SPE General Meeting

Topic:    Worldwide Unconventional Shale Gas Resources:
                       Principal Drivers of Successful Production  

Speaker:   Roberto Suarez-Rivera, TerraTek, A Schlumberger company 

Date:              Wednesday - May 18, 2011

Time:         11:30 am

 Place:         Denver Athletic Club

4th Floor 1325 Glenarm Place Denver, CO80204 303-534-1211

Map of 1325 Glenarm Pl Denver, CO 80204-2114

 Cost:    $25.00 with reservations, $30.00 at the door if space is available.

 Abstract:  

Unconventional gas production in the continental USA grew from 2.8 TCF in 1998, to approximately 10 trillion cubic feet in 2008, with overall reserve estimates for shale gas rising as much as 250 TCF^[1].  This success has created great interest for exploration of unconventional gas plays worldwide, and a strong demand for specialized shale gas services.  Unconventional gas reservoirs are formed by interbedded, fine-grained, lithofacies of varying texture and compositions, and exhibiting significant post-depositional alteration.  Although an obvious characteristic is their low permeability, a most important property is their high vertical and lateral heterogeneity.  In unconventional plays, the same depositional unit represents the reservoir, the seals, the petroleum source, and the containment for hydraulic fracturing¹.  This means that minor changes in texture and composition result in measurable changes in reservoir and mechanical properties, leading to these various roles.  Success in unconventional gas production results from understanding the subtle variations in rock properties for identification of two basic interrelationships: the distribution of lithofacies with best reservoir quality, and their stacking patterns with units offering resistance to fracture propagation.  This relationship does not exist across the entire play; however, in locations where the relationship is favorable, economic production is possible.  Understanding these drivers of successful production is fundamental for the successful development of the gas shale plays worldwide.

The drivers for unconventional gas shale production are lateral heterogeneity and the associated variability in reservoir quality and completion quality.  Fortunately, there is a method for investigating this variability across the field, and using the information for efficient production.

Biography:

Roberto Suarez-Rivera is a Scientific Advisor and Head of the Innovation Center for TerraTek, A Schlumberger company. He holds a PhD degrees in Rock Mechanics from the University of California, Berkeley and has 25 years experience in the petroleum industry, including 7 years of field service engineering with Dowell Schlumberger, 13 years of engineering consulting and research with TerraTek/Schlumberger, and 5 years of research and engineering with the Norwegian Institute of Rock Mechanics IKU, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.  Dr. Suarez-Rivera has authored 300 reports and papers in mechanical property evaluations and on analysis of geo-material mechanical behavior and has six patent solicitations on technologies for  enhancing shale gas production.