Journal of Petroleum Geology, Vol.8,
No.2, pp. 221-228, 1985
©Copyright 2000 Scientific Press,
Ltd.
A GRAPHICAL METHOD FOR
STUDYING MODELS OF OIL GENERATION
W. H. Burke and D. U. von
Rosenberg*
*Mobil Research and Development
Corporation, PO Box 819047, Dallas, TX 75381, USA.
Abstract
Various types of mathematical models are
used to represent the natural processes of oil generation from
kerogen. One type models the generation process as consisting of
several independent, parallel, first-order reactions, each of
which is defined by an Arrhenius relation. We present here a
graphical method for studying predictions of models of this type.
Each point on a plot of log10 A versus E represents a reaction, and the order of
occurrence of these reactions with increasing temperature is
shown by rotating a line across the graph. The greatest value of
the plot is that it enables one to see at a glance many of the
deductions that follow from assuming the correctness of a
particular model and also to see quickly many of the effects of
changing the model's assumptions. As an example, we present a
plot of this type for reactions of Tissot and Espitalié (1975)
Type II kerogen undergoing natural maturation, and also
undergoing laboratory pyrolysis. For comparison, we include
numerical computations for these reactions.
