1887
Volume 9, Issue 3
  • ISSN: 1354-0793
  • E-ISSN:

Abstract

The Muderong Shale is the regional top seal in the Carnarvon Basin on the Northwest Shelf of Australia. Evidence for top seal breach in this area comes from post-Muderong plays and hydrocarbon shows. Capillary pressure tests show this shale has the capability of restraining gas columns in excess of 250 m height, a value which is unlikely to be reached due to the intrinsic weakness of the Muderong Shale. Apart from one example, all hydrocarbon columns so far encountered in the Carnarvon Basin are well below this limit. Geomechanical testing of the Muderong Shale indicates it is a weak rock, commensurate with its high illite–smectite content. Comparison of laboratory-generated failure envelopes with in situ stress conditions suggest that intact Muderong Shale is not generally at risk of hydrofracture but that pre-existing faults and fractures may well be critically stressed in the present-day stress field. It is postulated that such faults and fractures may be responsible for top seal failure in the Muderong Shale and the resultant presence of hydrocarbons in the post-Muderong succession.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1144/1354-079302-557
2003-07-01
2024-03-28
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1144/1354-079302-557
Loading
/content/journals/10.1144/1354-079302-557
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): geomechanics; Muderong Shale; seal integrity; top seal

Most Cited This Month Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error