eastern Section Meeting, Evansville, Indiana, September 20-22, 2009