Organic-rich sedimentary

rocks, and the formation of

oil and gas
GLGY 381: F02

1) Evolutionary development of
flora
Coal is rare in sedimentary rocks older than
Devonian in age
Early Devonian: evolution of herbaceous plants
Late Carboniferous: luxuriant and diverse
swamps developed in N. hemisphere
Diversity has increased through time

Types of organic-rich
sediments
Coal (terrestrial or marginal
marine): > 50% by wt. or > 70% by vol. organic
carbon

Oil shale (lacustrine or marine):

generally > 20% by wt. organic carbon

Hydrocarbon source rock

(mainly marine): > 2% by wt. organic carbon

I. COAL
How formed?

- by transformation of organic material (degraded

remains of higher plants and/or algae and other
micro-organisms)
- 3 main factors contribute to the formation of coal:
1) evolutionary development of flora
2) climate
3) depositional environment

2) Climate
Climate controls the rate of plant growth, type of
plant growth and decomposition rates
These factors are all important in determining
whether or not peat will form
Warm, wet tropical and subtropical climates - most
favourable for peat accumulation (e.g. Florida; south
Carolina)
Coal seams and peat can accumulate wherever the
rates of accumulation are greater than decomposition

3) Depositional environment (I)

Coastal marine (deltaic) depositional setting.

Note location of marsh deposits relative to
the distributary channels.

Lateral distribution, thickness, composition

and coal quality are determined by the
depositional environment
Groundwater table must be at or close to the
peat surface
Low energy; low clastic input
Accumulation approx. same as subsidence

3) Depositional environment
(II)

3) Depositional environment
(III)

Coal forms in two main depositional settings:

1) Paralic (coastal marine settings): e.g. back barrier
(Snuggedy Swamp, S. Carolina); deltas (Mississippi
Delta); coastal and interdeltaic plains (Mist
Mountain Formation, BC)
2) Limnic (non-marine): e.g. fluvial (Tertiary Eureka
Sound Formation, Nunavut); fault-bounded basins in
intermontane regions (Tertiary Hat Creek deposit,
BC)

Coal forms in two main depositional settings:

1) Paralic (coastal marine settings): e.g. back barrier
(Snuggedy Swamp, S. Carolina); deltas (Mississippi
Delta); coastal and interdeltaic plains (Mist
Mountain Formation, BC)
2) Limnic (non-marine): e.g. fluvial (Tertiary Eureka
Sound Formation, Nunavut); fault-bounded basins in
intermontane regions (Tertiary Hat Creek deposit,
BC)

Coastal marine (back barrier) depositional

setting. Note location of marsh deposits
relative to the lagoon and barrier complex.

Tertiary Eureka Sound Group coal seams, central

Ellesmere Island. Coals were deposited in fluvial
environments, and are lignite rank.

coal
siltstone
sandstone

Tertiary Eureka
Sound Group coal
seams, southern
Ellesmere Island.
Note finingupward,
meandering fluvial
depositional
succession, capped
by coal seam.

Vitrinite (planepolarized light)

Sporinite (a kind of liptinite;

fluorescent under UV light)

Fining-upward
succession

TYPES OF COAL
Sapropelic: two variations
- cannel coal: rich in spores
- boghead coal: rich in algal remains
Humic:
- predominantly woody material
- stratified and heterogeneous

WHAT ARE THE

COMPONENTS OF COAL?
Coal Macerals
-organic constituents in coals that are analagous
to grains in a sandstone
-commonly a complex mixture of residues of
various parts of the original plant material
3 main groups:
1) Vitrinite: woody plant tissue
2) Liptinite: H-rich plant material (algae, spores,
cuticles)
3) Inertinite: oxidized, inert C (may be derived
from fires)

B=fluorescing Botryococcus
alginite (a kind of
liptinite- nonmarine);
I=inertinite (nonfluorescing)

Yellow-fluorescing thinwalled alginite (a kind of

liptinite)

What is coal rank?

Tracks the chemical and physical
changes in coal with increasing depth
of burial (P, T)
Important for determining the enduse of the coal (thermal; coking)
Important for studies of thermal
maturation of sedimentary rocks

Hydrocarbon source rocks

and oil shales

Where does coal occur in

Canada?
Maritimes, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British
Columbia- some in Ontario
Thermal- electric:
- Lignite to sub
- bituminous B coal
- > 90% of electricity in Alberta is from coal
- Interior plains and outer Foothills belt (AB,
SK)

What are the controls on hydrocarbon

source rock development?
- 99.9% of organic C is recycled
- Small leak of 0.1 to 0.01% of organic C
gets preserved in sedimentary rocks
- How is this amount concentrated into
organic-rich rocks?

Factors controlling the

preservation of organic C

Where does coal occur in

Canada?
Metallurgical coke:
- high to low volatile bituminous coal
- Coals must meet standards for
strength and quality
- Front Ranges and Inner Foothills Belt
(AB, BC)

1) Enhanced bioproductivity
2) Enhanced preservation of organic
matter (anoxia)
3)
4)
5)
6)

Factors controlling the

preservation of organic C

II. Hydrocarbon source

rocks and oil shales
How formed?

- by transformation of organic material (degraded remains of

algae and other micro-organisms and/or higher plant material)
- End members of a continuum of organic-rich, fine-grained rocks
- May be siliciclastic or carbonate in composition
- Most hydrocarbon source rocks are formed in marine
environments; most oil shales formed in lacustrine environments

OIL SHALES MAY BE HYDROCARBON SOURCE

ROCKS, BUT THE REVERSE IS NOT USUALLY TRUE

Sedimentation rate
Organic matter type
Rate of transport to site of deposition
Sediment particle size

1) Enhanced bioproductivity
!
!

Under normal bioproductivity conditions, carbon

fixed organically via photosynthesis is efficiently
recycled in the depositional environment (Figure 1)
During times of algal bloom (enhanced
bioproductivity; Figure 2), the higher volume of
decaying biomass overwhelms the organic carbon
recycling system, and more organic matter reaches
the seafloor.

TYPE II KEROGEN

Factors controlling the

preservation of organic C
1) Enhanced preservation
!

Under normal bioproductivity conditions, the water

column is well-oxygenated, and conditions are
optimum for water column and bottom-dwelling
scavengers (Figure 1)
During times of enhanced bioproductivity (Figure 2),
the higher volume of decaying biomass overwhelms
the organic carbon recycling system, creating
conditions of water anoxia. Few organisms can
tolerate these conditions, and thus relatively more
of the OM reaching the seafloor is preserved.

Blue-green-fluorescing
dinoflagellates (D) and
yellow-fluorescing
alginite (A) (two kinds of
liptinite)

Yellow-fluorescing
alginite

(both photomicrographs taken

under UV light)

Figure 1

TYPE I/II KEROGEN

1 0 ' s to 1 0 0 's o f m

Phytoplankton production in the photic zone

A
Water column is well-oxygenated

A and B same view: A=UV

light; B=white light

B
Amorphous OM
Inertinite
(Type IV)

Abundant bottom-dwelling scavengers - little organic matter is preserved

Figure 2

Coccolith-dominated OM

1 0 's to 1 0 0 's o f m

Enhanced bioproductivity (algal bloom)

C
More organic matter escapes scavengers
Bottom water is anoxic
Few bottom-dwelling organisms to scavenge organic matter

oxic
anoxic

Abundant organic matter is preserved in the sediments

What are the types of

organic matter?
For oil formation (OIL-PRONE
KEROGEN), H-rich organic matter
is required
- mainly phytoplankton and/or bacteria
KEROGEN TYPES I and II

What are the types of

organic matter?
Higher plant material is H-poor, and is
more GAS-PRONE KEROGEN
KEROGEN TYPE III
Inert carbon will not generate any HCs this is TYPE IV kerogen

Burial of organic - rich unit beneath layers of sediment and rock

Figure 3

I
OSTRACODE
ZONE

800
700

II

HI

600
500
400
300
200

III

100
0
0

IV
50

OI

100

150

Hydrogen Index
(HI) vs. Oxygen
Index (OI)
diagram for the
Lower Cretaceous
Ostracode Zone,
showing kerogen
evolution
pathways for
kerogen types I,

a b o u t 1 k il o m e tr e

900

Area enlarged in Fig. 4

Kerogen formation in organic - rich unit
Figure 4

Oil expulsion into adjacent porous and permeable carrier bed

1 0 's to 1 0 0 's o f m i c r o n s

1000

II, III, IV

3-D kerogen network

Oil formation from kerogen

3-D kerogen network

Fine-grained sedimentary rock

How is the organic matter

transformed into oil?

How is the organic matter

transformed into oil?

DIAGENESIS STAGE (up to 50-60C)

! After arrival at the sea floor,
organic matter undergoes a series
of biochemical reactions
! This results in formation of
KEROGEN

= sand
grains
in the rock

oil-filled
pores

1 -1 0 m m

CATAGENESIS STAGE (60 to 150C)

! As the source rock is buried deeper, the
KEROGEN starts to break down to liberate
liquid hydrocarbons (Figure 3)
! Once a threshold volume is reached, oil will be
expelled from the rock (Figure 4) into
adjacent porous and permeable carrier beds

Figure 5

1 0 0 's t o 1 0 0 0 ' s o f m e tr e s

How is the organic matter

transformed into oil?

CATAGENESIS STAGE (60 to 150C)

! Once the oil enters the carrier bed, it can
migrate updip, mainly due to the forces of
buoyancy, and hopefully be trapped in a
hydrocarbon reservoir (Figure 5)
! At the end of catagenesis, the OM is spent,
and will produce no more liquid HCs- only gas

water-filled
pores

Oil accumulation
Im p

ea b
e rm

e
le s

oc
al r

Mature hydrocarbon
source rock

How does gas form?

CATAGENESIS and METAGENESIS
! During catagenesis, some gas will form directly
from the KEROGEN
! At the end of CATAGENESIS, if the source
rock is buried even deeper, gas will be generated
from the kerogen during METAGENESIS
! Gas will also form due to disproportionation of
oil in reservoirs that are deeply buried (Fig. 6)
OIL- -- >GAS + PYROBITUMEN

HYDROCARBON SOURCE
ROCKS IN ALBERTA
A few examples

Figure 6

Lower Black
Shale Mbr.,
Exshaw Fm.

Palliser Fm.

Exshaw Formation (Jura

Creek, near Exshaw,
Alberta)
The Lower Black Shale
Member of the Exshaw is
Devonian-Mississippian in
age, and is arguably the
most prolific source rock
for oil in Alberta. It
contains up to 14 wt%
TOC, and is the main
source rock for the vast
Alberta tar sands
deposits

HYDROCARBON SOURCE ROCKS IN

ALBERTA
Conventional Crude Oil Reserves,
Alberta (AEUB, 1999)

Active Source
Rocks

Colorado Group
Ostracode Zone
Fernie
"Nordegg"
Doig "Phosphate"

P-T
boundary
Llama
Mbr.

Upper Cretaceous

Whistler
Mbr.

Lower Cretaceous
Jurassic

Vega-Phroso
Mbr.

Permian
Fantasque Fm.

Triassic
Permian

Exshaw
Duvernay
Keg River

Mississippian
Upper Devonian
Middle Devonian
Other
0.00

500.00

1000.00

1500.00

2000.00

2500.00

Crude oil volume (x106m3)

3000.00

Whistler Member (Meosin Mountain, west-central AB)

The phosphatic beds of the Whistler are Middle Triassic (Anisian) in age, and are
correlative with the Phosphate Zone of the Doig Formation in the
subsurface. This unit contains up to 12 wt% TOC, and is the main source
rock for oils found in Triassic reservoirs in Alberta and BC

Scalp Creek Member of the

Fernie Group (near
Bighorn Falls, westcentral Alberta)
The Scalp Creek Member is
Early Jurassic
(Pliensbachian) in age, and
is correlative (in part)
with subsurface
occurrences of the
Nordegg Member, a
known source rock for oil
in Alberta with TOC
values up to 30 wt%

FORMATION OF OIL
SUMMARY