Shale Gas and Oil Play Screening Criteria

This chapter introduces a new approach for shale gas and oil play screening criteria. The proposed approach takes into consideration a total of 15 parameters consisting of geomechanical, geochemical, and petrophysical properties in order to assess similarity with the 12 most common shale plays in North America. Statistical similarity and clustering analysis techniques reveal previously unknown relationships among the 12 shales. The proposed approach functions as a metric for quantifying degrees of similarity among the 12 shale plays and identifies operationally approved methods from analogous reservoir development in order to increase the potential recovery of existing shale natural gas and oil accumulations. The findings from this study have important implications for evaluating new shale plays and suggesting future development strategies.