Please join us for an in-person event at Hotel Indigo in downtown Tulsa.  Lunch will start at 11:30am followed by Dr. Jim Puckette presenting the following talk, if you are unable to join us in person, please follow along online.  In-Person Lunch is $25.  

X-ray fluorescence based elemental analysis and identification of reservoir and non-reservoir intervals in organic-rich mudrocks.

Selected concentrations of elements from X-ray fluorescence (XRF) are useful for interpreting paleo water chemistry, organic productivity, and sediment sources. When analyzing sediment sources by comparing the relative concentrations of terrigenous sediment indicators aluminum (Al), titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), potassium (K) and silicon (Si), patterns emerge where the concentration of silicon deviates from increasing and decreasing concentrations of the other terrestrial indicators. In some cases, Si enrichment occurs in conjunction with decreasing concentrations of Al, Ti, Zr, and K. In this scenario, the Si must have another source other than detrital quartz in terrigenous sediment. Silica enrichment in the Woodford Shale is manifested as distinct silica-cemented bands that contain tests of radiolarians, the likely biogenic source of most Si in silica cement. Silica enrichment in the Caney Shale occurs without an obvious biogenic source of Si or developing the banding and beds evident in the Woodford Shale. Based on analyses of several organic-rich mudrocks, XRF derived elemental concentrations can provide geochemical data crucial to identifying brittle reservoir and ductile clay-rich seal intervals.