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GEOREF RECORD

Immature oil and condensate; modification of hydrocarbon generation model for terrestrial organic matter

L. R. Snowdon and T. G. Powell
Immature oil and condensate; modification of hydrocarbon generation model for terrestrial organic matter
AAPG Bulletin (June 1982) 66 (6): 775-788

Abstract

Petroleum has been found in Canadian frontier basins in reservoirs which have undergone low levels of thermal alteration (vitrinite reflectance < or = 0.6%Ro). Paraffin indices, stable carbon and hydrogen isotope contents, pristane to nC17 ratios, and diterpenoid biologic markers have been used to assess the level of maturity of the hydrocarbons in the reservoir independently of the level of maturity of the reservoir itself and of the surrounding shale units. In the Tertiary of the Beaufort-Mackenzie basin, naphthenic oils and condensates have been generated from terrestrially derived organic matter in source rocks juxtaposed with the reservoir at reflectance levels of 0.4 to 0.6%R0. However, condensates discovered in reservoirs which are thermally immature on the Labrador Shelf have undergone extensive vertical migration and can be classed as conventional mature to overmature condensates. Hydrocarbons discovered in the Lower Cretaceous of the Beaufort-Mackenzie basin and also those of the Scotian Shelf are more or less in place in that they are at a level of thermal alteration about equivalent to that of the reservoirs in which they are trapped. The source for the early oils and condensates is considered to be resinite occurring dispersed in coal fragments. The proportion of resinite, liptinite, and vitrinite in the organic matter of terrestrial source rocks strongly controls both the level of thermal alteration necessary for the section to function as an effective source rock and the ultimate product (gas, oil, or condensate) which will be generated.


ISSN: 0149-1423
EISSN: 1558-9153
Coden: AABUD2
Serial Title: AAPG Bulletin
Serial Volume: 66
Serial Issue: 6
Title: Immature oil and condensate; modification of hydrocarbon generation model for terrestrial organic matter
Affiliation: Geol. Surv. Can., Inst. Sed. and Pet. Geol., Calgary, AB, Canada
Pages: 775-788
Published: 198206
Text Language: English
Publisher: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Tulsa, OK, United States
References: 41
Accession Number: 1982-063219
Categories: Economic geology, geology of energy sources
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Illustration Description: illus.
N42°00'00" - N84°00'00", W141°00'00" - W52°00'00"
Country of Publication: United States
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2019, American Geosciences Institute.
Update Code: 1982
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