THE MINERALOGICAL, GEOCHEMICAL, AND PETROPHYSICAL ANALYSIS OF SILURIAN-DEVONIAN SHALES OF THE KROH FORMATION: THEIR POTENTIAL FOR HYDROCARBON EXPLORATION

The heterogeneity and complexity of shale gas have become clear as the development of unconventional resources has improved. Organic–rich shales comprise significant resources of natural gas, which occurs as free, dissolved, and adsorbed gas. Despite the increased importance of sorbed gas, uncertainties remain regarding controls on gas sorption capacity by lithological variations as well as shale mineralogical, geochemical, and petrophysical properties of the shales. Therefore, the overall aim of this research was to evaluate variations in heterogeneities properties of selected Paleozoic shale samples from seven outcrops of the Kroh Formation in association with their depositional conditions.