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GSA Connects 2023 Meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Paper No. 234-3
Presentation Time: 8:00 AM-5:30 PM

GEOCHEMICAL AND GEOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE UPPER DEVONIAN SHALE IN THE ILLINOIS BASIN


ILTAF, Khawaja Hasnain1, HU, Qinhong2, OWARE, Prince1, WANG, Qiming3, AWAN, Rizwan Sarwar4, ALI, Sajjad5 and MEHBOOB, Siraj6, (1)Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76013, (2)Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019; National Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, Shandong 266580, China, (3)National Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, Shandong 266580, China, (4)School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, 230009, China, (5)State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resource and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing, 102249, China, (6)Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan–Bicocca, Milan, Milano 20126, Italy

The New Albany Shale holds significant importance due to its potential as an abundant organic-rich source rock for hydrocarbon exploration, contributing to the assessment of regional energy resources and facilitating advancements in unconventional oil and gas extraction technologies. This study aims to analyze the geochemical properties of the Upper Devonian New Albany Shale (NAS) formation in the Illinois Basin, which has become a promising target for hydrocarbon exploration. Analyzing the geochemical properties of the Upper Devonian New Albany Shale (NAS) formation in the Illinois Basin is crucial for assessing its hydrocarbon potential and suitability for effective oil and gas exploration. This research utilized twenty core samples from two drilled wells within the Illinois Basin. Here we employed various geochemical techniques, including total organic carbon (TOC), Rock-Eval pyrolysis, and X-ray diffraction (XRD), to gain deeper insights into the geochemical characteristics of the New Albany Shale. The TOC content in the examined core samples varies from nearly 0 to 8.6 wt.%, with an average of 3.9 wt.%, suggesting very good organic matter content in the New Albany Shale. The average free hydrocarbon content (S1) and the generated hydrocarbon content (S2) values are 1.90 and 17.27 mg HC/g Rock. These results suggest the New Albany Shale has enough potential to produce hydrocarbons in the Illinois Basin. Our samples comprise moderately high hydrogen index values (averaging 376 mg HC/g TOC). It mainly contains type I/II kerogen, indicating New Albany Shale is mixed oil and gas prone in the studied region. The average Tmax value in the examined samples is 438 °C, and the mean calculated vitrinite reflectance (VR) is 0.71% lies early to the peak hydrocarbon generation window. Using X-ray diffraction (XRD), the quantitative mineral composition revealed significant proportions of clays, quartz, and feldspar minerals in the studied core samples. It indicates the New Albany Shale holds a higher amount of ductile minerals relative to brittle minerals. Overall, our findings have great significance and present compelling evidence that the New Albany Shale is a promising prospect for further exploration and evaluation of oil and gas resources in the Illinois Basin.

Session No. 234--Booth# 98

D32. Relevant Topics in Geochemistry (Posters)
Wednesday, 18 October 2023: 8:00 AM-5:30 PM
Hall B (David L Lawrence Convention Center)
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 55, No. 6
doi: 10.1130/abs/2023AM-395614
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