Download Upper Permian Oil Shale Deposits of Northwest China: World`s

Upper Permian Oil Shale
Deposits of Northwest China:
World’s Largest?
Alan R. Carroll
Department of Geology and Geophysics
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Largest Oil Shale Deposits
Deposit
Period
Oil In Place (106 tons)
United States (Green River Fm.)
Tertiary
213,000
United States (Phosphoria)
Devonian
35,775
United States (Eastern)
Devonian
27,000
United States (Heath Fm.)
Teriary
25,778
Russia (Olenyok basin)
Cambrian
24,000
Republic of Congo
?
14,310
Brazil (Irati Fm.)
Permian
11,448
(Dyni, J. R., 2006, Geology and Resources of Some World Oil-Shale Deposits:
USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2005–5294, 42 p.)
China Lake Basins
Late Permian
Early Jurassic
Early Cretaceous
Oligocene
Late Permian Junggar-Turpan-Hami Lake
(Carroll, and Wartes, 2003)
• Permian Lake approximately equal in area to modern Caspian Sea
Tectonic
Setting
• Junggar-Turpan-Hami
basins part of Altaid
orogenic collage, lie at
center of Asia
• Substrate has oceanic
affinities; trapped or
accreted ocean crust
• Continuous non-marine
sedimentation from
Permian onward
• Deformation focused on
basin margins
Map: Exxon
Tectonic Basin Model
• Compressional uplift of basin-bounding “walls”
• Turpan-Hami basin in wedge-top position?
Comparison to Green River Fm.
• Similar or greater in area
• Greater thickness
• Silicic vs. carbonate-rich
• Similar richness?
Late Permian Lacustrine Deposits
(Carroll, and Wartes, 2003)
• Distributed in several basins
• Post-Permian deformation
• Outcrops in foothills of Bogda
Shan (Jurassic and later uplift)
Junggar South-North Cross Section
Hongyanchi Fm.
Lucaogou Fm.
Jingjingzigou Fm
(Carroll, and Wartes, 2003)
• Regionally correlative interval up up to 2000+ m thick
Tianchi Section
(N. Bogda Shan)
•
Jingjingzigou, Lucaogou Fms.
•
Dominantly silicic mudstone,
siltstone
•
Average 4% TOC over 800 m
interval
•
Total outcrop thickness ≥1300
m
(Carroll et al., 1992)
Underfilled
(Jingjingzigou Fm.)
m-scale cycles
shrinkage cracks
dolomicrite
(Carroll, 1998)
Balanced-fill
(Lucaogou, Taerlong Fms.)
oil shale
turbidites
(Carroll, 1998)
Overfilled
(Hongyanchi Fm.)
Silicic mudstone, freshwater limestone
(Carroll, 1998)
Organic Enrichment
(Jingjingzigou, Lucaogou, Honyanchi Fms)
Mean = 34.9 mg/g
(samples ≥ 0.5% TOC)
Mean = 64.4 mg/g
Mean = 4%
(all samples)
(samples ≥ 5% TOC)
Max. 225.7 mg/g
Mean = 5.7%
(samples ≥ 5% TOC)
Max. 34.3%
• Sample Interval ~ 10 m
• ~1500 m total section
(N = 153)
Junggar Permian-Sourced Oils
• Permian oils in northwestern, central, and eastern Junggar basin
• Southern Junggar basin over-mature due to deep Mz-Cz. burial
Conclusions
• NW China Permian lacustrine deposits cover an area
approximately equal to Caspian sea, and locally exceed 2 km
in thickness
• Based on LECO and Rock Eval measurements, maximum
richness appears to be comparable to Green River Formation
• Much of the original oil potential has already been expended
by thermal maturation, due to deep post-Permian burial
• Remaining resource likely very large, but detailed mapping
and bulk assay data have not been published
• Structural complexity will influence exploitation
• These deposits are absent from previous global oil shale
assessments, and surprisingly poorly known even within China
• More work needed!
Acknowledgements
Collaborators
Funding
• Y. Liang
• Stanford-China Industrial Affiliates
• S. A. Graham
• Donors of the Petroleum Research
Fund, American Chemical Society
• M. S. Hendrix
• T. J. Greene
• M. A. Wartes
• Graduate School, University of
Wisconsin
For More Information
Carroll, A. R., 1998, Upper Permian Lacustrine Organic Facies Evolution, Southern Junggar Basin, NW China: Organic
Geochemistry, v. 28, p. 649-667.
Carroll, A. R., and Bohacs, K. M., 2001, Lake Type Control on Hydrocarbon Source Potential in Nonmarine Basins:
American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 85,
p. 1033-1053.
Carroll, A. R., and Wartes, M. A., 2003, Organic Carbon Burial by Large Permian Lakes, Northwest China, in Chan, M. A.,
and Archer, A. W., eds., Extreme depositional environments: mega end members in geologic time: Geological
Society of America Special Paper 370, p. 91-104.
Carroll, A. R., Brassell, S.C., and Graham, S.A., 1992, Upper Permian lacustrine oil shales of the southern Junggar basin,
northwest China: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 76, p. 1874-1902.
Carroll, A. R., Graham, S.A., and Hendrix, M.S., 1995, Late Paleozoic tectonic amalgamation of northwestern China:
sedimentary record of the northern Tarim, northwestern Turpan, and southern Junggar basins: Geological Society of
America Bulletin, v. 107, p. 571-594.
Carroll, A. R., Graham, S.A., Hendrix, M.S., Chu, J., McKnight, C.L., Xiao, X., and Liang, Y., 1990, Junggar basin, northwest
China: Trapped late Paleozoic Ocean: Tectonophysics, v. 181, p. 1-14.
Graham, S.A., Brassell, S., Carroll, A. R., Xiao, X., Demaison, G., McKnight, C.L., Liang, Y., Chu, J., and Hendrix, M.S.,
1990, Characteristics of selected petroleum source rocks, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China: American
Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 74, p. 493-512.
Wartes, M. A., Carroll, A. R., and Greene, T. J., 2002, Permian Stratigraphic Evolution of the Turpan-Hami Basin and
Adjacent Regions, Northwest China: Constraints on Post-amalgamation Tectonic Evolution: Geological Society of
America Bulletin, v. 114, p. 131-152.
Wartes, M. A., Carroll, A. R., Greene, T. J., Cheng, K., and Hu, T., 2000, Permian lacustrine deposits of northwest China, in
Gierlowski-Kordesch, E. H., and Kelts, K., eds., Lake Basins Through Space and Time: American Association of
Petroleum Geologists Studies in Geology #46, p. 123-132.