Go East Young Man: Trends in the Ohio Utica Shale

The recent shale gas boom and widespread use of horizontal fracturing has brought much oil and gas company attention to the northern Appalachian region of the United States. The Utica Shale, which dates back 450 million years ago, in Ohio is a large area of exploration. The minerals that make up a rock affect how it breaks when subject to fracking fluids, as clays tend to bend and deform while rocks bearing more crystalline minerals, such as quartz and carbonates, fracture nicely, allowing more recovery of hydrocarbons. Total organic carbon (TOC) is a good indicator of how much oil and gas is available in a rock. This study set out to see if there is a correlation between mineralogy with a focus on clay content, TOC, and location within the Utica Shale.