Evaluation of petroleum generation by hydrous phrolysis experimentation

Generation and expulsion of oil from organic sedimentary rocks have been achieved in the laboratory by a technique known as hydrous pyrolysis. This technique maintains a liquid water phase in contact with organic sedimentary rocks during their heating at subcritical water temperatures (less than 374 °C ). The expelled oil accumulates on the water surface and contains no measurable olefmic hydrocarbons. Hydrous pyrolysis provides a means of acquiring inform ation relating to stages, kinetics an d indices of petroleum generation that would be difficult to obtain from a study of only the natural system