Adsorption of mudstone source rock for shale oil - Experiments, model and a case study

Inorganic minerals were separated from mudstone and shale to investigate their oil adsorption potential. A conceptual model was developed to reconstruct the oil adsorption capacity of underground mudrock/shale by combining adsorption and organic matter swelling data. The predictions for the free hydrocarbon oversaturation sorption zones in the Well NY1 profile were taken as a case study. The results suggest that the best depth for the shale oil prospect of the Es4s member strata lies between 3400 and 3600 m in the Dongying Depression. Hydrocarbon starvation zones occur mainly at a depth of < 3400 m, where both the maturity and the extent of oil conversion of organic matter are relatively low, while the sorption capacity of mudstone and shale rocks is by comparison high and the exploration risk is greater.