skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Computed Tomography Scanning and Geophysical Measurements of the Marcellus Formation from the Armstrong #1 Well

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1488443· OSTI ID:1488443
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [4]
  1. National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Morgantown, WV (United States); Oak Ridge Inst. for Science and Education (ORISE), Morgantown, WV (United States)
  2. National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Morgantown, WV (United States)
  3. National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Morgantown, WV (United States); AECOM, Morgantown, WV (United States)
  4. West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey, Morgantown, WV (United States)

The computed tomography (CT) facilities and the Multi-Sensor Core Logger (MSCL) at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown, West Virginia were used to characterize core from the Marcellus Formation. The core is from a vertical well (Armstrong #1) drilled in Taylor County, West Virginia by the Petroleum Development Corporation (7,545 to 7,783.4 ft). Core was provided by Phillip Dinterman, West Virginia Geologic and Economical Survey (WVGES) and Tim Carr and Keithan Martin, West Virginia University (WVU). The primary impetus of this work is a collaboration between NETL, WVGES, and WVU to characterize core from multiple wells to better understand the structure and variation of the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations. As part of this effort, bulk scans of core were obtained from the Armstrong #1 well. This report, and the associated scans, provide detailed datasets not typically available from unconventional shales for analysis. The resultant datasets are presented in this report, and can be accessed from NETL's Energy Data eXchange (EDX) online system using the following link: https://edx.netl.doe.gov/dataset/armstrong-well. All equipment and techniques used were non-destructive, enabling future examinations and analyses to be performed on these cores. None of the equipment used was suitable for direct visualization of the shale pore space, although fractures and discontinuities were detectable with the methods tested. Low resolution CT imagery with the NETL medical CT scanner was performed on the entire core. Qualitative analysis of the medical CT images, coupled with X-ray fluorescence (XRF), P-wave, and magnetic susceptibility measurements from the MSCL were useful in identifying zones of interest for more detailed analysis as well as fractured zones. The ability to quickly identify key areas for more detailed study with higher resolution will save time and resources in future studies. The combination of methods used provides a multi-scale analysis of the core; the resulting macro and micro descriptions are relevant to many subsurface energy related examinations traditionally performed at NETL.

Research Organization:
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)
DOE Contract Number:
FE0004000
OSTI ID:
1488443
Report Number(s):
NETL-PUB-22032
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English