the original volume of the solid phase in the source
rock. The ratio between the volume of the fluid phase (
centage of oil in the pore space, compared to the total
fluid volume. Similarly the permeability with respect to water flow depends on the cross-sections of the water-filled parts of the pores between grains. The relative permeability is the permeability of a fluid phase in the presence of another fluid phase compared to the permeability in the same rock when only one fluid is present. If the percentage of oil in the pores is less than 20–30% the relative permeability of oil is so low that it will move very slowly or not at all com- pared to water. In some cases pore networks may be filled with water, oil and gas and then we have to consider 3-phase flow. Shales have normally low per- meability for water and even lower relative permeabil- ity for oil. Shales are barriersn of kerogen because the density of the oil and gas and the remaining solids in the kerogen may be smaller than the density of the primary kerogen, thus causing a volume expansion. This expansion may not necessarily be very large in
carbohydrates, and lipids, have been estimated. For
such investigations, coupling of molecular and isotopic analysis is necessary. Today, the most suitable technique is the analysis of the stable carbon isotope ratio of single molecules after separation by gas chromatography. With this technique, the incorporation of the precursor molecules into soil organic matter may be studied on sites, which were subjected to a C3–C4 vegetation change. To carry out a kinetic study, suitable field trials are necessary. Using this technique, Dignac et al. (2005)[9] were able to show that lignin, which is degraded slowly in the first stages of litter decomposition, turns over in soil at a much higher rate than total carbon. Along with similar results obtained by Wiesenberg et al. (2004)[8] for the lipid fraction, these findings question the generally admitted idea that aromatic and aliphatic substances are the main precursors of soil organic matter. By contrast, carbohydrates, which were considered among the most labile SOM compounds, were found to turn over at a similar rate as total soil carbon in some physical fractions of soils.[10] These results are likely to change our understanding of SOM formation. To this end, it was suggested that microbial carbon may be an important
the case of oil generation. Even if there was no overall
volume expansion, the generation of oil would con- tribute to the overpressure build-up, since the main factor is the change in void ratio when solid kerogen is altered to fluid petroleum. To illustrate this point we may make the analogy of looking at frozen ground with lenses of ice formed during the winter. Ice is a solid that can carry the weight of the overburden, but