Origin of oil and bitumen in the Late Devonian Siljan impact structure, central Sweden

Abstract

Organic geochemical assessment of seep oil from the Upper Ordovician (Hirnantian) Boda Limestone and solid bitumens from the Middle Ordovician (Darriwilian) limestone formations in the Siljan Crater, Sweden indicates their generation primarily from peak oil window maturity, clay-rich marine source rocks that contained aquatic algal organic matter and were deposited in an anoxic environment. Biomarkers indicate some significant differences between the seep oil and solid bitumens and their alteration by moderate to severe biodegradation. The Solberga quarry seep oil from the Boda Limestone and Solberga-1 solid bitumen from the Skärlöv–Seby–Folkslunda Limestone equivalents do not show signs of mixing and the similarity in their biomarker distributions indicates a genetic relationship. However, solid bitumens recovered from cavities in the underlying Segerstad and Holen limestones were derived predominantly from clay-rich source rocks that contained mixed marine and lacustrine algal organic matter and minor inputs of prokaryotic organic matter, possibly from thin beds of calcareous rocks interbedded within the main clay-rich source rocks. It is inferred that the Siljan Crater seep oil and solid bitumens were generated from the organic rich Upper Ordovician Fjäcka Shale, a source rock for economic accumulation of oil in the eastern Baltic region, and/or from Silurian shale units. The presence of various compounds of known biological origin and existence of organic rich Fjäcka Shale/Silurian Shale units are consistent with the biogenic origin of Siljan Crater petroleum. Although these seep oil and solid bitumens were generated at peak oil window maturities, the intense heat generated by meteorite impact caused secondary reactions resulting in unusual distributions of maturity sensitive aromatic hydrocarbon isomers and conflicting molecular maturities.