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Lithofacies summary of the Mississippian Barnett Shale, Mitchell 2 T.P. Sims well, Wise County, Texas

¹ Applied Reservoir Petrology, LLC, Dallas, Texas 75214; applrespet{at}msn.com
² Matador Resources, Dallas, Texas 75240; BHenk{at}matadorresources.com

Jim Hickey enjoyed a long career with ARCO, mostly in technical service and research positions in Plano, Texas. He earned his B.S. degree in geology from the California Institute of Technology and obtained a Ph.D. in geology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is now a consultant with Applied Reservoir Petrology, LLC, where he has gained considerable experience in the petrology of unconventional reservoirs.

Bo Henk spent a 19 years at ARCO in a variety of exploration positions, both domestic and international. He is pursuing a dissertation under George Pemberton on the reservoir consequences of bioturbation. Bo is the chief geologist for Matador Resources of Dallas, with a particular expertise in tight gas sandstones and gas shales in several basins across the United States.

The Mississippian Barnett Shale is an important hydrocarbon source rock and has recently developed into a very active gas-shale play. Commonly viewed as a homogeneous black shale, the Barnett actually consists of a variety of organic-rich lithofacies of siliceous, calcareous, or phosphatic composition. Recognition of the different lithofacies is an important step in the evaluation of gas in place, flow capacity, and mechanical properties of the Barnett. Petrographic study of conventional core samples from the lower part of the Barnett has led to the recognition of the following rock types: organic-rich black shale, fossiliferous shale, dolomite rhomb shale, dolomitic shale, phosphatic shale, and concretionary carbonate. Measured total organic carbon values, averaged by rock type, range by a factor of nearly two, with the organic-rich shale and phosphatic shale having the highest values. The development of these lithofacies is a result of suspension fallout and sediment gravity flows combined with the extensive early microbial alteration of abundant organic matter. The lithofacies vary in petrophysical and mechanical properties, as well as organic content.

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