Exploration Services
For many analyses in Organic Geochemistry laboratories, it is essential to isolate pure organic material by eliminating the mineral matrix. Kerogenatron is an equipment which allows isolation of organic content from sedimentary rocks by destroying carbonates and silicates without altering the organic matter. Furthermore, it is designed to increase the protection of the operators which are not exposed any more to corrosive vapour released during the successive acid etching. We can help you at PGGRC in this field.
The isolated kerogen can be used for a variety of geochemical purposes, including:
- Physical and chemical studies like elemental analysis, I.R., U.V. and NMR spectroscopy; pyrolysis and pyro-chromatography.
- Kinetic studies to obtain activation energies distribution without mineral matrix effects (i.e. in the case of low TOC content).
- Optical studies under transmitted and reflected light such as vitrinite reflectance and palynofacies examinations
For some geocehmical analyses, it is essential to extract the organic material from the rocks (i.e. the solvent-extractable portion of the sedimentary organic matter or the bitumen). Bitumen can be extracted by chloroform or by a mixture of methanol and dichloromethane in a soxhlet extractor. We can help you at PGGRC in this field.
PGGRC provides various analytical procedures for evaluation of petroleum source rocks using equipments such as Rock-Eval 6, S2 Analyzer, and gas chromatography. Information obtained from these instruments can be used for:
- Lithological Description
- Assessing petroleum generation potential of organic-rich units
- Defining the level of thermal maturity for source rocks
- Determining the quality and quantity of organic matter in source rocks
- Inferring about paloe-depositional environments of organic-rich strata
Initially recognized by coal petrologists, the reflectivity of vitrinite macerals increases with increasing thermal maturity. This has become the principle maturity scale in the petroleum industry, where various reflectance levels have been correlated to the various stages of oil and gas generation and expulsion. Typically, the rock or isolated kerogen is mounted on an epoxy plug, polished, and then examined under reflected light using a microscope equipped with a photometer. The reflectance of individual vitrinite fragments are measured and analyzed statistically. In addition, the overall composition and color of associated kerogen macerals, spores, pollens, etc. can provide valuable insight into the oil or gas prone nature of the original, immature kerogen. Our services at PGGRC can help you reliably assess thermal maturity in your prospect via:
- Kerogen microscopy package (includes vitrinite reflectance, kerogen type, TAI and all preparation)
- Kerogen microscopy on coal and whole rock samples
- Coal Maceral analysis and point counting
- Reflectance mount preparation
- TAI slide preparation
One of the first uses of biomarkers by the petroleum industry was for oil-oil and oil-source rock correlations. Originally, correlations were made by simple comparisons of the distributions of certain groups of compounds (usually steranes or hopanes). Geological considerations should also be included when making correlations. When examining data for possible oil-oil or oil-source correlations, other factors that could affect the chemistry of oils (e.g., maturity and biodegradation) must also be taken into account. In some cases, the effects of migration can make oil-source rock correlations more difficult than oil-oil correlations. In the case of biodegraded samples, only biomarkers can normally be used to make correlations. An additional complication is the possibility that an oil may be a mixture of hydrocarbons from more than one source rock.