Summary:
The Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian to Lower Tithonian) Haynesville and Bossier Shales of East Texas and northwest Louisiana are currently one of the most important shale-gas plays in North America, having high IPs, steep decline rates, EURs estimated at 3 to 7 Bcf per well of each formation, and play resources estimated together in the hundreds of trillions of cubic feet (Fig. 1). Recently, Haynesville production of 5.62 BCFD (including Louisiana) surpassed Barnett production (5.4 BCFD). Shale thicknesses range from 200 to 350 feet at producing depths of 10-14,000ft+. The STARR team focuses on studies of Haynesville and Bossier Shale facies, deposition, geochemistry, petrophysics, production, pore evolution, and stratigraphy in light of paleogeographic setting and regional tectonics using wireline logs, seismic, and cores. Haynesville and Bossier depositional areas are characterized by different mudrock lithologies. Mudrocks range from calcareous-dominated facies near the carbonate platforms and islands to siliceous-dominated lithologies in areas where deltas prograded into the basin and diluted organic matter (e.g., northern Louisiana and northeast Texas; Fig. 1). Porosity occurs in nano-pores as interparticle pores and within organics. The mudrocks contain a complex mineralogical framework of carbonate, quartz, and clay (Fig. 2). Other important constituents are organics (TOC 2-6%), calcareous bioclasts, and pyrite in various forms. Sedimentological structures include burrowing, ripples, laminations, and current laminations related to turbidites (Fig. 3). Haynesville and Bossier gas shales are distinctive on wireline logs—high gamma ray, low density, low neutron porosity, high sonic travel time, moderately high resistivity.
Counties: Panola, Harrison, Rusk, Shelby, San Augustine, Sabine, Gregg, Marion, Upshur, Nacogdoches.