Fibrous illite in oilfield sandstones – a nucleation kinetic theory of growth

Fibrous illite is one of the most important cements that grows within sandstones during burial, and the only one which is commonly dated using the K–Ar age technique. A small quantity of illite can dramatically reduce porefluid flow rates within a sandstone, thus making oil recovery uneconomic. Illite ages potentially correspond to geological events such as hydrocarbon filling of a sandstone reservoir, providing calibration to basin models. Yet the fundamental processes controlling fibrous illite growth are not understood. This contribution presents a new theory for illite growth within sandstones that explains the fibrous morphology of illite, the restricted range of illite K–Ar age dates compared to the age of the host sandstones, and the lack of 0-Myr-old illite reported. The growth of fibrous illite as an authigenic cement may be controlled by nucleation kinetics, and not by thermodynamic or growth kinetic considerations as has been previously assumed.