Insights on Using Solid Bitumen Reflectance as a Thermal Maturity Proxy in the Bakken Formation, Williston Basin, USA.

To further refine the use of solid bitumen reflectance (BR in %) as a measurement of thermal maturity in source-rock reservoirs, we examined its relationship to other thermal proxies in the Bakken Formation. Comparisons included criteria from programmed temperature pyrolysis, gas chromatography (GC), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Thirty-two organic-rich samples from the lower and upper shale members of the Devonian-Lower Carboniferous Bakken Formation were collected from eight cores across the Williston Basin, USA, at depths (∼7575-11,330 ft) representing immature through post peak oil/early condensate thermal maturity conditions based on proximity to current hydrocarbon production.

Cathodoluminescence differentiates sedimentary organic matter types.

High-resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM) visualization of sedimentary organic matter is widely utilized in the geosciences for evaluating microscale rock properties relevant to depositional environment, diagenesis, and the processes of fluid generation, transport, and storage. However, despite thousands of studies which have incorporated SEM methods, the inability of SEM to differentiate sedimentary organic matter types has hampered the pace of scientific advancement. In this study, we show that SEM-cathodoluminescence (CL) properties can be used to identify and characterize sedimentary organic matter at low thermal maturity conditions.

Geologic sources and well integrity impact methane emissions from orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells.

The 160-year history of oil and gas drilling in the United States has left a legacy of unplugged orphaned and abandoned wells, some of which are leaking methane and other hazardous chemicals into the environment. The locations of around 120,000 documented orphaned wells are currently known with the number of undocumented orphaned wells possibly ranging towards a million. The bulk of methane emissions originate from only 10 % of orphaned and abandoned wells, while the remaining wells have undetectable emissions.

Water-rock interaction and the concentrations of major, trace, and rare earth elements in hydrocarbon-associated produced waters of the United States.

Studies of co-produced waters from hydrocarbon extraction across multiple energy-producing basins have generally focused on major ions or a few select tracers, and studies that examine trace elements and involve laboratory experiments have generally been basin specific. Here, new perspective is sought through a broad analysis of concentration data for 26 elements from three hydrocarbon well types using the U.S.

Insights on Geochemical, Isotopic, and Volumetric Compositions of Produced Water from Hydraulically Fractured Williston Basin Oil Wells.

Tracing produced water origins from wells hydraulically fractured with freshwater-based fluids is sometimes predicated on assumptions that (1) each geological formation contains compositionally unique brine and (2) produced water from recently hydraulically fractured wells resembles fresher meteoric water more so than produced water from older wells. These assumptions are not valid in Williston Basin oil wells sampled in this study. Although distinct average Ra/Ra ratios were found in water produced from the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, average δH, δO, specific gravity, and conductivity were similar but exhibited significant variability across five oil fields within each formation.

Application of binomial-edited CPMG to shale characterization.

Unconventional shale resources may contain a significant amount of hydrogen in organic solids such as kerogen, but it is not possible to directly detect these solids with many NMR systems. Binomial-edited pulse sequences capitalize on magnetization transfer between solids, semi-solids, and liquids to provide an indirect method of detecting solid organic materials in shales. When the organic solids can be directly measured, binomial-editing helps distinguish between different phases.

Updated methodology for nuclear magnetic resonance characterization of shales.

Unconventional petroleum resources, particularly in shales, are expected to play an increasingly important role in the world's energy portfolio in the coming years. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), particularly at low-field, provides important information in the evaluation of shale resources. Most of the low-field NMR analyses performed on shale samples rely heavily on standard T1 and T2 measurements.

PAH repartitioning in field-contaminated sediment following removal of the labile chemical fraction.

The effect of removing the labile chemical fraction associated with sediment particles followed by internal chemical redistribution was examined in a field-contaminated sediment. Using data from desorption equilibrium (organic carbon-water partition coefficients, K(OC)) and kinetic (rate of release) experiments, estimates of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon biphasic partitioning and desorption rates for both the labile and nonlabile chemical fractions or organic matter compartments were obtained. Sediment K(OC) values increased between 50 and 150% after removal of the labile chemical fraction.

The pseudophase approach to assessing chemical partitioning in air-water-cyclodextrin systems.

Henry's Law constants (HLCs) of several common, subsurface hydrophobic organic pollutants (HOPs) including trichloroethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE) and benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and o-xylene (BTEX), were measured using a static headspace phase ratio (SHPR) method over a range of temperatures (35, 45, 55, and 65 degrees C) and experimentally and operationally relevant cyclodextrin (CD) concentrations (0, 10, 20, 50, and 100 g L(-1)). In aqueous CD solutions, HLC values decrease according to a power law relationship with increasing CD concentration due to an apparent solubility enhancement caused by HOP partitioning to the hydrophobic cavity of CD molecules. The temperature dependence of air-water partitioning under the influence of CD was well described by the van't Hoff equation for all HOPs tested.

A multi-method comparison of Atchafalaya Basin surface water organic matter samples.

Surface water organic matter (OM) was isolated from two distinct sites within the Atchafalaya Basin using a combination of XAD-8 and XAD-4 non-ionic macroporous resins and characterized by a suite of analytical methods, including elemental analysis, (13)C cross polarization magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared, luminescence spectroscopy including parallel factor analysis, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The major findings of the study are (i) despite the large differences in hydrology, optical properties, iron content, dissolved oxygen, and degree of human exploitation, the spectral and elemental signatures of the hydrophobic acids and transphilic acids fractions of the isolated OM for the different sites were remarkably similar; (ii) the luminescence characteristics of the four studied fractions provided information on the relative contributions from terrestrial and microbial input sources, as well as the degree of humification; and (iii) a detailed analysis of the total luminescence data led to a new dual excitation model based on quinone exciplexes for long wavelength emissions.

Studying organic matter molecular assemblage within a whole organic soil by nuclear magnetic resonance.

This work shows the applicability of two-dimensional (2D) (1)H-(13)C heteronuclear correlation (HETCOR) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to the characterization of whole soils. A combination of different mixing times and cross polarization (CP) methods, namely Lee-Goldberg (LG)-CP and Ramp-CP are shown to afford, for the first time, intra- and inter- molecular connectivities, allowing for molecular assemblage information to be obtained on a whole soil. Our results show that, for the brackish marsh histosol under study, two isolated domains could be detected.

Desorption kinetics of hydrophobic organic chemicals from sediment to water: a review of data and models.

Resuspension of contaminated sediment can lead to the release of toxic compounds to surface waters where they are more bioavailable and mobile. Because the timeframe of particle resettling during such events is shorter than that needed to reach equilibrium, a kinetic approach is required for modeling the release process. Due to the current inability of common theoretical approaches to predict site-specific release rates, empirical algorithms incorporating the phenomenological assumption of biphasic, or fast and slow, release dominate the descriptions of nonpolar organic chemical release in the literature.