TOC changes in the process of thermal evolution of source rock and its controls

Abstract

Through geological observation, simulation in laboratory and numerical modeling, the factors that control the changes in total organic content (TOC) of source rock have been studied. When the formula DTOC=(TOC 0 -TOC)/TOC 0 (original organic carbon content in the rock) is used to measure the TOC (total organic carbon content) changes in the source rock through geological time, the degrees and directions of such changes are determined by losses and relative amounts both of organic and inorganic matter in the source rock. The DTOC equation, which is used to calculate the loss rate in the process of maturation for the source rock, is therefore obtained by analyzing the mass balance relations. For a certain type of source rock with a certain maturation history, the changes of its TOC respond only to the rates of hydrocarbon generation and expulsion. In actual cases of geological entities, DTOC generally ranges from -0.05 to 0.2, while the calculated reconversion coefficient ( k ) for organic carbon content remains between 0.90 and 1.25. Only in an ideal situation where there are extremely high rates of hydrocarbon generation and expulsion can the DTOC value experience significant changes, with k reaching up to 2.5. It is concluded, therefore, that the criterion for carbonates source rock assessment, based on reconverting the TOC to the value of its original state, may have overestimated the course of the “carbon-reduction”, which is likely in many cases to make a poor source rock sound better.