PETROPHYSICS, VOL. 59, NO. 2 (APRIL 2018); PAGES 113–117. DOI: 10.

30632/PJV59N2-2018t1

TUTORIAL
What is It About Shaly Sands?
Shaly Sand Tutorial No. 2 of 3
E. C. Thomas
Editor’s comment: This article is the third in a series of short “tutorial-like” notes styled to mentor users of digital well logs in becoming con¿dent
practitioners of petrophysics.

When we left Shaly Sands Tutorial No. 1, Easy Money investigated with sidewall samples. Solvent cuts at the
was riding high basking in the glow of having mastered wellsite indicated oil, and overnight we had cookouts that
the interpretation of low-contrast/low-resistivity shaly also indicated oil. Sample examination determined that the
sandstone formations. Or so he thought. Only too soon, Easy sandstone was moderately shaly! How could all of our usual
Money crashed and burned by missing a low-resistivity logging methods missed that this rock was shaly? Well, Easy
pay zone in what appeared to be a clean sandstone. Since it Money had more work to do to explain what happened and
looked to be shale-free, straight Archie was used resulting convince his team members that he would never miss this
in too-high water saturation to be considered as pay in a sort of zone again. I urge the reader to continue on with the
clean sandstone. How, you ask, was this zone recognized as remaining Shaly Sand Trilogy Tutorials and learn how Easy
a productive hydrocarbon-bearing zone? It is obvious from Money made sense out of these contradictory indicators
the scenario explained above that a logs-only interpretation by studying the chemical structure and physical chemical
was a bust. However, two very important data streams had properties of clay minerals.
yet to be reconciled: First, the mud log showed a substantial
gas show, coupled with a drilling break and faster drilling At this juncture of our journey on Shaly Sands,
through the entire zone. Second, Archie’s directive to all we include Fig. 8 from the Shaly Sands Tutorial Part 1
his petrophysicists was “Don’t forget to look at the rocks!” (Petrophysics, February, 2018).
So naturally a fast-drilling zone with gas shows had to be

Fig. 8—The chemical structures of the “Big Four” clay mineral species using Grim’s (1968) notation. Left to right: kaolinite, chlorite, smectite, and illite.
The legend shows the correspondence between color and atomic species.]

April 2018 PETROPHYSICS 113

 Tutorial - What is It About Shaly Sands? Shaly Sand Tutorial No. 2 of 3

Having this ¿gure available for reference is ideal; I shall has the same ȡma as the sandstone fraction, because the “Big
be referring to this ¿gure in subsequent discussions. The Four” clay minerals, each plotted as a pure mineral, fall
emphasis will be to explore the atoms and their properties, near the dolomite calibration line. Additionally, corrections
their positions in the molecular structure of the clay minerals for borehole temperature, pressure (density), Àushed zone
and the distinctive differences between the members of the temperature, pressure (density), salinity of the borehole
“Big Four.” It is these atomic and molecular properties that and Àushed zone, mud type and mud-weighting material
give rise to the perturbations of logging-tool responses that are required before proceeding with the interpretation of
make our quest for understanding unexpected tool responses CNL measurements. The propagation of many small errors
so interesting. It is truly “the thrill of the hunt” that leads introduces a signi¿cant error in the result. This latter fact was
us to ¿nd correct interpretations from a combination of veri¿ed beautifully by Jay Patchett many years ago (Patchett
downhole tool responses, mud logs, and core analyses and Coalson, 1979). Therefore, I feel we have answered the
results and yield in-situ petrophysical properties of rocks original response of 100% water-¿lled shales reading way
from reservoirs we can never see except in our mind’s eyes too high on a CNL response. If one has 55% bulk volume of
(and, of course, the pictures developed and drawn by expert any mix of clay minerals in this shale, one can easily explain
subsurface geologists). a 30- to 40-p.u. response in a 10-p.u. water-¿lled shale. And
The ¿rst anomalous tool response we cover is the we can expect problems if one uses the CNL in a scheme to
unrealistically high porosity values produced in 100% water- calculate volumetric concentration of shale, Vsh (Note that
saturated shales by a compensated thermal-neutron logging Vsh is not equal to volumetric concentration of clay minerals,
tool, e.g. the CNL, which can read 35 porosity units (p.u.) Vclay) to use in a shaly-sand interpretation equation and not
when the actual porosity is 10 p.u. These devices respond to take into account the clay mineral species. The presence of
the variation in the amount of hydrogen in the pore space and residual gas in the Àushed zone makes this computation even
are calibrated in 100% freshwater-¿lled calcite. For this rock dicier.
type, limestone, the only place one ¿nds hydrogen is in the Now to discuss the problem of a shaly sandstone that
pore space as part of water, H2O. However, shales can contain appears to be clean on a gamma-ray log response. This
25 to 55% clay minerals and we observe in “Figure 8” that is one of the pathological cases that when encountered
all of the members of the “Big Four” contain hydrogen as one never forgets. When one is used to observing shaly
an integral part of their chemical/molecular structures. The sandstones show up as higher gamma-ray responses, one
thermal neutrons used to detect and measure the presence of can be lulled into thinking that this condition is ubiquitous.
hydrogen by CNL tools, or any other thermal-neutron tool, Ah, such is life! We give high status to imperfect humans
cannot distinguish between hydrogen in liquids and hydrogen and are disappointed when these same humans make stupid
in solids, such as clay minerals. In Figure 8 one observes that mistakes. Please take a look at the atoms in the molecular
hydrogen is present as part of the hydroxyl ions (OH-) which structures of the “Big Four” in “Figure 8.” Look for the atoms
are included only in the alumina octahedral molecule. It now that we know produce gamma rays of suf¿cient energy such
becomes obvious that in 2:1 clay minerals, e.g., smectite and that they can exit the formation and enter the sonde to be
illite, there is much less hydrogen than in 1:1 clay minerals, measured by an internal scintillation detector, e.g., potassium
e.g. kaolinite and chlorite. Thus if we wish to quantify the (K), thorium (Th) and uranium (U). The only such atom
effect of clay minerals on CNL measurements, we must ¿rst that we ¿nd in “Figure 8” is a potassium ion in illite. Thus
determine the clay mineral type(s) and their quantity(ies). we might incorrectly conclude that every shale that has a
Fortunately, the morphology of clay minerals does not affect gamma-ray signature must contain Illite. Well, again we see
CNL measurements, only the volume moderated by the that life is not that simple. But to some extent the concept of
hydrogen index (HI) of a particular clay mineral, e.g., (VIllite) illite everywhere is supported by the statistical fact that the
(HIIllite). The hydrogen index of 1:1 clay minerals is almost most abundant clay mineral in the earth’s crust is illite—just
twice that of 2:1 clay minerals. Thus it is much more dif¿cult not the only one. Thorium and uranium ions can be triply
to extract a value of total porosity from any logging suite charged and adsorb tightly to the surface of minerals in the
using the CNL than if we use the density log, e.g., LDT, subsurface. Clay minerals have 106 larger speci¿c surface
alone when we have core data to give us ȡma (grain density). (surface-to-volume ratio) than quartz. Hence clay minerals
Because the original CNL calibration was in freshwater- will always grab the lion’s share of these ions. They displace
¿lled limestone, there must be a shift to obtain the equivalent sodium exchange ions. Therefore, clay minerals that have
sandstone response. There are many fewer calibration points high exchange capacity will also have more than their
for sandstone, and for shaly sandstones, the shale component volume share of thorium and uranium. Recall that the order
does not fall on the sandstone line, even if the clay mineral of magnitude of exchange capacity is: chlorite < kaolinite

114 PETROPHYSICS April 2018

 Tutorial - What is It About Shaly Sands? Shaly Sand Tutorial No. 2 of 3

<< illite <<< smectite. Accordingly, chlorite ends up having since everyone “knows” how to determine Vsh anyway! But
very, very little radioactive signature. Thus, when it is the now I am going to upset all those in the “know” and discuss
dominant clay mineral in a rock formation, the formation why one should never compute and use Vsh in a routine
can pass for clean rather than the shaly formation that it manner, particularly when having to make “pay” calls in
actually is. The second fact is that chlorite grows in thick high-risk wells.
forests perpendicular to grain surfaces; on thin sections it Let us begin the narrative on Vsh by making sure that
looks like the grain is fuzzy. everyone “knows” what the proper de¿nition of shale is.
This morphology of chlorite on the surface of sandstone First and foremost one must understand that there is NOT a
grains gives rise to abundant microporosity. Because of the single rock type named shale. Shale is de¿ned as a mixture
chlorite pore’s small size, its capillary pressure is quite high of two size ranges of particles, irrespective of what the
and the pores tenaciously hold on to their water, leading to a particles are. We use the Wentworth size scale which uses
quite high pore volume of irreducible water. In many cases, the median grain size of any sample of particles to de¿ne
this fuzz can hold 50 to 60% water, but will not produce a the ranges in common use for cobble, pebble, gravel, sand,
drop. Only the 40 to 50% hydrocarbons will Àow. Also this silt and clay. Silt covers the range 4 to 62 ȝm while clay
high irreducible pore volume of water leads to many, many includes particles smaller than 4 ȝm. Note that there is no
water ¿lled paths to Àow electric current and the result is a mineral type speci¿ed in the Wentworth scale. One source of
low resistivity, very low in many cases. Hence the pathologic confusion arises because one group of minerals that falls in
case is a high porosity, chlorite shaly sandstone with chlorite the clay-sized range is the clay minerals. Clay-sized particles
in the grain-coating morphology, resulting in low resistivity, can also be quartz, feldspar, calcite, siderite, dolomite,
even when hydrocarbon-bearing, and with low gamma-ray kerogen, etc. Shales are then de¿ned as a mixture of silt-
response. Chlorite fuzz on the grains can easily be observed sized and clay-sized particles, with at least 25% by volume
with a hand lens on sidewall-core samples. You must look at being clay minerals. These particles are carried by rivers,
the rocks or you will miss this one. Thanks for the advice, which Àow into the ocean, e.g., the Gulf of Mexico. Once
Archie! Easy Money forgot this lesson and mistook the zone the river water Àows into the Gulf it spreads out, its velocity
for a clean sandstone (chlorite has little gamma-ray activity) drops inversely proportional to the distance from the river
with low resistivity (chlorite platelets growing perpendicular mouth. Fast-Àowing water can carry sand-sized particles,
to the grain face produce abundant microporosity that will but once the river Àows into the Gulf its velocity can no
remain water-¿lled, thereby resulting in low resistivity.) longer carry sand-size particle and they settle to the bottom
Thus, we explain the bust mentioned in the ¿rst paragraph. as river-mouth bars. The ¿ner particles are then carried
We cannot lose sight of the fact that more than just further away from the river mouth until the velocity drops to
porosity and hydrocarbon saturation must be considered for where the silt-sized particles drop to the bottom. Finally, in
us to label a zone as “pay.” The determination of relative deeper water the velocity is low enough that even clay-sized
permeability of the hydrocarbon phase and the absolute particles can settle out. Because the velocity of the river
permeability of the zone must be deduced in order to predict changes through the seasons, the places where the particles
the inÀow performance of this zone; can we pay off the settle move farther then closer then farther then closer to
completion costs? Will sustained Àow last long enough to the river mouth resulting in the mix we call “shale.” Closer
pay out facilities and connections to existing pipelines? to the river mouth, shales are silt-rich, while those farthest
These are questions that need the synergy of petrophysical, from the river mouth become clay-rich, and of course any
geological, reservoir and production engineering to ¿nd a intermediate distances will have Àuctuations of the volume
reliable answer. But there is a petrophysical measurement of each of the size ranges of particles. Thus, at any distance
that is a root cause and understanding or lack thereof for and/or depth we can ¿nd no single rock type we can call
predicting inÀow performance. The quantity I refer to is shale. It is a continuum of mixes of silt-sized and clay-sized
the ubiquitous Vsh , the fractional bulk volume of shale in a particles, and therefore we must characterize each shale
“pay” zone. layer, bed, or zone as unique. This process I have described
There are numerous equations using Vsh as a parameter is called detrital deposition of shales and silts and sands.
to compute rock properties, such as effective porosity and Seasonal Àow in this environment gives rise to laminated
water saturation, in shaly sandstones. Unfortunately, users sandstones and shales. The thickness of any sandstone or
of these numerous equations have at least a dozen empirical shale layer is subject to seasonal changes and thus exists in
methods to choose from when they need Vsh. Since Vsh has an in¿nite number of combinations. A shale layer above a
been used as a parameter in equations for over 60 years, few sandstone layer and/or below a sandstone layer may be clay-
equations come with instructions on how to compute Vsh rich or silt-rich and if the sandstone layer is a shaly sandstone,

April 2018 PETROPHYSICS 115

 Tutorial - What is It About Shaly Sands? Shaly Sand Tutorial No. 2 of 3

we must determine which of the over- or underlying shale an ideal place for clay-mineral platelet aggregates to settle.
to use when describing the shale laminations in the shaly The result is mud with all type of benthic worms, clams,
sandstone. I recommend asking for help from your team’s etc. and the ¿nal product is a bioturbated clay-mineral-rich
geologist when making this important decision. Let us add shale.
a few more speci¿cs about shales to help us use the terms The Àuid velocity gives us a picture of the laminated
correctly. I think it would be valuable, especially for new environment at the time of deposition. Of course, the river
professionals, to de¿ne/clarify the differences between keeps on dumping sediment into the Gulf and sediments
claystone, mudstone, and shale. These terms are frequently, settle, compact, and become buried by more sediment. As a
and oftentimes incorrectly, used interchangeably. given layer is buried deeper, temperature increases and grain
In particular, shales are de¿ned as LAMINATED solubility increases. The result is that higher concentrations
indurated rocks with >67% clay-sized minerals, whereas of ions that are needed to grow clay minerals are present.
mudstone, which may have the same texture and At this juncture of burial and increased depths, authigenic
composition as a shale, lacks the lamination and ¿ssility clay minerals can form in the pores of sandstones. The
of a shale (Jackson, 1997). While some might say “the particular species of clay mineral generated depends upon
difference is semantics” or “who cares,” geologists will the atomic ions and their concentrations present—but note
argue that the difference has signi¿cant implications for that these are clay minerals are not, I repeat, NOT shales.
identifying and de¿ning different depositional environments The morphology of the clay-mineral platelets depends upon
and constructing the underlying reservoir geological model, the clay mineral being generated; at least at this juncture.
which ultimately has signi¿cance for planning production. With higher temperature and pressure, some species of clay
Mudstone is a more general term that can include, minerals can undergo transformation to another species.
clay, silt, claystone, siltstone, shale etc. According to some This transformation results in loss of interlayer water and
de¿nitions, this term should be used when the volumes of exchange ions. For a different species, silica and water
clay, silt, and sand are unknown, not speci¿ed, or cannot not are lost during the transformation. For both clay-mineral
be precisely identi¿ed (Jackson, 1997). species undergoing this diagenetic change, the end result is
We frequently speak of massive shales based on well- a morphology that results in loss of permeability. The loss
log signatures; however, in the strict sense, unless we of water by both minerals contributes to overpressure in the
know for sure (high-resolution well logs, perhaps) that pore Àuid of the shale.
the stratigraphic unit in question (or formation) is actually The erosion of existing sandstones and shales creates
laminated, it is more likely a mudstone. the source of sediments carried into rivers that form future
Note: In addition to water velocity affecting settling rate sandstones and shales. Shales tend to Àake and produce
of particles, there is an effect that is speci¿c to clay minerals. larger particles at the source. They are softer and do erode
Recall that the surfaces of clay minerals have negative into smaller particles as they are transported, but some can
charge defects that we have called exchange-ion sites. When survive as sand-sized shale particles that become deposited
in rainwater, creek water, river water there are no dissolved with sandstones. They will be found in load-bearing positions
sodium ions to balance out the negative charges. The best that and are referred to as structural shale in the sandstone bed.
can happen is the positive ends of the polar water molecules Thus, we now observe that a shaly sandstone can have
can orient to the negative defect thus wetting the surface. the shaly portion located in different positions. The dominate
But the negative charge is still there and when clay-mineral mode of deposition for shale is as laminations. This is the
platelets are dispersed in rainwater, individual clay-mineral detrital mode. Often the adjacent sandstone lamination
platelets see each other’s negative aura and repel each other has no shale or very little shale. Thus the productivity of
offsetting gravitational settling. Once the river deposits clean sandstone laminae is not diminished by shale laminae,
reach the salty ocean, mixing gradually raises the salinity. except by the geometrical reduction in thickness of the
The result of this process is higher salinity surrounding the productive interval; 30 to 60 % shale laminations in a zone
clay-mineral platelets being held in suspension. Once the may still produce adequately with enough thickness because
salinity nears seawater concentration, the dissolved ions the sandstone laminations are clean or nearly so. If you have
now shield a clay-mineral platelet from its neighbors and not had the chance to view a slabbed core of shaly sandstone,
when the clay-mineral platelets bump into each other, they it can be an informative visit. Also, borehole imaging tools
form aggregates that are much larger, which in turn causes visually show, in false color, laminations and their thickness.
them to settle faster, and in bays in the Mississippi bird’s- Structural shale also has little effect on producibility, as
foot delta are fed by longshore currents parallel to the coast. solid quartz grains are being replaced by porous shale grains.
These bays are sheltered, resulting in quiet water, which is The gamma-ray response will be higher due to quartz grains

116 PETROPHYSICS April 2018

 Tutorial - What is It About Shaly Sands? Shaly Sand Tutorial No. 2 of 3

being replaced by shale grains, so the zone may appear too spanned the entire ¿eld of formation evaluation/reservoir
shaly to be pay. Look at the rocks to spot this situation. characterization, i.e., petrophysics. In 1992, he wrote a
When we encounter authigenic clay minerals we observe biographical sketch of Gus Archie for The Log Analyst to
a disproportional reduction in producibility because clay commemorate the 50th anniversary of the publication of the
minerals are located in pore spaces. Pore throats represent Archie Equation.
about 2% of the pore space, but just a small amount of clay E.C. retired from Shell E&P Technology Company as
minerals growing in the throat can reduce the permeability a Petrophysical Advisor where he actively pursued research
very quickly. Consequently, while this morphology is and ¿eld evaluation topics in the area of Petrophysics
not a widespread problem, when authigenic clay mineral for over 32 years. He also authored and taught basic,
deposition occurs in pore throats it can limit production. intermediate and advanced courses in petrophysics for more
Due to errors in measurements and statistical variations, than seven years at Shell’s Training Center. E.C. ‘s academic
observing 5% pore-¿lling clay minerals is approximately background includes a BS in Chemistry from LSU, a PhD
the lower limit for wireline gamma-ray tools, therefore once in Physical Chemistry from Stanford University, and a year
again, we must look at the rocks to detect below this level. of postdoctoral research in Physical Chemistry at Princeton
And here is the dilemma: If we rely on a simple University
gamma-ray response to determine Vsh, we will be observing E.C. has served SPWLA and SPE in many capacities,
the combined laminated, dispersed and structural shale including SPE Distinguished Lecturer and chairman of the
components. For a given volume of shale, each of these 1998 Archie Conference. Professional recognitions have
modes results in a different porosity. Additionally, each of included invitations to serve as keynote speaker at several
these modes of deposition affects the electrical response in SPE and SPWLA regional and topical conferences, and at the
different ways. Shale laminations give rise to anisotropic 2005 SPWLA Annual Symposium. In 2000, E.C. received
effects, but do not affect current Àow in the clean sandstone the SPWLA Distinguished Technical Achievement Award;
layers. If one uses a Vsh, with adjacent shale resistivity to and in 2004, the SPWLA Gold Medal Award for Technical
make a double-layer model correction, the correction will be Achievement. E.C. served as a Petrophysical Consultant to
too large. A Vsh shale correction for anisotropy is inadequate, the President’s Commission investigating the BP-Deepwater
while a Vsh correction for structural shale effects on electrical Horizon blowout and resulting oil spill. E.C. currently serves
measurements gives rise to an overcorrection. as a technical reviewer for Petrophysics and SPE Reservoir
The discussion immediately above is aimed at establishing Evaluation & Engineering.
where simple Vsh methods can produce misleading results.
At this juncture I have not given the reader any guidance on
how to make appropriate corrections for differing modes of
occurrence for shaliness. I will provide some guidance in the
last chapter of the Trilogy on Shaly Sands, stay tuned…

REFERENCES

Jackson, J.A., 1997, Glossary of Geology, Fourth Edition,

American Geological Institute. ISBN: 0-922152-34-9.
Patchett, J.G., and Coalson, E.B., 1979, The Determination
of Porosity in Sandstones and Shaly sandstones, Part
One—Quality Control, The Log Analyst, 20(6), 3–12.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

E.C. Thomas is a consulting

petrophysicist and owner of Bayou
Petrophysics and provides technical
training in shaly sand analyses and
all other areas of petrophysics for
Petroskills. E.C.’s professional
career interests and publications have

April 2018 PETROPHYSICS 117