The Houston Geomechanics Special Interest Group is a group of Petroleum Geomechanicists that meets in Houston on the second Wednesday of the month.

The next meeting will take place at 5:30 PM, Wednesday February 8, 2012 with two short presentations entitled "Impact of partial saturation on shale properties" and "Rock physics and petrophysics testing of shales from the Canning Basin, Western Australia" by Dave Dewhurst, CSIRO.

The talks will take place in the iCenter located on the ground floor of the Schlumberger building at 1325 S. Dairy Ashford, Houston (NE corner of the intersection between S. Dairy Ashford and Briar Forest Drive) - see Map. Details of the talk are as follows:

Impact of partial saturation on shale properties

Dave Dewhurst, CSIRO

Abstract

This talk looks at the impact of partial saturation on hard, stiff, low porosity shales and the effects on static and dynamic mechanical properties. The results have implications for gas shales but also highlight the critical role of preservation of in situ water content in clay-bearing rocks.

Rock physics and petrophysics testing of shales from the Canning Basin, Western Australia

Dave Dewhurst, CSIRO

Abstract

Shales from the Ordovician Bongabinni and Goldwyer Formations were recovered from an onshore well drilled in the Canning Basin (Western Australia) at depths ranging between 1505 and 1852 meters. The clay-rich samples were characterized with a multi-disciplinary approach aimed at describing their mineralogical and water content, their porosity and rock physics signature, as well as their geomechanical properties. Despite their chronological proximity and common geological history, the two formations show marked differences in their overall petrophysical and geomechanical behaviour reflecting their different original depositional settings and microstructural features.

Speaker Biography

Dave Dewhurst is a geologist at CSIRO who works on microstructure and experimental determination of rock properties. A particular focus for the last 20 years has been the properties of shales, looking at compaction, faulting, fluid flow, rock properties plus trap and seal integrity. In recent times, he has managed both the IPETS consortium which investigated factors affecting top and fault seal integrity and the current Shale Research Centre (SHARC) consortium which looks at links between geomechanics, rock physics and petrophysics in shales.