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Abstract
The results from the recent U.S. Geological Survey assessment of in-place oil shale resources of the Eocene Green River Formation, based primarily on the Fischer assay method, are applied herein to define areas where the oil shale interval is depleted of some of its petroleum-generating potential along the deep structural trough of the basin and to make: (1) a general estimates of the amount of this depletion, and (2) estimate the total volume of petroleum generated. Oil yields (gallons of oil per ton of rock, GPT) and in-place oil (barrels of oil per acre, BPA) decrease toward the structural trough of the basin, which represents an offshore lacustrine area that is believed to have originally contained greater petroleum-generating potential than is currently indicated by measured Fischer assay oil yields. Although this interval is considered to be largely immature for oil generation based on vitrinite reflectance measurements, the oil shale interval is a likely source for the gilsonite deposits and much of the tar sands in the basin. Early expulsion of petroleum may have occurred due to the very high organic carbon content and oil-prone nature of the Type I kerogen present in Green River oil shale. In order to examine the possible sources and migration pathways for the tar sands and gilsonite deposits, we have created paleogeographic reconstructions of several oil shale zones in the basin as part of this study.
| Publication type | Book chapter |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Book Chapter |
| Title | Generation and migration of Bitumen and oil from the oil shale interval of the Eocene Green River formation, Uinta Basin, Utah |
| Year Published | 2016 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Rocky Mountain Association of Geologist |
| Contributing office(s) | Central Energy Resources Science Center |
| Description | 42 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Book |
| Larger Work Title | Hydrocarbon source rocks in unconventional plays |
| First page | 379 |
| Last page | 420 |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |