Accumulation model and geochemistry characteristics of oil occurring from Jurassic coal measures in the Huangling mining area of the Ordos Basin, China

doi:10.1007/s11707-022-1038-6

Front. Earth Sci.

2023, Vol. 17

Issue (1) : 158-169 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-022-1038-6

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Accumulation model and geochemistry characteristics of oil occurring from Jurassic coal measures in the Huangling mining area of the Ordos Basin, China

Yuan BAO^1,²(

), Yiliang HU¹, Wenbo WANG¹, Chen GUO¹, Guochang WANG³

¹. College of Geology and Environment, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710054, China
². Key Laboratory of Coal Resources Exploration and Comprehensive Utilization, Xi’an 710021, China
³. Engineering Department, Saint Francis University, Loretto, PA 15940, USA

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Abstract

The Ordos Basin is an important intracontinental sedimentary basin in China, containing a significant amount of coal, oil, and natural gas. This study analyzed the sedimentary environment, sedimentary facies, parent material type, maturity, and carbon isotopic composition of the coal-bearing organic matter using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The source of oil occurring in the No. 2 coal seam of the Jurassic Yan’an Formation (An-1 oil) and its accumulation model were also investigated. The results show that the relative abundances of C₂₇, C₂₈, and C₂₉ steranes in the An-1 oil are 43.8%, 33.0%, and 23.2%, respectively. The tricyclic terpanes, C₂₉20S/(20S + 20R), and C₂₉ββ/(ββ+αα) contents of the An-1 oil are 31.4%−34.8%, 0.85 and 0.81, respectively. Pr/n-C₁₇, Ph/n-C₁₈, and Pr/Ph values are 0.34, 0.42, and 0.87, respectively. Biomarker parameters indicate that the An-1 oil mainly comes from the plankton source rock deposited in the freshwater lake facies and a reducing environment, which has evolved to maturity. The correlation of oil-oil indicates that the An-1 oil is homologous to the Chang-7 oil (Chang-7 member of the Triassic Yanchang Formation). The correlation of oil-source rock presents that the An-1 oil is generated from the Yanchang Formation (Chang-6 and Chang-7 source rocks) and occurred in the coal seam during the stage of stratum uplift since the Early of Late Cretaceous. The distribution characteristics of δ¹³C_{group components} in the An-1 oil and Chang-7 oil also reveal the fractionation phenomenon during the migration of crude oil.

Keywords coal measures oil source biomarker compounds carbon isotope Ordos Basin

Corresponding Author(s): Yuan BAO

About author:

^* These authors contributed equally to this work.

Online First Date: 22 May 2023 Issue Date: 03 July 2023

Cite this article:

Yuan BAO,Yiliang HU,Wenbo WANG, et al. Accumulation model and geochemistry characteristics of oil occurring from Jurassic coal measures in the Huangling mining area of the Ordos Basin, China[J]. Front. Earth Sci., 2023, 17(1): 158-169.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/10.1007/s11707-022-1038-6
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fesci/EN/Y2023/V17/I1/158

Fig.1 Sampling location and structural outline of the study area: (a) the Ordos Basin; (b) the Huangling mining area (modified from Bao et al., 2021b).

Tab.1 Samples’ basic information

Fig.2 Mass chromatogram of crude oils and source rocks (TIC, m/z = 85).

Sample ID	Pr/n-C₁₇	Ph/n-C₁₈	Pr/Ph	∑nC $21 ?$ /∑nC $22 +$	CPI	OEP	Main carbon
Chang-7 oil	0.48	0.5	0.97	1.45	1.11	1.09	C₂₁
Chang-8 oil	0.45	0.52	1.23	1.44	1.15	1.07	C₂₁
An-1 oil	0.34	0.42	0.87	1.31	1.29	1.06	C₂₁
HL1-5 coal	0.14	0.88	3.43	1.05	2.73	3.04	C₂₂
HL2-5 coal	0.28	0.67	2.29	1.27	3.08	0.86	C₈
Chang-6 mudstone*	0.47?0.78/0.68 (9)	0.69?1.37/1.03 (9)	0.64?0.93/0.75 (9)	1.39?2.01/1.66 (9)	1.04?1.17/1.09 (9)	1.06?1.13/1.09 (9)	C₁₇/C₁₉/C₂₁
Chang-7 shale *	0.34?0.57/0.46 (15)	0.48?1.15/0.72 (15)	0.54?0.84/0.72 (15)	1.43?2.33/1.81 (15)	1.04?1.08/1.06 (15)	1.01?1.08/1.04 (15)	C₁₅/C₁₇/C₂₁
Chang-8 mudstone *	0.37?0.45/0.41 (2)	0.27?0.36/0.32 (2)	1.28?1.4/1.34 (2)	1.28?1.31/1.30 (2)	1.06?1.06/1.06 (2)	1.02?1.04/1.03 (2)	C₂₁

Tab.2 Geochemical parameters of crude oil and source rocks

Fig.3 Chromatogram of steroids and terpenes in crude oil and coal samples.

Tab.3 Parameters of steranes and terpenes in crude oils and source rocks

Tab.4 Carbon isotopes of the total hydrocarbon and crude oil’s group components

Fig.4 Relationship of carbon isotopic compositions in coal and oil samples. (a) Carbon isotopes of total hydrocarbon; (b) carbon isotopes of group components.

Fig.5 Crude oil and source rock biomarker compound parameter image (a), (b), (c), (d) are modified from Peters et al., 2005, Safaei-Farouji et al., 2021, Huang and Meinschein, 1979, and Xiao et al., 2018, respectively).

Fig.6 The star chart of biomarker parameters.

Fig.7 Schematic diagram of An-1 oil’s migration and occurrence in the Huangling mining area.

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