Modelling source rock production potentials for short-chain organic acids and CO2 — a multivariate approach

Organic acids and CO2 may be active participants in mineral diagenesis processes. In this work, models that estimate the total generation potential of short-chain organic acids (SCA) and CO2 from mudrocks have been developed. Nineteen representative samples from a set of 128 mudrocks from the Norwegian continental shelf have been artifically matured to high maturity levels by hydrous pyrolysis. Multivariate mapping was used as the basis for selecting a representative sample subset. The yields of SCA and CO2, after pyrolysis, have been determined and used to calibrate separate multivariate models for the generation potential of each product as a function of screening analysis data on source rock composition. The final models for the yields use the variables depth, % TOC, kaolinite and calcite contents to estimate the potential for generation of acetic acid and CO2.