PRIMARY MIGRATION BY DIFFUSION THROUGH KEROGEN .1. MODEL EXPERIMENTS WITH ORGANIC-COATED ROCKS

Laboratory experiments were performed to assess diffusion through kerogen as a mechanism of hydrocarbon transport through fine-grained rocks. Such transport can be important in primary migration within source rocks and in leakage through seals. To test the concept of diffusion through organic matter networks, model experiments were performed in which hydrocarbon diffusion was measured through Austin chalk cores that had been coated with a monolayer of fatty acids. Hydrocarbon fluxes through the coated cores were compared to hydrocarbon fluxes through uncoated Austin chalk cores. Results showed that the organic coating enhanced transport through the core by a hundredfold over diffusion through its water-filled pore space alone. © 1990.