Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Skip to content

Oil-source rock correlation studies in the unconventional Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale petroleum system, Mississippi and Louisiana, USA (2019)

Metadata Updated: July 6, 2024

The U.S. Geological Survey assessed undiscovered unconventional hydrocarbon resources reservoired in the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale (TMS) of southern Mississippi and adjacent Louisiana in 2018. As part of the assessment, oil- source rock correlations were examined in the study area where operators produce light (38-45° API), sweet oil from horizontal, hydraulically-fractured wells in an overpressured ‘high-resistivity’ (>5 ohm-m) zone (HRZ) at the base of the TMS. Our initial characterization of TMS samples indicated overall low organic carbon (avg. TOC ~1.0%) and dominance of a gas-prone Type III or mixed Type II/III kerogen, potentially inconsistent with a self-sourced petroleum system model for TMS-produced oils. Our work also documented thin (<1 ft), organic-rich (3-9 wt.% TOC), thermally mature (>0.6% Ro) shales in the underlying Lower Tuscaloosa (LT), which did contain an oil-prone Type II kerogen. To test if these thin LT shales could generate oils which are then trapped and produced from the base of the overlying clay-rich (>50% total clays) TMS HRZ, we evaluated oil-oil and oil-source rock correlations throughout the Tuscaloosa Group (TG, including LT; TMS; and upper Tuscaloosa, UT) in the TMS play area. Geochemical data from 39 oil samples and 17 source rock solvent extracts collected from the TMS play area indicate close correspondence for TG oils (from LT, TMS and UT reservoirs) in thermal maturity (computed from MPI), SARA proportions, n-alkane distributions, isoprenoid and DBT/P ratios, monoaromatic steroids, and delta-13 C isotopic compositions. Other parameters (normal steranes, extended homohopanes, C31R/C30 hopane, norhopane/hopane and tricyclic terpane ratios, Ga/Hop) show most oil samples have similar values, suggesting all TG oils are from a common mixed marine-terrigenous source rock. Tighter distributions for triaromatic steroid (TAS) and delta-13 C isotopic composition for conventional oils in LT and UT reservoirs may indicate charge occurred in a single or shorter pulse relative to TMS oils which show broader TAS and delta-13 C properties, possibly from their generation over an extended period of burial maturation. Dissimilarity in geochemical properties between LT source rock solvent extracts and TG oils indicates LT source rocks did not contribute significantly to conventional and unconventional TG hydrocarbon accumulations. Whereas, TMS solvent extracts are similar to TG oils, suggesting an oil-source rock correlation. Excluding the possibility for long-distance lateral migration from a similar source downdip (which is unnecessary given thermal maturity considerations), the observations indicate: 1. the TMS is a self-sourced reservoir; 2. the TMS is the source of oils accumulated in nearby conventional TG reservoirs; and 3. thin organic-rich shales in the LT did not contribute substantially to any oil accumulations in the TG.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date June 1, 2023
Metadata Updated Date July 6, 2024

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI EDI

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date June 1, 2023
Metadata Updated Date July 6, 2024
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
@Id http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/d203d2064d42028c6ea25671d24476c9
Identifier USGS:5d71009ce4b0c4f70cfcb241
Data Last Modified 20200819
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://datainventory.doi.gov/data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id fa85a23a-df0c-42b0-a223-e7a1aea6755a
Harvest Source Id 52bfcc16-6e15-478f-809a-b1bc76f1aeda
Harvest Source Title DOI EDI
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -91.529390000003,30.3875,-89.978330000001,31.5628
Publisher Hierarchy White House > U.S. Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 2e2f5ce09f2dc5fe3ac5e7e24b28065df927aeea744e6383cee65b51071125f8
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -91.529390000003, 30.3875, -91.529390000003, 31.5628, -89.978330000001, 31.5628, -89.978330000001, 30.3875, -91.529390000003, 30.3875}

Didn't find what you're looking for? Suggest a dataset here.