Total neutron scattering of methane in Niobrara Formation samples at the wet-gas maturity level

Petroleum within unconventional source-rock reservoirs is hosted in organic matter and mineral pore space as well as in voids and microfractures. Recent work has shown that for source-rock reservoirs in the dry gas window, significant portions of methane (CH4), the main component of petroleum at elevated maturities, can be stored within fine organic matter porosity. However, within reservoirs at lower thermal maturities (e.g., peak oil or wet-gas conditions), the distribution and behavior of CH4 and the higher alkanes that comprise gas condensates across pore sizes is unclear, especially for fine pores with diameters <50 nm. Understanding CH4 within these settings provides insight for petroleum generation, movement, and recoverability, ultimately enabling increased accuracy of estimated ultimate recovery. Here wide Q-range total neutron scattering was used to evaluate perdeuterated methane (CD4) behavior at reservoir pressures and temperature in a sample at the late oil/wet gas thermal maturity stage from the Late Cretaceous Niobrara Formation, an active petroleum producing formation within the Denver-Julesburg Basin, United States.