Oil & Gas Geology ›› 2020, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (4): 800-810.doi: 10.11743/ogg20200413

• Petroleum Geology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Sedimentary geochemical characteristics of the Early Cambrian source rocks in Well Jinye 1 in southern Sichuan Basin

Jian Cheng(), Lunju Zheng*()   

  1. Wuxi Branch of Petroleum Exploration and Production Research Institute, SINOPEC, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214126, China
  • Received:2019-04-12 Online:2020-08-01 Published:2020-08-11
  • Contact: Lunju Zheng E-mail:274923143@qq.com;292002418@qq.com

Abstract:

An in-depth study was carried out on the settings and sedimentary geochemical characteristics of source rocks in the lower Cambrian Maidiping-Qiongzhusi Formations of southern Sichuan Basin.The analysis of the rock compositions, organic carbon content, hydrocarbon generation biological combinations, and redox indexes as well as their correlations, on source rock samples from the Maidiping and Qiongzhusi Formations in Well Jinye 1 of Jingyan-Qianwei area, shows that the two formations are quite different in terms of mineral composition and hydrocarbon generation environment.The Maidiping Formation is dominated by siliceous dolomite and has a moderate organic carbon content.Hydrocarbon was mostly generated by microbial mats composed of small shallow-water shell creatures.A strong reducing environment can be inferred from its high Uranium index (greater than 1.7).It is suggested that, instead of being caused by deep water, the strong reducing environment is due to the thriving and rapid consumption of oxygen of the shell creatures in the sea bed.A combination of these understandings with a correlation analysis of sedimentary geochemical parameters indicates a tidal flat sedimentary setting for the deposition of the formation.The Qiongzhusi Formation is dominated by siliceous and clayey shale and varies in organic carbon abundance from the lower to upper members.Different from the Maidiping Formation, its hydrocarbon-generation organisms are mainly amorphous flocculent aggregates of organic matter.The Uranium index varying between 0.8 and 1.7 and a positive correlation between the organic carbon content and the redox properties of the samples all indicate a shallow-to-deep shelf setting of oxidation to strong reduction for the formation.In summary, various factors, including the tectonic-sedimentary-lithofacies paleogeographical environment, primitive biological type, and rock mineral composition during the Early Cambrian in southern Sichuan Basin, serve to jointly determine the quality of the source rocks and their sedimentary and geochemical characteristics.

Key words: redox environment, sedimentary geochemistry, sedimentary environment of source rocks, Maidiping Formation, Qiongzhusi Formation, Early Cambrian, Sichuan Basin

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