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Abstract

AAPG Bulletin, V. 89, No. 9 (September 2005), P. 1113-1137.

Copyright copy2005. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.

DOI:10.1306/04220504099

Structure, petrophysics, and diagenesis of shale entrained along a normal fault at Black Diamond Mines, California—Implications for fault seal

Peter Eichhubl,1 Peter S. D'Onfro,2 Atilla Aydin,3 John Waters,4 Douglas K. McCarty5

1Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305; present address: Department of Physical and Life Sciences, Texas AampM University–Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412; [email protected]
2ConocoPhillips, P.O. Box 2197, Houston, Texas 77252-2197; [email protected]
3Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305; [email protected]
4Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve, Antioch, California 94509; [email protected]
5ChevronTexaco, 3901 Briarpark, Houston, Texas 77042; [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The structure, texture, composition, and capillary-pressure resistance were assessed for shale deformed along a normal fault with 9 m (29 ft) of dip separation. Shale is entrained Previous HitfromNext Hit a 1.6-m (5-ft)-thick source layer into the fault zone and attenuated to about 5 cm (2 in.). A quantitative analysis of shale mineral composition indicates that little material is contributed to the fault rock Previous HitfromNext Hit the Previous HitsandstoneNext Hit units that over- and underlie the shale source layer. This finding is in contrast to common predictive models of fault sealing that assume mechanical wear along the fault surfaces. Instead, shale entrainment is inferred to result Previous HitfromNext Hit incipient distributed shear across a zone of deformation bands in the over- and underlying Previous HitsandstoneNext Hit, granular flow of the shale, and the increasing localization of deformation in the shale core or along the shale-Previous HitsandstoneNext Hit interfaces of the evolving fault zone. The composition of deformed shale indicates the effective mixing of clay- and quartz-rich layers of the shaly source unit by granular flow during shale deformation.

Capillary displacement pressures of deformed shale are 30% higher compared to the most clay-rich undeformed shale outside the fault. This increase in sealing capacity, in combination with a 50% anisotropy in capillary displacement pressure, is primarily attributed to the development of a planar fabric in deformed shale. Enhanced clay diagenesis likely contributed to the increase in shale sealing capacity. We conclude that fault seal by shale entrainment involves a variety of structural, textural, and diagenetic processes that require an integrated methodology for improved predictions of fault-sealing capacity.

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