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Integrated kerogen typing in the recognition and quantitative assessment of petroleum source rocks

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Book cover Petroleum Geochemistry in Exploration of the Norwegian Shelf

Abstract

Many of the kerogen typing procedures used in petroleum source-rock evaluation today are derived from basic principles which were developed before this decade. Quantitative high-resolution pyrolysis—gas chromatography is a recent technique which allows more detailed evaluation of kerogen in source rocks. Such detailed molecular kerogen typing data may now be integrated with the older established chemical and petrographic methods. An example is given of the application of integrated petrographic, bulk chemical and high-resolution chemical methods to the quantitative evaluation of ‘actual source beds’ (source beds that have expelled oil and gas) using data from the Viking Graben province of the North Sea. The limitations on the various kerogen typing methods are discussed and restrictions on the value of conventional source rock analysis are considered in the light of our limited understanding of the primary migration process.

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  1. Union Oil Science and Technology Division, 376 South Valencia Avenue, Brea, California, 92621, USA

    S. R. Larter

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B. M. Thomas

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© 1985 Norwegian Petroleum Society

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Larter, S.R. (1985). Integrated kerogen typing in the recognition and quantitative assessment of petroleum source rocks. In: Thomas, B.M. (eds) Petroleum Geochemistry in Exploration of the Norwegian Shelf. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4199-1_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4199-1_23

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-8364-5

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