3.

Source Rocks

Source Rock Geochemistry

Organic matter, source, kerogen, and
preservation in sediments
Source rock depositional environments
Source rock characterization
Evaluating source rocks from wireline logs

Lithology ofPotentialSourceRocks
Coal
CarbonaceousShale
Mudstone
Organicriched Limestone

Mahmud et. al. (2006)

Organic Matter in Sediments

Organic matter is usually a minor constituent in most sedimentary

rocks. The amount of organic matter varies from almost 100 % in
some peat and coal deposits, to little more than a few ppm in some
limestone and sandstone.

Generally, the organic contents of sediments is between 0.1 and 5

%; deep-sea sediments average about 0.2 % organic carbon;
sediments in sedimentary basins about 2 %; and shelf sediments
between 1 and 5 %.

The main contributors of organic matter to sediments are bacteria,

phytoplankton, zooplankton and higher plants.

Hunt (1996)

Carbon Cycle

Carbon is present in sedimentary rocks in two forms : as reduced

carbon in biologically produced organic matter over geological time
(18 %), and as oxidized carbon mainly in the form of carbonate (82
%).

The major process for production of organic matter is

photosynthesis and this is primarily responsible for the occurrence of
reduced carbon in sediments.

Carbon is recycled through the biosphere by photosynthesis and

oxidation.

Clayton and Fleet (1991)

Roles of Source Rocks

Petroleum is generated from organic-rich sediments (source rocks)

containing organic matter originating from biological materials.
During burial of sediments, the increase in temperature results in a
series of geochemical reactions which change biopolymers to
geopolymers, often collectively called kerogen, which are precursors
of petroleum.

The amount, type and composition of petroleum generated is

dependent upon the nature of the organic matter in the source rock
and its maturity governed by its time/temperature history.

Clayton and Fleet (1991)

Kinds of Source Rocks

Active source rocks
Spent source rocks
Potential source rocks

Kinds of Source Rocks

Active source rocks : a volume of rock that has generated or is

generating and expelling hydrocarbons in sufficient quantities to
form commercial oil and gas accumulations. The contained
sedimentary organic matter must meet minimum requirement of
organic richness, kerogen-type and organic maturity.

Spent source rocks : a volume of rock that had generated, possibly

a long time ago, its hydrocarbons and now contains thermally
altered organic matter.

Potential source rocks : a volume of rock that has the capacity to

generate hydrocarbons in sufficient quantities to form commercial oil
and gas accumulations, but has not yet reached the state of
minimum hydrocarbon generation because of insufficient organic
maturation.

Kerogen

Kerogen (from kerosene generator) is defined as the organic

component of source rocks that is insoluble in common organic
solvents and aqueous alkali (NaOH solution). The soluble portion of
the organic matter is termed bitumen or total soluble extract (TSE)

Kerogen is of complex biological origin; it is derived from dead

organisms whose organic remains survive the early stages of
diagenesis and lithification. This biological origin is frequently
apparent when kerogen is analysed by microscopic or chemical
techniques. It is derived from the lipid, lignin, protein, and
carbohydrate portions of organisms.

Classification of Kerogen
The composition of kerogen is widely
Classification schemes may be based on :

variable.

microscopic analysis of organic remains (palynological or coal

petrography): alginite, exinite, vitrinite, inertinite
chemical (elemental) analysis of the kerogen : types I, II, III, IV
kerogen
the products of kerogen breakdown : oil-prone, gas-prone, inert
kerogen

Types of Kerogen (1)

Alginite group (oil prone) : alginite (fresh-water algae)
Exinite group (oil & gas prone) : exinite (polen, spores),
cutinite (land-plant cuticle), resinite (land-plant resins),
liptinite (all land-plant lipids, marine algae)
Vitrinite group (gas prone) : vitrinite (woodyland
cellulosic material from land plants)
Inertinite group (none) : charcoal, highly oxidised or
reworked material of any origin

Types of Kerogen (2)

Type I : relatively rare, they frequently correspond to lacustrine oil shales

where much of the organic matter has been derived from green algae (e.g.
Botryococcus and related genera).

Type II : may be derived from algae, this time generally deposited in

marine environments. Other sources of this type of kerogen include the
more hydrogen rich components of higher plants (cuticle, resin, spores and
pollen).

Type III : they are derived largely from the lignin components of higher
plants with only minor amounts of cuticle, resin or spores; low hydrogen
contents.

Type IV : it comprises plant tissue that has been oxidised. It has little
potential to generate petroleum.

Kerogen Type
Kerogen: Insoluble; preserved in sedimentary rocks

Type-I

Type I (very oil prone): amorphous

hydrogen-rich; algal in anaerobic; especially lacustrine.
Type II (oil prone): herbaceous
comparatively hydrogen-rich;
suboxic; especially marine.

phytoplankton

in

Type III (gas prone):Woody&coaly

hydrogen-poor & poly-aromatic; higher plants

II
III

Shimazaki (1986)

Type IV (inertinite) Woody&coaly

oxidized and hydrogen-very-poor
Type II-S : amorphous
unusually high organic sulfur about 8-14% (atomic
S/C>0.04) and appear to begin to generate oil at lower
thermal exposure

Types of Kerogen (3)

Oil-prone kerogen (labile kerogen) : components
which are lipid- and hydrogen-rich and yield
predominantly oil (C6+ molecules) but also some gas
(C1-5 molecules) typically between 100 and 150 C
in the subsurface.
Gas-prone kerogen (refractory kerogen) :
components which are lignin-derived and hydrogenpoor and yield gas typically between 150 and 230
C in the subsurface.

Clayton and Fleet (1991)

Merrill (1991)

Depositional environment of kerogen type

Type I:
stratified freshwater lakes
Type II:
silled, deep-water basins on continental slope and rise
outer shelf O2-minimum layer under upwelling
Type III:
lagoonal, deltaic and coastal swamps
basins of restricted circulation on continental shelves

Type I
Type III
Type II
500-2500m

Peters and Moldowan (1993)

Type III
Type II

without supply of clay

Selley (1985)

Selley (1985)

Brooks (1987)

Katz and Schunk (1985)

Brooks et al. (1987)

Preservation of Organic Matter

The principal control on organic richness is the efficiency
of preservation of organic matter in sedimentary
environments.
Three factors affect the preservation (or destruction) of
organic matter :
the concentration and nature of oxidizing agents
the type of organic matter deposited
the sediment-accumulation rate
Of these, oxidizing agents are probably the most crucial factor.

Factors Enhancing Preservation

Stagnant basins : density stratification with O2-poor
bottom waters
Oxygen-minimum layer (OML) : the rate of oxygen
consumption exceeds the rate of oxygen influx
Restricted circulation : presence of shallow and deep
silling, coal swamps (poor water circulation, high influxes
of organic matter, diminished bacterial activity).

Preservation by Type of Organic Matter and

and Rapid Sedimentation and Burial

Algal phytoplankton is consumed more readily by organism than are

other types of OM. That material which remains is dominantly of
terrestrial origin, and may include woody cellulosic, lignitic, cuticular,
or resinous material.

Rapid sedimentation and burial can also enhance preservation.

TOC values increase as sediment-accumulation rates increase, as a
result of more rapid removal of organic material from the zone of
microbial diagenesis. But, at very high accumulation rates (around
50 m/MY), dilution process does spread that organic material
through a larger volume of rock. The net result is a reduction in TOC
values.

Preservation by Anoxia

Oxic = the zone with high oxygen contents (O2 > 0.5
ml/l); aerobic process

Anoxic = the zone with low oxygen contents (O2 < 0.2
ml/l); anaerobic process

Anoxia is of tremendous importance in the preservation

of organic matter in sediments. If anoxia can develop,
preservation of organic matter will be much enhanced.
Most of the worlds oil was generated from source beds
deposited under anoxic conditions.

Brooks et al. (1987)

Brooks et al. (1987)

Hunt (1996)

Selley (1985)

Waples (1985)

Waples (1985)

Waples (1985)

Waples (1985)

Waples (1985)

Selley (1985)

Depositional Controls

The potential of a sediment to generate and expel petroleum upon

maturation depends on the composition and concentration of the organic
matter preserved in the sediment during deposition.

Aquatic organic mater (marine, brackish, freshwater phytoplankton), when

preserved, gives rise to a hydrogen- (lipid-) rich kerogen component which
generate predominantly oil.

Terrigenous higher plant detritus gives rise to either, in the general case, a
hydrogen-poor (lignin-rich) kerogen which is gas-prone. Or, when leaf
cuticle and/or resins are preserved in abundances relative to other
terrigenous detritus, oil is predominantly generated.

The most important petroleum source rocks are marine sediments. These
have sourced at least 85 % of the recoverable oil resources of the world.

Source Rock Depositional Environments

Lacustrine source rocks

freshwater lakes
saline lakes
Paludal source rocks freshwater marshes
Paralic source rocks marine-influenced, salt marshes
siliciclastic paralic source rocks
carbonate paralic source rocks
Deltaic source rocks
upper delta plain (freshwater delta top)
lower delta plain (brackish-saline delta top)
pro-delta
Marine source rocks
enclosed restricted basins
continental shelves
continental slope and rise

Hunt (1996)

Lacustrine Source Rocks

Lakes are the most important setting for source bed deposition in
continental sequences.

Favourable conditions may exist in deep lakes, where bottom waters

are not disturbed by surface wind stress, and at low latitudes, where
there is little seasonal overturn of the water column and a
temperature-density stratification may develop.

Source bed thickness and quality is improved in geologically longlasting lakes with minimal clastic input.

Organic matter on lake floors may be autochthonous, derived from

fresh water algae and bacteria, which tends to be oil-prone and
waxy, or allochthonous, derived from land plants swept in from the
lake drainage area, which may be either gas-prone or oil-prone and
waxy.

Clayton and Fleet (1991)

Clayton and Fleet (1991)

Deltaic Source Rocks

Deltas may be important settings for source bed deposition. In SE
Asia and Australasia, deltas appear to have sourced a large
proportion of the discovered oils.

Constructive deltas (fluvial or tide dominated) are characterized by

persistent low-energy environments on the delta top which favour
source bed deposition. Destructive or static deltas (wave dominated)
generally provide less favourable environments for source bed
deposition.

Organic matter may be derived from freshwater algae and bacteria

in swamp and lakes on the delta-top, marine phytoplankton and
bacteria in the delta-front and marine pro-delta shales, and, probably
most importantly, from terrigenous land plants growing on the delta
plain.

Clayton and Fleet (1991)

Deltaic Source Rocks

On post-Jurassic deltas in tropical latitudes, the land plant material

may include a high proportion of oil-prone, waxy epidermal tissues,
resins, spores; and gas-prone (lignin) material. Pre-Jurassic and
temperate land plants are predominantly gas prone.

Mangrove material may be an important constituent providing a vast

quantity of lipid-rich organic matter. Mangrove material is likely to
source oils that have a high wax content.

Coals in SE Asia and Australia source oils. The coals are

dominantly vitrinitic but contain up to 15 % exinite macerals. Oils
have been geochemically matched with these coals, and have
typical coal-source characteristics, including high wax content (up to
27 %)

Mahmud et. al. (2006)

Clayton and Fleet (1991)

Clayton and Fleet (1991)

Clayton and Fleet (1991)

Marine Source Rocks

In open ocean whose floors are swept by cold, dense currents

originating in the polar regions, an oxygen-deficient layer develops
at depths of 100 to 1000 m. At times in the geological past, during
periods of warmer climate and higher sea level, this layer may have
intensified and impinged on large areas of the continental shelves
and slope.

The gas or oil-proneness of a marine source rock depends primarily

on the presence or absence of gas-prone terrigenous plant material.
Enclosed marine basins close to major clastic source may be gasprone. Oil-prone organic matter of truly marine origin occurs in
upwelling zones offshore from arid land areas.

Marine Source Rocks

Much of the worlds oil (85 %) has been sourced from marine source rocks.

Source beds may develop in enclosed basins with restricted water

circulation (reducing oxygen supply), or open shelves and slopes with
upwelling into zone of ODD (oxygen-depleted/-deficient).

In enclosed marine basins, source bed deposition is favoured by a positive

water balance, where the main water movement is a strong outflow of
relatively fresh surface water, leaving denser bottom-waters undisturbed.

The upwelling of nutrient-rich oceanic waters may give rise to exceptionally

high organic productivity. Oxygen-depletion may occur in the underlying
bottom-waters as oxygen supply is overwhelmed by the demand created by
degradation of dead organic matter.

Conford (1979)

Organic Productivity by Upwellings

Upwelling : the vertical movement of subsurface marine or lake

waters to the surface. Upwelling occurs where surface waters are
moved aside by water and wind currents. Nutrients are brought into
the photic zone by upwelling, and photosynthetic productivity is
greatly enhanced.

Productivity of source rocks can be predicted by locating ancient

sites of marine upwellings. However, we dont know exactly about
past continental positions and configurations, past sea-water
chemistry and nutrient availability, and past oceanic- and
atmospheric-circulation patterns (paleo-climate).

Clayton and Fleet (1991)

General Model for

Source Rock Development

A large proportion of the major source rocks around the world were
deposited during major transgressions, particularly in shallow,
restricted, shelf environments. Good source rocks are thus often
favourably juxtaposed with reservoir rocks, which proliferate during
regressive events.

Models that integrate the concepts of organic richness with

depositional cycles and facies analysis will be valuable in the future
for understanding hydrocarbon systems in basin. To derive
maximum value from geochemical analyses, we should always
strive to place the organic-rich rocks in the larger context of basin
evolution through space and time.

Sources and Reservoirs in Geological Time

Waples (1985)

Source Rock Characterisation

For a source rock, the characterisation is designed to test :

its richness
the type of petroleum it is likely to generate
its maturity
Techniques / analyses for characterisation include :
TOC (total organic carbon)
Rock-eval pyrolysis
Source potential of S1 (P1), S2 (P2), S3 (P3)
Tmax C
Hydrogen Index (HI)
Oxygen Index (OI)
Production Index (PI)
Potential Yield (PY)
Visual examination of kerogen concentrates
Extract analysis
Maturity evaluation (SCI, VR)
Gas chromatography analysis
GC-MS analysis
Carbon isotope analysis

Rock-Eval Pyrolysis

S1 (P1) (ppm) : free HCs released when furnace temperature is 250C

S2 (P2) (ppm) : HCs cracked from kerogen when furnace temperature is
550C
S3 (P3) (ppm) : carbon dioxide released during early stages of pyrolysis
T max C : maximum temperature of S2
HI (hydrogen index) : S2/TOC (mg/g) or ratio of released HCs to organic
carbon content
OI (oxygen index) : S3/TOC (mg/g) or ratio of released carbon dioxide to
organic carbon content
PI (production index) : S1/S1+S2
PY (pyrolysis yield) : S2 (ppm) or total of HCs released during cracking of
kerogen compared to original weight of rock
Source potential : S1+S2
Tmax, HI, and OI are each functions of both maturity and kerogen type.

Peters and Cassa (1994)

Peters and Cassa (1994)

Hunt (1996)

Katz and Schunk (1985)

Katz and Schunk (1985)

Peters and Cassa (1994)

Peters and Cassa (1994)

Selley (1985)

Evaluating Source Rocks from Wireline Logs

Geochemical analysis of cuttings and sidewall cores suffer from poor spatial
resolution. Wireline logs, in contrast, make continuous measurements of certain
bulk physical and chemical properties.

Log data is used to extrapolate between geochemical sampling points. Wireline

logging does not replace the need for sampling and geochemical analysis.

Log data used for geochemical applications :

gamma ray, NGS (measures elemental K, U, Th)
density
neutron porosity
sonic travel time
resistivity

Three main geochemical applications from log :

source rock identification
quantification of organic richness
quantification of maturity

Petrophysical Properties of Kerogen

Relative to clay or carbonate matrix, minerals kerogen has a
low density, high sonic travel time, high neutron porosity.
Relative to non-source rock intervals of similar lithology, rich
hydrocarbon source rocks are characterized by :
an increase in apparent porosity measured by density, sonic,
and compensated neutron tools.
density values of 1.1 - 1.3 g/cc are applicable to Kimmeridge
clay type source rock.
a range of 105-190 microsecond/ft is applicable for kerogen
kerogen is non-conducive and resistive.

Evaluating Source Rocks from Wireline Logs

Source intervals are identified by :

an increase in sonic travel time
an increase in neutron porosity
a decrease in bulk density
either no change or increasing resistivity
The source interval often, but not always, has enhanced levels of
uranium concentration and total radioactivity.
Carbonate source rocks are characterized by the low K and Th, high U.
Shale source rocks are characterized by the moderate K and Th, high
U.
Mature organic-rich shales are characterized by higher resistivities than
immature ones and the increase in resistivity is proportional to the
amount of generated petroleum.

Clayton and Fleet (1991)

Wireline logs and oil source rock potential

Creaney and Allan (1990)

Meyer and Nederlof (1984)

Meyer and Nederlof (1984)

Clayton and Fleet (1991)

Clayton and Fleet (1991)

Herron (1991)

Clayton and Fleet (1991)

Clayton and Fleet (1991)

Clayton and Fleet (1991)

Schmoker (1994)