Abstract: The accumulation and preservation of the Paleozoic organisms provided a solid organic matter foundation for hydrocarbon generation during the Paleozoic.As different types of organisms were considered to contribute differently to hydrocarbon-generation,a study on organism assemblages (HGOs) started to prevail in source rock researches and has been used a new means of assessing the quality of matured source rocks.From geological,historical,and organic evolution perspectives,algae are the most important material providers for hydrocarbon generation during the early Paleozoic.They can be classified into two types according to their living habit:the benthic and the planktonic algae.The former lived near coast in a zonal distribution in accordance with light intensity and nutrient conditions.The latter lived in a photic zone and their distribution was controlled by their sizes and wind wave strength.Study on the HGOs and the organic geochemical characteristics of the source rock samples from seven formations of four Paleozoic outcrop sections shows that the TOCs in the source rocks dominated by benthic algae are higher than those controlled by planktonic algae.Together with depositional settings,the digenesis and hydrocarbon generation processes were all thought to have played some parts in shaping the organic carbon isotopic compositions of the samples.However,the processes seemed to have exerted lesser effect.Comparison of the kerogen carbon isotopic composition and the HGOs assemblages of the samples indicates that the δ¹³C_kerogen values of samples dominated with benthic algae are less than -34‰,whereas the δ¹³C_kerogen values of source rocks dominated with planktonic algae are more than -30‰.Taking the fact that the δ¹³C values (all more than -30‰) of known oil samples in the Tarim Basin into consideration,this article concludes that the crude in the basin is mostly sourced from rocks with planktonic algae and the source rocks with lower TOCs and planktonic algae from the Paleozoic may have greater exploration potential.

Key words: hydrocarbon generating organism, TOC, kerogen carbon isotope, oil-source correlation, Early Paleozoic, Tarim Basin