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Justin E. Birdwell

Publications and source records attributed to Justin E. Birdwell.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
USGS2017

Oil Shale

Oil shales are fine-grained sedimentary rocks formed in many different depositional environments (terrestrial, lacustrine, marine) containing large quantities of thermally immature organic matter in the forms of kerogen and bitumen. If defined from an economic standpoint, a rock containing a sufficient concentration of oil-prone kerogen to generate economic quantities of synthetic crude oil upon heating to high temperatures (350–600 °C) in the absence of oxygen (pyrolysis) can be considered an oil shale.

Book chapter↗
USGS2017

Real-time specific surface area measurements via laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

From healthcare to cosmetics to environmental science, the specific surface area (SSA) of micro- and mesoporous materials or products can greatly affect their chemical and physical properties. SSA results are also widely used to examine source rocks in conventional and unconventional petroleum resource plays. Despite its importance, current methods to measure SSA are often cumbersome, time-consuming, or require cryogenic consumables (e.g., liquid nitrogen). These methods are not amenable to high-throughput environments, have stringent sample preparation requirements, and are not practical for use in the field. We present a new application of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for rapid measurement of SSA. This study evaluates geological samples, specifically organic-rich oil shales, but the approach is expected to be applicable to many other types of materials. The method uses optical emission spectroscopy to examine laser-generated plasma and quantify the amount of argon adsorbed to a sample during an inert gas purge. The technique can accommodate a wide range of sample sizes and geometries and has the potential for field use. These advantages for SSA measurement combined with the simultaneous acquisition of composition information make this a promising new approach for characterizing geologic samples and other materials.

Energy and Fuels↗
USGS2017

Estimating thermal maturity in the Eagle Ford Shale petroleum system using gas gravity data

Basin-wide datasets that provide information on the geochemical properties of petroleum systems, such as source rock quality, product composition, and thermal maturity, are often difficult to come by or assemble from publicly available data. When published studies are available and include these kinds of properties, they generally have few sampling locations and limited numbers and types of analyses. Therefore, production-related data and engineering parameters can provide useful proxies for geochemical properties that are often widely available across a play and in some states are reported in publicly available or commercial databases. Gas-oil ratios (GOR) can be calculated from instantaneous or cumulative production data and can be related to the source rock geochemical properties like kerogen type (Lewan and Henry, 1999) and thermal maturity (Tian et al., 2013; U.S. Energy Information Administration [EIA], 2014). Oil density or specific gravity (SG), often reported in American Petroleum Institute units (°API = 141.5 /SG – 131.5), can also provide information on source rock thermal maturity, particularly when combined with GOR values in unconventional petroleum systems (Nesheim, 2017).

Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Tra↗
USGS2017

Geochemical and mineralogical characterization of the Eagle Ford Shale: Results from the USGS Gulf Coast #1 West Woodway core

The Eagle Ford shale is a major continuous oil and gas resource play in southcentral Texas and a source for other oil accumulations in the East Texas Basin. As part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) petroleum system assessment and research efforts, a coring program to obtain several immature, shallow cores from near the outcrop belt in central Texas has been undertaken. The first of these cores, USGS Gulf Coast #1 West Woodway, was collected near Waco, Texas, in September 2015 and has undergone extensive geochemical and mineralogical characterization using routine methods to ascertain variations in the lithologies and chemofacies present in the Eagle Ford at this locale. Approximately 270 ft of core was examined for this study, focusing on the Eagle Ford Group interval between the overlying Austin Chalk and underlying Buda Limestone (~20 ft of each). Based on previous work to identify the stratigraphy of the Eagle Ford Group in the Waco area and elsewhere (Liro et al., 1994; Robison, 1997; Ratcliffe et al., 2012; Boling and Dworkin, 2015; Fairbanks et al., 2016, and references therein), several lithological units were expected to be present, including the Pepper Shale (or Woodbine), the Lake Waco Formation (or Lower Eagle Ford, including the Bluebonnet, Cloice, and Bouldin or Flaggy Cloice members), and the South Bosque Member (Upper Eagle Ford). The results presented here indicate that there are three major chemofacies present in the cored interval, which are generally consistent with previous descriptions of the Eagle Ford Group in this area. The relatively high-resolution sampling (every two ft above the Buda, 432.8 ft depth, and below the Austin Chalk, 163.5 ft depth) provides great detail in terms of geochemical and mineralogical properties supplementing previous work on immature Eagle Ford Shale near the outcrop belt.

Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Tra↗
USGS2016

Sulfur species in source rock bitumen before and after hydrous pyrolysis determined by X-ray absorption near-edge structure

The sulfur speciation of source rock bitumen (chloroform-extractable organic matter in sedimentary rocks) was examined using sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy for a suite of 11 source rocks from around the world. Sulfur speciation was determined for both the native bitumen in thermally immature rocks and the bitumen produced by thermal maturation of kerogen via hydrous pyrolysis (360 °C for 72 h) and retained within the rock matrix. In this study, the immature bitumens had higher sulfur concentrations than those extracted from samples after hydrous pyrolysis. In addition, dramatic and systematic evolution of the bitumen sulfur moiety distributions following artificial thermal maturation was observed consistently for all samples. Specifically, sulfoxide sulfur (sulfur double bonded to oxygen) is abundant in all immature bitumen samples but decreases substantially following hydrous pyrolysis. The loss in sulfoxide sulfur is associated with a relative increase in the fraction of thiophene sulfur (sulfur bonded to aromatic carbon) to the extent that thiophene is the dominant sulfur form in all post-pyrolysis bitumen samples. This suggests that sulfur moiety distributions might be used for estimating thermal maturity in source rocks based on the character of the extractable organic matter.

Energy & Fuels↗
USGS2016

Geology of tight oil and potential tight oil reservoirs in the lower part of the Green River Formation, Uinta, Piceance, and Greater Green River Basins, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming

The recent successful development of a tight oil play in the Eocene-age informal Uteland Butte member of the lacustrine Green River Formation in the Uinta Basin, Utah, using modern horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques has spurred a renewed interest in the tight oil potential of lacustrine rocks. The Green River Formation was deposited by two large lakes, Lake Uinta in the Uinta and Piceance Basins and Lake Gosiute in the Greater Green River Basin. These three basins contain the world’s largest in-place oil shale resources with recent estimates of 1.53 trillion, 1.33 trillion, and 1.44 trillion barrels of oil in place in the Piceance, Uinta, and Greater Green River Basins, respectively. The Uteland Butte member was deposited during an early freshwater stage of the lake in the Uinta Basin prior to deposition of the assessed oil shale intervals. This report only presents information on the early freshwater interval and overlying brackish-water interval in all three basins because these intervals are most likely to have tight oil potential. Burial histories of the three basins were reconstructed to study (1) variations in subsidence and lake development, and (2) post deposition burial that led to the development of a petroleum system in only the Uinta Basin. The Uteland Butte member is a successful tight oil play because it is thermally mature for hydrocarbon generation and contains organic-rich shale, brittle carbonate, and porous dolomite. Abnormally high pressure in parts of the Uteland Butte is also important to production. Variations in organic richness of the Uteland Butte were studied using Fischer assay analysis from oil shale assessments, and pressures were studied using drill-stem tests. Freshwater lacustrine intervals in the Piceance and Greater Green River Basins are immature for hydrocarbon generation and contain much less carbonate than the Uteland Butte member. The brackish-water interval in the Uinta Basin is thermally mature for hydrocarbon generation but is clay-rich and contains little carbonate, and thus is a poor prospect for tight oil development.

Colorado, Utah, Wyoming↗
USGS2016

Generation and migration of Bitumen and oil from the oil shale interval of the Eocene Green River formation, Uinta Basin, Utah

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.

Book chapter↗
USGS2015

Detailed description of oil shale organic and mineralogical heterogeneity via fourier transform infrared mircoscopy

Mineralogical and geochemical information on reservoir and source rocks is necessary to assess and produce from petroleum systems. The standard methods in the petroleum industry for obtaining these properties are bulk measurements on homogenized, generally crushed, and pulverized rock samples and can take from hours to days to perform. New methods using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy have been developed to more rapidly obtain information on mineralogy and geochemistry. However, these methods are also typically performed on bulk, homogenized samples. We present a new approach to rock sample characterization incorporating multivariate analysis and FTIR microscopy to provide non-destructive, spatially resolved mineralogy and geochemistry on whole rock samples. We are able to predict bulk mineralogy and organic carbon content within the same margin of error as standard characterization techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD) and total organic carbon (TOC) analysis. Validation of the method was performed using two oil shale samples from the Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin with differing sedimentary structures. One sample represents laminated Green River oil shales, and the other is representative of oil shale breccia. The FTIR microscopy results on the oil shales agree with XRD and LECO TOC data from the homogenized samples but also give additional detail regarding sample heterogeneity by providing information on the distribution of mineral phases and organic content. While measurements for this study were performed on oil shales, the method could also be applied to other geological samples, such as other mudrocks, complex carbonates, and soils.

Energy & Fuels↗
USGS2015

Multivariate analysis relating oil shale geochemical properties to NMR relaxometry

Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry has been used to provide insight into shale composition by separating relaxation responses from the various hydrogen-bearing phases present in shales in a noninvasive way. Previous low-field NMR work using solid-echo methods provided qualitative information on organic constituents associated with raw and pyrolyzed oil shale samples, but uncertainty in the interpretation of longitudinal-transverse ( T 1 – T 2 ) relaxometry correlation results indicated further study was required. Qualitative confirmation of peaks attributed to kerogen in oil shale was achieved by comparing T 1 – T 2 correlation measurements made on oil shale samples to measurements made on kerogen isolated from those shales. Quantitative relationships between T 1 – T 2 correlation data and organic geochemical properties of raw and pyrolyzed oil shales were determined using partial least-squares regression (PLSR). Relaxometry results were also compared to infrared spectra, and the results not only provided further confidence in the organic matter peak interpretations but also confirmed attribution of T 1 – T 2 peaks to clay hydroxyls. In addition, PLSR analysis was applied to correlate relaxometry data to trace element concentrations with good success. The results of this work show that NMR relaxometry measurements using the solid-echo approach produce T 1 – T 2 peak distributions that correlate well with geochemical properties of raw and pyrolyzed oil shales.

Energy & Fuels↗
USGS2015

The role of water in unconventional in situ energy resource extraction technologies

Global trends toward developing new energy resources from lower grade, larger tonnage deposits that are not generally accessible using “conventional” extraction methods involve variations of subsurface in situ extraction techniques including in situ oil shale retorting , hydraulic fracturing of petroleum reservoirs, and in situ recovery of uranium. Although these methods are economically feasible and perhaps result in a smaller above-ground land-use footprint, there remain uncertainties regarding potential subsurface impacts to groundwater. This chapter provides an overview of the role of water in these technologies and the opportunities and challenges for water reuse and recycling.

Book chapter↗
USGS2015

Estuarine bed-sediment-quality data collected in New Jersey and New York after Hurricane Sandy, 2013

This report describes a reconnaissance study of estuarine bed-sediment quality conducted June–October 2013 in New Jersey and New York after Hurricane Sandy in October 2012 to assess the extent of contamination and the potential long-term human and ecological impacts of the storm. The study, funded through the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (PL 113-2), was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. In addition to presenting the bed-sediment-quality data, the report describes the study design, documents the methods of sample collection and analysis, and discusses the steps taken to assure the quality of the data. Bed-sediment samples were collected from June to October 2013 from 167 estuarine sites extending from Cape May, New Jersey, to the New York Harbor and the eastern end of Long Island. Each sampling location and study region was characterized by using geographic information to identify potential contaminant sources. Characterizations included land cover, locations and types of businesses (industrial, financial, and others), spills (sewage, chemical, and others), bulk storage facilities, effluent discharges within 2 kilometers of the sampling point, and discharges within inundated and non-inundated regions near the sampling location. Samples were analyzed for particle size, total organic carbon, metals and trace elements, semivolatile organic compounds, wastewater compounds, hormones, and sediment toxicity. Samples were also screened using x-ray fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction. In addition, bioassays for endocrine disruptors and protein phosphatase 2A inhibition were conducted. The study was designed to provide the data needed to understand the extent and sources of contamination resulting from Hurricane Sandy, to compare the chemistry and toxicity of estuarine bed sediments before and after the storm, and to evaluate the usefulness of rapid screening and bioassay approaches in disaster settings.

New Jersey, New York↗
USGS2015

In-place oil shale resources of the Mahogany zone sorted by grade, overburden thickness and stripping ratio, Green River Formation, Piceance Basin, Colorado and Uinta Basin, Utah

A range of geological parameters relevant to mining oil shale have been examined for the Mahogany zone of the Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin, Colorado, and Uinta Basin, Utah, using information available in the U.S. Geological Survey Oil Shale Assessment database. Basinwide discrete and cumulative distributions of resource in-place as a function of (1) oil shale grade, (2) Mahogany zone thickness, (3) overburden thickness, and (4) stripping ratio (overburden divided by zone thickness) were determined for both basins on a per-acre basis, and a resource map showing the areal distribution of these properties was generated. Estimates of how much of the Mahogany zone resource meets various combinations of these parameters were also determined. Of the 191.7 billion barrels of Mahogany zone oil in-place in the Piceance Basin, 32.3 percent (61.8 billion barrels) is associated with oil shale yielding at least 25 gallons of oil per ton (GPT) of rock processed, is covered by overburden 1,000 feet thick or less, and has a stripping ratio of less than 10. In the Uinta Basin, 14.0 percent (29.9 billion barrels) of the 214.5 billion barrels of Mahogany zone oil in-place meets the same overburden and stripping ratio criteria but only for the lower grade cutoff of 15 GPT.

Colorado, Utah↗
USGS2014

Molecular-level characterization of crude oil compounds combining reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with off-line high-resolution mass spectrometry

A reversed-phase separation technique was developed in a previous study (Loegel et al., 2012) and successfully applied to the de-asphalted fraction of crude oil. However, to the best of our knowledge, the molecular-level characterization of oil fractions obtained by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) has not yet been reported. A detailed characterization of the oil fractions prepared by reversed-phase HPLC was performed in this study. HPLC fractionation was carried out on conventional crude oil and an oil shale pyrolysate. The analyses of the fractions showed that the carbon number of alkyl chains and the double bond equivalent (DBE) value were the major factors determining elution order. The compounds with larger DBE (presumably more condensed aromatic structures) and smaller carbon number (presumably compounds with short side chains) were eluted earlier but those compounds with lower DBE values (presumably less aromatic structures) and higher carbon number (presumably compounds with longer alkyl chains) eluted later in the chromatograms. This separation behavior is in good agreement with that expected from the principles of reversed-phase separation. The data presented in this study show that reversed-phase chromatography is effective in separating crude oil compounds and can be combined with ultrahigh-resolution MS data to better understand natural oils and oil shale pyrolysates.

Fuel↗