HYDROCARBON POTENTIAL OF JURASSIC SOURCE ROCKS IN THE JUNGGAR BASIN, NW CHINA

Abstract

Jurassic source rocks in the Junggar Basin (NW China) include coal swamp and freshwater lacustrine deposits. Hydrocarbon‐generating macerals in the coal swamp deposits are dominated by desmocollinite and exinite of higher‐plant origin. In lacustrine facies, macerals consists of bacterially‐altered amorphinite, algal‐ amorphinite, alginite, exinite and vitrinite. Coals and coaly mudstones in the Lower Jurassic Badaowan Formation generate oil at the Qigu oilfield on the southern margin of the basin. Lacustrine source rocks generate oil at the Cainan oilfield in the centre of the basin.The vitrinite reflectance (Ro) of coal swamp deposits ranges from 0.5% to 0.9%, and that of lacustrine source rocks from 0.4% to 1.2%. Biomarker compositions likewise indicate that thermal maturities are variable. These variations cause those with lighter compositions to have matured earlier. Our data indicate that oil and gas generation has occurred at different stages of source‐rock maturation, an “early” stage and a “mature” stage. Ro values are 0.4%–0.7% in the former and 0.8%–1.2% in the latter.