Source rock potential, thermal maturity, and depositional environment of the Ordovician Ra’an Shale Member, central Saudi Arabia
The Ordovician Ra’an Shale Member of the Qassim Formation in Saudi Arabia has potential as an unconventional hydrocarbon play. This shale unit, however, has not been studied in detail for its geochemical characteristics, thermal maturity, and reservoir quality. This study aims to investigate this sh...
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| 格式: | Article |
| 語言: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-06-01
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| 叢編: | Journal of Asian Earth Sciences: X |
| 主題: | |
| 在線閱讀: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590056024000021 |
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| author | Faisal AlGhamdi Lamidi Babalola Abdullah Alqubalee Israa S. Abu-Mahfouz Bandar Alotaibi Mohammed Abouelresh |
| author_facet | Faisal AlGhamdi Lamidi Babalola Abdullah Alqubalee Israa S. Abu-Mahfouz Bandar Alotaibi Mohammed Abouelresh |
| author_sort | Faisal AlGhamdi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Ordovician Ra’an Shale Member of the Qassim Formation in Saudi Arabia has potential as an unconventional hydrocarbon play. This shale unit, however, has not been studied in detail for its geochemical characteristics, thermal maturity, and reservoir quality. This study aims to investigate this shale member from a well-exposed section at Khashm Ra’an in the Qassim region, central Saudi Arabia. Detailed fieldwork followed by comprehensive geochemical and petrographic analyses were conducted to evaluate the hydrocarbon potential and interpret the depositional setting of this shale member. Integration of field sedimentological description, sample description and thin section petrography facilitated the identification of partially burrowed laminated fish-bearing shale, bioturbated siltstone, graptolite-bearing shale, shale/siltstone and sandstone/shale interbeds in the investigated outcrop. The intervals were sandwiched between the bioturbated sandstone of the underlying Kahfah Sandstone and the overlying Quwarah Formation. These lithofacies are interpreted to have been deposited in a shallow marine depositional setting. The preservation of graptolite in some intervals indicates low bottom dissolved oxygen conditions. The mineralogical analysis indicated that clay minerals, quartz, and feldspars are the major mineralogical components in the study samples. Based on mineralogical compositions, the studied samples were classified into three main lithofacies types; silica-rich argillaceous mudstone, clay-rich siliceous mudstone, and mixed siliceous mudstone lithofacies. Elemental analysis proxies indicated that most of the tested samples were deposited in anoxic environment. The calculated values of the chemical index of weathering (CIW) indicated that samples were exposed to high rates of weathering, which negatively impacted organic matter preservation.Microscopic investigation identified the pore systems of the Ra’an Member as interparticle, interparticle and fracture pore systems, and observed the diagenetic features in the form of cementation, compaction, and dissolution. Organic geochemical analysis indicates that the samples are mainly of kerogen type III and II/III with poor to fair potential for hydrocarbon generation. This study provides an improved understanding of the depositional setting, organic geochemical, and thermal evolution of the Ra'an Member as a potential unconventional hydrocarbon reservoir. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:14:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-55a1f6daff36456da2003adbe7c40736 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2590-0560 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:14:33Z |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Asian Earth Sciences: X |
| spelling | doaj.art-55a1f6daff36456da2003adbe7c407362024-01-29T04:16:22ZengElsevierJournal of Asian Earth Sciences: X2590-05602024-06-0111100174Source rock potential, thermal maturity, and depositional environment of the Ordovician Ra’an Shale Member, central Saudi ArabiaFaisal AlGhamdi0Lamidi Babalola1Abdullah Alqubalee2Israa S. Abu-Mahfouz3Bandar Alotaibi4Mohammed Abouelresh5Center for Integrative Petroleum Research (CIPR), College of Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences, King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding authors.Center for Integrative Petroleum Research (CIPR), College of Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences, King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaCenter for Integrative Petroleum Research (CIPR), College of Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences, King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; Department of Geosciences, College of Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences, King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaCenter for Integrative Petroleum Research (CIPR), College of Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences, King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; Department of Geosciences, College of Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences, King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding authors.Department of Geosciences, College of Petroleum Engineering and Geosciences, King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaApplied Research Center for Environment and Marine Studies, King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaThe Ordovician Ra’an Shale Member of the Qassim Formation in Saudi Arabia has potential as an unconventional hydrocarbon play. This shale unit, however, has not been studied in detail for its geochemical characteristics, thermal maturity, and reservoir quality. This study aims to investigate this shale member from a well-exposed section at Khashm Ra’an in the Qassim region, central Saudi Arabia. Detailed fieldwork followed by comprehensive geochemical and petrographic analyses were conducted to evaluate the hydrocarbon potential and interpret the depositional setting of this shale member. Integration of field sedimentological description, sample description and thin section petrography facilitated the identification of partially burrowed laminated fish-bearing shale, bioturbated siltstone, graptolite-bearing shale, shale/siltstone and sandstone/shale interbeds in the investigated outcrop. The intervals were sandwiched between the bioturbated sandstone of the underlying Kahfah Sandstone and the overlying Quwarah Formation. These lithofacies are interpreted to have been deposited in a shallow marine depositional setting. The preservation of graptolite in some intervals indicates low bottom dissolved oxygen conditions. The mineralogical analysis indicated that clay minerals, quartz, and feldspars are the major mineralogical components in the study samples. Based on mineralogical compositions, the studied samples were classified into three main lithofacies types; silica-rich argillaceous mudstone, clay-rich siliceous mudstone, and mixed siliceous mudstone lithofacies. Elemental analysis proxies indicated that most of the tested samples were deposited in anoxic environment. The calculated values of the chemical index of weathering (CIW) indicated that samples were exposed to high rates of weathering, which negatively impacted organic matter preservation.Microscopic investigation identified the pore systems of the Ra’an Member as interparticle, interparticle and fracture pore systems, and observed the diagenetic features in the form of cementation, compaction, and dissolution. Organic geochemical analysis indicates that the samples are mainly of kerogen type III and II/III with poor to fair potential for hydrocarbon generation. This study provides an improved understanding of the depositional setting, organic geochemical, and thermal evolution of the Ra'an Member as a potential unconventional hydrocarbon reservoir.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590056024000021Unconventional ReservoirSource RockOrdovician ShaleGeochemical CharacterizationPetrography |
| spellingShingle | Faisal AlGhamdi Lamidi Babalola Abdullah Alqubalee Israa S. Abu-Mahfouz Bandar Alotaibi Mohammed Abouelresh Source rock potential, thermal maturity, and depositional environment of the Ordovician Ra’an Shale Member, central Saudi Arabia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences: X Unconventional Reservoir Source Rock Ordovician Shale Geochemical Characterization Petrography |
| title | Source rock potential, thermal maturity, and depositional environment of the Ordovician Ra’an Shale Member, central Saudi Arabia |
| title_full | Source rock potential, thermal maturity, and depositional environment of the Ordovician Ra’an Shale Member, central Saudi Arabia |
| title_fullStr | Source rock potential, thermal maturity, and depositional environment of the Ordovician Ra’an Shale Member, central Saudi Arabia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Source rock potential, thermal maturity, and depositional environment of the Ordovician Ra’an Shale Member, central Saudi Arabia |
| title_short | Source rock potential, thermal maturity, and depositional environment of the Ordovician Ra’an Shale Member, central Saudi Arabia |
| title_sort | source rock potential thermal maturity and depositional environment of the ordovician ra an shale member central saudi arabia |
| topic | Unconventional Reservoir Source Rock Ordovician Shale Geochemical Characterization Petrography |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590056024000021 |
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