Duwi Formation shale deposits at Safaga – Quseir area were assessed by rock eval pyrolysis for its shale oil potentiality. The studied shale’s organic matter are mainly of type I, type II, mixed type I/II in addition to some of type III. The studied shale is described as very good source rock with total organic carbon (TOC > 2 wt%). The kerogen maturation in the studied samples is immature according to PI and Tmax. Extracted shale oil from the studied samples as bitumen was fractionated by liquid chromatography (LG) into saturated hydrocarbon, aromatic hydrocarbon, resin and asphaltene. The saturated hydrocarbon was described by gas chromatography (GC), the pristane/phytane, isoprenoids/n-alkane and CPI ratios show that, samples were deposited in marine environment with some input of terrestrial environment and are characterized by immature level.
The X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis for the studied shale samples show their bulk minerals are mainly quartz, calcite, dolomite, gypsum, hematite and pyrite in addition to apatite and fluorapatite. While their clay minerals are mainly smectite and kaolinite. The chemical composition of the studied samples showed high concentration of trace elements such as Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, V and Zn which in turn through more lights on the depositional environment of the organic matter. |
