Subscriber access provided by Kaohsiung Medical University
Article
Salinity reversal and water freshening in the Eagle Ford Shale, Texas, USA Jean-Philippe Nicot, Amin Gherabati, Roxana Darvari, and Patrick J. Mickler ACS Earth Space Chem., Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/ acsearthspacechem.8b00095 • Publication Date (Web): 13 Sep 2018 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on September 19, 2018
Just Accepted “Just Accepted” manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication. They are posted online prior to technical editing, formatting for publication and author proofing. The American Chemical Society provides “Just Accepted” as a service to the research community to expedite the dissemination of scientific material as soon as possible after acceptance. “Just Accepted” manuscripts appear in full in PDF format accompanied by an HTML abstract. “Just Accepted” manuscripts have been fully peer reviewed, but should not be considered the official version of record. They are citable by the Digital Object Identifier (DOI®). “Just Accepted” is an optional service offered to authors. Therefore, the “Just Accepted” Web site may not include all articles that will be published in the journal. After a manuscript is technically edited and formatted, it will be removed from the “Just Accepted” Web site and published as an ASAP article. Note that technical editing may introduce minor changes to the manuscript text and/or graphics which could affect content, and all legal disclaimers and ethical guidelines that apply to the journal pertain. ACS cannot be held responsible for errors or consequences arising from the use of information contained in these “Just Accepted” manuscripts.
is published by the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street N.W., Washington, DC 20036 Published by American Chemical Society. Copyright © American Chemical Society. However, no copyright claim is made to original U.S. Government works, or works produced by employees of any Commonwealth realm Crown government in the course of their duties.
Page 1 of 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry
1
Salinity reversal and water freshening in the Eagle Ford Shale, Texas, USA
2
Jean-Philippe Nicot1*, Amin Gherabati1, Roxana Darvari1, and Patrick Mickler1
3 4
1
Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
5
Corresponding author: Jean-Philippe Nicot (
[email protected])
6
Keywords: hydraulic fracturing, recycling, smectite, brackish water, unconventionals
7
Abstract
8
Effective, considerate shale play water management supports operations and protects the
9
environment. A parameter often overlooked is total dissolved solids (TDS) of produced water
10
from the formation. Knowledge of TDS is important to meet these dual goals. Subsurface TDS
11
typically increases with depth. However, produced-water samples from the Eagle Ford Shale
12
show a strong TDS decrease by a factor of ~10 with increasing well depth (~200,000 ppm at
13
~2.5 km to 18,000 ppm at ~3.6 km). Water stable isotopes strongly suggest that the low TDS is
14
not due to dilution by meteoric water. Rather, we attribute the change to smectite-to-illite
15
conversion, in which the smectite interlayer water is released into the pore space. Depth,
16
temperature, and other related indicators (source for K, excess silica) support such a mechanism.
17
In addition, water-isotope patterns and 87Sr/86Sr ratios suggest a conversion operating with
18
limited contributions external to the shale. Order-of-magnitude calculations show that the 8% of
19
mixed-layer clay present on average in the Lower Eagle Ford Shale is sufficient to bring
20
formation water TDS to observed levels when some of the resident water is expelled.
21
Understanding that the low salinity is an intrinsic property of the formation water rather than due
22
to short-term mixing allows stakeholders to have a more optimistic outlook on water recycling
23
and on using produced water for other uses (irrigation, municipal).
24
1
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
25
1 Introduction
26
Water management in unconventional plays using hydraulic fracturing1 (HF) has always been an
27
operational challenge at several levels: (1) amount of water needed for completion; (2) limited
28
capacity of disposal formations receiving produced waters (PW); and, more recently, (3)
29
concerns about seismicity related to fluid disposal though injection wells. Recycling PW
30
addresses these three “concerns” simultaneously. Amount of recycling is very variable across
31
plays and operators but feasibility studies have been hampered by a lack of documentation on
32
water quality, even on a parameter as simple as total dissolved solids (TDS). The Eagle Ford
33
Shale (EFS) in South Texas is one of the major unconventional plays that have transformed the
34
oil and gas production landscape in the U.S.. Of importance to this study, the source of the
35
proppant-carrying water in the EFS play2-3 is not well documented but is generally reported as
36
being fresh or brackish and extracted from local aquifers, mainly the Carrizo–Wilcox Aquifer.
37
The current amount of recycling, which would change the nature of the HF water, is arguably
38
low but is not known on a well-by-well basis.
39
The geochemical characteristics of PW in shale plays are variable across plays and through time.
40
They are a function of the added HF water and the resident formation water and can be further
41
modified through rock–water interactions. Plays such as the Bakken and Marcellus exhibit high
42
TDS up to 300,000 mg/L,4-5 whereas other plays such as the Fayetteville and EFS display TDS
43
that can be much less (3 km). A
44
common explanation for low TDS is the mixing of formation water with HF fresh water, which,
45
however, is not supported by the characteristics of the EFS PW samples taken in the course of
46
this study. We propose that the low TDS is a reflection of the natural system and a true
47
representation of the formation water salinity.
2
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Page 2 of 24
Page 3 of 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry
48
Researchers have documented that TDS, after a general increase, start decreasing with depth
49
(>2.5–3 km) in Gulf Coast Basin shaly intervals and in clastic material in close spatial
50
association with shales.6-13 Salinity, on the other hand, keeps increasing in higher-permeability
51
sections.14 The mechanistic explanation of the salinity reversal is clay diagenesis, in particular,
52
smectite-to-illite (S/I) conversion. Smectite clays contain bound water molecular layers regularly
53
interspersed with Si and Al layers. These water layers become unstable at higher temperatures
54
and pressures, releasing water from the interlayer space into the intergranular porosity.15-21
55
In addition to acquiring knowledge of deep-flow systems in Upper Gulf Coast sediments in the
56
vicinity of the EFS, this study has practical implications at several levels. Using accurate
57
geochemical information about formation water is important because it impacts petrophysical
58
interpretation of well logs. For example, knowing the TDS is critical for interpreting resistivity
59
from which water saturations—and thus oil and gas saturations—can be calculated.22-24 Perhaps
60
more importantly, natural low salinity also has operational implications; for example, water
61
treatment of low-TDS water is less expensive and more amenable to recycling and other uses.
62
The operational objective of our study was to understand PW chemistry and to investigate what
63
was assumed to be mixing between formation water and HF carrier water. Examining natural
64
tracers is the usual approach when investigating the potential mixing of waters from various
65
sources. The EFS, which is enclosed within a sedimentary package that includes several low-
66
permeability layers, is delimited for the purpose of this study by two relatively high-permeability
67
intervals: the underlying Edwards Formation/Aquifer and the overlying Carrizo Formation and
68
Wilcox Group/Aquifers (Figure S1). Little work has been published or accomplished toward
69
understanding the nature of EFS formation water. However, a considerable amount of literature
70
is available on the Edwards, Wilcox, and other Gulf Coast formations because of their
3
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
71
importance as aquifers and as holders of large oil and gas conventional resources. Most
72
information publicly available on EFS water quality derives from PW treatment studies and from
73
anecdotal reporting of low TDS PW described in trade journals and in the gray literature (Table
74
S6 and, e.g., Boschee et al.).25 A discussion of our S/I conversion conceptual model is presented
75
in Section 4.1, including arguments to dismiss alternative explanations for the low TDS.
76
2 Methods
77
2.1 Site geology
78
The general area of study, which covers ~20 Texas counties, extends from the Mexican border
79
and Maverick Basin (Maverick and Webb Counties) to the generally accepted northern/eastern
80
limit of the traditional EFS in Gonzales/Fayette Counties over the San Marcos Arch to Brazos
81
County at the inception of the East Texas Basin (Eaglebine play). The EFS exhibits broad
82
parallel zones of roughly equal size that display natural maturity gradation from oil to volatile oil
83
to oil condensate, and to natural gas (Figure 1). The EFS is a major source rock for conventional
84
hydrocarbon accumulations in the immediately underlying Buda Limestone and immediately
85
overlying Austin Chalk.
4
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Page 4 of 24
Page 5 of 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry
86 87
Figure 1. Location map showing sampled wells and oil, condensate, and gas windows22-23 which
88
are color-coded by API gravity from ~30 (blue) in oil to ~65 (red) for dry gas.
89
The EFS crops out occasionally in South and Central Texas, dips toward the Gulf of Mexico, and
90
reaches depths >3.5 km.26 EFS mineralogical composition is >50% calcite with 10–20% clay
91
minerals, half illite/smectite (I/S) mixed-layer clays. The EFS is included in a thick sedimentary
92
package (Figure S1). Underlying formations of interest include, from oldest to youngest, the
93
Edwards Limestone, the Del Rio Clay, and the Buda Limestone. The EFS is overlain by the
94
Austin Chalk and the various mostly fine-grained siliciclastic formations capping the Cretaceous
95
succession. The shaly Midway Formation marks the start of Cenozoic-age sediments. The thick,
96
sometimes sandy Wilcox formations overlaid by the sandy Carrizo Formation complete the
97
succession of interest. The Edwards and the Carrizo are two major aquifers that could interact or 5
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
98
could have interacted with the EFS. The formations immediately underlying and overlying the
99
EFS are low-permeability carbonates: the Buda Limestone and the highly fractured Austin
100
Chalk. More geologic details are provided in Supporting Information Text C (SI-C).
101
2.2 Sampling and analyses
102
EFS wells were sampled for fluids (oil and water) in February–April 2017 (Figure 1). The
103
samples were taken from oil wells operated by four different companies. Seven samples were
104
provided to us, and we sampled 15 wells ourselves. Sampled wells reside mostly in the oil
105
window and have been producing for a period ranging from a few months to a few years. We
106
defined three geographic zones for convenience: an east zone (Gonzales, Karnes, and Atascosa
107
Counties), with four samples located approximately along strike; a north zone (Lee and Brazos
108
Counties) with three samples in the Eaglebine play; and a west zone (LaSalle, Atascosa, and Frio
109
Counties), where most of the samples were taken, that approximatively represents an along-dip
110
transect. See SI-A for sampling methodology and SI-B for laboratory analytical methods.
111
2.3 Supplemental data
112
In addition to collecting water samples, we made use of previously collected data and of existing
113
databases (SI-D2). Gherabati et al.22-23 and Hammes et al.24 provide estimates of porosity, water
114
saturation, temperature, and clay volume at the sampled well locations, interpolated in-house
115
from contour maps created using petrophysical data of ~150 EFS wells with a comprehensive
116
wireline log suite. Formation water content at sampled well locations was determined through
117
the product of interpolated estimates of porosity and water saturation. We also used several
118
public domain datasets : U.S. Geological Survey27 for PW geochemistry; FracFocus28 for
119
information on stimulated oil wells; and Texas Water Development Board groundwater
120
database29 (TWDB) for aquifer characteristics. The Enerdeq database has extensive information
121
on oil wells but is available only from the private vendor IHS.30 6
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Page 6 of 24
Page 7 of 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry
122
3 Results
123
3.1 TDS and general geochemistry
124
A generally accepted rule of thumb is that TDS increases with depth.6,13 The increase is generally
125
attributed to rock–water interactions, mixing with deep brines or halite/salt dissolution. The
126
study samples do not follow this general rule and show an extremely variable TDS, from a low
127
of ~18,000 mg/L (west zone, well HI) to a high of >200,000 mg/L (east zone, well ST) (Figure
128
2). TDS also increase with the amount of water produced (Figure S3b) and, to a lesser degree,
129
with the PW volume as compared to the HF water volume (Figure S3c), possibly suggesting that
130
low-TDS PW samples may result from mixing between formation water and HF water.
131
However, the important observation of TDS consistently decreasing with increasing depth in all
132
three sampling zones suggests otherwise. The highest TDS samples are found at the shallowest
133
depth of ~2.4 km. TDS decreases almost linearly with increasing depth, a phenomenon
134
particularly striking in the west zone, where samples are arranged along a dip-oriented transect.
135
Temperature increases with depth (Figure S2a) and TDS is strongly correlated with bottomhole
136
(BH) temperature (Figure S2b).
137
The ionic makeup of the PW is dominated by Na and Cl (Table S4), with little sulfate and some
138
Ca consistent with Gulf Coast formation waters. Little difference exists in ionic ratios between
139
the high- and low-TDS samples (Figures S4 and S5). Na and Cl act conservatively, whereas Ca
140
is relatively slightly higher in high-TDS samples, Mg is relatively depleted in high-TDS samples,
141
and K is depleted in low-TDS samples. When normalized by Cl, it appears that Ca is
142
progressively depleted relative to Na as the TDS decrease, possibly owing to calcite
143
precipitation. Mg also sees a relative decrease with decreasing TDS, possibly following Ca,
144
whereas K shows relatively high concentrations for some high-TDS samples.
7
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
145 146
Figure 2. Produced water TDS as a function of well depth. Data in Table S4.
147
3.2 Stable water isotopes
148
The standard reference for water isotopes is seawater, which by convention is assigned δD and
149
δ18O values of zero. Surface and shallow aquifer waters are almost always isotopically lighter
150
than seawater, an outcome of the major source of rain—evaporation from seawater. In deep
151
fresh-water aquifers, water isotopes typically represent climatic conditions when the aquifer was
152
recharged. For example, the deeper downdip fresh-water sections of the Carrizo Aquifer in South
153
Texas, which were recharged tens of thousands of years ago when the climate was much cooler,
154
show water lighter than that in the recharge area.31-33 Figure 3a,b illustrates the common
155
observation that formation waters have lighter hydrogen and heavier oxygen than shallow
156
waters.13
157
Water isotopes ranging from -23.1‰ to -14.9‰ and from +1.6‰ to +8.7‰ for δD and δ18O
158
(Table S4), respectively, are consistent with values provided in the Clayton et al.34 seminal paper
159
on formation-water isotopes and in Kharaka and Hanor.13 In addition, δD and δ18O increase
160
together (0.5–1.5 δD ‰ unit for each δ18O ‰ unit). The lack of clear correlation between water
8
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Page 8 of 24
Page 9 of 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry
161
isotopes and operational parameters, such as oil and water production and volume of HF water
162
used, again suggests that mixing with HF carrier water has only a minor impact, if any, on the
163
observed isotope relationships (Figure S6).
164
Plotting water isotopes vs. depth (Figure 3c,d) offers a better correlation than vs. operational
165
parameters and shows that, overall, water isotopes become heavier with increasing well depth.
166
The plots also suggest that two trends are at play. The first trend shows heavier and heavier water
167
isotopes as TDS increase as noted by the dot size, considering only samples originating from a
168
depth of ~2.4 km, and could be related to residence time. The second trend, showing heavier
169
water with increasing depth, is related to increasing temperature with increasing depth. At higher
170
temperature, a smaller degree of fractionation of water isotopes with isotopically-heavy
171
carbonates and clays drives water isotopes, particularly oxygen, to heavier values.
172
(a)
9
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
(b)
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
(c)
173
Page 10 of 24
(d)
174
Figure 3. Water isotopes for produced-water samples and local aquifers (a) with focus on
175
produced water (b). Water isotopes of formation water as a function of well depth: δ18O (c) and
176
δD (d). GMWL = global meteoric water line. Bubble size is proportional to TDS on plots (b,c,d).
177
Data in Table S4.
178
Plotting water isotopes vs. BH temperature (Figure S7) rather than vs. well depth shows a more
179
consistent pattern of TDS decreasing with increasing temperature. The pattern also suggests S/I
180
conversion with limited contributions external to the shale. In such a semi-closed system, δ18O of
181
clay should decrease with increasing temperature, as observed in the thick deposits of the Central
182
Valley of California35 with a concomitant increase in the water δ18O, as observed here. The same
183
Californian sequence also shows a whole-rock δD enrichment that would correspond to a
184
decrease in the water δD consistent with our measurements, although obscured by a strong
185
scatter. Gonzalez-Penagos et al.36 also observed an increase of pore water δ18O with depth in the
186
Colombian shales they studied undergoing S/I conversion.
10
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Page 11 of 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry
187
3.3 Stable strontium isotopes
188
Sr is found where Ca is found because both belong to the same column in the periodic table and
189
Sr readily substitutes for Ca in common minerals. The ratio of two of the Sr natural isotopes
190
(87Sr/86Sr) has proven useful in tracking rock–water interactions. It is usually accepted that ratios
191
are the same (i.e., little fractionation) in water and rock.37 Typically, water will take the imprint
192
of the Sr-bearing rocks in equilibrium with them, in particular carbonates. The 87Sr/86Sr ratio has
193
varied through geologic times, with carbonate rock of each age carrying an almost unique
194
signature (current value of 0.7092.38 Common complications arise when rocks are rich in K
195
minerals (typically feldspars). Rb is a common substitute for K, as Sr is for Ca. 87Rb decays into
196
87
Sr and increases the 87Sr/86Sr ratio through the Rb radiogenic contribution. Water exposed to
197
K-bearing minerals will show an increased 87Sr/86Sr ratio. 87Sr/86Sr ratios of EFS waters are
198
expected to be close to or higher than the seawater ratio at the time of deposition in the 0.7073–
199
0.7075 range.39 Deviation from the original ratio occurs when mixing with unrelated water that
200
carries a different 87Sr/86Sr ratio, e.g., more recent, or when the water is exposed to carbonates
201
deposited in a different period, or when radiogenic Rb is present. The 87Sr/86Sr ratio of EFS
202
samples has stayed close to the original ratio (Figure 4), especially for low-TDS samples,
203
suggesting than no foreign waters have migrated into the EFS. A few higher-TDS samples show
204
a higher ratio. A single sample in the east zone has a very high 87Sr/86Sr ratio value of 0.71045;
205
its TDS is also the highest of all samples, at >200,000 mg/L.
11
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
(a)
Page 12 of 24
206 207
Figure 4. 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio as a function of (a) reciprocal Sr concentration, and (b) well
208
depth. Bubble size is proportional to TDS. Range of seawater 87Sr/86Sr ratio during EFS
209
deposition is shown by the small black box. Data in Table S4.
210
4 Discussion
211
In this section, we show that the S/I conversion model applies to the EFS. Alternative models for
212
deep dilute formation waters can be hypothesized: (1) dilution of saline formation water by
213
meteoric water; (2) dehydration of other minerals including kerogen; (3) cross-formational flow
214
from overlying and/or underlying aquifers; (4) water condensation during sampling; (5) primary
215
brackish; and (6) mixing with HF water. We present arguments in favor of S/I conversion,
216
dismissing the other hypotheses.
217
4.1 Full description of conceptual model
218
Many elements point to an S/I conversion: (1) the conversion is common in Gulf Coast
219
sediments and elsewhere; (2) conditions are met for the conversion to occur in Cretaceous
220
formations; and (3) the system is mostly semi-closed (closed to inflows) and flow and transport
221
are one-directional to the outside.
12
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
(b)
Page 13 of 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry
222
(1) S/I conversion common in Gulf Coast
223
Clay diagenesis and water release have been observed in several formations of the Gulf Coast,6-7
224
from older to younger formations: Eocene Wilcox,8-9 Oligocene Frio,10-11 and Miocene.12 In a
225
more detailed study of the Frio Formation, Land and MacPherson10 identified a low-TDS “Na–
226
acetate” water group (50% updip to 30% downdip. The average clay content (Vclay) is similar in
320
both zones: 10–20% (east) and 8–18% (west). Properties interpolated at well locations (Figure
321
S16) fall within the same range. In particular, calculated water content is consistent with the
322
previous order-of-magnitude water content resulting from S/I conversion. The presence of
323
hydrocarbons reduces the amount of water needed to achieve significant freshening of the
324
formation water. However, the TDS reduction from the observed high values of >100 g/L to 2.5 km) within the EFS. The body of
351
evidence strongly suggests that the low TDS is natural and not due to dilution of formation water
352
by very low TDS HF carrier water. The most likely mechanism is the S/I conversion mechanism,
353
common in the Gulf Coast, which releases enough water to dilute the resident formation water
354
that has not been driven out of the EFS formation. The presence of hydrocarbons reduces the
355
amount of water needed to achieve significant freshening of the formation water. Many
356
unknowns remain. Petrographic evidence consistent with S/I conversion has not been described
357
yet. The role of S/I conversion in the overpressurization of the EFS is unclear. More samples
358
across a larger footprint of the play are needed to determine the extent of the conversion.
18
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Page 18 of 24
Page 19 of 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry
359
Acknowledgments, Samples, and Data
360
The paper is an outcome of a research project “Spatial Heterogeneity of Eagle Ford Crude”
361
funded under research agreement EM10480/UTA16-000509 between ExxonMobil Research and
362
Engineering Company and The University of Texas at Austin complemented by funds provided
363
to the first author by The University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences. We
364
thank Tongwei Zhang, project Principal Investigator who helped in sampling the oil wells. We
365
are also grateful to IHS to grant access to their oil and gas Enerdeq database. An earlier version
366
of the work benefited from comments from BEG colleagues: Bridget Scanlon and Toti Larson,
367
who also performed the water isotope analyses. Figure 1 was drafted by Francine Mastrangelo
368
and Guin McDaid and the manuscript edited by Stephanie Jones.
369
Supporting Information
370
Sections A to F, Figures S1 to S16, and Tables S1 to S6 are provided in a single separate file.
371
-
Analytical results and well characteristics: Sections A and B.
372
-
Supplement on (hydro)geology: Section C
373
-
Additional information on the conversion model: Section D
374
-
Additional information on the alternative explanations: Section E
375
-
Details on water budget calculations: Section F
376
References
377 378 379 380
(1) King, G.E., 2012, Hydraulic Fracturing 101: What every representative, environmentalist, regulator, reporter, investor, university researcher, neighbor and engineer should know about estimating frac risk and improving frac performance in unconventional gas and oil wells, Society of Petroleum Engineers, SPE 152596
381 382 383
(2) Scanlon, B. R., Reedy, R. C., and Nicot, J.-P., 2014, Comparison of water use for hydraulic fracturing for unconventional oil and gas versus conventional oil: Environmental Science & Technology, 48(20), p.12386-12393, http://doi.org/10.1021/es502506v.
384 385
(3) Ikonnikova, S., Male, F., Scanlon, B. R., Reedy, R. C., and McDaid, G., 2017, Projecting the water footprint associated with shale resource production: Eagle Ford Shale case study: 19
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
386 387
Environmental Science and Technology, 51(24), p.14453-14461, http://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b03150
388 389 390 391
(4) Barbot, E., N.S. Vidic, K.B. Gregory,§ and R.D. Vidic, 2013, Spatial and Temporal Correlation of Water Quality Parameters of Produced Waters from Devonian-Age Shale following Hydraulic Fracturing, Environ. Sci. Technol., 47, 2562−2569, dx.doi.org/10.1021/es304638h
392 393 394
(5) Kondash, A.J., E. Albright, and A. Vengosh, 2017, Quantity of flowback and produced waters from unconventional oil and gas exploration, The Science of the Total Environment, 574, p.314-321, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.09.069
395 396 397
(6) Land, L.S., 1997, Mass transfer during burial diagenesis in the Gulf of Mexico sedimentary Basin: an overview, in Basin-Wide Diagenetic Patterns Integrated Petrologic Geochemical and Hydrologic Considerations SEPM Special Publication No57, p.29-39
398 399
(7) Lahann, R.W., 2017, Gulf of Mexico overpressure and clay diagenesis without unloading: An anomaly? AAPG Bulletin, 101(11), p.1859–1877
400 401 402
(8) Awwiller, D.N., 1993, Illite/smectite formation and potassium mass transfer during burial diagenesis of mudrocks: a study from the Texas Gulf Coast Paleocene-Eocene, Journal of Sedimentary Geology, 63(3), p.501-512
403 404 405 406
(9) Day-Stirrat, R.J., Milliken, K.L., Dutton, S.P., Loucks, R.G., Hillier, S., Aplin, A.C., and Schleicher, A.M., 2010, Open-system chemical behavior in deep Wilcox Group mudstones, Texas Gulf Coast, USA: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 27, p. 1804–1818, doi:10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2010.08.006
407 408
(10) Land, L.S. and G.L. MacPherson, 1992, Origin of saline formation waters, Cenozoic section, Gulf of Mexico sedimentary basin, AAPG Bulletin, 76(9), p.1344-1369
409 410 411
(11) Lynch, F.L., 1997, Frio shale mineralogy and the stoichiometry of the smectite-to-illite reaction: the most important reaction in clastic sedimentary diagenesis, Clays and Clay Minerals, 45(5), p.618-631
412 413 414
(12) Land, L.S., G.L. MacPherson, and L.E. Mack, 1988, The geochemistry of saline formation waters, Miocene, offshore Louisiana, Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, 38, p.503-511.
415 416 417
(13) Kharaka, Y.K. and J.S. Hanor, 2014, Deep Fluids in Sedimentary Basins in Treatise on Geochemistry 2nd Edition, Chapter 7.14, p.471–515. Elsevier Ltd, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-095975-7.00516-7
418 419 420
(14) Hanor, J. S. and J.C. McIntosh, 2007, Diverse origins and timing of formation of basinal brines in the Gulf of Mexico sedimentary basin, 7(2), p.227-237, DOI: 10.1111/j.14688123.2007.00177.x
421 422
(15) Burst, J.F., 1969, Diagenesis of Gulf Coast Clayey Sediments and Its Possible Relation to Petroleum Migration, AAPG Bulletin, 53(1), p.73-93
423 424 425
(16) Bruce, C.H., 1941, Smectite Dehydration—Its Relation to Structural Development and Hydrocarbon Accumulation in Northern Gulf of Mexico Basin, AAPG Bulletin, 68(6), p.673683
20
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Page 20 of 24
Page 21 of 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry
426 427
(17) Freed, R.I and D.R. Peacor, 1989, Geopressured Shale and Sealing Effect of Smectite to Illite Transition, AAPG Bull., 73(10), p. 1223-1232
428 429 430 431
(18) Swarbrick, R.E., M.J. Osborne, and G.S. Yardley, 2002, Comparison of Overpressure Magnitude Resulting from the Main Generating Mechanisms, in A. R. Huffman and G. L. Bowers, eds., Pressure regimes in sedimentary basins and their prediction: AAPG Memoir 76, p.1–12
432 433 434
(19) Lahann, R.W. and R.E. Swarbrick, 2011, Overpressure generation by load transfer following shale framework weakening due to smectite diagenesis, Geofluids, 11, p.362–375, doi: 10.1111/j.1468-8123.2011.00350.x
435 436 437
(20) Wu, L.M., C.H. Zhou, J. Keeling, D.S. Tong, and W.H. Yu, 2012, Towards an understanding of the role of clay minerals in crude oil formation, migration and accumulation, Earth Science Reviews, 115, p.373-386, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2012.10.001
438 439 440
(21) Lewan, M.D., M. P. Dolan, and J.B. Curtis, 2014, Effects of smectite on the oil-expulsion efficiency of the Kreyenhagen Shale, San Joaquin Basin, California, based on hydrous-pyrolysis experiments, AAPG Bulletin, 98(6), p.1091–1109, doi: 10.1306/10091313059
441 442 443 444
(22) Gherabati, S.A, J. Browning, F. Male, S.A. Ikonnikova, and G. McDaid, 2016a, The impact of pressure and fluid property variation on well performance of liquid-rich Eagle Ford shale, Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 33, p.1056-1068, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2016.06.019
445 446 447 448
(23) Gherabati, S.A., U. Hammes, F. Male, and J. Browning, 2016b, Assessment of Hydrocarbon-in-Place and Recovery Factors in the Eagle Ford Shale Play, Unconventional Resources Technology Conference San Antonio, Texas, USA, 1-3 August 2016, URTeC #2460252, 22p., doi 10.15530-urtec-2016- 2460252
449 450 451 452 453
(24) Hammes, U., R. Eastwood, G. McDaid, E. Vankov, S. A. Gherabati, K. Smye, J. Shultz, E. Potter, S. Ikonnikova, and S. Tinker, 2016, Regional assessment of the Eagle Ford Group of South Texas, USA: Insights from lithology, pore volume, water saturation, organic richness, and productivity correlations, Interpretation, 4(1), p. SC125–SC150, http://dx.doi.org/10.1190/INT2015-0099.1.
454 455 456
(25) Boschee, Pa., 2014, Produced and Flowback Water Recycling and Reuse: Economics, Limitations, and Technology, Society of Petroleum Engineers Oil and Gas Facilities 1(3), https://doi.org/10.2118/0214-0016-OGF
457 458 459
(26) Hentz, T.F., and S.C. Ruppel, 2010, Regional lithostratigraphy of the Eagle Ford Shale: Maverick Basin to East Texas Basin, Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, 60, p.325–337
460 461 462 463 464
(27) Blondes, M.S, K.D. Gans, M.A. Engle, Y.K. Kharaka, M.E. Reidy, V. Saraswathula, J.J. Thordsen, E.L. Rowan, and E.A. Morrissey, 2017, U.S. Geological Survey National Produced Waters Geochemical Database v2.3 (provisional), https://energy.usgs.gov/EnvironmentalAspects/EnvironmentalAspectsofEnergyProductionandUs e/ProducedWaters.aspx
465 466
(28) FracFocus, 2018, Chemical disclosure registry, https://fracfocus.org/, last accessed February 2018
21
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
467 468
(29) TWDB, 2017, Groundwater database, http://www.twdb.texas.gov/groundwater/data/gwdbrpt.asp, last accessed December 2017
469 470
(30) IHS, 2018, Enerdeq database, https://ihsmarkit.com/products/oil-gas-tools-enerdeqbrowser.html, last accessed March 2018
471 472
(31) Pearson, Jr., F.J. and D. E. White, 1967, Carbon14 Ages and Flow Rates of Water in Carrizo Sand, Atascosa County, Texas, Water Resources Research, 3(1), p.251-261
473 474 475
(32) Castro, M.C. and P. Goblet, 2003, Calibration of regional groundwater flow models: Working toward a better understanding of site-specific systems, Water Resources Research, 39(6), 1172, doi:10.1029/2002WR001653
476 477 478
(33) Patriarche, D., M.C. Castro and P. Goblet, 2004, Large-scale hydraulic conductivities inferred from three-dimensional groundwater flow and 4He transport modeling in the Carrizo aquifer, Texas, Journal of Geophysical Research, 109, B11202, doi:10.1029/2004JB003173
479 480
(34) Clayton R. N., Friedman I., Graf D.L., Mayeda T.K., Meets W.F., and Shimp N.F., 1966, The origin of saline formation waters: I. Isotopic composition. J. Geophys. Res. 71, 3869–3882
481 482 483
(35) Suchecki, R.K. and L.S Land, 1983, Isotopic geochemistry of burial-metamorphosed volcanogenic sediments, Great Valley sequence, northern California, Geochimica and Cosmochimica Acta, 47, p.1487-1499
484 485 486
(36) Gonzalez-Penagos, F., I. Moretti, C. France-Lanord, and X. Guichet, 2015, Origins of formation waters in the Llanos foreland basin of Colombia: geochemical variation and fluid flow history, Geofluids 14, 443–458, doi: 10.1111/gfl.12086
487 488
(37) Clark, I.D. and P. Fritz, 1997, Environmental Isotopes in Hydrogeology, Boca Raton, Fl, CRC Press/Lewis Publishers, 328p.
489 490
(38) Halverson, G.P and L. Théou-Hubert, 2014, Seawater Sr Curve, Encyclopedia of Scientific Dating Methods, 10p., doi: 10.1007/978-94-007-6326-5_143-1
491 492 493
(39) Jones, C.E. and H.C. Jenkyns, 2001, Seawater strontium isotopes, oceanic anoxic events, and seafloor hydrothermal activity in the Jurassic and Cretaceous, American Journal of Science, 301, p.112–149
494 495 496
(40) Ko, J. and R. Hesse, 1998, Illite/Smectite Diagenesis in the Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin, Arctic Canada: Relation to Hydrocarbon Occurrence?, Bulletin of Canadian Petroleum Geology, 46(1), p.74-88
497 498 499
(41) Brown K.M., D.M. Saffer and B. Bekins, 2001, Smectite diagenesis, pore-water freshening, and fluid flow at the toe of the Nankai wedge, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 194, p.97– 109
500 501 502
(42) Saffer, D.M. and A.W. McKiernan, 2009, Evaluation of in situ smectite dehydration as a pore water freshening mechanism in the Nankai Trough, offshore southwest Japan, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 10(2), Q02010, doi:10.1029/2008GC002226
503 504 505
(43) Freed, R.I and D.R. Peacor, 1992, Diagenesis and the formation of authigenic illite-rich I/S crystals in Gulf Coast shales, TEM study of clay separates, Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 62(2), p.220-234
22
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Page 22 of 24
Page 23 of 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry
506 507
(44) Perry, E.A. and J. Hower, 1972, Late-state dehydration in deeply buried pelitic sediments, AAPG Bulletin, 56, p.2013-2021.
508 509
(45) Osborne, M.J. and R.E. Swarbrick, 1997, Mechanisms for Generating Overpressure in Sedimentary Basins: A Reevaluation, AAPG Bulletin, 81(6), p.1023–1041
510 511 512
(46) Milliken, K.L, 2003, Elemental transfer in sandstone–shale sequences, in Mackenzie, F.T., ed., Sediments, Diagenesis, and Sedimentary Rocks: Amsterdam, Elsevier, Treatise on Geochemistry, v. 7, p.159–190
513 514
(47) Mcallister, R.T., 2017, Diagenetic modifications of the Eagle Ford Formation: implications on chemical and physical properties, PhD Thesis, University of Manchester, UK, 251p.
515 516 517 518
(48) Jennings, D.S. and J. Antia, 2013, Petrographic characterization of the Eagle Ford Shale, South Texas: Mineralogy, common constituents, and distribution of nanometer-scale pore types, in W. Camp, E. Diaz, and B. Wawak, eds., Electron microscopy of shale hydrocarbon reservoirs: AAPG Memoir 102, p. 101–113.
519 520
(49) Powers, M.C., 1967, Fluid-Release Mechanisms in Compacting Marine Mudrocks and Their Importance in Oil Exploration, AAPG Bulletin, 51(7), p.1240-1254
521 522 523
(50) McMahon, B., B. MacKay, and A. Mirakyan, 2015, First 100% Reuse of Bakken Produced Water in Hybrid Treatments Using Inexpensive Polysaccharide Gelling Agents, Society of Petroleum Engineers, doi:10.2118/173783-MS
524
23
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
525
For TOC only
526
527 528
24
ACS Paragon Plus Environment
Page 24 of 24