Chapter 8 Source-Rock

Evaluation

DEFINITION OF SOURCE ROCK

Much of modern petroleum geochemistry depends upon
accurate assessment of the hydrocarbon-source capabili-
ties of sedimentary rocks. Although the term source rock
is frequently used generically to describe fine-grained
sedimentary rocks, that usage is a bit too broad and loose.
I prefer to make the following distinctions:

Effective source rock: any sedimentary rock that has

already generated and expelled hydrocarbons.
Possible source rock: any sedimentary rock whose
source potential has not yet been evaluated, but which
may have generated and expelled hydrocarbons.
Potential source rock: any immature sedimentary rock
known to be capable of generating and expelling hydro-
carbons if its level of thermal maturity were higher.

It follows from these definitions that a particular

stratum could be an effective source rock in one place; a
potential source rock in a less-mature area; a possible
source rock in a nearby unstudied region; and might have
no source potential at all in a fourth area where important
facies changes had resulted in a drastically lower content
of organic matter. For example, the Phosphoria Forma-
tion of Wyoming and Idaho belongs to each of these
classifications in different areas (Claypool et aI., 1978;
Maughan, 1984).
The term "effective source rock" obviously encom-
passes a wide range of generative histories from earliest

93

D. W. Waples, Geochemistry in Petroleum Exploration

© International Human Resources Development Corporation 1985
94

TABLE 8.1 Categories of source rocks

-:'/.1
and their source capacities

Original Remaining CJ 900

Category of
Source Rock
Source
Capacity"
Source
Capacityt
Hydrocarbons
Generated ...
0

~ A I>. A
Possible Go unmeasured unmeasured CJ 750 - A A
I>. AA
Potential Go Go none ~
J~
Effective Go G Go-G bn I

Nonsource none none none .§. 600 --4'

A
II
'Go is not necessarily the same for all rocks.
><
~ i*V
-,*9-
~-

*.'*
tMeasured in the laboratory. Q
Z 450 -
*
maturity to overmaturity. When we analyze a rock sample
in the laboratory, we actually measure its remaining (or
Z
~
C!J
I
•
0 300 []
untapped) source capacity at the present day. This quan- c: \

150 - .
0
tity, which we can call G, is most meaningful if we can
compare it to the rock's original source capacity, Go. The
Q
>-
~
.\ A
I
D

difference between Go and G represents the hydrocarbons e AI>.

eJeAI>.A
already generated in the effective source rock. However, 0

we cannot measure Go directly for a sample that has al-

••'
10/0'0
~.
D 0

00
~_ o000
0, m
0 .......
ready begun to generate hydrocarbons; instead it must be 0 I
estimated by measuring G for a similar sample that is still Q50 100 IS0
immature. Go can only be measured directly for immature --~. OXYGEN INDEX (mg C02/g TOC)

*
source rocks, where G and Go are identical. Table B.1
summarizes this discussion. A GREEN RIVER SHALE

LOWER TOARCIAN, PARIS BASIN

PRINCIPLES OF SOURCE-ROCK EVALUATION
A SILURIAN DEVONIAN, SAHARA LIBYA
DETERMINATION OF REMAIMNG SOURCE CAPACITY (G)
• UPPER PALEOZOIC, SPITSBERGEN
We have noted that the quantity actually
Introduction.
measured in the laboratory is always G, the remaining
o UPPER CRETACEOUS, DOUALA BASIN

source capacity. Chapter 7 outlined direct and indirect • CRETACEOUS, PERSIAN GULF (OLIGOSTEGINES LIMESTONE)
approaches to the problem of determining G. Both ap- C UPPER JURASSIC, NORTH AQUITAINE
proaches have strong and weak points that will be dis-
cussed in the following sections. Y INCREASING MATURATION

The Direct (Pyrolysis) Method.In the direct method using
Rock-Eval pyrolysis, the measured S1 value represents
those hydrocarbons preexisting in the rock since deposi-
tion plus those generated in the subsurface. S2 represents
G, the remaining hydrocarbon-generative capacity. S3 is a
measure of the oxyg~n content of the kerogen.
Rock-Eval pyrolysis results are often plotted on a
FIGURE 8.1 Modified van Krevelen diagram used for Rock-
Eval pyrolysis data, showing the maturation pathways of
Types I, II, r;nd III kerogens. Reprinted by permission of the
Societe des Editions Technip: figure 11 from the article en-
titled ''Methode rapide de caracterisation des roches meres,
de leur potentiel petrolier et de leur degre d'evaluation" by].
Espitalie et al., published in the Revue de l'Institut FraTlfais
du Petrole, vol. 32, no. 1,]an.-Feb. 1977.