Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Oil source rocks at mesozoic and cenozoic continental margins: Communication 2. Oil source rocks at continental margins in the second half of the cretaceous and in the Cenozoic

  • Published:
Lithology and Mineral Resources Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Oil source rocks represent sequences with the Corg content ranging from 3–5 to 15–20%. Sedimentary sections of large petroliferous basins usually include one or two such sequences, which generated liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons (HCs) during their long-term subsidence to the elevated temperature zone. The middle episode of the Late Cretaceous was marked by the accumulation of sediments with a high Corg content in different areas of the World Ocean. However, truly unique settings favorable for accumulation of the sapropelic organic matter (OM) appeared at continental margins that primarily faced the Tethys Ocean. The La Luna Formation is one of the best known source rock sequences responsible for the generation of liquid HCs in basins of the Caribbean region. In the Persian Gulf, the Kazhdumi Formation composed of marls and clayey limestones is considered the main oil-generating sequence. In the Paleogene after closure of the Tethys, the Pacific continental margins became the main domains that accumulated source rocks. The maximal deposition of sapropelic OM in this region corresponded to the early-middle Eocene. In the Neogene, the accumulation of source sediments was associated with deltas and submarine fans of large rivers and with upwelling zones. In basins of the Californian borderland, the main oil-generating sequences are represented by siliceous rocks of the Monterey Formation. They were deposited in a regional upwelling zone related to the cold California Current.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abadi, A., van Wees, J.-D., van Dijk, A.D., et al., Tectonic and Subsidence Evolution of the Sirt Basin, Lybia, Bull. AAPG, 2008, vol. 92, no. 8, pp. 993–1027.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alsharhan, A. and Nairn, A., Sedimentary Basins and Petroleum Geology of the Middle East, Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alsharhan, A. and Salah, M., A Common Source Rock for Egyptian and Saudi Hydrocarbons in the Red Sea, Bull. AAPG, 1997, vol. 81, no. 10, pp. 1640–1659.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anders, D. and Gerrild, P., Hydrocarbon Generation in Lacustrine Rocks of tertiary Age, Uinta Basin, Utah — Organic Carbon, Pyrolysis Yield and Light Hydrocarbons, in Hydrocarbon Source Rocks of the Greater Rocky Mountains Region, Woodward, J. and Meissner, F., Clayton, J, Eds., Denver, 1985.

  • Baskin, D. and Peters, K., Early Generation Characteristics of a Sulfur-Rich Monterey Kerogen, Bull. AAPG, 1992, vol. 76, no. 1, pp. 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bojesen-Koefued, J., Nytoft, H., and Nguyen, Thi Dau., Petroleum Composition in the Cuu Long Basin (Meñong Basin) Offshore S-Vietnam, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 2009, vol. 26, pp. 899–908.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bordenave, M.L., The Albian Kazhdumi Formation of the Dezful Embayment Iran: One of Most Efficient Petroleum-Generating System, in Petroleum Source Rocks, Katz, B, Ed., Heudelberg: Springer, pp. 183–207.

  • Bordenave, M.L., The Early Cretaceous to Middle Miocene Petroleum Systems in the Zagros Domain of Iran and Its Prospect Evaluation, AAPG Annual Meeting. Houston, Texas, 2002, pp. 1–10.

  • Castillo, M. and Mann, P., Deeply Buried, Early Cretaceous Paleokarst Terrane, Southern Maracaibo Basin, Venezuela, Bull. AAPG, 2006, vol. 90, no. 4, pp. 567–579.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Distanova, L.R., Geochemistry of Organic Matter in Eocene Sediments (Evidence from the Kuma Formation of the Crimean-Caucasus Region), Extended Abstract of PhD. (Geol.-Miner.) Dissertation, Moscow: MGU, 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evamy, B., Haremboure, J., Kamering, P., et al., Hydrocarbon Habitat of Tertiary Niger Delta, Bull. AAPG, 1978, vol. 62, p. 277298.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fildani, A. and Hanson, A., Zhengzheng Chen Et Al. Geochemical Characteristics of Oil and Source Rocks and Implications for Petroleum Systems, Talara Basin, NW-Peru, Bull. AAPG, 2005, vol. 89, no. 11, pp. 1519–1545.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Firth, J. and Clark, D., An Early Maastrichtian Organic-Walled Phytoplankton Cyst Assemblage from an Organic-Rich Black Mud in Core FL-533 Alpha Ridge, Evidence for Upwelling Conditions in the Cretaceous Arctic Ocean, Mar. Micropalaeont., 1998, vol. 34, pp. 1–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ford, D. and Golonka, J., Phanerozoic Paleogeography, Paleoenvironments and Lithofacies Maps of the Circum-Atlantic Margins, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 2003, vol. 20, pp. 249–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerish, S., Mann, U., Micklich, N., et al., Organic Matter Composition of Two Discrete Thin Layers from the Eocene Messel Oil Shale (Germany), Abstracts of the 22nd Int. Meeting on Organic Geochemistry, 2005, pp. 12–16.

  • Gershanovich, D.E. and Konyukhov, A.I., Recent Sedimentation in the Peru Current Zone, in Sovremennye problemy geologii morei i okeanov (Modern Problems in the Geology of Seas and Oceans), Moscow: Nauka, 1980, pp. 48–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, R., Dzou, L., and Greeley, D., Shelf Petroleum System of the Columbus Basin, Offshore Trinidad, West Indies: Source Rock, Thermal History, and Controls on Product Distribution, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 1999, vol. 83, no. 7, pp. 1088–1095.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goncalvez, F., Mora, C., Cordoba, F., et al., Petroleum Generation and Migration in the Putumayo Basin, Colombia: Insights from an Organic Geochemistry and Basin Modeling Study in the Foothills, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 2002, vol. 19, pp. 711–725.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, S. and Williams, L., Tectonic, Depositional and Diagenetic History of Monterey Formation (Miocene), Central San Joaquin Basin, California, Bull. AAPG, 1985, vol. 69, pp. 385–411.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, R.J., Heidrich, T., Mertani, B., et al., Correlation and Migration of North Central Sumatra Oils, Org. Geochem., 2002, vol. 33, pp. 1361–1379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James, G.A. and Wynd, J.G., Stratigraphic Nomenclature of Iranian Oil Consortium Agreement Area, Bull AAPG, 1965, vol. 49, no. 12, pp. 2182–2245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, H., Forster, A., Schouten, S., et al., High Temperatures in the Late Cretaceous Arctic Ocean, Nature, 2004, vol. 472, pp. 888–892.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karakitsios, V., Tsikos H, Van Brengel Et Al. Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Events in Western Continental Greece, Bull. Geograph. Soc. Greece, 2004, vol. 36, pp. 846–855.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kholodov, V.N. and Nedumov, R.I., Litologiya i geokhimiya srednego miotsena Vostochnogo Predkavkaz’ya (Lithology and Geochemistry of the Middle Miocene in Eastern Ciscaucasia), Moscow: Nauka, 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kolonic, S., Sinninghe, Damste J., Bottcher, J., et al., Geochemical Characterization at Cenoman/Turonian Black Shales from the Tarfaya Basin (SW-Morocco), J. Petrol. Geol., 2002, vol. 25, pp. 325–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Konyukhov, A.I., Osadochnye formatsii v zonakh perekhoda ot kontinenta k okeanu (Sedimentary Formations in the Continent/Ocean Transition Zone), Moscow: Nedra, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Konyukhov, A.I. and Chen Xiaojun, Lithology and Formation Conditions of Paleogene Sediments in the Dongying Depression(Bohai Bay Basin, China), Lithol. Miner. Resour., 2007, no. 6, pp. 609–632.

  • Li Pilong, Oil and Gas Distribution Patterns in Dongying Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, J. Petrol. Sci. Engin., 2004, vol. 11, pp. 57–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magnier, C., Moretti, L., Lopez, J., et al., Geochemical Characterization of Source Rocks, Crude Oils and Gases of Northwest Cuba, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 2004, vol. 21, pp. 195–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mann, U. and Stein, R., Organic Facies Variations, Source Rock Potential and Sea Level Changes in Cretaceous Black Shales of the Quebrada Ocal, Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia, Bull. AAPG, 1997, vol. 81, no. 4, pp. 556–576.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyers, Ph., Yum, J.-G., and Wise, Sh., Organic and Maturity of Organic Matter in Mid-Cretaceous Black Shales from ODP Site 1138 on the Kerguelen Plateau, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 2008, vol. 26, pp. 909–915.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moldowan, J., Seifert, W., and Gallegos, F., Relationship between Petroleum Composition and Depositional Environment of Petroleum Source Rocks, Bull. AAPG, 1985, vol. 69, no. 11, pp. 1255–1268.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paytan, A., Avert, K., Faul, K., et al., Barite Accumulation Ocean Productivity and Sr/Ba in Barite across the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, Nature, 2007, vol. 35, no. 12, pp. 1139–1142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rangel, A., Moldowan, J., Nino, C., et al., Umir Formation: Organic Geochemical and Stratigraphic Assessment as Cosource for Middle Magdalena Basin, Bull. AAPG, 2002, vol. 86, no. 12, pp. 2069–2087.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruble, T., Lewan, M., and Philp, R., New Insights on the Green River Petroleum System in the Uinta Basin from Hydrous Pyrolysis Experiments, Bull. AAPG, 2001, vol. 85, no. 8, pp. 1333–1371.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sachse, V., Littke, R., Jabour, H., et al., Late Cretaceous (Late Turonian, Coniacian and Santonian) Petroleum Source Rocks as Part of an OAE, Tarfaya Basin, Morocco, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 2012, vol. 29, pp. 35–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saller, A., Rui, Lin., and Dunham, J., Leaves in Turbidite Sands: The Main Source of Oil and Gas in the Deep-Water Kutei Basin, Indonesia, Bull. AAPG, 2006, vol. 90, no. 10, pp. 1585–1608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saltus, R., Potter, Ch., and Phillips, J., Crustal Insights from Gravity and Aeromagnetic Analysis: Central North Slope, Alaska, Bull. AAPG, 2006, vol. 90, no. 10, pp. 1495–1517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarmiento, L. and Rangel, A., Petroleum Systems of the Upper Magdalena Valley, Colombia, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 2004, vol. 21, pp. 373–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schioler, P., Rogers, K., Sykes, R., et al., Palynofacies Organic Geochemistry and Depositional Environment of the Tartan Formation (Late Paleocene), a Potential Source Rocks in Great South Basin, New Zealand, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 2010, vol. 27, pp. 351–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schulz, H.-M., Sachsenhofer, R., Bechtel, A., et al., Hydrocarbon Source Rocks in the Austrian Molasse Basin (Eocene-Oligocene Transition), Mar. Petrol. Geol., 2002, vol. 19, pp. 683–709.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snowdon, L., Staswiuk, L., Robinson, R., et al., Organic Geochemistry and Organic Petrology of a Potential Source Rock of Early Eocene Age in the Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin, Org. Geochem., 2004, vol. 35, pp. 1039–1052.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stein, R., Upper Cretaceous — Lower Tertiary Black Shales Near the North Pole: Organic-Carbon Origin and Source-Rock Potential, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 2007, vol. 24, pp. 67–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Summa, L., Goodman, E., Richardsom, M., et al., Hydrocarbon Systems of NE-Venezuela: Plate Through Molecular Scale Analysis of the Genesis and Evolution of the Eastern Venezuela Basin, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 2003, vol. 20, pp. 323–349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sweeney, J., Braun, R., Burnham, A., et al., Chemical Kinetic Model of Hydrocarbon Generation, Expulsion and Destruction Applied to the Maracaibo Basin, Venezuela, Bull. AAPG, 1995, vol. 79, no. 10, pp. 1515–1532.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tissot, B. and Welte, D., Petroleum Formation and Occurrence, Heidelberg: Springer, 1978. Translated under the title Obrazovanie i rasprostranenie nefti, Moscow: Mir, 1981.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tissot, R., Deroo, G., and Hoods, A., Geochemical Study of the Uinta Basin: Formation of Petroleum from the Green River Formation, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 1978, vol. 42, pp. 1469–1485.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Urov, K.E., Avazmatov, Kh.B., and Listrem, A.I., Geochemical Features of the Lower Eocene Combustible Shales in Western Uzbekistan, in Nakoplenie i preobrazovanie OV sovremennykh i iskopaemykh osadkov (Accumulation and Transformation of OM in Recent Fossil Sediments), Moscow: Nauka, 1978, pp. 133–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vassoevich, N.B., Konyukhov, A.I., and Lopatin, N.V., Common and Specific Features of the Formation of Combustible Fossils: Coals, Oil, and HC Gases, in Goryuchie iskopaemye. Trudy XXV-go Geologicheskogo kongressa (Combustible Fossils: Proc. 5th Geol. Congr.), Moscow, 1976, pp. 7–19.

  • Weilin Zhu, Baojia Huang, Lijun Mi, et al., Geochemistry, Origin and Deep-Water Exploration Potential of Natural Gases in the Pearl River Mouth and Quingdongnan Basins, South China Sea, Bull. AAPG, 2009, vol. 93, no. 6, pp. 741–761.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan Jing and Qin Ke, Characteristics of Evaporate Generated in Deep Water of Sha-4 Member in Dongying Sag, J. Univ. Petrol. China, 2001, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 9–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yurewicz, D., Advocate, D., Lo, H.B., et al., Source Rocks and Oil Families, Southwest Maracaibo Basin (Catatumbo Subbasin), Colombia, Bull. AAPG, 1998, vol. 82, no. 7, pp. 1329–1352.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zobaa, M., Oboh-Tkuenobe, I., and Ibrahim, M., The Cenomanian-Turonian Oceanic Anoxic Event in the Rassak Field, North Western Desert, Egypt: Source Rock Potential and Paleoenvironmental Association, Mar. Petrol. Geol., 2011, vol. 28, pp. 1475–1482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zumberge, J.E., Source Rocks of the La Luna Formation in the Middle Magdalena Basin, Columbia, in Petroleum Geochemistry and Source Rock Potential of Carbonate Rocks, Palacas, J, Ed., AAPG Studies in Geology, 1984, vol. 18, pp. 127–133.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Geology, Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991, Russia

    A. I. Konyukhov

Authors
  1. A. I. Konyukhov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. I. Konyukhov.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © A.I. Konyukhov, 2012, published in Litologiya i Poleznye Iskopaemye, 2012, No. 5, pp. 471–489.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Konyukhov, A.I. Oil source rocks at mesozoic and cenozoic continental margins: Communication 2. Oil source rocks at continental margins in the second half of the cretaceous and in the Cenozoic. Lithol Miner Resour 47, 419–436 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0024490212050033

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0024490212050033

Keywords

Search

Navigation