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Abstract

AAPG Bulletin, V. 104, No. 10 (October 2020), P. 2145-2171.

Copyright ©2020. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.

DOI: 10.1306/05212019072

An integrated sequence stratigraphic–geochemical investigation of the Jurassic source rocks in the North Yellow Sea Basin, eastern China

Hongfei Lai,1 Meijun Li,2 Xiaoling Jian,3 Liaoliang Wang,4 Jinping Liu,5 Gaiyun Wang,6 Peng Liu,7 and Jinhui Dai8

1Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) Key Laboratory of Marine Mineral Resources, Guangzhou Marine Geology Survey, MNR, Guangzhou, China; State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China; [email protected]
2State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing, China; Key Laboratory of Exploration Technologies for Oil and Gas Resources, Ministry of Education and College of Resources and Environment, Yangtze University, Wuhan, China; present address: College of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing, People’s Republic of China; [email protected]
3MNR Key Laboratory of Marine Mineral Resources, Guangzhou Marine Geology Survey, MNR, Guangzhou, China; [email protected]
4MNR Key Laboratory of Marine Mineral Resources, Guangzhou Marine Geology Survey, MNR, Guangzhou, China; [email protected]
5MNR Key Laboratory of Marine Mineral Resources, Guangzhou Marine Geology Survey, MNR, Guangzhou, China; [email protected]
6MNR Key Laboratory of Marine Mineral Resources, Guangzhou Marine Geology Survey, MNR, Guangzhou, China; [email protected]
7State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing, China; [email protected]
8State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing, China; [email protected]

Abstract

The North Yellow Sea Basin (NYSB) is one of the petroliferous basins in the offshore region of eastern China. An integrated sequence stratigraphic–geochemical investigation was carried out to identify and assess the effective source rocks of recent oil discoveries in the NYSB. A total of four third-order sequences (the first [J2SQ1] and second [J2SQ2] third-order sequence within the Middle Jurassic, and the first [J3SQ1] and second [J3SQ2] third-order sequence within the Upper Jurassic) were identified in the Jurassic succession, in which four types of probable source rocks were distinguished, namely, lacustrine deep-water mudstones, lacustrine shallow-water mudstones, prodeltaic mudstones, and deltaic-plain mudstones. The lacustrine deep-water mudstones are widely distributed within the J2SQ1, J2SQ2, and J3SQ2 sequences in the gentle tectonic slope and depression area. They are characterized by moderate total organic carbon (TOC) contents (0.79−3.72 wt. %, with an average of 1.71 wt. %), lower hydrocarbon potential indexes (the amount of free hydrocarbons before analysis [S1] and the amount of hydrocarbons that results from cracking of kerogen [S2], i.e., S1+ S2, in a sample during Rock-Eval pyrolysis) (0.97 mg HC/g rock < S1 + S2 < 7.89 mg HC/g rock, with an average of 3.10 mg HC/g rock), and predominantly type II to type III kerogen. In contrast, the prodeltaic mudstones in J3SQ2 have higher TOC contents (1.5−4.0 wt. %, with an average of 2.71 wt. %), higher S1 + S2 (5.83−25.51 mg HC/g rock, with an average of 14.89 mg HC/g rock), and predominantly type I to type II kerogen. The oil–source correlation results indicate that the oils discovered in the NYSB mainly originated from the prodeltaic J3SQ2 mudstones. The effective source kitchen is mainly located in the northwestern part of the study area. The factors controlling the occurrence of high-quality prodeltaic source rocks are a sufficient supply of nutrients and terrigenous organic matter, high depositional rates, and a suboxic environment.

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