Lithologic Properties of the Upper Ordovician Utica Formation, Michigan Basin, USA: A Geological Characterization and Resource Assessment

Frank R. Sattler
Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Mi

The upper Ordovician Utica Shale (and related formations) is the primary hydrocarbon source rock and the ultimate seal for major hydrocarbon accumulations in Trenton-Black River reservoirs in the Midwest. The Utica, including the subjacent Point Pleasant and Collingwood formations in Ohio and Michigan (respectively), is now considered an important unconventional hydrocarbon exploration target yet there is currently little, publically available geological characterization information on these units in the Michigan basin. Prospective unconventional reservoirs in mudrock formations possess a combination of lithologic properties including elevated total organic carbon (TOC) content and thermal maturity, matrix porosity, and properties conducive to natural and artificial fracturing. Mineralogical composition is typically related to and may control these properties.

The objective of this study is to investigate the geological controls on stratigraphic and lithologic variability and the potential for unconventional hydrocarbon production in the Utica/Collingwood in the Michigan basin. Eleven conventional cores and hundreds of modern well logs from the Michigan basin will be analyzed in order to correlate/calibrate wire-line log signatures with whole rock mineral composition (from X-ray diffraction analysis) and mechanical properties (from core analysis) to identify more brittle, fracture-prone zones. Analysis using scanning electron microscopy with Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by Scanning Electron Microscope (QEMSCAN) software will be employed to image pores and for quantitative analysis of mineralogy, texture, and porosity. The study will attempt to establish the spatial and stratigraphic distribution of lithological properties and document unconventional reservoir characteristics in the Utica Shale in the Michigan basin.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90181©2013 AAPG/SEG Rocky Mountain Rendezvous, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, September 27-30, 2013