Abstract
Measurements of total organic carbon, Rock-Eval pyrolysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, maceral examination, gas chromatography, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were conducted on the organic-rich shale of Lower Paleozoic Niutitang Formation and Longmaxi Formation in Dabashan foreland belt to discuss the organic matter characteristic, organic matter origin, redox condition, and salinity. The results indicate that the Niutiang Formation and Longmaxi Formation organic-rich shale are good and very good source rocks with Type I kerogen. Both of the shales have reached mature stage for generating gas. Biomarker analyses indicate that the organic matter origin of Niutitang Formation and Longmaxi Formation organic-rich shale are all derived from the lower bacteria and algae, and the organic matter are all suffered different biodegradation degrees. During Niutitang Formation and Longmaxi Formation period, the redox conditions are both anoxic with no stratification and the sedimentary water is normal marine water.
Highlights
China has vast shale gas exploration prospects
Ten samples were measured for total organic carbon (TOC), Rock-Eval pyrolysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and maceral examination
The TOC analyses results indicate that the TOC of the shale samples of Niutitang Formation and Longmaxi Formation ranges in 1.15–3.66 wt % and 3.14–4.42 wt % (Table 3)
Summary
China has vast shale gas exploration prospects. Up to 2012, the Chinese shale gas geological reserves have reached 134 × 1012 m3 with 25 × 1012 m3 recoverable resources [1]. The current research of both formations have primarily focused on tectonic evolution history, element geochemistry, and organic matter enrichment [18,19,20,21,22,23,24]. Their petrography and organic geochemistry characterizations were poorly researched. In this contribution, four profiles were measured, and each of the two of them were Niutitang Formation and Longmaxi Formation. Based on total organic carbon (TOC), Rock-Eval pyrolysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, maceral examination, gas chromatography, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, their petrography and organic
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