Research on Shale Rock Physics Modeling

Shale gas is a very important unconventional oil and gas resource. The shale gas reservoir is different from the conventional oil and gas reservoir. It has strong anisotropy, complex mineral composition, diverse pores and other characteristics, which makes the rock physics models more complex, and many rock physics models are not accurate enough to describe the shale. Starting from the basic theory of rock physics model, this paper conducts anisotropic DEM rock physics modeling for Bakken shale with better prediction results. It is obvious that the model is better when kerogen is used as matrix by comparison. Moreover, on the basis of Wu modeling process, it is further considered that when there are vertical fractures in the shale, an orthotropic rock physics model is established to make the rock physics model closer to the real shale.