LAND-PLANT SOURCE ROCKS FOR OIL AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE IN AUSTRALIAN BASINS

1982 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 164 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. M. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Depositional Environment ◽  
Land Plant ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Coal Measure ◽  
Terrestrial Plants ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Jurassic Coal ◽  
Paraffin Waxes ◽  
Gippsland Basin

Many Australian oils are rich in paraffin waxes which are derived from the remains of terrestrial plants. Although the land-plant contribution to oils, particularly those found in a paralic or deltaic environment, is well established, opinion is divided on the ability of non-marine coaly sediments to generate and expel commercial quantities of oil. It appears that some coal measure sequences have generated mainly gas whilst others are the source of large oil accumulations. The composition of coals deposited in Australia has varied through geological time as a result of differences in climate, geological setting, depositional environment and stage of floral evolution. Consequently, most Australian pre-Jurassic coal measure sequences are deficient in exinite macerals and are therefore mainly gas-prone. In contrast, Jurassic to Tertiary coal-rich sequences often contain abundant exinite and may have substantial potential to generate oil in commercial quantities, as demonstrated by the well-known Gippsland Basin (Bass Strait) oilfields.A similar trend is observed worldwide, where, despite the extraordinary global abundance of Late Palaeozoic coals, only minor amounts of crude oil of land-plant origin are known to be associated with them. However, there appears to be a close relationship between the occurrence of waxy, land-plant-derived crudes and coaly sediments of Cretaceous and Tertiary age. This is thought to be a result of the dominance of conifers in swamp floras of these periods, together with the evolution of the angiosperms (flowering plants) in the Late Cretaceous.

scholarly journals Fluid geochemistry of the Jurassic Ahe Formation and implications for reservoir formation in the Dibei area, Tarim Basin, northwest China

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 801-819 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuangfeng Zhao ◽  
Wen Chen ◽  
Zhenhong Wang ◽  
Ting Li ◽  
Hongxing Wei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Tarim Basin ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Coal Measure ◽  
Hydrocarbon Generation ◽  
Gas Reservoirs ◽  
Isotopic Analyses ◽  
Jurassic Coal

The condensate gas reservoirs of the Jurassic Ahe Formation in the Dibei area of the Tarim Basin, northwest China are typical tight sandstone gas reservoirs and contain abundant resources. However, the hydrocarbon sources and reservoir accumulation mechanism remain debated. Here the distribution and geochemistry of fluids in the Ahe gas reservoirs are used to investigate the formation of the hydrocarbon reservoirs, including the history of hydrocarbon generation, trap development, and reservoir evolution. Carbon isotopic analyses show that the oil and natural gas of the Ahe Formation originated from different sources. The natural gas was derived from Jurassic coal measure source rocks, whereas the oil has mixed sources of Lower Triassic lacustrine source rocks and minor amounts of coal-derived oil from Jurassic coal measure source rocks. The geochemistry of light hydrocarbon components and n-alkanes shows that the early accumulated oil was later altered by infilling gas due to gas washing. Consequently, n-alkanes in the oil are scarce, whereas naphthenic and aromatic hydrocarbons with the same carbon numbers are relatively abundant. The fluids in the Ahe Formation gas reservoirs have an unusual distribution, where oil is distributed above gas and water is locally produced from the middle of some gas reservoirs. The geochemical characteristics of the fluids show that this anomalous distribution was closely related to the dynamic accumulation of oil and gas. The period of reservoir densification occurred between the two stages of oil and gas accumulation, which led to the early accumulated oil and part of the residual formation water being trapped in the tight reservoir. After later gas filling into the reservoir, the fluids could not undergo gravity differentiation, which accounts for the anomalous distribution of fluids in the Ahe Formation.

Distribution of land plant markers in oils from the Gippsland Basin

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert Volk ◽  
Manzur Ahmed ◽  
Se Gong ◽  
Chris Boreham ◽  
Peter Tingate ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Land Plant ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Land Plants ◽  
Carbon Stable Isotopes ◽  
Compelling Evidence ◽  
Coal Seams ◽  
Molecular Fossils ◽  
Oil From Coal ◽  
Gippsland Basin

The Gippsland Basin is commonly cited as an outstanding example of a province dominated by oil from coal, and the most likely source rock for many of the oils is the Upper Cretaceous Latrobe Formation. Gippsland Basin oils contain abundant molecular fossils (biomarkers) for land plants, but to our knowledge there are no studies showing compelling evidence on whether the oils were predominantly generated from coal seams or from carbonaceous mudstones. In addition, the Latrobe Formation occurs in a range of maturity and facies expressions, and the degree to which other source rocks in the Gippsland Basin have also generated oil remains unclear. In this contribution, we will demonstrate how the distribution of land plant markers, in particular: di-, tri- and tetracyclic diterpanes; aromatic land plant markers such as retene and cadalene; pentacyclic land plant makers such as oleanane, lupane and their A-ring contracted counterparts; as well as, bicadinanes vary within a set of 23 oils from the Gippsland Basin. The variation with other aliphatic biomarkers and carbon stable isotopes is discussed, and source rocks with different floral assemblages in the Gippsland Basin are inferred.

MESOZOIC EVOLUTION OF THE GREATER TARANAKI BASIN AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PETROLEUM PROSPECTIVITY

2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 385 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Uruski ◽  
P. Baillie
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
Petroleum System ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Coal Measure ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Volcanic Arc ◽  
Petroleum Systems ◽  
Basement Rocks ◽  
Jurassic Coal

A paradigm of New Zealand petroleum geology was that the oldest source rocks known in the region were of Cretaceous age, so any older sedimentary rocks were considered to be economic basement. Two major projects have revealed that this is not universally the case and that a Jurassic petroleum system should now be considered.Firstly, the Astrolabe 2D speculative survey, acquired by TGS-NOPEC in 2001, has revealed that a significant section underlies the traditional Cretaceous petroleum systems. Secondly, the Wakanui–1 well, drilled by Conoco, Inpex and Todd in 1999, which has recently become open-file, penetrated a Mid-Jurassic coal measure sequence.Jurassic rocks, including coal measure units, are known onshore in New Zealand, They are part of the Murihiku Supergroup, one of the basement terranes comprising the Permian to Cretaceous volcanic arc that forms the basement rocks of the present New Zealand landmass. Wherever they have been seen in outcrop, these rocks generally record low grade metamorphism and have been discounted as petroleum source rocks. Where rocks of the same age were deposited distal to the volcanic arc (and the effects of heat and pressure), however, they may form components of an effective petroleum system.The New Caledonia Basin, extending more than 2,000 km from Taranaki to New Caledonia, may have been the site of a Mesozoic back-arc basin. Jurassic coal measure successions and their equivalent marine units may be locally, or regionally important as source rocks. Implications of a Jurassic petroleum system for prospectivity of the region are investigated.

scholarly journals REE and Sr–Nd Isotope Characteristics of Cambrian–Ordovician Carbonate in Taebaek and Jeongseon Area, Korea

Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 326
Author(s):  
Tae-Hyeon Kim ◽  
Seung-Gu Lee ◽  
Jae-Young Yu
Keyword(s):  
Depositional Environment ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Nd Isotope ◽  
Diagenetic Processes ◽  
Platform Margin ◽  
Carbonate Formations ◽  
Diagenetic History ◽  
Cretaceous Period ◽  
Ree Patterns

Carbonate formations of the Cambro-Ordovician Period occur in the Taebaek and Jeongseon areas, located in the central–eastern part of the Korean Peninsula. This study analyzed the rare earth element (REE) contents and Sr–Nd isotope ratios in these carbonates to elucidate their depositional environment and diagenetic history. The CI chondrite-normalized REE patterns of the carbonates showed negative Eu anomalies (EuN/(SmN × GdN)1/2 = 0.50 to 0.81), but no Ce anomaly (Ce/Ce* = CeN/(LaN2 × NdN)1/3 = 1.01 ± 0.06). The plot of log (Ce/Ce*) against sea water depth indicates that the carbonates were deposited in a shallow-marine environment such as a platform margin. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios in both Taebaek and Jeongseon carbonates were higher than those in the seawater at the corresponding geological time. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios and the values of (La/Yb)N and (La/Sm)N suggest that the carbonates in the areas experienced diagenetic processes several times. Their 143Nd/144Nd ratios varied from 0.511841 to 0.511980. The low εNd values and high 87Sr/86Sr ratios in the carbonates may have resulted from the interaction with the hydrothermal fluid derived from the intrusive granite during the Cretaceous Period.

Palaeonema phyticum gen. n., sp. n. (Nematoda: Palaeonematidae fam. n.), a Devonian nematode associated with early land plants

Nematology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Poinar Jr ◽  
Hans Kerp ◽  
Hagen Hass
Keyword(s):  
Early Stage ◽  
Land Plant ◽  
Terrestrial Plants ◽  
Early Devonian ◽  
Plant Parasitism ◽  
New Family ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Face ◽  
Early Land

AbstractNematodes are one of the most abundant groups of invertebrates on the face of the earth. Their extremely poor fossil record hinders our ability to assess just when members of this group invaded land and first became associated with plants. This study reports fossil nematodes from the stomatal chambers of the Early Devonian (396 mya) land plant, Aglaophyton major. These nematodes, which are tentatively assigned to the order Enoplia, are described as Palaeonema phyticum gen. n., sp. n. in the new family Palaeonematidae fam. n. Diagnostic characters of the family are: i) cuticular striations; ii) uniform, cylindrical pharynx with the terminal portion only slightly set off from the remainder; and iii) a two-portioned buccal cavity with the upper portion bearing protuberances. The presence of eggs, juveniles and adults in family clusters within the plant tissues provide the earliest evidence of an association between terrestrial plants and animals and may represent an early stage in the evolution of plant parasitism by nematodes.

scholarly journals Sedimentology and geochemistry of Middle–Upper Permian in northwestern Turpan–Hami Basin, China: Implication for depositional environments and petroleum geology

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 910-941
Author(s):  
Jian Song ◽  
Zhidong Bao ◽  
Xingmin Zhao ◽  
Yinshan Gao ◽  
Xinmin Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Depositional Environment ◽  
Saline Water ◽  
Depositional Environments ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
Upper Permian ◽  
Late Permian ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Mountain Area ◽  
Volcanic Source

Studies have found that the Permian is another important stratum for petroleum exploration except the Jurassic coal measures within Turpan–Hami Basin recently. However, the knowledge of the depositional environments and its petroleum geological significances during the Middle–Late Permian is still limited. Based on the analysis about the sedimentological features of the outcrop and the geochemical characteristics of mudstones from the Middle Permian Taerlang Formation and Upper Permian Quanzijie Formation in the Taoshuyuanzi profile, northwest Turpan–Hami Basin, this paper makes a detailed discussion on the Middle–Late Permian paleoenvironment and its petroleum geological significances. The Middle–Upper Permian delta–lacustrine depositional system was characterized by complex vertical lithofacies assemblages, which were primarily influenced by tectonism and frequent lake-level variations in this area. The Taerlang Formation showed a significant lake transgression trend, whereas the regressive trend of the Quanzijie Formation was relatively weaker. The provenance of Taerlang and Quanzijie Formations was derived from the rift shoulder (Bogda Mountain area now) to the north and might be composed of a mixture of andesite and felsic volcanic source rocks. The Lower Taerlang Formation was deposited in a relatively hot–dry climate, whereas the Upper Taerlang and Quanzijie Formations were deposited in a relatively humid climate. During the Middle–Late Permian, this area belonged to an overall semi-saline water depositional environment. The paleosalinity values showed stepwise decreases from the Lower Taerlang Formation to the Upper Quanzijie Formation, which was influenced by the changes of paleoclimate in this region. During the Middle–Late Permian, the study area was in an overall anoxic depositional environment. The paleoenvironment with humid climate, lower paleosalinity, anoxic condition, and semi-deep to deep water during the deposition of the Upper Taerlang Formation was suitable for the accumulation of mudstones with higher TOC values.

scholarly journals Analysis of the charging process of the lacustrine tight oil reservoir in the Triassic Chang 6 Member in the southwest Ordos Basin, China

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (12) ◽  
pp. 1228-1247
Author(s):  
Zhengjian Xu ◽  
Luofu Liu ◽  
Tieguan Wang ◽  
Kangjun Wu ◽  
Wenchao Dou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ordos Basin ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Driving Mechanism ◽  
Tight Oil ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Tight Sandstone ◽  
Main Production ◽  
The Ordos Basin ◽  
Homogenization Temperatures ◽  
Quartz Grains

With the success of Bakken tight oil (tight sandstone oil and shale oil) and Eagle Ford tight oil in North America, tight oil has become a research focus in petroleum geology. In China, tight oil reservoirs are predominantly distributed in lacustrine basins. The Triassic Chang 6 Member is the main production layer of tight oil in the Ordos Basin, in which the episodes, timing, and drive of tight oil charging have been analyzed through the petrography, fluorescence microspectrometry, microthermometry, and trapping pressure simulations of fluid inclusions in the reservoir beds. Several conclusions have been reached in this paper. First, aqueous inclusions with five peaks of homogenization temperatures and oil inclusions with three peaks of homogenization temperatures occurred in the Chang 6 reservoir beds. The oil inclusions are mostly distributed in fractures that cut across and occur within the quartz grains, in the quartz overgrowth and calcite cements, and the fractures that occur within the feldspar grains, with blue–green, green, and yellow–green fluorescence colours. Second, the peak wavelength, Q650/500, and QF535 of the fluorescence microspectrometry indicate three charging episodes of tight oil with different oil maturities. The charging timings (141–136, 126–118, and 112–103 Ma) have been ascertained by projecting the homogenization temperatures of aqueous inclusions onto the geological time axis. Third, excess-pressure differences up to 10 MPa between the Chang 7 source rocks and the Chang 6 reservoir beds were the main driving mechanism supporting the process of nonbuoyancy migration.

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