Hydrous Pyrolysis and Kerogen Conversion

Objectives:

The compositional diversity and complexity of SOM prevents the use of one simple kinetic and mechanical model of its conversion to petroleum. Predictive models of petroleum generation therefore rely on evidence from individual case studies to use as an analogue to document the compositional and physical evolution of different SOM types during thermal maturation. Because a variety of factors influence SOM conversion to petroleum, models using case study analogue data may not fully capture the processes involved in petroleum generation. For example, the organic maceral vitrinite undergoes an increase in reflectance of incident light with increasing thermal maturity. In some cases, however, vitrinite reflectance is suppressed relative to expected values. These suppressed values cause difficulties determining the burial history of source rocks and the subsequent timing and extent of petroleum generation.

One objective of this research is to determine the maturation kinetics, as expressed through organic reflectance, of SOM through HP experimentation. The results from this research may be used to reduce uncertainties in burial history modeling and petroleum resource assessments. Another objective is to characterize the in situ physical and chemical transformation of SOM to petroleum under different conditions (such as time or temperature) and in different environments (such as hydrous, anhydrous, or brine) using spectroscopy techniques. The goal of this effort is to improve understanding of the effects that the starting materials and microenvironment have on the chemical parameters of petroleum generation.