The organic matter distribution and methane capacity of the Lower Cretaceous strata of Northeastern British Columbia, Canada

Evolution of nanoporosity in organic-rich shales during thermal maturation

“…It has been found that a considerable part of gas occurs in an adsorbed state within micro-and mesopores of gas shales [3,4,[10][11][12]. Elucidating the complex pore networks in gas shales has become a strategic subject because many studies have shown that shale pore structure is one of the most important factors controlling gas capacity [1][2][3][4][10][11][12]. Several measurement techniques have successfully been developed to characterize the complex pore systems such as small-angle and ultra small angle neutron scattering (SANS/ USANS), low-pressure gas adsorption, mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) [5,[13][14][15][16][17].…”

“…Several measurement techniques have successfully been developed to characterize the complex pore systems such as small-angle and ultra small angle neutron scattering (SANS/ USANS), low-pressure gas adsorption, mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) [5,[13][14][15][16][17]. The geological controls of pore structure in gas shales include the total organic carbon (TOC) content, thermal maturity and mineralogy, which have preliminarily been discussed in previous works [3,4,10,18,19].…”

“…Pores are subdivided into micropores (pore width <2 nm), mesopores (pore width between 2-50 nm) and macropores (pore width >50 nm) according to the classification of International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) [9]. It has been found that a considerable part of gas occurs in an adsorbed state within micro-and mesopores of gas shales [3,4,[10][11][12]. Elucidating the complex pore networks in gas shales has become a strategic subject because many studies have shown that shale pore structure is one of the most important factors controlling gas capacity [1][2][3][4][10][11][12].…”

“…A gas shale reservoir is characterized by abundant pores having sizes in a range of several to several hundreds of nanometers [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Pores are subdivided into micropores (pore width <2 nm), mesopores (pore width between 2-50 nm) and macropores (pore width >50 nm) according to the classification of International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) [9].…”

High-Pressure Methane Adsorption and Characterization of Pores in Posidonia Shales and Isolated Kerogens

“…11 Although sorption data on shales are available, the absolute sorption capacity in shale remains poorly constrained. [11][12][13][14][15][16][18][19][20] Shales are complex heterogeneous materials with amorphous kerogen and inorganic phases. The amounts of methane adsorbed on shales are also very low and this is complicated by the fact that the minor kerogen component has a much larger adsorption capacity than the inorganic phase in the shale.…”