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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database
AAPG Bulletin
Abstract
AAPG Bulletin, V.
DOI: 10.1306/0926171602417005
Hydrocarbon-generation 
potential
of upper Eocene Enping Formation mudstones in the Huilu area, northern Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea
potential of upper Eocene Enping Formation mudstones in the Huilu area, northern Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea
Junwen Peng,1 Xiongqi Pang,2 Hesheng Shi,3 Huijie Peng,4 and Shuang Xiao5
1State Key Laboratory for Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), 18 Fuxue Road, Chanping District, Beijing 102249, China; Basin and Reservoir Research Center, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China; present address: Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 10100 Burnet Road Bldg 130, Austin, Texas 78712; [email protected]
2State Key Laboratory for Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), 18 Fuxue Road, Chanping District, Beijing 102249, China; Basin and Reservoir Research Center, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), 18 Fuxue Road, Chanping District, Beijing 102249, China; [email protected]
3Shenzhen Company of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Limited, 168 Jiangnan Middle AVE, Haizhu District, Guangzhou 510240, China; [email protected]
4Shenzhen Company of CNOOC Limited, 168 Jiangnan Middle AVE, Haizhu District, Guangzhou 510240, China; [email protected]
5State Key Laboratory for Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), 18 Fuxue Road, Chanping District, Beijing 102249, China; Basin and Reservoir Research Center, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), 18 Fuxue Road, Chanping District, Beijing 102249, China; present address: School of Petroleum Engineering, University of New South Wales, Tyree Energy Technologies Building, Anzac Parade, Kensington, NSW 2033, Australia; [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Upper Eocene Enping Formation mudstones in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea, which formed during a lake-flooding event, are one of the most important sets of cap rocks in the basin. However, the generation potential (GP) of Enping Formation mudstones remains poorly understood and controversial. Despite a lack of documentation, these mudstones are presumed to have the potential to generate hydrocarbons. In this study, new organic geochemical data for these mudstones are provided based on several new wells drilled into Eocene strata in the Huilu area, northern Pearl River Mouth Basin, which illustrate their hydrocarbon GP. Total organic carbon content ranges from 0.55 to 3.3 wt. % (mean, 1.31 wt. %) with kerogens dominated by type III organic matter (OM) derived from terrigenous plant material. The Zhuqiong II movement, a rifting episode that occurred during the late Eocene (ca. 38 Ma), was associated with the introduction of a large quantity of terrigeneous higher plants by rivers that led to type III OM accumulation and preservation of Enping Formation mudstones. Rapid transverse facies changes led to the geochemical heterogeneity of the source rocks. The OM in these rocks reached an early–midmature stage in uplifted areas (vitrinite reflectance [Ro] = 0.5%–1.0%) and a late–mature stage in sags (Ro = 1.0%–1.3%), stages wherein hydrocarbons can be generated. Therefore, the Enping Formation mudstones may have had the potential
to generate hydrocarbons, especially gas, and hence deserve attention in future exploration.
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