Date of Graduation

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Geology and Geography

Committee Chair

Timothy Carr

Committee Co-Chair

Jaime Torro

Committee Member

Thomas Wilson

Abstract

The Middle Devonian Marcellus Formation is an important unconventional shale play in North America. It has an approximate aerial extent of 100,000 square-miles and has been estimated to contain upwards to 489 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas. Through the advent of horizontal drilling, in combination with hydraulic fracture simulation, the Marcellus Formation has been exploited at exponential rates. In order to increase production and drill more profitable wells, the geology of the Marcellus is being studied in more detail. In particular, geologic parameters such as geomechanical properties, total organic carbon (TOC), porosity, and mineralogy could have a direct relationship with the sequence stratigraphy of shale.;To evaluate the geologic parameters that could impact production, core data and well logs taken from the Goff #55 well were compared to one another. A detailed core description of the Marcellus Formation was performed on the core taken from the study well, and used to build a stratigraphic column. The Marcellus Formation was classified into seven lithofacies using advanced mineralogical logs, core X-ray diffraction (XRD), core X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and TOC data. Geomechanical properties were calculated using Poisson's ratio, Young's modulus, and mineralogy. The Marcellus Formation was divided into three intervals based on transgressive- regressive sequences and the associated boundaries by using common and advanced well logs. Lastly, a regional sequence stratigraphy was developed using approximately forty wells surrounding the Goff #55 well.

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