Ancient mud could yield modern oil alternative

An alternative to oil could be found in ancient sea deposits dating to 300 million years ago, according to a new study carried out at the University of Leicester.

Jennifer Graham, a postgraduate researcher in the university’s department of geology, says that mudstones in shallow water seaways could provide a source of shale gas to meet the world’s energy needs. Such mudstones, now exposed across central and northern England, contain up to 14 per cent carbon, Graham’s research has found.

Graham will present her findings at the university’s Festival of Postgraduate Research on 25 June.

“Fissile mudstones (shales) can yield three to four times as much gas as conventional sandstone reservoirs,” Graham said. “The mudstones studied in this research were deposited in a shallow-water seaway that extended from Canada across Europe approximately 317 million years ago.”

Exxon Mobil is already involved in Graham’s research, and she said her project could potentially attract interest from other companies working to find alternative and unconventional sources of energy as oil supplies decline.

Exploiting “shale gas” presents a considerable challenge because the distribution and character of mudstones are not well known as conventional sandstone gas reservoirs.