Subject Area
Chemistry
Abstract
The Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale Formation in northeastern Pennsylvania provides a unique opportunity to study the effects of natural fractures and faults on hydrocarbon migration in tight, shale-gas reservoirs using noble gas geochemistry. The primary purpose of this study is to illustrate the utility of noble gas geochemical data in determining the mechanism of hydrocarbon migration on a locally breached structure. This can have implications in other structurally complex tight gas fields, where the effects of faulting and fracturing are still uncertain regarding their impact on reservoir quality and seals.
This study concludes that partially open, conductive fractures are responsible for the breached Marcellus Shale reservoir located atop the Granville anticline structure in northeastern Pennsylvania. This conclusion is supported primarily by noble gas geochemical and Formation MicroImager (FMI) log analyses. This research integrates additional data obtained from Chief Oil & Gas, such as petrophysical, seismic, core, produced water chemistry, and geothermal data, in order to wholistically define the local breaching mechanism and how it relates to interpreted subsurface features. This research ultimately sheds light on one of the major outstanding issues identified in the Marcellus Shale play, which is the identification where faults and fractures either enhance production or degrade reservoir seal quality.
Degree Date
Summer 8-3-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Department
Earth Sciences
Advisor
Dr. Bob Gregory
Second Advisor
Dr. Matthew Hornbach
Third Advisor
Kyle Barrie
Format
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
McCracken, Courtney, "Integrated Geochemical and Structural Analysis of a Breached Reservoir in the Northeastern Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale" (2022). Earth Sciences Theses and Dissertations. 26.
https://scholar.smu.edu/hum_sci_earthsciences_etds/26
