Title | Application of paleoporosity and bitumen saturation concepts to tight-gas accumulations containing solid bitumen |
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Author | Wood, J M; Ardakani, O H ; Sanei, H ; Curtis, M E; Royer, D |
Source | International Journal of Coal Geology vol. 228, 103547, 2020 p. 1-15, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coal.2020.103547 |
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Year | 2020 |
Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20190534 |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Document | serial |
Lang. | English |
Media | paper; on-line; digital |
File format | pdf; html |
Province | British Columbia; Alberta |
NTS | 83M/03; 83M/04; 83M/05; 83M/06; 83M/11; 83M/12; 83M/13; 83M/14; 84D/03; 84D/04; 84D/05; 84D/06; 93P/01; 93P/02; 93P/03; 93P/06; 93P/07; 93P/08; 93P/09; 93P/10; 93P/11; 93P/14; 93P/15; 93P/16; 94A/01; 94A/02;
94A/03; 94A/06; 94A/07; 94A/08 |
Area | Dawson Creek; Fort St. John |
Lat/Long WENS | -121.2500 -119.2500 56.3333 55.0000 |
Subjects | fossil fuels; sedimentology; geochemistry; Science and Technology; Nature and Environment; energy resources; petroleum resources; hydrocarbon potential; hydrocarbons; gas; bitumen; pyrobitumen;
porosity; pore size; permeability; organic carbon; reservoir rocks; petrographic analyses; scanning electron microscope analyses; Montney Formation; Western Canada Sedimentary Basin; Phanerozoic; Mesozoic; Triassic |
Illustrations | location maps; schematic representations; diagrams; cross-plots; photomicrographs; tables |
Program | Geoscience for New Energy Supply (GNES) Shale Reservoir Characterization |
Released | 2020 07 09 |
Abstract | Solid bitumen significantly influences rock properties in many unconventional tight and shale hydrocarbon accumulations. In the siltstone-dominated Montney Formation of northeast British Columbia and
northwest Alberta organic matter is mostly in the form of solid bitumen and represents an original pore-filling oil phase that was later thermally cracked. Here, we show that the influence of solid bitumen on rock properties can be further understood
by applying the concepts of paleoporosity and bitumen saturation. Paleoporosity is defined as the sum of present-day porosity and total organic carbon (TOC) volume, and conceptualized as the porosity available at the time of oil charging. Bitumen
saturation is defined as TOC volume divided by paleoporosity, and conceptualized as the fraction of paleoporosity filled with oil/bitumen. We introduce the paleoporosity-bitumen saturation cross-plot and use it, together with organic petrography and
scanning electron microscopy observations, to investigate how different combinations of paleoporosity and bitumen saturation impact rock properties. Solid bitumen in the Montney Formation influences pore throat size, porosity, permeability and
wettability. Understanding such key rock properties benefits from recognizing paleoporosity and bitumen saturation as inherent rock attributes with wide-ranging combinations. The concepts of paleoporosity and bitumen saturation elucidated here can
likely be applied to other tight hydrocarbon accumulations that contain organic matter dominantly in the form of solid bitumen. |
Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published) This study investigates how different combinations of paleo-porosity and bitumen saturation impact rock properties such as pore throat size, porosity,
permeability, and wettability. |
GEOSCAN ID | 321808 |
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