Posted 15 February 2013

By Stuart Joness

Chemical compaction of mudstones - a new paper

 A recently published research paper in the journal Petroleum Geoscience focuses on the chemical compaction of mudstones. It offers  two new insights into the compaction of mudstones in the chemical compaction regime. The research identifies a mechanism by which mudstones compact independently of effective stress at depths and temperatures where clay diagenesis is well under way, over a large range of effective stress. It further suggests how higher porosities may, nevertheless, be retained in mudstones at high temperatures where overpressure is extreme, and effective stress is very low, because compaction cannot proceed independently of effective stress unless there is net expulsion of the pore water released by clay diagenesis.

N. R. Goulty, A. M. Ramdhan and S. J. Jones, 2012. Chemical compaction of mudrocks in the presence of overpressure. Petroleum Geoscience, v.18; p. 471-479.

 

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