Data analysis and interpretation of well logs in NDI Carrara 1, Northern Territory

The recently drilled deep stratigraphic drill hole NDI Carrara 1 penetrates the carbonate formations of the Cambrian Georgina Basin as well as the underlying Proterozoic successions of the Carrara Sub-basin. The Proterozoic section consists predominantly of tight shales, siltstones, and calcareous clastic rocks. This study aims to assess the petrophysical properties of the Proterozoic shales using conventional wireline logs. Gamma ray and neutron-density crossplot were used to calculate shale volume fraction, and neutron-density crossplot was applied to compute the total and effective porosity. Total organic carbon (TOC) content was interpreted using artificial neural networks, and was used to derive the volume of organic matter was converted from TOC content. Bulk density logs were corrected by removing the kerogen effect in the organic-rich shales. Matrix and kerogen densities were obtained by correlating the reciprocal of grain density with TOC content. Total shale porosity was calculated from kerogen-corrected density porosity and organic porosity. Water saturation was derived using the dual-water equation. The Proterozoic Lawn Hill Formation in NDI Carrara 1 exhibits petrophysical properties that indicate a favourable potential for shale gas resources. Herein, we define three informal intervals within the intersected Lawn Hill Formation; the upper Lawn Hill, the Lawn Hill shale, and the lower Lawn Hill. The net shale thickness of the upper Lawn Hill and Lawn Hill shale intervals is 166.6 m and 150.3 m, respectively. The increased TOC content and organic porosity of the upper Lawn Hill and Lawn Hill shale implies higher adsorbed gas content potential. The Lawn Hill shale has the highest interpreted gas saturation (average of 33%) and the highest potential for free gas content, corresponding to the highest methane responses in logged mud gas profiles.