Evaluation of Organic Matter, Hydrocarbon Source, and Depositional Environment of Onshore Warkalli Sedimentary Sequence from Kerala-Konkan Basin, South India

Multidisciplinary analysis of the carbonaceous sediments of Warkalli Formation (Mio-Pliocene) from the Warkalli cliff section has been done to assess the source of organic matter, palaeodepositional settings and the hydrocarbon potential. The n -alkane distribution from n -C 12 to n -C 33 along with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Geological Society of India 2018-10, Vol.92 (4), p.407-418
Main Authors: Mathews, Runcie P., Singh, Bhagwan D., Singh, Vikram P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alkanes
Biological activity
Carbon dioxide
Composition
Distribution
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Evaluation
Geology
Hopanes
Hydrocarbons
Hydrogeology
Microbial activity
Microorganisms
Oil and gas exploration
Organic carbon
Organic matter
Plants (botany)
Pliocene
Reflectance
Sediment
Sediments
Sequencing
Total organic carbon
Triterpenoids
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Summary:Multidisciplinary analysis of the carbonaceous sediments of Warkalli Formation (Mio-Pliocene) from the Warkalli cliff section has been done to assess the source of organic matter, palaeodepositional settings and the hydrocarbon potential. The n -alkane distribution from n -C 12 to n -C 33 along with bimodal distribution indicates significant organic matter contribution from microbial activity and higher plants. The contribution from angiosperm source vegetation is indicated by the oleanane type of triterpenoids. The hopanes distribution indicates the immature stage of the organic matter, which is in agreement with the T max (av. 401 °C) and huminite reflectance (av. 0.28% R r ) values. The total organic carbon (TOC) contents vary between 0.8 and 6.72 wt. % in the studied sediments. Hydrogen index and oxygen index values range from 16 to106 mg HC/g TOC, and 113 to 344 mg CO 2 /g TOC, respectively. The maceral content is low, being dominated by the detrohuminite submaceral and the mineral matter accounts for 68 to 77% of the total composition. The phytoclast group (63–87%) is dominant with subordinate amorphous organic matter (4–35%). The study shows that the sediments were deposited in a marginal suboxic basin with intermittent variations. All the parameters unequivocally suggest that the studied sequence holds the potential to generate gaseous hydrocarbons.
ISSN:0016-7622
0974-6889
DOI:10.1007/s12594-018-1035-2