Hydrocarbon source rocks

Meissner, F.F. Woodward, J. Clayton, J.L. In Hydrocarbon Source Rocks of the Greater Rocky Mountain Region Woodward, J. Meissner, F.F. Clayton, J.L., Eds. Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists Denver pp 1-34. 

Meissner F. F. (1984) Cretaceous and lower Tertiary coals as sources for gas accumulations in the Rocky Mountain area. In Hydrocarbon Source Rocks of the Greater Rocky Mountain Region (eds. J. Woodward, F. F. Meissner, and... 

Brooks J., Cornford C., and Archer R. (1987) The role of hydrocarbon source rocks in petroleum exploration. In Marine Petroleum Source Rocks (eds. J. Brooks and A. J. Fleet). Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 17-46. 

Parnell, J. (1992) Burial histories and hydrocarbon source rocks on the North West Seaboard. In Basins on the Atlantic Seaboard Petroleum Geology, Sedimentology and Basin Evolution (Ed. Parnell, J.). Spec. Publ. Geol. Soc. London, 62, 3-16. 

The principal hydrocarbon source rocks of the Oued el-Mya Basin are Silurian (Goth-landian) and Devonian (Ernsian, Givetian, Frasnian, Famennian) shales and, to a lesser degree, Ordovician shales (El-Gassi and Azzel formations). The present areal distribution of Paleozoic (Ordovician, Silurian, and Lower Devonian) shales is a function of their initial distribution and the extent of Hercynian erosion. Maximum initial thicknesses were south, southwest, and west of the basin. Present-day thicknesses range from 600 to 700 m in the south to 280 to 660 m in the west and 220 to 460 m in the center of the basin. The Takhoukht section has about 400 m of shales. 

Jones P. J. and Stump T. E. (1999) Depositional and tectonic setting of the Lower Silurian hydrocarbon source rock facies, central Saudi Arabia. AAPG Bull. 83, 314-332. 

Reflectivity studies using vitrinite, an organic component, were initially carried out on coal to determine its rank, or thermal maturity. These studies were then applied to hydrocarbon generation, as hydrocarbons such as oil and gas are generated over time by the action of heat on fossil organic material. The reflectivity of vitrinite in the hydrocarbon source rocks reveals maturity and the likelihood of the presence of oil and gas in the sediments. 

Tainter PA (1984) Stratigraphic and paleostructural controls on hydrocarbon migration in Cretaceous D and J Sandstones of the Denver Basin. In Woodward J, Meissner FF, Clayton JL (eds) Hydrocarbon source rocks of the Greater Rocky Mountain Region. Rocky Mountain Assoc Geol, Denver, CO, pp 339-354 Tissot BP, Welte DH (1978) Petroleum formation and occurrence. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, 538 pp... 

Yin P, Surdam RC, Boese S, MacGowan DB, Miknis F (1993) Simulation of hydrocarbon source rock maturation by hydrous pyrolysis. In Andrew S, Strook B (eds) Fiftieth anniversary field conference guidebook. Wyoming Geol Assoc, Casper, pp 359-373... 

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