Abstract: | ![]() Six samples from a natural outcrop of reservoir rocks with oil seepage and two control samples from surrounding area in the Minhe Basin, northwestern China were selectively collected and analyzed for mineralogical composition as well as iron speciation using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Mössbauer spectroscopy, respectively. Iron species revealed that: (1) the oil-bearing reservoir rocks were changed by water-rock-oil interactions; (2) even in the same site, there was a different performance between sandstone and mudstone during the oil and gas infusion to the reservoirs; and (3) this was evidence indicating the selective channels of hydrocarbon migration. In addition, these studies showed that the iron speciation by Mössbauer spectroscopy could be useful for the study of oil and gas reservoirs, especially the processes of the water-rock interactions within petroleum reservoirs. |