Petroleum Source Rocks Characterisation

This book is about hydrocarbon source evaluation which is generally based on the organic matter quantity (organic richness), quality (kerogen type), and the thermal maturation generation capability of the organic matter disseminated in the rock. The organic matter content were determined directly from laboratory analyses of the source rock samples from LT-1 Well in a Tertiary rift basin, northern Kenya, which had oil and gas shows. We used some seismic and gamma ray profiles, total organic carbon (TOC wt%), maturity indices (HI and PI), temperature maximum (Tmax °C), porosities and other sedimentological parameters. This study involved a series of analytical geochemistry and petro-physical studies to ascertain a number of effective source rock samples from the sampled well. The Rock-eval pyrolysis data were useful in assessing and evaluating the type of organic matter (kerogen/bitumen), thermal maturity (S1 and S2) and the generation capability of source rocks for hydrocarbon exploration rationale. The analyses revealed that some strata within the sampled well data have high hydrocarbon generation potential with the existence of commercial hydrocarbon production.