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On the geobiological evaluation of hydrocarbon source rocks

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Abstract

Hydrocarbon source rocks are characterized by the hydrocarbon discharge, and the alteration and variation in organic compositions and organic content due to the enhanced thermal maturation. These variations throw constraints on the application of the conventional inversion evaluation of hydrocarbon potential by assessing the residual organic matter left in source rocks. Geobiology, probing the interaction between the life system and the earth system, provides new principles in deciphering the whole dynamic processes related to the organic evolution history from living biomass to organic burial. Geobiological subdisciplines, including molecular geobiology, geomicrobiology, geoecology and biogeochemistry, offer new methodology and techniques to estimate the paleoproductivity, depositional organics and organic burial capacity and their components. Geobiofacies, newly proposed herein, is terminologized to define the geobiological dynamic processes through the combination of biofacies with organic facies and sedimentary facies, and expressed by the biohabitat types, paleoproductivity, depositional and preserved organics. Geobiofacies is identified as a useful means to create the geobiological evaluation system, which in turn rectifies the conventional evaluation system for the marine source rocks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology of Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Xie Shucheng, Yin Hongfu, Hu Chaoyong, Yan Jiaxin & Wang Yongbiao

  2. State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Xie Shucheng, Yin Hongfu, Xie Xinong, Huang Junhua & Zhou Lian

  3. Faculty of Earth Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Xie Xinong, Yang Xianghua & Xu Sihuang

  4. Wuxi Research Institute of Petroleum Geology, RIPED, SINOPEC, Wuxi, 214151, China

    Qin Jianzhong

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  1. Xie Shucheng
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  2. Yin Hongfu
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Correspondence to Xie Shucheng.

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Translated from Earth Science—Journal of China University of Geosciences, 2007, 32(6): 727–740 [译自: 地球科学—中国地质大学学报]

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Shucheng, X., Yin, H., Xie, X. et al. On the geobiological evaluation of hydrocarbon source rocks. Front. Earth Sci. China 1, 389–398 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-007-0041-2

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