IEG 환경지질연구정보센터

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Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) Observations of Shale Seals at Depths > 10000 ft

Jinwook Kim

, and Sunwoo Don

1

Department of Earth System Sciences, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea

2

Petroleum & Marine Research Division, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM)

*e-mail address: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Hydrocarbon accumulation requires the favorable distribution in time and space of five

elements: source, migration pathway, reservoir, trap, and seal. If any of these are missing

or inadequate, hydrocarbons will not leave the source or else migrate to the surface where

they disperse and degrade. Traps, reservoirs, and sources have long been the objects of

intensive investigation. Migration pathways and seals, however, have only very recently

been scrutinized. The research proposed herein focuses on seals, especially shale seals

deeper than 10000 ft. A key aspect of this work is to develop a database of petrophysical

properties of shales at deep subsurface conditions. Such a database is not readily available

to industry. Our work will focus on permeability, porosity, capillary pressure in both

smectite-rich and illite-rich shales, which are the dominant sealing lithologies in the shear

zones of reservoir-scale faults as well as deep pressurized shales.