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Organic-rich deposits of Qalikuh locality, Zagros Basin, Southwest of Iran are unconventional hydrocarbon resources considered as an oil shale, which is hosted within a carbonate succession with the age range of Middle Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous. Leco carbon, Rock–Eval VI and modified Fischer Assay analysis were performed on some outcrop samples of these resources to investigate the occurrence of oil shale. In the studied samples, mean total organic carbon (TOC) is 17.3 wt.% and the average of petroleum genetic potential (S 1 + S 2 ) is 98 kg HC/t rock. Furthermore, TOC has direct relationship with petroleum genetic potential. Hydrogen index (HI)–T max diagram indicates that the organic matter corresponds to Type II kerogen of probable marine origin with high quality of oil generation. According to Rock–Eval data, and bitumen reflectance (BR r ), the samples are thermally early mature. Based on the studied samples, oil yield of the Qalikuh oil shales ranges from 6.1 to 7.9 wt.%. Mean oil–gas ratio is 2.7 and mean oil yield is 56.7 l/t rock. According to the observations, the production value of Qalikuh oil shale is more or less similar in the entire studied regions. Whereas the total production is below the expected values, the produced oil is considerably lighter (higher API) than that of most other known oil shales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The very particular material of 500 artefacts from the excavations of Suse, kept in the Musée du Louvre, has been carefully examined with the help of the Elf Company. Analysis brought to the conclusion that it was an artificial mixture even when the artefacts bore the stamp of a sculpture work. Some months after the publication of the final study, geological samples gathered in the Susian area showed an identical structure to those of the archaeological samples. Thus, the hypothesis of an artificial material had to be revised. The difficulty to identify the exact nature of this material, even by scientists, explains the variety of the names given by excavators to the artefacts when they discovered them: bitumen, black limestone, bituminous limestone, bituminous paste, brown or black substance, black asphalt, etc... Some of these terms brought back stone and sculpture marks. It has led into a regrettable confusion between artificial mixture and natural rock. Thus, an unsharp terminology has been carried by excavators because of the unusual aspect of this material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]