Coring in Shale Gas Reservoirs

Larry M. Hall
North America Services Manager
2 2011 HALLIBURTON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Full Diameter (Whole Core) Coring - drillstring-conveyed BHA to recover a continuous column of
formation material
Conventional Coring with standard core barrel BHA must trip the entire drillstring
Thru-Drillstring Wireline Retrievable Coring can trip the inner components and
core via wireline

Sidewall Coring traditional wireline tools to cut discrete plug samples of formation material from
the wellbore
Rotary
Percussion
4 OD Whole Core Samples 1 OD Sidewall Sample 6 OD Core Barrel
CORING: Defined as the downhole acquisition and recovery to
surface of reservoir formation material mainly by two methods.
3 2011 HALLIBURTON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
CORING is a key component of Formation Evaluation (FE) and
provides formation material needed for:
Hands-on laboratory testing and evaluation - core analysis
Geological descriptions - lithological and petrographic
evaluations
Geomechanical testing / geochemistry
In other words
Defining and describing the reservoir
Integrating, interpreting, and calibrating all types of well logs
Verifying hydrocarbon reserves in place
Why Coring?
4 2011 HALLIBURTON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
A leading global coring service
provider with over 40 years of
service to the industry
Performing over 400 jobs / year,
cutting 70,000+ feet of
whole core
Typically core for ~170 customers
in 48 countries
No LTi for over 13 years
Achieving 94%+ core recovery
Full range of coring services
Re-entered the NA coring
market in 2011
Halliburton DBS Conventional Coring Systems
Who we are
5 2011 HALLIBURTON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Halliburton Coring Systems
Conventional Coring Services and Technology for Shale Reservoirs
Heavy Duty Threadform (HDT) high-torque core barrels
2, 3, 4 and 5 cores
Extended reach barrels
Aluminum inner barrels frequently vented
RockStrong Swivel System to mitigate the formations of jams
State-of-the-art PDC and impregnated core bits
Oriented coring
Thru-tubing Wireline Coring with Latch-Les (2 core) and RockSwift (3 core) systems
Sponge Coring (we were the original developers of this technology)

Wireline Coring Rotary Sidewall Coring
HRSCT 60 cores 1.0 OD x 2.12 L
HRSCT 30 cores 1.5 OD x 2.50 L (samples suitable for rock mechanics analysis)
6 2011 HALLIBURTON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
STABILIZERS
OUTER
ASSEMBLY
ADJUSTABLE
SAFETYJOINT
TURNING
AHANDLE
SWIVEL
ASSEMBLY
BALL
SEAT
DISPOSABLE
INNERTUBE
SHOE
ASSEMBLY
HIGH
PERFORMANCE
COREHEAD
CORE
CATCHER
Typical spring-type core catcher
Steel outer barrel
Aluminum inner barrel
Drilling fluid
Core
Cross section of a core barrel
Aluminum inner barrels
PDC core bit
Standard Core Barrel
HDT Core Barrel: 30-ft in length
7 2011 HALLIBURTON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
J amming in the core barrel is a principal cause of low coring
efficiency and premature trips-out-of-hole.
J amming occurs in the:
Throat of the core bit
Inner barrel

The various shales have their own behavior regarding
jamming potential
Eagle Ford may be forgiving can run longer barrels
Haynesville may not be stay with shorter barrels

Methods to mitigate jamming are:
RockStrong Swivel System to absorb axial vibrations of the
inner barrel
MaxBHA pre-job modeling to optimize the
coring BHA

Jam Mitigation
Preventing premature tripping-out-of-hole
8 2011 HALLIBURTON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Conventional Wireline-Retrievable Coring Systems
Wireline retrieval of the inner barrel
The coring BHA is delivered by
the drill string a conventional
system

The inner core barrel is retrieved
by wireline the core can be
quickly retrieved to surface

Can convert to a drilling
assembly by tripping in a drill
plug. Can core or drill ahead
without tripping the BHA

These systems would seem to
offer an advantage over
conventional coring tools, but
9 2011 HALLIBURTON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Conventional Wireline-Retrievable Coring Systems
Wireline retrieval of the inner barrel
There are limitations and concerns regarding wireline retrievable systems:

WL systems typically cut smaller diameter cores than conventional tools

WL systems that cut cores >2-in diameter require non-standard drill pipe
Drift must be >4.125-in to allow pass-through of internal components.
The cost of drill pipe rental is high
Mobilization of drill pipe adds days-on-hole to the coring program
(rig cost issues)

Rapid WL retrieval can lead to gas expansion fracturing of the core
This leads to falsely optimistic core analysis results e.g., higher porosity
Slow retrieval negates an advantage of the tool

Conventional coring tools can cut longer cores in one run
WL runs of 30 - 60-ft are typical
Conventional runs of >180-ft are common
10 2011 HALLIBURTON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
So consider the objectives of the coring program:

Need core quality; concerned about the effect of the coring program on core
properties?

Looking only for gas saturation and not too concerned about core quality?

Coring very long intervals in one well e.g., 3000-ft of coring?
FYI we are currently cutting ~4000-ft of shale from one well in
Colombia with our RockSwift system

Then determine the proper coring process.
Conventional vs. Wireline Coring Systems
11 2011 HALLIBURTON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Each 30-ft section must be carefully
processed no bending or flexing that
would damage the core

Each section is strapped into a Lay
Down Cradle or Shuttle
Laying Down the Core-Filled Inner Barrel
Wellsite core processing to ensure core quality
12 2011 HALLIBURTON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Cutting the Core-Filled Inner Barrel
Wellsite core processing
Each 30-ft section is cut into 3-ft
segments for shipment to the lab

Core Saws are used to cut the inner
barrel and core

The 3-ft segments are packaged in a
Core Safe then shipped to the lab
13 2011 HALLIBURTON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Halliburton Rotary Wireline Systems
Core plugs taken at discrete intervals
Wireline logging tools
Recover 30 - 60 core plugs in one WL run
Tools have a single electrically-driven core bit
Standard tool cut 1-in OD x 1.5-in long plugs
The new HRSCT tool is delivering 1.5-in OD
x ~3-in long samples
Depending upon length, delivers 2X to 3X
more pore volume than 1.0 tool
There is a strong demand for this size
core plug in rock mechanics analyses
14 2011 HALLIBURTON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
When coring in shale gas reservoirs:
Consider your coring objectives why are you taking the core?
Select the proper coring system
Remember that Halliburton provides the solutions to meet your
coring objectives:
Conventional coring
Wireline coring
Rotary Sidewall Coring

Closing Thoughts on Coring Unconventional
Reservoirs (Shales Gas)
15 2011 HALLIBURTON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Thank You. Questions?