What is kerogen shale?
kerogen, complex waxy mixture of hydrocarbon compounds that is the primary organic component of oil shale. Kerogen consists mainly of paraffin hydrocarbons, though the solid mixture also incorporates nitrogen and sulfur. Kerogen is insoluble in water and in organic solvents such as benzene or alcohol.
What are the characteristics of oil shale?
Oil Shale is organic-rich sedimentary rocks that have contain kerogen (insoluble organic matter in sedimentary rock. When subjected to intense heat, these shales yield oil. Oil shales range from brown to black in color. They are flammable and burn with a sooty flame.
What compounds are typically lost during the creation of kerogen?
Resulting changes in the burial temperatures and pressures lead to further changes in kerogen composition including loss of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and their associated functional groups, and subsequent isomerization and aromatization Such changes are indicative of the thermal maturity state of kerogen.
Is shale porous and permeable?
Shales are characterized by very low porosity (typically less than 5%) and very low permeability (typically less than 1,000 nD), which make them challenging in recovering economically viable hydrocarbons.
What is difference between kerogen and bitumen?
Kerogen—the organic matter that is solid and insoluble in organic solvents—is a key component of organic-rich mudstones. Kerogen is consumed during thermal maturation, whereas bitumen is an intermediary formed at low maturity from kerogen and consumed at higher maturities in formation of oil and gas.
How do you identify kerogen?
Determining kerogen quality The type of kerogen present in a rock determines its quality. Type I kerogen is the highest quality; type III is the lowest. Type I has the highest hydrogen content; type III, the lowest.
What role does kerogen play in generation?
The formation of kerogen represents a major step in the formation of oil and natural gas, as kerogen serves as the source of these fossil fuels. For kerogen to form, dead phytoplankon, zooplankton, algae, and bacteria must sink to the bottom of an ancient still water environment.
How does kerogen affect the creation of oil and gas?
Kerogen is a waxy, insoluble organic substance that forms when organic shale is buried under several layers of sediment and is heated. If this kerogen is continually heated, it leads to the slow release of fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas, and also the non-fuel carbon compound graphite.
Does shale have high permeability?
Rocks such as pumice and shale can have high porosity, yet can be nearly impermeable due to the poorly interconnected voids. Consequently, sandstones of this type have both high porosity and high permeability. The range of values for permeability in geologic materials is extremely large.
Is shale very permeable?
Shale rocks characterized by low permeability it basically prevents any unrestrained flow of hydrocarbons. Accordingly, stimulation jobs (such as fracturing operations) must be performed in order to connect the pores to the borehole and allow for an unrestrained flow of gas and reservoir fluids.
Is kerogen a type of coal?
Coal is a particular variety of kerogen, that forms from remains of superior plants (trees, ferns…). It is a kerogen that has the characteristic of being dominant in the sediment instead of being a very a small fraction of it. The first stage of the sedimentation process leads to peat.
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