Print this pageThe Role of Mineral
Surface Processes During Burial and Hydrocarbon
Burial/Storage
Joniell Borges,
Projected hydrocarbon reserve estimates at current
consumption rates have focused the petroleum industry towards enhanced recovery
from conventional reservoirs and development of unconventional reserves. Although
large (33% of total reserves), our understanding of unconventional hydrocarbon reserves
is limited. This project seeks to improve our understanding of the origin/evolution
of unconventional hydrocarbon plays. Economic unconventional plays are
characterized by organic-rich sediments, 
thermal
histories conductive to oil
expulsion, gas generation, and some degree of natural fracture. Although many
such reservoirs produce significant quantities of gas, especially upon fracture
stimulation, we poorly understand where the gas resides and how it migrates out
of low-porosity and permeability lithologies. Previously, work has focused on
understanding fracture behavior, a critical parameter for play development. Less
attention is given towards understanding the nature and relationship of
lithologies to the contained organic matter (thermal maturation. The
key research questions include: (1) what is the relationship between mineral
surfaces and OC content; (2) how does mineral surface area (MSA) change with
variable diagenetic history; and (3) does MSA change and organic richness
correspond to changes in the behavior of the reservoir across thermal gradients?
Many researchers speculate that illitization of smectite during burial
diagenesis and primary migration of hydrocarbon is related, as these processes
occur at similar depths-temperature regimes. We attempt to test this idea in
the Niobrara Formation by evaluating clay-surface and maturation
, and finally
comparing these results to the estimated generation history of the source
rocks.