Ghery Sotomayor American Gilsonite Company

1. P r o v e n U n d e r P r e s s u r e®
A M E R I C A N G I L S O N I T E
A S P H A L T I T E U I N T A I T E : A P P R O V E D
F O R S E N S I T I V E M A R I N E
E N V I R O N M E N T S F O R D R I L L I N G
O P E R A T I O N S
F e b r u a r y 2 0 2 3

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Agenda
> Uintaite origin and uses
> Environmental standards
> Environmental test
> Chemical characterization
> Geochemical characterization
> Formation damage
> Conclusions

3. Introduction
> Uintaite is a naturally occurring
asphalt resin-like rock found in
the Uinta Basin, located in
Northeastern Utah, USA.
> Uintaite is used as a superior
additive in a wide-range of
applications:
 Oil and gas
 Paints and inks
 Asphalts
 Cosmetics
 Batteries
 and more
Utah
Uinta Basin
Uintaite

4. 1860 - 1903 1904-1947
1860 -1903
1904 -
1947
1948-1990
1991 and
Beyond
Discovery of
uintaite, and first
commercialization
of “Gilsonite®”
Uintaite begins being
widely used in oilfield
operations: Cementing,
Drilling Fluids
Development
of Mines in
the Uinta
Basin
Origin and Evolution
Products
commercialized and
recognized globally
as “Gilsonite®”
Many myths created
around black powders:
“hazardous material”
“formation damage”
Samuel Gilson
William Phipps Blake

5. Offshore Environmental Control Guidelines
for North Sea
OSPAR
The Convention for the Protection of the Marine
Environment of the North-East Atlantic
HOCNF
The Harmonized Offshore Chemical Notification
Format
NEMS
Chemical Management Software
REACH
Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and
Restriction of Chemical
Vindenes et all, 2018. Analysis of tidal currents in the North Sea from shipboard
acoustic.

6. CC BY-SA
creativecommons.org
Gulf of Mexico (EPA)
− 96 hours LC 50 Aquatic Bioassay
− Reverse Phase Extraction test (RPE)
− Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GCMS)
− Sediment Toxicity (SedTox)
− Static sheen
− PAH content EPA 8310&3630C
North Sea (OSPAR)
− Toxicity
• Algae (Skeletonema costatum) ISO/DIS 10253
• Fish (Cyprinodon variegatus) OECD 203
• Crustacean (Corophium volutator) OSPAR 2006
• Copepod (Acartia tonsa) ISO 14669:1999
− Biodegradation test under OECD 306
− Bioaccumulation Potential (Log Pow)
Offshore environmental control guidelines for:

7. Environmental evaluation under EPA protocol
EPA test Requirement to Pass Field GoM SBM
Field SBM
+ 6 ppb of Uintaite
Static Sheen No sheen Pass Pass
LC-50 Aquatic Bioassay > 30,000ppm SPP 929,380 890,670
Reverse Phase Extraction No Fluorescence Pass Pass
Gas Chromatography Mass
Spectrometry
Crude oil < 1% 0.06 0.06
Sediment Toxicity Ratio < 1.0 0.3 0.22
PAH (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) Content in Uintaite:
− No PAH compounds detected at levels of 6 ppm or higher, based on the lowest detectable levels
(according to EPA Guidelines Methods 8310 and 3630C) Montes et al. AADE 2017

8. Toxicity evaluation under OSPAR protocol
MARINE SPECIES LIMITS UNTAITE RESULTS
Algae
(Skeletonema pseudocostatu
m)​
EC50 >1,500 mg/l​ NOEC > 1,500mg/l​
Crustacean, Copepod
(Acartia tonsa)​ LC50 > 1,000 mg/l​ NOEC > 20,102 mg/l​
Fish
(Cyprinodon varietagus) LC50 > 1,000 mg/l​ NOEC > 1,000mg/l​
Crustacean
Sediment reworker
(Corophium volutator)
LC50 > 11,879 mg/kg​
NOEC > 11,879 mg/Kg
dry weight of sediment​

9. Environmental evaluation under OSPAR protocol
TEST UINTAITE RESULTS
Biodegradability
Inert material​. Will not biodegrade.
OECD 306 Biodegradability in Sea Water, Closed Bottle method.​
Bioaccumulation
Potential
Log Pow, could not be calculated since uintaite is not soluble either in
water or n-Octanol. It is concluded that uintaite will not bioaccumulate.
REACH
(Registration, Evaluation,
Authorization and
Restriction of Chemical)
Uintaite falls under the ore concentrates category
due to its natural composition.
Uintaite is exempt from registration.
Additional test
Molecular weight
Intrinsic viscosity analysis was used.
Uintaite does not penetrate through skin. Molecular weight is
>7kDalton.

10. Uintaite is approved for offshore operations
under OSPAR guidelines
Color system for
Norwegian deep-water operations
Under OSPAR requirements
Why?..
Gilsonite® uintaite

11. Helm et al. (2012)
Uintaite Chemical Characterization
− Low sulfur <1%
− Non or low Vanadium
− Low aromatic ring content:
Uintaite ore chemical model scheme
Helm et al. (2012) Nciri et al. (2014) Bishop, (2020)
Saturates ~64% 1.6 wt.% 2.09 wt.%
Asphaltenes 79.7 wt.% 71.32 wt.%
Resins 18.7 wt.% 24.68 wt.%
Aromatics ~0.8–2.5% wt.% 0 wt.% 1.91 wt %
Possible aromatic
rings

12. Uintaite Geochemical Characterization
1. Uintaite is essentially or totally of plant origin. McGee (1956)
2. Lacustrine depositional environment belonging to Green River Formation Rock.
3. Immature to marginally mature within a vitrinite reflectance equivalence range of 0.4 to 0.8%. Anders, et
al, (1992).
 A very prominent beta-carotene peak suggests very early oil generation product.
 Very high levels of the hopane biomarkers (norhopane and hopane) attest to low sample
maturity. (Bishop, 2020)
 The n-alkane distributions are associated with thermally immature organic matter. Anders,
et al (1992)
 Uintaite has been generated at a very low temperature.

13. Organic Carbon Thermal Process
Tim Ruble, (2017)
 Uintaite is type I kerogen, It implies a
lacustrine algal (aliphatic).
 Complex waxy mixture of hydrocarbon
compounds.
 It is the primary organic component.
 It is consumed during thermal maturation.
 Aliphatic chain lengths shorten during all
stages of maturation. Craddock, (2014)
Kerogen = Uintaite
Uintaite Geochemical Characterization
Diagenesis
Catagenesis
Metagenesis

14. Uintaite Geochemical Characterization
1550X SEM
Ruble et al. (2017)
Uintaite sample
No significant occurrences of
organic nanoporosity was
found within uintaite matrix.
Keel, (2015)
Increasing thermal
maturity and
aromaticity
Inmature
Mature
Overmature
Ruble et al. (2017)
Evolution of Kerogen

15. Blank
Uintaite
Aminated
Lignite
Test conditions
Core Berea
Permeability range 200 – 300 mD
Temperature 250 °F
Pore pressure 500 psi
Net Confining
Stress (NCS)
2000 psi
Overbalance pressure 500 psi
MUD 70/30 SBM @13 ppg
Samples
Uintaite and
Aminated Lignite
Uintaite Formation Damage Study
9.9% 8.9%
26.9%
0
10
20
30
%
Formation
damage
SBM - Whole Mud
2.2%
0.6%
15.7%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
%
Formation
damage
SBM - Mud Filtrate

16.  Uintaite is not harmful in environmental tests due to its low thermal maturity origin.
 Uintaite does not interfere with thermal maturity biomarkers.
 Very low content of dangerous compounds such as sulfur or aromatics rings for its
chemical and geochemical characteristics make uintaite a non-harmful natural material.
 Low Pow results for bioaccumulation pointed out that uintaite will not bioaccumulate.
 Molecular weight of uintaite is significantly higher than 7 kDalton and does not penetrate
through skin.
 Uintaite is an inert natural material for marine species according to EPA and OSPAR
guidelines.
 Uintaite has negligible or innocuous effect in the reservoir.
 Environmental tests results, and rock - fluid interaction determine that uintaite is a safe
additive for marine ecosystems.
Conclusions
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17. P r o v e n U n d e r P r e s s u r e®
A M E R I C A N G I L S O N I T E
END