Advances and Applications of Integrated Organic Petrographic and Organic Geochemical Analyses in Evaluating Conventional and Unconventional Hydrocarbon Resources

About this Research Topic

Background

Worldwide, investigations of the hydrocarbon potential of source rocks have conventionally been based on the bulk organic geochemical analyses. The integrated organic petrographic and organic geochemical analyses have been less frequently used. Nevertheless, the later approach appeared to be more successful in investigating the source rocks potential. Because it uses the organic facies concept, which is proved to overcome certain limitations of the Rock-Eval parameters. For example, the misidentification of the kerogen types because of mixing and/or averaging of active and inert kerogen.

The organic facies can be also used effectively along with lithofacies analysis in understanding the paleoenvironmental conditions that were responsible for accumulation and preservation of sedimentary organic matter. The organic facies can be also used as a helpful tool in carrying out better sequence stratigraphic analyses and providing more plausible interpretations of depositional environments of organic-rich as well as organic-poor deposits.

Most of the combined methods utilized the reflected white light (RWL) organic petrographic and organic geochemical analyses of organic matter the to define organic facies types. However, the use of the transmitted white light (TWL) organic petrographic analysis of organic facies is still infrequent. Unlike TWL, the RWL organic petrographic analysis cannot provide a detailed visual description and classification of different organic matter/maceral components and thus cannot indicate the botanical origin of organic matter. Therefore, combined TWL and RWL organic petrographic analyses that are integrated with recent advanced organic geochemical analyses are needed to provide better appraisal of the hydrocarbon source rock potential. This integrated approach also extend to the sequence stratigraphic analyses to attain better constrained investigation of potential source rocks.

Moreover, the pyrolysis-estimated Tmax temperatures appear sometimes to be negatively afflicted by several parameters, for example poor organic richness, kerogen type, mineral matrix dilution, contamination by drilling mud additives, migration of hydrocarbons, saturation of the flame ionization detector (FID). Therefore, this maturity proxy must be calibrated and supplemented with organic petrographic maturity indices such as vitrinite reflectance and spore colouration, etc.

This Research Topic aims to shed more light on recent advances in organic petrographic and geochemical analyses of conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon resources with a special emphasis on the integration between the two types of analyses. Authors are welcome to submit original research articles, review articles, and short communications pertaining to scope of the present Research Topic.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
• Organic petrography;
• Organic geochemistry;
• Organic facies analysis;
• Palynofacies analysis;
• Advanced/new organic petrographic approaches;
• Integrated organic facies and lithofacies analyses;
• Integrated organic facies and electrofacies analyses;
• New techniques of organic petrographic analysis
• New preparation techniques of organic matter;
• Advances in petrographic maturity indices;
• Depositional environments;
• Basin analysis;
• Sequence stratigraphy;
• Petroleum systems.

Keywords: organic matter, organic petrography, organic geochemistry, organic facies, palynofacies, petrographic maturity indices, kerogen, sequence stratigraphy

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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