Estimates of Oil and Gas Potential of Source Rock by 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy

Abstract:

Kerogen is defined as the insoluble fraction of organic matter preserved in sediments. Due to its structural complexity, kerogen is poorly understood, yet it holds vast economic importance as petroleum source rock, and represents the largest organic carbon pool on earth. Kerogen originates from a mixture of organic biomolecules and tends to be dominated by the polymeric components of cell walls and cellular membranes, which undergo interactions with sedimentary minerals at elevated temperature and pressure upon burial. Due to the importance of burial diagenesis to petroleum formation, much of our knowledge of chemical properties of kerogens is related to diagenetic and catagenetic effects. The more common geochemical evaluations of the oil and gas potentials of source rock are based upon proximate analyses such as hydrogen and oxygen indices and thermal stability indices, such as those provided by Fisher assay and Rock Eval®. However, proximate analyses provide limited information regarding the chemical structure of kerogens, and therefore provide little insight to the processes of kerogen formation. NMR spectra of kerogen have been previously shown to be useful in estimating oil and gas potential, and the proposed study seeks to refine nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy as a tool in kerogen characterization, specifically for the purpose of oil and gas potential calculations.