Haynesville and Bossier Shales (Upper Jurassic), East Texas and Northwest Louisiana
By Ursula Hammes, Hammes Energy & Consultants, Austin, TX, USA
The Kimmeridgian/Tithonian Haynesville and Bossier Shales span more than 16 counties and parishes along the boundary of eastern Texas and western Louisiana. Basement structures and salt movement influenced carbonate and siliciclastic sedimentation associated with the opening of the Gulf of Mexico forming the Haynesville basin. The Haynesville shale is an organic- and carbonate-rich mudrock that was deposited in a deep, partly euxinic and anoxic basin during Kimmeridgian to early Tithonian time, related to a second-order transgression that deposited organic-rich black shales worldwide. The overlying Bossier shale is intermittently organic-rich related to third-order sea-level transgressions and exhibit similar organic-rich facies as the Haynesville Shale (Hammes et al., 2012). The Haynesville basin was surrounded by carbonate shelves of the Smackover and Haynesville lime Louark sequence in the north and west. Several rivers supplied sand and mud from the northwest, north, and northeast into the basin. Haynesville/Bossier mudrocks contain a spectrum of facies ranging from more calcareous in the southern part of the productive area to more siliceous and argillaceous in the northern and eastern part of the productive area (Fig. 1; Hammes et al., 2011). Haynesville and organic-rich Bossier reservoirs are characterized by overpressure (0.9 psi/ft), high porosity averaging 8–12%, low Sw of 20–30%, nano-darcy permeabilities, reservoir thickness of 200-300 ft (70–100m), and initial production ranging from 3 to 30 MMCFE/day (Wang and Hammes, 2010). Reservoir depth ranges from 9,000 to 14,000 ft (3000–4700 m), and lateral drilling distances range between 4,600-10,000’ using slick water fluid, 30000-4000 lbs/ft proppant with 100-150’ frac intervals and 20-30’ cluster spacing (Goodrich Investor presentation, 2019).
The Haynesville/Bossier producing areas are strategically located near petrochemical complexes and LNG export facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast, which helps facilitate rapid “spuds-to-sales” cycle times. Although the global pandemic had a minor impact on production in this basin in 2020 (Fig. 2), the play recently showed its highest production since inception due to new well design (extended reach laterals, increased proppant loading/concentration), re-fracs of existing wells and associated incremental production, as well as huge development inventory from existing locations and pad drilling (Figs. 2, 3). One of the advantages of the Haynesville shale gas is that it is dry gas and will not have to be processed before being liquefied. In terms of activity, Northwestern Louisiana historically has been the “sweet spot” related to higher percent weight of total organic content (TOC), higher average total porosity and higher original gas in place (OGIP; Fig. 4); however, increasing permits in East Texas, notably the Shelby Trough and Angelina River Trend (ART) is reflected in the higher production of Texas gas and condensate in 2021 (Fig. 5). Additional information on the Haynesville can be found at the Texas Railroad Commission https://www.rrc.texas.gov/oil-and-gas/major-oil-and-gas-formations/haynesville-bossier-shale/ and from Louisiana Oil and Gas association http://dnr.louisiana.gov/index.cfm?md=pagebuilder&tmp=home&pid=442 accessed August,2021.
References[edit]
Goodrich Investor presentation, April 2019, accessed April 24, 2019.
Hammes, U., H.S. Hamlin, and T.E. Ewing, 2011, Geologic analysis of the Upper Jurassic Haynesville Shale in east Texas and west Louisiana: AAPG Bull., v. 95, p. 1643-1666.
Hammes, U., and G. Frébourg, 2012, Haynesville and Bossier mudrocks: A facies and sequence stratigraphic investigation, East Texas and Louisiana, USA: Marine and Petroleum Geology (2011), doi: 10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2011.10.001.
Shaleprofile, 2021: https://shaleprofile.com/blog/haynesville/haynesville-update-through-april-2021/ Accessed July 2021.
Wang, F.P., and U. Hammes, 2010, Effects of petrophysical factors on Haynesville fluid flow and production: World Oil, D79-D82.
Wang, F.P., U. Hammes, and Q. Li, 2013, An overview of Haynesville Shale production, in, Hammes, U., and J. Gale, (2013): Geology of the Haynesville Gas Shale in East Texas and West Louisiana, USA: AAPG Memoir 105, p. 155-178.