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Accumulation model and geochemistry characteristics of oil occurring from Jurassic coal measures in the Huangling mining area of the Ordos Basin, China

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Abstract

The Ordos Basin is an important intracontinental sedimentary basin in China, containing a significant amount of coal, oil, and natural gas. This study analyzed the sedimentary environment, sedimentary facies, parent material type, maturity, and carbon isotopic composition of the coal-bearing organic matter using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The source of oil occurring in the No. 2 coal seam of the Jurassic Yan’an Formation (An-1 oil) and its accumulation model were also investigated. The results show that the relative abundances of C27, C28, and C29 steranes in the An-1 oil are 43.8%, 33.0%, and 23.2%, respectively. The tricyclic terpanes, C2920S/(20S + 20R), and C29ββ/(ββ+αα) contents of the An-1 oil are 31.4%–34.8%, 0.85 and 0.81, respectively. Pr/n-C17, Ph/n-C18, and Pr/Ph values are 0.34, 0.42, and 0.87, respectively. Biomarker parameters indicate that the An-1 oil mainly comes from the plankton source rock deposited in the freshwater lake facies and a reducing environment, which has evolved to maturity. The correlation of oil-oil indicates that the An-1 oil is homologous to the Chang-7 oil (Chang-7 member of the Triassic Yanchang Formation). The correlation of oil-source rock presents that the An-1 oil is generated from the Yanchang Formation (Chang-6 and Chang-7 source rocks) and occurred in the coal seam during the stage of stratum uplift since the Early of Late Cretaceous. The distribution characteristics of δ13Cgroup components in the An-1 oil and Chang-7 oil also reveal the fractionation phenomenon during the migration of crude oil.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 42172200 and 41972183); and the “Chunhui Plan” Cooperative Research for Ministry of Education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Geology and Environment, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an, 710054, China

    Yuan Bao, Yiliang Hu, Wenbo Wang & Chen Guo

  2. Key Laboratory of Coal Resources Exploration and Comprehensive Utilization, Xi’an, 710021, China

    Yuan Bao

  3. Engineering Department, Saint Francis University, Loretto, PA, 15940, USA

    Guochang Wang

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  1. Yuan Bao
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  2. Yiliang Hu
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  4. Chen Guo
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Correspondence to Yuan Bao.

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Bao, Y., Hu, Y., Wang, W. et al. Accumulation model and geochemistry characteristics of oil occurring from Jurassic coal measures in the Huangling mining area of the Ordos Basin, China. Front. Earth Sci. 17, 158–169 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-022-1038-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-022-1038-6

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