The accepted values for the internal Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) 9107 Rock-Eval 6 standard (Upper Cretaceous Second White Speckled Shale, Colorado Group), western Canada

Abstract

Exploration of conventional/unconventional hydrocarbon resources relies on detailed analysis of source/reservoir rocks. Rock-Eval analysis is one of the major methods in screening and characterizing the organic matter type and quantity, thermal maturity, and hydrocarbon potential of sedimentary rocks (Lafargue et al., 1998). In addition, Rock-Eval analysis is also widely used for characterization of organic matter in recent sediments and soil in wide range of environmental and soil fertility studies (e.g., Sanei et al., 2005; Carrie et al., 2012). Fundamentals of Rock- Eval analysis are provided in detail in Lafargue et al. (1998) and Behar et al. (2001). In order to determine the accuracy and precision of analysis, a formally certified standard reference material is typically analysed concurrently with samples to assure the consistency of measured data. However, no commercially available certified reference materials have been characterized for the parameters measured during Rock-Eval analysis. Instead, the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) Organic Geochemistry Laboratory uses an internal prepared standard (9107) that was calibrated against a rock standard provided by the instrument manufacturer. That standard was developed by using various gravimetric approaches and external calibration of the Rock-Eval flame ionization (hydrocarbons) and thermal conductivity or infrared (CO and CO2) detectors. The 9107 standard is from the Upper Cretaceous Second White Speckled Shale, Colorado Group in western Canada, which is regarded as a typical marine hydrocarbon source rock. This standard is run in a sample batch of 10 to 15 unknown samples to verify the analytical performance of Rock-Eval instrument and ensure the consistency of generated data throughout series of analyses. This report presents the summary results of more than 2000 runs of the 9107 standard since the deployment of three completely refurbished Rock-Eval 6 instruments at the GSC in 2007documenting the accepted values of selected measured Rock-Eval 6 parameters and measurement precision and margin of error for the 9107 standard.