Abstract Noble gas isotopes, major element isotopes, and gas composition were obtained from the shut-in Butler #3 (API 32-105-00008) and Simpson #1 (API 32-105-00007) wells, drilled in 1998, and sample gas from the Cumnock Formation of Late Norian age. This is the first gas chemistry compilation of these wells. The wells’ gas, sampled in 2009 and in 2014, had a strong “fruity” light petroleum odor, a visible condensate plume when the wells were flowed, and are in the oil and wet gas window. Shutin well pressures were ~900 psi (Butler #3), and ~200 psi (Simpson #1); both had a substantial initial gas flow. Limited data are from the 1982 Dummitt-Palmer #1 CBM well (API 32-105-00002), now plugged and abandoned. Helium concentrations were ~0.20% to 0.24% from the noble gas analysis, neon ranged from 0.11 to 0.04 ppm, and argon was approximately 33 ppm. The measured noble gas composition contains very low atmospheric contamination with helium isotopes (0.07 R/R A ) clearly defined by a crustal origin, while neon and krypton and are mainly attributed to atmospheric origin ( 20 Ne/ 22 Ne ~9.8, 86 Kr/ 84 Kr ~0.3). Argon isotopes are mixed between crustal and atmospheric origins with 40 Ar/ 36 Ar values ~ 418 to 520. The F 20 Ne/ 36 Ar (~0.9 to 2.6), F 84 Kr/ 36 Ar (~0.8) and F 132 Xe/ 36 Ar (0.6-0.7) in the gas show enrichment in the light isotope associated with multi-stage fractionation processes with gas and fluid interaction. The methane content (range ~58 to 64%) is inverse to the nitrogen content from denitrification of very thin ammonium-bearing units (also rich in oil), and likely from illite in overlying strata.

Laguna Mar Chiquita (central Argentina; ~latitude 31°S, longitude 63°W) provides an outstanding opportunity to examine organic facies development and petroleum source-rock potential in a modern thick-skinned foreland basin lake. In this case study, we define profundal, paleodelta, and lake-margin depositional environments based on trends in bathymetry and lake-floor sediment particle size. Sedimentary geochemical analyses indicate that organic carbon–rich muds accumulate in profundal environments during the extant lake-level highstand. The lateral variability of organic facies is minimal. The quality of organic facies is controlled by lake level and depositional environment, both of which dictate patterns of algal productivity, siliciclastic dilution, and early diagenesis. We present conceptual models of lacustrine source rocks in both thick-skinned and thin-skinned foreland basins based on modern analog data from both Laguna Mar Chiquita and other lakes in the central Andean foreland. Over relatively short time intervals (10 2 –10 4 yr), climatically driven water-level fluctuations influence the source-rock potential of these basins. Over time intervals >10 5 yr, contraction and lateral migration of the basin flexural profile control stratal stacking patterns and the potential for hydrocarbon play development.

This study examines the relationship between depositional environment and sedimentary organic geochemistry in Lake Malawi, East Africa, and evaluates the relative significance of the various processes that control sedimentary organic matter (OM) in lacustrine systems. Total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations in recent sediments from Lake Malawi range from 0.01 to 8.80 wt% and average 2.83 wt% for surface sediments and 2.35 wt% for shallow core sediments. Hydrogen index (HI) values as determined by Rock-Eval pyrolysis range from 0 to 756 mg HC g −1 TOC and average 205 mg HC g −1 TOC for surface sediments and 228 mg HC g −1 TOC for shallow core samples. On average, variations in primary productivity throughout the lake may account for ~33% of the TOC content in Lake Malawi sediments (as much as 1 wt% TOC), and have little or no impact on sedimentary HI values. Similarly, ~33% to 66% of the variation in TOC content in Lake Malawi sediments appears to be controlled by anoxic preservation of OM (~1–2 wt% TOC), although some component of the water depth–TOC relationship may be due to physical sediment transport processes. Furthermore, anoxic preservation has a minimal effect on HI values in Lake Malawi sediments. Dilution of OM by inorganic sediment may account for ~16% of variability in TOC content in Lake Malawi sediments (~0.5 wt% TOC). The effect of inputs of terrestrial sediment on the organic character of surface sediments in these lakes is highly variable, and appears to be more closely related to the local depositional environment than the regional flux of terrestrial OM. Total nitrogen and TOC content in surface sediments collected throughout the lake are found to be highly correlated (r 2 = 0.95), indicating a well-homogenized source of OM to the lake bottom. The recurring suspension and deposition of terrestrial sediment may account for significant amounts of OM deposited in offshore regions of the lake. This process effectively separates denser inorganic sediment from less dense OM and allows terrestrial OM to preferentially be transported farther offshore. The conclusion is that for the organic carbon content in these regions to be elevated a mixed terrestrial-lacustrine origin is required. The hydrodynamic separation of mineral and organic constituents is most pronounced in regions with shallow bathymetric gradients, consistent with previous findings from Lake Tanganyika.

Lake deposystems are commonly associated with retroarc mountain belts in the geological record. These deposystems are poorly characterized in modern retroarcs, placing limits on our ability to interpret environmental signals from ancient deposits. To address this problem, we have synthesized our existing knowledge about the distribution, morphometrics, and sedimentary geochemical characteristics of tectonically formed lakes in the central Andean retroarc. Large, active mountain belts such as the Andes frequently create an excess of sediment, to the point that modeling and observational data both suggest their adjacent retroarc basins will be rapidly overfilled by sediments. Lake formation, requiring topographic closure, demands special conditions such as topographic isolation and arid climatic conditions to reduce sediment generation, and bedrock lithologies that yield little siliciclastic sediment. Lacustrine deposition in the modern Andean retroarc has different characteristics in the six major morphotectonic zones discussed. (1) High-elevation hinterland basins of the arid Puna-Altiplano Plateau frequently contain underfilled and balanced-filled lakes that are potentially long-lived and display relatively rapid sedimentation rates. (2) Lakes are rare in piggyback basins, although a transition zone exists where basins that originally formed as piggybacks are transferred to the hinterland through forward propagation of the thrust belt. Here, lakes are moderately abundant and long-lived and display somewhat lower sedimentation rates than in the hinterland. (3) Wedge-top and (4) foredeep deposystems of the Andean retroarc are generally overfilled, and lakes are small and ephemeral. (5) Semihumid Andean back-bulge basins contain abundant small lakes, which are moderately long-lived because of underfilling by sediment and low sedimentation rates. (6) Broken foreland lakes are common, typically underfilled, large, and long-lived playa or shallow systems.

Abstract A study of the Upper Devonian-Lower Mississippian Woodford Shale was undertaken on samples at low thermal maturity from the Arbuckle Mountains, southern Oklahoma, to dientify possible mechanisms by which natural gas might be stored in Woodford reservoirs in the adjacent Anadarko Basin. The two main lighologies in the Woodford, chert and mudstone, display different inorganic and organic characteristics. Cherts have (1) variable porosity from 0.59% to 4.90%, (2) low calculated permeabilities, and (3) small mean pore apertures. Intercrystalline pores dominate in cherts. In contrast, mudstones generally have (1) porosities ranging from 1.97% to 6.31%, (2) low calculated permeabilities, and (3) small mean pore apertures. Interparticle, intraparticle, and moldic pores all are present in mudstones. Because of their high quartz content, cherts are brittle and commonly demonstrate microfracturing that is lithologically controlled and bedding perpendicular, whereas much less microfracturing exists in mudstones. The early diagenetic intercrystalline porosity in cherts has likely been preserved since it formed because of the rigid, internal framework provided by the abundant authigenic quartz. Coupled with their relatively high TOC contents, cherts then may be important intervals of gas generation and storage in the Woodford. Where abundant, cherts may then play a significant role as source and reservoir intervals within the formation in the Anadarko Basin.