ABSTRACT
The upper Green River Formation (GRF) of the Uinta Basin in Utah contains world-class source rock and hosts a prolic, thermally immature oil shale resource. As part of the larger oil shale research mission of the Institute for Clean and Secure Energy (ICSE) at the University of Utah, this geologic study characterized and mapped the thickness and richness of each individual oil shale horizon, from the R-4 zone up to the lower R-8. To compensate for the lack of core-based Fischer assay oil yield data in the study area, bulk density or sonic geophysical logs from oil and gas wells were used to estimate oil shale grade. In addition to oil shale thickness and richness, stratigraphic changes in inorganic mineralogy of individual oil shale horizons from the Skyline 16 research core were explored using x-ray uorescence (XRF)
CONTENTS
4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................60 4.2 Methods ......................................................................................................... 67 4.3 Results ........................................................................................................... 73
4.3.1 R-4 Oil Shale Zone ........................................................................... 73 4.3.2 L-4 Oil Shale Zone ........................................................................... 73 4.3.3 R-5 Oil Shale Zone ...........................................................................75 4.3.4 L-5 Oil Shale Zone ...........................................................................75 4.3.5 Lower to Middle R-6 Oil Shale Zones ...........................................75 4.3.6 Upper R-6 Oil Shale Zone ...............................................................75 4.3.7 B-Groove Oil Shale Zone ................................................................ 76 4.3.8 Mahogany (R-7) Oil Shale Zone ..................................................... 76 4.3.9 A-Groove Oil Shale Zone ................................................................ 79 4.3.10 Lower R-8 Oil Shale Zone ............................................................... 79 4.3.11 Combined R-4 to Lower R-8 Oil Shale Interval ........................... 79
4.4 Summary and Discussion .......................................................................... 81 References ...............................................................................................................83
