Lower Silurian Source Rocks Research Articles

Organic geochemical studies and origin of black hydrocarbon material (heavy oil) produced from Risha gas field (Jordon): insights into produced contaminated organic-inorganic materials during production

After several years of gas production, a black solid hydrocarbon material began to be produced along with the gas stream from the Risha gas field, in the northeastern part of Jordan. The main reason for the formation of this material is still unknown until this time, so knowing the source of this material is this study’s main goal. Organic geochemical studies for black solid material and effective source rocks (Lower Silurian shales) are used to determine the physical and organic components of the produced black solid material (heavy oil) and attempt to identify its source. The black solid material demonstrates high organic carbon (TOC = 12% by leco instrument) and a high calorific value, like those of oils, asphalts, and shale oils with moderate sulfur content. The gross composition of the black solid material sample is dominated by saturates and asphaltene but contains very low aromatic hydrocarbons reflecting the naphthenic oil type. Meanwhile, the Silurian extracts range between paraffinic and paraffinic-naphthenic organic matters. The biomarker indicators related depositional environment and carbon isotopic composition for the black solid material sample and Silurian extracts, show that they were relatively deposited in a reducing marine environment. The black material reveals lower maturity level than the Silurian extracts. Oil/source rock correlation study for the studied samples suggests strong affinity between the black material and Lower Silurian source rock in their source characteristics, suggesting that the black hydrocarbon material was expelled from the Silurian source rocks at low maturity stage as normal oil. This normal oil is subjected to secondary alteration process (evaporative fractionation) and was stored in the reservoir. It contaminated with some inorganic material that was introduced into the well as a component of a drilling mud additive or drill string lubricant or, potentially, in part, a corrosion product of wellbore tubulars, since significant iron was present in the sample.

Source and thermal maturity assessment of the Paleozoic-Mesozoic organic matter in the Risha gas field, Jordan

Detailed geochemical analyses of the Lower Silurian-Cretaceous shales in the Risha Field were carried out to determine their source input (marine or terrigenous), paleoenvironment, maturity, and hydrocarbon generation potential for their contributions to the gas field. The Lower Silurian shales are believed to be effective source rocks for oil within the Paleozoic petroleum system in the Risha field. Furthermore, the Upper Cretaceous shales have high hydrocarbon potentials and are considered as a promising source for oil and gas. The Upper Ordovician, Lower Silurian and Upper Cretaceous shales in the study area were deposited in a marine anoxic environment, resulting in the accumulation of highly liptinitic organic matters derived from algae and bacteria (Type II kerogen). The maturity of the Lower Silurian source rocks increases from the oil window to the gas window. Ordovician shales have reached the over maturity stage. Current hydrogen index (HI) values for the Silurian organic matter are relatively low after significant hydrocarbon production and expulsion. Two oil types are found from the standard petroleum geochemical analyses of the studied shales: naphthenic oil from immature Cretaceous black shales and high maturity paraffinic oils from Lower Silurian and Ordovician layers. The thermal history model of the Lower Paleozoic source rocks reveals that the Lower Silurian shales reached the dry gas generation stage 280–250 million years ago during Early Triassic, suggesting the large volume of gas accumulated in the Risha field mainly from the Silurian source rocks.

Petroleum generation and expulsion in the Lower Palaeozoic petroleum source rocks at the SW margin of the East European Craton (Poland)

In this work, 1-D numerical modelling of petroleum generation and expulsion processes in the Upper Ordovician and Lower Silurian source rocks was carried out in over sixty wells along the SW margin of the East European Craton ( EEC) in Poland. Lower Palaeozoic sediments were subjected to rapid burial in the Palaeozoic and then were uplifted in several phases, but with the predominance of the late Variscan tectonic inversion. The thermal maturity of organic matter in the Lower Palaeozoic strata indicates the advancement of the generation processes from the phase of low-temperature thermogenic processes in the NE part of the Baltic and Podlasie-Lublin basins to the overmature stage along the zone adjacent to the Teisseyre-Tornquist Zone (TTZ). The results of modelling of generation and expulsion show that these processes took place mainly in the Devonian and Carboniferous periods and in the westernmost part (along the TTZ), even in the latest Silurian. The hydrocarbon expulsion took place with a small – delay after generation. During the Mesozoic and Cainozoic, generation processes practically were not resumed or intensified. Nevertheless, it was found that zones with an increased shale gas potential can occur only in a relatively narrow belt on the SW slope of the EEC, parallel to the edge of the TTZ. The most promising seem to be Caradocian, Llandovery and the Wenlock between the Lebork IG-1 and Kościerzyna IG-1 wells in the Baltic Basin, and the Wenlock source rocks in the Podlasie-Lublin Basin between the Okuniew IG-1, Łopiennik IG-1 and Narol IG-1 wells. Most of the hydrocarbons were subjected to expulsion and possible migration. As a result, there was a large dispersion of the hydrocarbons generated. The chance of preservation of these hydrocarbons in the source rocks is small.

Tectono-thermal Evolution of the Lower Paleozoic Petroleum Source Rocks in the Southern Lublin Trough: Implications for Shale Gas Exploration from Maturity Modelling

The Lower Paleozoic basins of eastern Poland have recently been the focus of intensive exploration for shale gas. In the Lublin Basin potential unconventional play is related to Lower Silurian source rocks. In order to assess petroleum charge history of these shale gas reservoirs, 1-D maturity modeling has been performed. In the Łopiennik IG-1 well, which is the only well that penetrated Lower Paleozoic strata in the study area, the uniform vitrinite reflectance values within the Paleozoic section are interpreted as being mainly the result of higher heat flow in the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian times and ~3500 m thick overburden eroded due to the Variscan inversion. Moreover, our model has been supported by zircon helium and apatite fission track dating. The Lower Paleozoic strata in the study area reached maximum temperature in the Late Carboniferous time. Accomplished tectono-thermal model allowed establishing that petroleum generation in the Lower Silurian source rocks developed mainly in the Devonian – Carboniferous period. Whereas, during Mesozoic burial, hydrocarbon generation processes did not develop again. This has negative influence on potential durability of shale gas reservoirs.

Constraining burial history and petroleum charge in exhumed basins: New insights from the Illizi Basin, Algeria

Intracratonic sag basins commonly have relatively simple tectonic histories; however, later tectonic activity involving exhumation can make reconstructing the burial history a challenging task. This is important because the relative timing of hydrocarbon generation and trap formation can be a key factor in risk assessment. If trap formation postdates peak hydrocarbon generation, exploration plays are typically downgraded. Mechanisms for charge in such exhumed basins are critical factors for understanding exploration risk. This study uses data collected from an Ordovician gas-condensate field in the Illizi Basin of Algeria to document the charging of a trap formed, or modified, during exhumation of the basin following maximum burial. Integrated analysis of sonic compaction data, thermal history indicators, and stratigraphic well data was used to constrain the burial and thermal history of the region. Hydrocarbon generation in the lower Silurian source rock is interpreted to have occurred during the Carboniferous (prior to Hercynian exhumation) and during the Late Cretaceous–early Eocene maximum burial (prior to Eocene exhumation). Structural reconstructions indicate that the field was initially located on the southern flank of a long-lived, intrabasinal, Paleozoic paleohigh. The large, low-relief structural closure that defines the present-day accumulation formed as a result of northward tilting of the Illizi Basin during Eocene uplift of the Hoggar massif. The study demonstrates that the timing of trap formation at the Ordovician field postdates the main local hydrocarbon generation events within the basin, suggesting that alternative hydrocarbon charge mechanisms are required. This study indicates considerable potential to charge updip traps on the flanks of exhumed petroliferous basins via redistribution of the preexisting hydrocarbons within the basin.

Organic geochemistry of marine source rocks and pyrobitumen-containing reservoir rocks of the Sichuan Basin and neighbouring areas, SW China

Three bitumen fractions were obtained and systematically analysed for the terpane and sterane composition from 30 Paleozoic source rocks and 64 bitumen-containing reservoir rocks within the Upper Sinian, Lower Cambrian, Lower Silurian, Middle Carboniferous, Upper Permian and Lower Triassic strata in the Sichuan Basin and neighbouring areas, China. These bitumen fractions include extractable oils (bitumen I), oil-bearing fluid inclusions and/or closely associated components with the kerogen or pyrobitumen/mineral matrix, released during kerogen or pyrobitumen isolation and demineralization (bitumen II), and bound compounds within the kerogen or pyrobitumen released by confined pyrolysis (bitumen III). In addition, atomic H/C and O/C ratios and carbon isotopic compositions of kerogen and pyrobitumen from some of the samples were measured. Geochemical results and geological information suggest that: (1) in the Central Sichuan Basin, hydrocarbon gases in reservoirs within the fourth section of the Upper Sinian Dengying Formation were derived from both the Lower Cambrian and Upper Sinian source rocks; and (2) in the Eastern Sichuan Basin, hydrocarbon gases in Middle Carboniferous Huanglong Formation reservoirs were mainly derived from Lower Silurian source rocks, while those in Upper Permian and Lower Triassic reservoirs were mainly derived from both Upper Permian and Lower Silurian marine source rocks. For both the source and reservoir rocks, bitumen III fractions generally show relatively lower maturity near the peak oil generation stage, while the other two bitumen fractions show very high maturities based on terpane and sterane distributions. Tricyclic terpanes evolved from the distribution pattern C20 < C21 < C23, through C20 < C21 > C23, finally to C20 > C21 > C23 during severe thermal stress. The concentration of C30 diahopane in bitumen III (the bound components released from confined pyrolysis) is substantially lower than in the other two bitumen fractions for four terrigenous Upper Permian source rocks, demonstrating that this compound originated from free hopanoid precursors, rather than hopanoids bound to the kerogen.

BURIAL AND THERMAL HISTORY MODELLING OF THE MURZUQ AND GHADAMES BASINS (LIBYA) USING THE GALO COMPUTER PROGRAMME

The GALO computer programme was used to model the thermal and burial histories of the Murzuq and Ghadames Basins, Libya. The model was based on recent drilling and seismic data from the basins, and used published deep temperature and vitrinite reflectance measurements. The model provides more accurate results than previous studies which were based on constant geothermal gradients during the basins' histories, and variations in heat flux at the base of the sedimentary cover were chosen so that calculated values of vitrinite reflectance coincide with those observed. The Murzuq Basin and Libyan part of the Ghadames Basin contain similar source rock units but have different burial histories. In the Murzuq Basin, maximum present‐day burial depths of Cambrian sediments range from 2200 to 2800 m and only locally reach 3000 – 3600 m; in the Ghadames Basin, however, burial depths can exceed 4–5 km. The burial history of the Murzuq Basin includes several periods of intense erosion and lithospheric heating which produced significant lateral variations in thermal maturity, leading in places to unexpected results. For example, relatively shallow‐buried Lower Silurian source rocks in the A‐76 area on the flank of the Murzuq Basin have a thermal maturity of Ro = 1.24% which is higher than the maturity of the same interval in more deeply buried areas (wells D1‐NC‐58 or J1‐NC101). In the central part of the Ghadames Basin, the modelling suggests a higher level of thermal maturity for organic matter in Silurian strata (Ro 0.8 to 1.3%), confirming the generation potential of Lower Silurian “hot shales”. Significant hydrocarbon generation began here in the Late Carboniferous and continues at the present day. Modelling of the Late Devonian (Frasnian) Aouinat Ouinine Formation “hot shales” suggests limited hydrocarbon generation depending strongly on burial depth, with the main phase of hydrocarbon generation taking place during the final episode of thermal activation in the Cenozoic. In the wells studied in the Ghadames Basin, the “oil window” extends over a considerable part of the present‐day sedimentary column.

Thermal Evolution Patterns and Primary Controlling Factors of Sinian‐Lower Paleozoic Source Rocks in the Sichuan Basin, Southwestern China

AbstractThermal evolution is an essential part of evaluation to source rocks as well as of research of hydrocarbon dynamic accumulation in oil‐gas‐bearing basins. The purpose of this work is to use the Easy%Ro chemical kinetic model to simulate the thermal evolution history of source rocks of Sinian‐Paleozoic ages in the Sichuan basin. It is based on analysis of styles of stratum deposition, recovery of thermal history of the basin, and the data from 86 representative drilling boreholes and more than 200 man‐made wells. The results show that the varied tectonic units of the basin have distinct feature of thermal evolution of the Lower Cambrian and Lower Silurian source rocks. Thus four models of thermal evolution are established: (1) Being mature during the Caledonian epoch and rapidly developed and shaped up in the early Late Permian period, as represented by the Lower Cambrian source rocks in the southern basin; (2) Not being mature during the Caledonian epoch and rapidly developed and shaped up in the early Late Permian period, as represented by the Lower Cambrian source rocks in the southwestern basin and Lower Silurian source rocks in the southern basin; (3) Being mature during the Caledonian epoch and mature again in the Late Hercynian‐Yanshanian epochs, as indicated by the Lower Cambrian source rocks in the northern basin; and (4) Not mature during the Caledonian epoch and steady maturity in the Late Hercynian‐Yanshanian epochs, as shown by the Lower Cambrian source rocks in the central basin and Lower Silurian source rocks in the eastern and northern basin. By comparison of relationship among the deposition rate heat flow and temperature increase rate, we infer the controlling factors of the thermal evolution of the source rocks above. For the southwestern and local southern Sichuan basin, the mantle plume and abnormal heat effect of basalt at the Emeishan during the early Late Permian period had exerted an major influence on the source rocks. In the rest of the basin, heating of sediments at depth and heat flow of the basin has a joint effect, especially the former had greatly increased the temperature of source rocks.

A Study on Maturation Evolution of Lower Silurian Marine Hydrocarbon Source Rocks and Thermal History in the Southern Jianghan Basin

AbstractThe data from typical boreholes in the southern Jianghan basin were modeled using the geothermal history simulation system of hydrocarbon‐bearing basin, and the thermal history and burial history were reconstructed. Based on the thermal history, maturation evolution of the Lower Silurian source rocks was modeled. The results show that the basin was in a stable stage before Indosinian movement, the paleo‐heat flow was between 50 mW/m2 and 55 mW/m2. After Indosinian period, the heat flow was elevated in the whole basin. In Yanshan period (155 Ma or so), the heat flow reached the maximum values of ~72 mW/m2 at 155 Ma in the north of the Qianbei Fault, the heat flow reached the maximum values of ~76 mW/m2 at 40 Ma in the south of the Qianbei Fault. Since the late Himalayan epoch, the Jianghan basin was subjected to a deposition withering period accompanied by a cooling episode. In early Triassic, the maturation of source rocks in Zhijiang, Dangyang and Mianyang depression area first reached oil generation threshold. The maturation of source rocks increased rapidly during early Jurassic to early Cretaceous. The maturation was higher in the north of the Qianbei Fault than in the south. Based on this, in late Cretaceous, the maturation of source rocks in the east area were higher than in the west area. The thermal evolution of source rocks terminated in the late Neogene. The heat flow history and Lower Silurian source rocks maturation evolution was calculated, which provides the basic data for source rocks evolution, hydrocarbon generation and expulsion prediction.

Genesis of Marine Carbonate Natural Gas in the Northeastern Sichuan Basin, China

Abstract: Sichuan Basin is one of the structurally stable and gas‐rich basins, being regarded as one of China's important natural gas industry bases. Puguang and Jiannan gas fields, located in the eastern Sichuan Basin are two large fields with gas derived from Permian and Lower Triassic marine carbonate. The genesis of marine carbonate natural gas was examined using carbon isotope composition and hydrocarbon components of natural gas samples from the eastern and western Sichuan Basin, and compared with that of acidolysis gas derived from marine source rock in the eastern Sichuan Basin. It is concluded that the natural gas in the marine carbonate reservoir originated from pyrolysis of the earlier crude oil and light‐oil, and then mixed with kerogen pyrolysis gas of the Permian and Lower Silurian source rock.

Petroleum generation and migration in the Ghadames Basin, north Africa: A two-dimensional basin-modeling study

The Ghadames Basin contains important oil- and gas-producing reservoirs distributed across Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. Regional two-dimensional (2-D) modeling, using data from more than 30 wells, has been undertaken to assess the timing and distribution of hydrocarbon generation in the basin. Four potential petroleum systems have been identified: (1) a Middle–Upper Devonian (Frasnian) and Triassic (Triassic Argilo Greseux Inferieur [TAG-I]) system in the central-western basin; (2) a Lower Silurian (Tannezuft) and Triassic (TAG-I) system to the far west; (3) a Lower Silurian (Tannezuft) and Upper Silurian (Acacus) system in the eastern and northeastern margins; and (4) a Lower Silurian (Tanezzuft) and Middle–Upper Devonian (Frasnian) system to the east-southeast. The Lower Silurian Tanezzuft source rock underwent two main phases of hydrocarbon generation. The first phase occurred during the Carboniferous, and the second started during the Cretaceous, generating most hydrocarbons in the eastern (Libyan) basin. The Frasnian shales underwent an initial, minor generative phase in the central depression during the Carboniferous. However, the main generation occurred during the Late Jurassic–Cenozoic in the western and central depression. The Frasnian shales are currently only marginally mature in the eastern part of the basin. Modeling indicates that the Alpine (Eocene) exhumation of the eastern (Libyan) basin margin had a significant control on the timing of hydrocarbon generation from the Lower Silurian source rock. The preferred burial-history model calibrates source rock maturity data by incorporating late exhumation and reduced subsidence prior to the Hercynian (Carboniferous) orogeny. As a result, the Tannezuft shales preserve their generative potential into the Mesozoic–Cenozoic, with renewed hydrocarbon generation during subsequent reburial, which can migrate to post-Hercynian (Carboniferous) traps, hence favoring the preservation of hydrocarbon accumulations.

The Maturation History of the Paleozoic Hydrocarbon System of the Arabian Platform: ABSTRACT

This poster defines the Paleozoic hydrocarbon system of the Arabian Platform, presents an interpretation of its thermal and burial history and uses those results to describe the maturation history of the Lower Silurian source rock. Geohistory analysts were used to delineate source rock kitchens and to guide searches for previously unrecognized sources. The Paleozoic hydrocarbon system is one of the areally largest hydrocarbon systems in the world and one of the least drilled. It contains one of the world`s largest gas fields, is one of the largest potential gas resources on earth, and contains one of the largest emerging oil plays. It is present in both the Zagros Foldbelt and the Arabian Platform. The Lower Silurian Qusaiba source and the Triassic Sudair regional seal define the boundaries of the system. The Paleozoic hc system evolved in basically five stages: (1) simultaneous sediment accumulation and structural formation during the Paleozoic; (2) major tectonism and erosion in Late Paleozoic (Hercynian); (3) Triassic deposition of a regional seal; (4) Mesozoic charging primarily from the Lower Silurian sources; and (5) re-initiation of maturation of Paleozoic sources and charging of the Zagros compressional traps during Neogene collision with Eurasia. We have also interpreted the fillingmore » history of North Dome to explain why it contains gas rather than oil. A combination of late trap growth and late gas generation apparently displaced the previously resident oils and left a trap with a gas rich in condensate. The Silurian may have been exhausted by this time, thus indicating that other sources may have contributed significantly to North Dome.« less

Gafsa Trough of Central Tunisia: Basin Evolution and Maturation of Hydrocarbons

The Gafsa trough of onshore central Tunisia is one of the more interesting and underexplored features of North Africa. It is a 5-12 km deep, east-west-trending depression along the inner edge of the Tunisian-Libyan shelf margin. The basin has had a long and virtually uninterrupted history of subsidence from the late Paleozoic into the early Cenozoic. Subsidence began in the late Carboniferous, soon after the close of the Hercynian orogeny, and resulted in deposition of a 3000+ m succession of Permo-Carboniferous carbonates and shale that pinches out southward onto the Saharan Flexure. The tectonic setting for this earliest phase of subsidence is not clear. The main episode of subsidence, which began in the Middle Triassic, continued through the Jurassic as left-lateral, transtensional rifting along the South Saharan and Maghrebian Shear zones. A set of organic maturation maps for onshore central Tunisia depicts the minimum time of entry into the oil and gas generative windows of the two potential source rocks in the region, the Lower Silurian Tannezufft Formation and Middle-Upper Jurassic basinal shales. Maturation modeling suggests that the Lower Silurian source rocks beneath the deeper portions of the Gafsa trough are overmature, even for generation of dry gas. Everywhere northmore » of the Saharan Flexure potential Paleozoic source rocks are highly mature to overmature. The Middle-Upper Jurassic basinal shales in the deeper, central portions of the Gafsa trough entered the oil generative window as early as mid-cretaceous time and into the gas generative window in the Late Cretaceous - early Tertiary. These possible source rocks are mature to highly mature beneath nearly all of the basin. The Gafsa trough is a probable gas province, with occurrences of condensate possible.« less