The origin of crude oils from the Shuguang-Huanxiling Buried Hills in the Liaohe Basin, China: evidence from chemical and isotopic compositions

Abstract

Since the Shu103 well was successfully drilled in 1995, the Buried Hill reservoir is receiving a new exploration emphasis in the Liaohe Basin, China. The Buried Hill oils can be divided into 3 main types in the Shuguang-Huangxiling area based on their chemical and isotopic compositions. The first type is collected mostly from the Shuguang area. The similarity to the Es4 oils and the Es4 source rock extracts indicates that they were mainly expelled from the fourth member of the Shahejie formation (Es4) in the Chenjia Sag and/or Panshan Sag, deposited in a stratified paleolake system. The second is charactized by a relative high Pr/Ph ratio, low gammacerane content and depletion of 12C in individual n-alkanes. These characteristics represent a typical origin from dominantly freshwater paralic lacustrine sediments. Various biomarker indices of the other Buried Hill oils fall between the former two types. The authors infer that these oils may be derived from the adjacent Qingshui Sag and/or Panshan Sag, and were likely generated from transitional sedimentary facies between well-circulated freshwater paralic lacustrine and relatively closed saline lacustrine.