Exploring the untapped gas potential of Ghazij shale in Pirkoh area, Pakistan: Integrated approach of attribute analysis and maturity modeling

A correlative maturity study integrated with seismic attributes for determining the shale gas potential of Ghazij Formation is carried out. Analysis of post-stack seismic attributes has been frequently used to identify areas of high exploration potential within shale resource plays. Seismic and well data have been utilized for the analysis of maturity trends in the shale facies of Ghazij Formation. Total organic carbon content (TOC), burial history, Vitrinite Reflectance (Ro), thermal history and porosity values have been computed at Pirkoh-01 well, which are laterally compared with the maturity results in Bambor and Sui areas. In addition, analysis is carried out to detect the bright spots using the seismic attributes, which depicts positive results for the presence of the sweet spots around 1100-1350 ms in the southern synclinal part of the study area. The computed results showed that Ghazij shales lie within the oil and gas generation window having temperature values ranging between 90-150 degrees C with 0.7%-1.3% Ro. This correlative maturity study declares Ghazij Formation as a potential shale gas reservoir. After analyzing all these facts, it can be concluded that the shales of the Ghazij Formation do have some potential of a source rock.