Total Organic Carbon Computation

The Total Organic Carbon computation computes the total organic carbon (w/w) and kerogen volume (v/v) from well
logs using multiple methods.

Input variables

Name Unit Description Mandatory/Optional

Bulk Density g/cc Bulk Density Log Optional

Deep Resistivity Ohm.m Deep resistivity log Optional

Compressional Slowness Us/ft Compressional Slowness log Optional

Neutron Porosity v/v Neutron porosity log Optional

NMR Porosity v/v NMR Porosity Optional

Uranium Concentration Ppm Uranium Concentration Optional

TOC from Litho Scanner w/w TOC from Litho Scanner Optional

Grain Density g/cc Grain Density Optional

Total Organic Carbon Weight Total Organic Carbon Weight

w/w Optional
Fraction Fraction

Total Organic Carbon Volume Total Organic Carbon Volume

v/v Optional
Fraction Fraction

Parameters

Parameters for Schmoker tab

Name Unit Description Default value

Schmoker_A Unitless Schmoker A 154.497

Schmoker_B Unitless Schomker B 57.261

Parameters for DeltaLogR tab

Default
Name Unit Description
value
 Vitrnite Reflectance value used in the Passey
Vitrinite_Reflectance Unitless 0.9
Equation.

Baseline Resistivity of Shale in non-organic rich

Resistivity_Baseline Ohm.m 5
intervals.

Baseline Compressional Slowness of Shale in non-

DT_Baseline Us/ft 90
organic rich intervals.

Baseline Bulk Density of Shale in non-organic rich

RHOB_Baseline g/cc 2.3
intervals.

Baseline Neutron Porosity of Shale in non-organic

NPHI_Baseline v/v 0.3
rich intervals.

Option between Sonic, Density or Neutron Delta

DeltaLogR_Model Unitless Log R Model. Only one TOC is computed from Sonic
this method based on the selected model.

Either Type II or Type III is selected. TOC Type is

TOC_Type Unitless II
used to compute HI of Gas or HI of Oil and S2.

Parameters for Modified Schmocker tab

Default
Name Unit Description
value

Clay Grain Grain Density of Clay used to compute Average

g/cc 2.71
Density grain density

Weight fraction Clay used to compute Average grain

Weight Clay w/w 0.15
density

Weight Weight fraction Carbonate used to compute Average

w/w 0.4
Carbonate grain density

Weight fraction QFM used to compute Average grain

Weight QFM w/w 0.4
density

Weight fraction Pyrite used to compute Average

Weight Pyrite w/w 0.05
grain density

Parameters for NMR tab

Default
Name Unit Description
value

Clay Grain Grain Density of Clay used to compute Average grain

g/cc 2.71
Density density
 Weight fraction Clay used to compute Average grain
Weight Clay w/w 0.15
density

Weight Weight fraction Carbonate used to compute Average

w/w 0.4
Carbonate grain density

Weight fraction QFM used to compute Average grain

Weight QFM w/w 0.4
density

Weight fraction Pyrite used to compute Average grain

Weight Pyrite w/w 0.05
density

HI Pore Fluid v/v Hydrogen Index of Pore fluid 1

Density Pore
g/cc Average Density of the pore fluid 0.9
Fluid

Parameters for Uranium tab

Default
Name Unit Description
value

This is a multiplier on the Uranium Concentration to estimate

Gain Unitless 0.005
TOC.

Offset Unitless This is the y intercept in the Uranium TOC regression 0

Parameters for Kerogen Volume tab

Default
Name Unit Description
value

TOC does not account for other elements within

Conversion kerogen (H, O, N, S). The conversion factor accounts for
Unitless 1.2
Factor these missing elements and considers kerogen type and
maturity.

Kerogen Density of kerogen used to convert TOC to kerogen

g/cc 1.4
Density volume.

Parameters for FINAL tab

Default
Name Unit Description
value

TOC You can select 1 Method per zone. The selected method is
Unitless the Final TOC. You can splice different methods for the Schmoker
Method
final TOC. Final Kerogen Volume is computed from the
 Final TOC.

Outputs

Name Unit Description

TOC_Schmoker w/w TOC from Schmoker

TOC_NMR w/w TOC from NMR

TOC_Modified_Schmoker w/w TOC from Modified Schmoker

TOC_Uranium w/w TOC from Uranium

TOC_DeltaLogR w/w TOC from Delta Log R

TOC_Kerogen_Volume w/w TOC from an input Kerogen Volume

TOC Litho Scanner w/w TOC from Litho Scanner after processing

S2 S2

TOC_Final w/w Final Spliced TOC per zone

Kerogen Volume Final v/v Kerogen Volume computed from Final TOC

Grain_Density g/cc Grain Density

Running Total Organic Carbon computation

1. Click the Unconventionals tab > Shale Advisor group > TOC computation.
2. In the TOC computation data selection window, choose the input logs (family, alias or variable) that
you use to compute TOC and select Create.
You can compute Total Organic Carbon from one or all the methods. The available methods depend on the
selected inputs.
3. Drag the datasets into the Inputs tab.
Each tab corresponds to a different TOC method. Based on the input curves, the method parameters for any
method is enabled or disabled (a list of methods is available below). Kerogen volume is computed from the
final TOC.
a. Schmoker
b. Modified Schmoker
c. DeltaLogR
d. NMR
e. Uranium concentration
4. Under the Final tab, click the final TOC and kerogen volume method for each zone.
 5. Run the workflow in Save and display mode to save the results.
Note:
 The final Total Organic Carbon can be a combination of different methods for each zone
 The kerogen volume is only computed from the final TOC
 Choose at least one input to compute Total Organic Carbon
 Bulk Density is a compulsory input to compute Kerogen Volume

Equations

TOC from Schmoker

The Schmoker equation looks at the dependency of bulk density on TOC:

TOC from Modified Schmoker

TOC by Modified Schmoker is calculated as follows:

Grain density can either be input as a curve by the user or computed from the weight fractions.
The following grain densities are used in the calculation: QFM = 2.65, carbonate = 2.71, Pyrite=5

TOC from DeltaLogR

The Delta Log R by Passey 1990 is a technique where an overlay between a porosity log and a resistivity log is used to
capture the deviation from expected formation log response values due to the presence of organic matter.
 DeltaLogR_Sonic = log10 (RT / RT_Baseline) + 0.02 * (DT-DT_Baseline)
 DeltaLogR_Density = log10 (RT / RT_Baseline) - 2.5 * (RHOB – RHOB_Baseline)
 DeltaLogR_Neutron = log10 (RT / RT_Baseline) + 4 * (NEUT – NEUT_Baseline)
Level of Maturity is computed using laboratory Vitrinite Reflectance data.
LOM = 0.0989 * VR**5 - 2.1587*VR**4+ 12.392 * VR**3 - 29.032 * VR**2 + 32.53 * VR- 3.0338
Where:
 LOM = Level of maturity
 VR = Vitrinite reflectance value
TOC = DeltaLogR * 10 (2.297 – 0.1688 * LOM)
From Passey’s work, you can estimate the hydrogen index of the hydrocarbons as follows:
If TOC Type = II
HI Oil = .1028*LOM4 - 3.94*LOM3 + 50.4*LOM2 – 290 * LOM + 960
If TOC Type = III
HI Gas = .2914 * LOM4 - 11.64 * LOM3 + 169.57 * LOM2 – 1099 * LOM + 2863.2
S2 = HI * TOC
Where:
 HI = Hydrogen Index which is the ratio of the mass of hydrocarbons to the mass of TOC
 S2 = amount of hydrocarbons generated through thermal cracking (mg/g)
Note: The presence of Pyrite (a conductive mineral) can affect the accuracy of this method.

TOC from Uranium

You can linearly estimate TOC from uranium concentration as follows:

TOC = Uranium Concentration * Gain + Offset
Where:
You control Gain and offset to calibrate TOC from Uranium to lab measurements.

TOC from NMR

NMR porosity when combined with density porosity can provide an estimate of the kerogen content in the formation.

Where:
 RHOK = Kerogen Density
 CONV = Conversion Factor
 HI Pore Fluid = Hydrogen Index of Pore Fluid
 RHOG = Grain density
 RHOF = Apparent density of the pore fluid
Note: The calculation of the TOC from the porosity deficit method includes TOC from the
kerogen and unseen bitumen. Unseen bitumen is a function of the viscosity of the bitumen and
the echo spacing of the NMR measurement.

Kerogen Volume

Herron and Tendre 1986 described a model to compute the kerogen volume from total organic carbon content.

References

 Schmoker, J.W. and Hester, T.C., 1983, Organic Carbon in Bakken Formation, United States
Portion of Williston Basin, AAPG Bulletin, V67, No 12, PP 2165-2174
 Passey Q.R., Creaney S., Kulla J.B., Moretti F.J., Stroud J.D., 1990, A Practical Model for
Organic Richness from Porosity and Resistivity Logs, AAPG Bulletin, V64, No12, PP 1777-
1794
 Herron S.L. and Tendre L.L., 1990, Wireline Source-Rock Evaluation in the Paris Basin, AAPG
Studies in Geology, Vol 30, 57-71
 LeCompte B. and Hursan G., 2010, Quantifying source rock maturity from Logs: How to get
more than TOC from Delta Log R, SPE 133128
 Gonzalez J., Lewis R., Hemmingway J., Grau J., Rylander E., Schmitt R., 2013, Determination
of Formation Organic Carbon Content using a new Neutron_Induced Gamma Ray
 Spectroscopy Service That Directly Measures Carbon, SPWLA 54th Annual Logging
Symposium, June 22-26.
See Also:
Useful Measurements for Shale Advisor

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