There is no denying that the Marcellus and Bossier-Haynesville gas shale plays are two of the hottest in the United States. Companies are working through the learning curve in each.

Findings from public data are important to each play. In a Department of Energy-supported project, Ernie Mancini from the University of Alabama and Don Goddard from Louisiana State University looked at geological/geochemical aspects of the Upper Jurassic Cotton Valley-Bossier complex in core samples in the North Louisiana Salt Basin (NLSB). Suhas Talukdar of Baseline Resolution Inc. (now Weatherford Laboratories) also was involved in the work. The goal was to assess their hydrocarbon-generating potential. The results were presented in a PTTC Central/Eastern Gulf workshop in Shreveport, La. Abstracting from a paper presented at the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies’ 2008 annual meeting, here is what this public data reveal.

Core samples indicate that fine-grained rocks associated with the Cotton Valley-Bossier and Haynesville complex are thermally mature and generated, and expel mostly gas and some oil. These findings are based on source rock characterization of samples from wells within the NLSB and Vernon Field in Jackson Parish, La., using total organic carbon (TOC), Rock-Eval pyrolysis, and visual kerogen data. The data indicate these rocks at their present maturity level have low to moderate TOC contents and Type III kerogen.

Visual kerogen data support the predominantly gas-prone nature of the source rocks. Vitrinite reflectance values (0.91-2.62 percent) and thermal alteration indexes (2.8-3.7) suggest these source rocks entered the late oil window to main gas maturity window, and thus have generated mostly gas with some oil. Thin section work indicates abundant woody organic material of continental origin was deposited in offshore areas in association with fine silici-clastic sediments in a marine prodelta environment
during Jurassic time. The thickness and widespread deposition of predominantly gas-prone rocks within the NLSB and their high
thermal maturity led to sourcing of mainly gas with some oil in overlying Jurassic and Cretaceous reservoirs, particularly in the
Bossier and Cotton Valley.

Emphasizing the Bossier-Haynesville Shale in the NLSB, samples were selected at varying depths within the few wells that
had whole cores in the zones of interest. Four wells were correlated and six samples for analysis were selected from cores taken
in shale zones within the Cotton Valley, Bossier and Haynesville. North-south and west-east regional stratigraphic cross sections
show that Bossier-Haynesville thickness increases from north to south, and ranges from 1,000 feet in the north to more than 3,000 feet to the south, averaging 2,000 feet within the NLSB. Bossier-Haynesville shale thickness also increases in an easterly direction.

Obviously, many other groups also are striving to pass on shale gas insights. The following are but a few very recent events. Although already history, information may be obtainable from them.

Several technical sessions in the early October American Association of Petroleum Geologists-Society of Petroleum Engineers Eastern meeting in Pittsburgh had a strong focus on gas shales. Plus, there was a post-conference workshop on shale gas project planning.

The Ellison Miles Geotechnology Center in the Dallas-Fort Worth area held its Barnett Shale VI Symposium on Oct. 21, focusing on natural resource development in an urban environment. On Oct. 22 in Oklahoma, there was the Oklahoma Geological Survey’s 2008 Gas Shales Conference. Then there was an Oct. 29 luncheon talk for the Houston Geological Society by IHS on strategies for evaluating unconventional gas resource plays, with special application to the Haynesville and Marcellus shales.

A future event is SPE’s Shale Gas Production Conference, Nov. 16-18 in Irving, Tx. (http://www.spe.org/events/sgpc/doc-uments/08SGPC_Preview_FINAL.pdf).

The point is, lots of pieces of the information puzzle are emerging. Finding the pieces and fitting them together remains a challenge. That alone in just one technology area can be a full-time job.

Although resource limited, PTTC strives to be a player in helping “fit” the information together. PTTC’s regions have completed
their annual planning processes. Beyond the usual budgeting, there is a strong focus on identifying the probable topics for workshops during the coming year. Please check PTTC’s Web site (www.pttc.org) for the latest schedule. One area of focus will be traveling workshops–taking a popular topic and delivering it in several locations. Beyond realizing certain economies, this also
helps technology spread from one region to another.

Finally, PTTC would like to point readers to two education opportunities that both occur Dec. 8-12. One is AAPG’s Fall Education Con ference (http://www.aapg.org/education/fec.cfm) in Houston, which was postponed because of Hurricane Ike. The
second relates to enhanced oil recovery: the annual CO2 Conference Week (http://www.hartenergyconferences.com/index.php?area=details&confID=81) includes a carbon management workshop in Houston and a carbon dioxide-flooding conference in Midland, TX.