Source rocks evaluation

Espitalie J. and Bordenave M. L. (1993) Screening techniques for source rock evaluation tools for source rock routine analysis Rock-Eval pyrolysis. In Applied Petroleum Geochemistry (ed. M. L. Bordenave). Editions Technip, Paris, France, pp. 237-261. 

Herron, S. L. Le Tendre, L. (1990) Wireline source-rock evaluation in the Paris Basin. In Deposition of Organic Fades (Ed. Hue, A.Y.) Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol., Studies in Geology, 30, 57-71. 

S. Source rock potential of shale A relation exists between the uranium-to-potassium ratio and the organic carbon content. The source rock potential of shale can thus be evaluated. 

In the same way that certain biomarkers have been used to characterize source materials and depositional environments, selected biomarkers have been used to evaluate the relative maturity of suspected source rocks and the oils they may have generated. As more samples have been examined and our understanding of changes resulting from differences in maturity has improved, many of the maturity ratios and their associated interpretations have changed, although the end result is often the... 

Peters K. E. (1986) Guidelines for evaluating petroleum source rocks using programmed pyrolysis. Am. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bull. 70, 318-329. 

Marshall C. P., Wilson M. A., Hartung-Kagi B., and Hart G. (2001) Potential of emission Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for in situ evaluation of kerogen in source rocks during pyrolysis. Chem. Geol. 175, 623-633. 

Petroleum exploration and production activities are performed primarily by geologists, geophysicists, and engineers. Geologists look for areas of the earth where sediments accumulate. They then examine the area of interest more closely to determine whether or not source rocks and reservoir rocks exist there. They examine the rocks at the surface of the earth and information from wells drilled in the area. Geologists also examine satellite images of large or remote areas to evaluate the rocks more quickly. 

The main types of raw data used in the analysis of secondary hydrocarbon migration systems for basin evaluation are those relating to present and past physico-chemical characteristics of groundwater (groundwater pressures, temperatures, salinities, chemical compositions) and porosities and permeabilities of the subsurface. In addition, information on the physicochemical characteristics of source rocks and of hydrocarbon acciuuulations is necessary to complete the quantitative assessment of hydrocarbon migration systems. 

For each time period the resulting information on directions and lengths of preferred paths of hydrocarbon migration can be used to evaluate the potential distribution of hydrocarbons that have migrated from known or inferred source rock positions and the possibility of the previously accumulated hydrocarbons being destroyed or remigrated. 

The concept of asphaltene as a tracer of maturity brings us to the concept of active kitchen determination . The asphaltene kinetics delineates the P T conditions which have been subjected to the source rock and contributed to the accumulation. From numerical modelling these areas are identified, compared to traditional SR kinetics and evaluated from the migration modelling. 

The fundamental question asked when evaluating an exploration prospect is how much hydrocarbon resource is in place To answer this question, the conventional reservoir engineering approach is to compute the probable reservoir hydrocarbon pore volume, i.e. the size and extent of the hydrocarbon container , from estimates of reservoir rock and fluid properties. Uncertainties in the geological model, source rock characteristics, trapping mechanisms and seal rock effectiveness, and the presence of sufficient reservoir rock for commercial hydrocarbon production, are often represented as a singlevalued probability of success. 

The effective-to-general shale thickness ratio is a factor which determines the ability (or inability) of hydrocarbons to migrate from source rocks. In this context, of definite interest for evaluating the amount of generated hydrocarbons were also the less thick shale beds in the Ghadames, Illizi, Triassic and Reggane Basins. 

Modeling of the burial of the basin and of the formation of the hydrocarbons allows us to calculate changes in the thickness of the sedimentary successions and the thermal regime of the sedimentary cover of the platform and to evaluate the generation of hydrocarbons in the source rocks of the basin. Alternative methods for calculating the variations of the tectonic subsidence amplitude of the top of the... 

Recently, significance of coal petrology has been demonstrated in CBM exploration and in potential sequestration of carbon dioxide in coal seams. Techniques developed in the study of coal are also used in the investigation of organic-rich rocks to evaluate source rocks in petroleum and natural gas exploration. 

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