This
paper summarizes results of a successful laboratory investigation
to visualize and quantify pyrolysis-induced porosity evolution of
Uinta Basin organic-rich source rock using X-ray computed tomography
(CT). Combining CT imaging techniques with a radio-opaque gas as a
pore contrast fluid allowed for the description of porosity changes
within source rock rather than limiting quantification to a single
bulk value, as obtained by conventional porosity measurement techniques.
The porosity of the immature and thermally matured rock sample, a
Green River oil shale, increased from 9 to 25% as a result of kerogen
conversion and delamination. Porosity distributions of immature samples
showed unimodal behavior, whereas matured samples displayed multimodal
characteristics. These new measurements indicate that porosity evolution
during maturation is not well-described by bulk measurements.