Abstract
Abstract The Upper Paleozoic coal measure strata in the Southern North China Basin have good potential for unconventional oil and gas exploration. However, there has been no systematic evaluation of potential source rock in this area; this affects the estimation of potential resources and the choice of exploratory target layers. In this study, full core holes ZK0901 and ZK0401, which perfectly reveal Upper Paleozoic strata in the study area, systematically collected and analyzed the samples for total organic carbon, rock pyrolysis, chloroform bitumen “A,” organic maceral, vitrinite reflectance, and kerogen carbon isotopes. The results showed that in addition to coal rocks, mudstones and carbonate rocks are also potential source rocks in the Upper Paleozoic strata. Vertically, the source rocks are continuous in Taiyuan Formation, the lower part of Shanxi Formation, and Lower Shihezi Formation. The organic matter type in the Upper Paleozoic coal rocks and mudstone source rock belong to type III or II. This phenomenon is mainly attributed to the special transgressive–regressive sedimentary environment of the carbonate rocks. The higher degree of thermal evolution in the Upper Paleozoic source rocks may be related to the structure or a higher paleogeothermal gradient in this area. The coal layer and its upper and lower mudstone of the Shanxi Formation and Lower Shihezi Formation are the main target layers of unconventional oil and gas exploration. The results from this study can be used as a reference for the study on potential source rock for unconventional oil and gas exploration in the Southern North China Basin.
Highlights
The Upper Paleozoic Permo-Carboniferous strata are coal-bearing strata in the eastern part of Southern North China Basin, which is part of the Late Paleozoic coal-accumulating basin in North China and one of the main coal-producing bases in Henan Province
The occurrence rate and influencing factors of coal-bed methane [1] and geological conditions giving rise to shale gas reservoir formation have been studied [2,3,4], but there has been no systematic evaluation of the coal measure source rock in this area, which affects the estimation of resources and the choice of exploratory target layers
All samples were analyzed for total organic carbon (TOC) and rock pyrolysis, and representative samples were selected for analysis to obtain the parameters of chloroform bitumen “A,” organic maceral, vitrinite reflectance, and kerogen carbon isotopes
Summary
The Upper Paleozoic Permo-Carboniferous strata are coal-bearing strata in the eastern part of Southern North China Basin, which is part of the Late Paleozoic coal-accumulating basin in North China and one of the main coal-producing bases in Henan Province. It has abundant coal-bed methane resources and shale gas exploratory prospects. As good source rocks and coal-bed methane reservoirs, previous studies have paid ample attention to coal rock [13,14,15,16]. While most scholars believe that coal rocks are main source rocks of coal-bed methane in the Upper Paleozoic in this area [18], they have not paid significant attention
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
