Thermal maturity and burial history of Paleozoic rocks in western Newfoundland

1998 ◽  
Vol 35 (11) ◽  
pp. 1307-1322 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Henry Williams ◽  
Elliott T Burden ◽  
P K Mukhopadhyay
Keyword(s):  
Vitrinite Reflectance ◽  
Point Group ◽  
Black Shales ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Head Group ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Burial History ◽  
Upper Ordovician ◽  
Middle Ordovician ◽  
Paleozoic Rocks

Palynomorphs and graptolites from Paleozoic strata in western Newfoundland are examined and correlated with previously published data to identify fossils which are characteristic of proven and suspected source rocks. Measurements of colour alteration of acritarchs and spores (acritarch alteration index and thermal alteration index), random graptolite reflectance, and vitrinite reflectance are applied to determine regional thermal maturation and burial history. General trends of increasing maturity from south to north along the Northen Peninsula and from west to east across the Port au Port Peninsula are observed. Within these general trends, a more detailed distribution of thermal maturities can be recognized. In the south, Upper Ordovician rocks of the Long Point Group, western Port au Port Peninsula, exhibit the lowest maturity values found in western Newfoundland and are considered immature or marginally mature. Middle Ordovician rocks of the Goose Tickle and Table Head groups and the Lower Ordovician St. George Group are marginally mature. Cambrian strata on the Port au Port Peninsula are mature. Maturation levels increase to the east; Goose Tickle Group black shales in the vicinity of Black Cove, east of Port au Port, are mature. Equivalent sediments extending for another 15-20 km to the east lie within the oil window. Beyond that area, the equivalent rocks are overmature. The best potential source rocks belonging to the allochthonous Cow Head Group contain abundant acritarchs and Gloeocapsamorpha sp. These rocks are marginally mature to mature within Gros Morne National Park; maturation levels increase farther north (e.g., Parsons Pond), becoming overmature somewhere south of Port au Choix. It is concluded that neither the allochthonous Ordovician rocks presently exposed in Gros Morne nor the autochthonous strata exposed on the Port au Port Peninsula have ever been covered by significant thicknesses of overburden (probably 3 km or less), either in the form of structural slices or other sedimentary units since their original deposition.

Burial History Reconstruction of the Appalachian Basin in Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York, Using 1D Petroleum System Models

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-396
Author(s):  
Debra Higley ◽  
Catherine Enomoto
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Vitrinite Reflectance ◽  
Structural Complexity ◽  
Appalachian Basin ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Burial History ◽  
Gas Generation ◽  
Deep Basin ◽  
Utica Shale ◽  
Wet Gas

Nine 1D burial history models were built across the Appalachian basin to reconstruct the burial, erosional, and thermal maturation histories of contained petroleum source rocks. Models were calibrated to measured downhole temperatures, and to vitrinite reflectance (% Ro) data for Devonian through Pennsylvanian source rocks. The highest levels of thermal maturity in petroleum source rocks are within and proximal to the Rome trough in the deep basin, which are also within the confluence of increased structural complexity and associated faulting, overpressured Devonian shales, and thick intervals of salt in the underlying Silurian Salina Group. Models incorporate minor erosion from 260 to 140 million years ago (Ma) that allows for extended burial and heating of underlying strata. Two modeled times of increased erosion, from 140 to 90 Ma and 23 to 5.3 Ma, are followed by lesser erosion from 5.3 Ma to Present. Absent strata are mainly Permian shales and sandstone; thickness of these removed layers increased from about 6200 ft (1890 m) west of the Rome trough to as much as 9650 ft (2940 m) within the trough. The onset of oil generation based on 0.6% Ro ranges from 387 to 306 Ma for the Utica Shale, and 359 to 282 Ma for Middle Devonian to basal Mississippian shales. The ~1.2% Ro onset of wet gas generation ranges from 360 to 281 Ma in the Utica Shale, and 298 to 150 Ma for Devonian to lowermost Mississippian shales.

Maturation thermique et histoire de l'enfouissement et de la génération des hydrocarbures du bassin de l'archipel de Mingan et de l'île d'Anticosti, Canada

1990 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 731-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudolf Bertrand
Keyword(s):  
Carbonate Platform ◽  
Burial History ◽  
Upper Ordovician ◽  
Southeastern Part ◽  
Middle Ordovician ◽  
Oil Generation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
Anticosti Island ◽  
Depth Of Burial

Carbonate platform sequences of Anticosti Island and the Mingan Archipelago are Early Ordovician to Early Silurian in age. With the exception of the Macasty Formation, the sequences are impoverished in dispersed organic matter, which is chiefly composed of zooclasts. Zooclast reflectances suggest that the Upper Ordovician and Silurian sequences outcropping on Anticosti Island are entirely in the oil window but that the Lower to Middle Ordovician beds of the Mingan Archipelago and their stratigraphic equivalents in the subsurface of most of Anticosti Island belong to the condensate zone. Only the deeper sequences of the southwestern sector of Anticosti Island are in the diagenetic dry-gas zone. The maximum depth of burial of sequences below now-eroded Silurian to Devonian strata increases from 2.3 km on southwestern Anticosti Island to 4.5 km in the Mingan Archipelago. A late upwarp of the Precambrian basement likely allowed deeper erosion of the Paleozoic strata in the vicinity of the Mingan Archipelago than on Anticosti Island. Differential erosion resulted in a southwestern tilting of equal maturation surfaces. The Macasty Formation, the only source rock of the basin (total organic carbon generally > 3.5%, shows a wide range of thermal maturation levels (potential oil window to diagenetic dry gas). It can be inferred from the burial history of Anticosti Island sequences that oil generation began later but continued for a longer period of geologic time in the northeastern part than in the southeastern part of the island. Oil generation was entirely pre-Acadian in the southern and western parts of Anticosti Island, but pre- and post-Acadian in the northern and eastern parts.

Occurrence and regional geological setting of Paleozoic rocks on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland

1986 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 504-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lewis H. King ◽  
Gordon B. J. Fader ◽  
W. A. M. Jenkins ◽  
Edward L. King
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Black Shales ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Upper Ordovician ◽  
Acoustic Basement ◽  
Lower Paleozoic ◽  
Shallow Marine ◽  
Grand Banks ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Seismic Reflection Profiles

Analyses of seismic reflection profiles supported by lithological and palynological studies of core samples from submarine outcrops indicate that the lower Paleozoic succession of the Avalon Terrane, southeast Newfoundland, is continuous offshore. The succession crops out over an area greater than 30 000 km2 and is approximately 8 km thick. The sequence is dominantly siltstone and is of Late Cambrian to ?Devonian or younger age. It is relatively unmetamorphosed, underlain by Hadrynian acoustic basement, and overlain along its eastern and southern margins by a Mesozoic–Cenozoic succession that is economically important from an oil and gas perspective.Lithofacies studies indicate that in Early Ordovician time restricted shallow-marine conditions probably prevailed over a vast area of the Avalon Terrane. Upper Ordovician and Silurian siltstones show evidence of deposition under more-dynamic and well-oxygenated conditions and probably represent a normal shallow-marine environment. Redbeds of possible Devonian or younger age are interpreted to be of continental origin. Black shales of Ordovician age are potential source rocks for the generation of hydrocarbons.

Integrated chitinozoan, conodont, and graptolite biostratigraphy from the upper part of the Cape Cormorant Formation (Middle Ordovician), western Newfoundland

2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Albani ◽  
Gabriella Bagnoli ◽  
Jörg Maletz ◽  
Svend Stouge
Keyword(s):  
Early Stage ◽  
Foreland Basin ◽  
Black Shales ◽  
Head Group ◽  
Middle Ordovician ◽  
Head Groups ◽  
Taconic Orogeny ◽  
Low Diversity ◽  
Conodont Fauna ◽  
Abundance And Diversity

The Cape Cormorant Formation of the Table Head Group exposed on the Port au Port Peninsula, western Newfoundland, is composed of dark-brown to black shales with interbeds of thin calcareous silty and sandy distal turbidites. Distinctive carbonate conglomerates and breccias derived from the foundering shelf are occasionally found in the formation. The sediments accumulated in the foreland basin formed during the early stage of the Taconic orogeny. The faunas from the upper part of the Cape Cormorant Formation include graptolites, conodonts, and chitinozoans. The graptolites are well preserved, but are of low diversity and are referred to the Darriwil Pterograptus elegans Zone. Conodonts recorded from the distal turbidites are rare and fragmented. The faunas include taxa that are known from the St. George and Table Head groups. The conodont fauna is tentatively assigned to the Histiodella kristinae Phylozone and to the younger, unzoned interval. The chitinozoans are well preserved and the yield is high. The fauna is assigned to the Cyathochitina jenkinsi Zone and to an undefined interval. The abundance and diversity of the chitinozoan assemblages display a cyclic pattern, which is related to changes of the oceanic watermass in the foreland basin. The new chitinozoan species Belonechitina nevillensis n. sp., Belonechitina uniformipunctata n. sp., and Cyathochitina cormorani n. sp. are described.

scholarly journals Burial history, thermal history and hydrocarbon generation modelling of the Jurassic source rocks in the basement of the Polish Carpathian Foredeep and Outer Carpathians (SE Poland)

2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paweł Kosakowski ◽  
Magdalena Wróbel
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Thermal History ◽  
Vitrinite Reflectance ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Hydrocarbon Generation ◽  
Thermal Maturity ◽  
Burial History ◽  
Se Poland ◽  
Carpathian Foredeep ◽  
Outer Carpathians

Burial history, thermal history and hydrocarbon generation modelling of the Jurassic source rocks in the basement of the Polish Carpathian Foredeep and Outer Carpathians (SE Poland)Burial history, thermal maturity, and timing of hydrocarbon generation were modelled for the Jurassic source rocks in the basement of the Carpathian Foredeep and marginal part of the Outer Carpathians. The area of investigation was bounded to the west by Kraków, to the east by Rzeszów. The modelling was carried out in profiles of wells: Będzienica 2, Dębica 10K, Góra Ropczycka 1K, Goleszów 5, Nawsie 1, Pławowice E1 and Pilzno 40. The organic matter, containing gas-prone Type III kerogen with an admixture of Type II kerogen, is immature or at most, early mature to 0.7 % in the vitrinite reflectance scale. The highest thermal maturity is recorded in the south-eastern part of the study area, where the Jurassic strata are buried deeper. The thermal modelling showed that the obtained organic matter maturity in the initial phase of the "oil window" is connected with the stage of the Carpathian overthrusting. The numerical modelling indicated that the onset of hydrocarbon generation from the Middle Jurassic source rocks was also connected with the Carpathian thrust belt. The peak of hydrocarbon generation took place in the orogenic stage of the overthrusting. The amount of generated hydrocarbons is generally small, which is a consequence of the low maturity and low transformation degree of kerogen. The generated hydrocarbons were not expelled from their source rock. An analysis of maturity distribution and transformation degree of the Jurassic organic matter shows that the best conditions for hydrocarbon generation occurred most probably in areas deeply buried under the Outer Carpathians. It is most probable that the "generation kitchen" should be searched for there.

Lower Ordovician (Arenig–Llanvirn) graptolites from the Notre Dame Subzone, central Newfoundland

1992 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 1717-1733 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Henry Williams
Keyword(s):  
Long Island ◽  
Middle Part ◽  
Black Shales ◽  
Head Group ◽  
Sedimentary Sequence ◽  
Lower Paleozoic ◽  
Lower Ordovician ◽  
The World ◽  
Paleozoic Rocks ◽  
Limestone Breccia

Many lower Paleozoic rocks in the Notre Dame Subzone of central Newfoundland are of unknown or imprecise age. Several new Lower Ordovician graptolite occurrences are here reported and earlier records revised. New graptolite localities in the Balsam Bud Cove Formation at Snooks Arm on the Baie Verte Peninsula, previously recorded as "early Ordovician (Arenig)" have yielded an assemblage identical to that found in the middle part of Bed 11 of the Cow Head Group, western Newfoundland, indicating a probable lower Didymograptus bifidus Zone age. At Corner Pond, southeast of Corner Brook, an abundant, diverse fauna from the Corner Pond formation indicates a marginally older age for the black shales than those at Snooks Arm (Pendeograptus fruticosus Zone, equivalent to lower Bed 11). Black shales associated with felsic volcanics and limestone breccia belonging to the Cutwell Group at Lushes Bight, on Long Island, western Notre Dame Bay, which were previously assigned to the widespread black shales of the Lawrence Harbour Formation and equivalents in the Exploits Subzone, contain a rich lower Llanvirn (Paraglossograptus tentaculatus Zone) graptolite assemblage. This agrees with ages established using other macrofossils and conodonts from the associated limestones. In contrast, a lower shale unit from older strata at Southern Head on the eastern end of the island yields a late Arenig Isograptus victoriae maximus Zone assemblage. These newly discovered graptolite faunas provide precise ages for the upper and lower parts of the volcano-sedimentary sequence on Long Island. Interestingly, all four graptolite assemblages discussed here are of open-ocean affinity, permitting accurate correlation with localities not only in western Newfoundland but also elsewhere in the world.

scholarly journals BIOSTRATIGRAPHIC CORRELATION OF PALEOZOIC ROCKS IN NORTHERN AND WESTREN IRAQ

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-323
Author(s):  
Falah H. Khalaf Al-jubori ◽  
Akram K. Youkhana ◽  
Srood F. Naqshabandi ◽  
Dyana A. Bayz
Keyword(s):  
Regional Distribution ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Western Desert ◽  
Upper Permian ◽  
Upper Ordovician ◽  
Northern Iraq ◽  
Clastic Rocks ◽  
Western Desert Of Iraq ◽  
Paleozoic Rocks ◽  
Stratigraphic Succession

The Paleozoic rocks outcropped in northern Iraq (Ora, Chia Zairi section) are biostratigraphically investigated for their microfossils content. Benthonic foraminifera and algal genera characterize the upper part of the section while palynomorphs (Miospores & Acritarchs) dominated the lower part the section which is consist of clastic sediments. The study also include the stratigraphic succession of the section and its correlation to the subsurface sections penetrated in oil and  water wells drilled in the western desert of Iraq in order to determine the regional distribution of the economically important formations, either  as reservoir or as source  rocks for hydrocarbons. Index palynomorphs including many types of Acritarch genera are identified in the Khabour Formation indicate lower Ordovician time (Tremadocian? Arenigian –Llanvirnian: age) The Perispik Formation has been found barren of any type of microfossils and is composed of red clastic rocks. Pollen and Spores are recorded from the "Ore Group"  (Kaista, Ora and Harur Formations )  indicate that these rocks are of Upper Devonian – Lower Carboniferous  (Famennian – Tournaisian age ) .A Large number of  foraminifera and Algal genera are identified in the Chiazairi rocks,these genera and species are indicated the Upper Permian rocks of Thuringian age. The stratigraphic   succession of the Paleozoic section studied in northern Iraq indicate that there is a stratigraphic break represents by missing of the Ga'ara Formation (late Carboniferous –early Permian) and Akkas Formation (Silurian) and the upper part of the Khabour Formation (Upper Ordovician).

scholarly journals Paleozoic Stratigraphy and Petroleum Systems of the Western and Southwestern Deserts of Iraq

GeoArabia ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adnan A.M. Aqrawi
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Black Shales ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Western Desert ◽  
Upper Permian ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Lower Silurian ◽  
Deep Wells ◽  
Thrust Zone ◽  
Western Desert Of Iraq

ABSTRACT A stratigraphic scheme for the Paleozoic of the Southwestern Desert of Iraq is proposed based upon the review of recently published data from several deep wells in the western part of the country and from outcrops in other regions in Iraq. The main formations are described in terms of facies distribution, probable age, regional thickness, and correlations with the well-reported Paleozoic successions of the adjacent countries (e.g. Jordan and Saudi Arabia), as well as with the Thrust Zone of North Iraq. The Paleozoic depositional and tectonic evolution of the Western and Southwestern Deserts of Iraq, particularly during Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian, shows marked similarity to those of eastern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia. However, local lithological variations, which are due to Late Paleozoic Hercynian tectonics, characterize the Upper Paleozoic sequences. The Lower Silurian marine “hot” shale, 65 meters thick in the Akkas-1 well in the Western Desert, is believed to be the main Paleozoic source rock in the Western and Southwestern Deserts. Additional potential source rocks in this region could be the black shales of the Ordovician Khabour Formation, the Upper Devonian to Lower Carboniferous Ora Shale Formation, and the lower shaly beds of the Upper Permian Chia Zairi Formation. The main target reservoirs are of Ordovician, Silurian, Carboniferous and Permian ages. Similar reservoirs have recently been reported for the Western Desert of Iraq, eastern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia. In addition, two main regional seals (Lower Silurian shales and Permian evaporites) of northeastern Arabia extend over most of the Southwestern Desert, together with several other local seals. These considerations render the unexplored Paleozoic Southwestern Desert of Iraq prospective.

Carbonate platform to foreland basin: revised stratigraphy of the Table Head Group (Middle Ordovician), western Newfoundland

1990 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheila R. Stenzel ◽  
Ian Knight ◽  
Noel P. James
Keyword(s):  
Carbonate Platform ◽  
Foreland Basin ◽  
Black Shales ◽  
Head Group ◽  
Western Margin ◽  
Middle Ordovician ◽  
Sediment Gravity Flows ◽  
Gravity Flows ◽  
Three Stages ◽  
Uplift And Erosion

Carbonates of the Table Head Group and associated strata were deposited along the western margin of a foreland basin during initial stages of the Taconian Orogeny and record collapse and cannibalization of a long-lived carbonate platform. The stratigraphy of Klappa, Opalinski, and James is here revised to reflect better understanding of lithologic units within this complex tectono-stratigraphic assemblage. The Table Head Group now contains only three formations: the Table Point and Table Cove formations, as originally defined, and the Cape Cormorant Formation, redefined and restricted to western Port au Port Peninsula. Black Cove Formation shales are removed from the Table Head. Distinctive conglomerates once placed in the Cape Cormorant are now recognized as separate units within the overlying flysch and called the Daniel's Harbour Member.The foreland basin developed in three stages: (1) fragmentation, uplift, and erosion of the platform and subsequent deposition of shallow-water limestones (Table Point) on a tectonically unstable shelf; (2) foundering of platform blocks and deposition of deep-water-slope carbonates (Table Cove), basinal black shales (Black Cove), or conglomerates of older shelf carbonates shed from submarine cliffs (Cape Cormorant); and (3) siliciclastic sedimentation interrupted by sediment gravity flows of Table Head clasts shed from submarine escarpments (Daniel's Harbour).

Diachronous tectonic collapse of the Ordovician continental margin, eastern Canada: comparison between the Quebec Reentrant and St. Lawrence Promontory

1994 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 1309-1319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis Lavoie
Keyword(s):  
Continental Margin ◽  
Foreland Basin ◽  
Head Group ◽  
Upper Ordovician ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Middle Ordovician ◽  
Carbonate Sedimentation ◽  
Shallow Subtidal ◽  
Thickness Variations ◽  
Trenton Group

The Upper Ordovician Trenton Group of southern Quebec represents the last Taconian foreland basin carbonate unit in the Quebec Reentrant, prior to final collapse of Laurentia's continental margin and its burial under synorogenic flysch. The Trenton Group, either conformably or unconformably, overlies the Black River Group and is in turn conformably overlain by the Utica Shales. The tripartite Trenton carbonate unit records progressive deepening: (1) very shallow to shallow subtidal, (2) shallow to deep carbonate ramp, and (3) shallow to deep outer shelf. Regional facies distribution, lithotectonic elements, and thickness variations indicate that the Trenton shelf was dissected by extensional faults delineating blocks subsiding at various rates. This scenario compares favourably with Taconian foreland basin development in the Middle Ordovician Table Head Group at the St. Lawrence Promontory, Newfoundland. A similar stratigraphic succession and tectono-sedimentary history occurring 10–15 Ma earlier at the St. Lawrence Promontory than in the Quebec Reentrant argues for a primary tectonic control for the demise of carbonate sedimentation at the margin. The diachroneity in the foreland evolution can be related to the irregular morphology of the Laurentia continental margin.

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