ABSTRACT: Geochemistry of Palo Duro Basin Oils

R. C. Hager, M. A. Northam

Recent oil discoveries in the Palo Duro basin have renewed interest in the exploration potential of the area. However, the small size of the accumulations found to date raises questions concerning the identity, generative capacity, and thermal maturity of the source rocks in the basin.

In this study, source rock evaluations of shale samples from the Palo Duro basin were done to determine if oil-oil/oil-source rock correlations could be made. Recognition of different types of accumulated hydrocarbons and relating these migrated hydrocarbons to their respective sources are essential steps in identifying generative depocenters and migration routes, important knowledge for the explorationist.

Oils from the vicinity of the Palo Duro basin have been compared to each other, to oils from the Hardeman and Midland basins, and to potential source rocks within the Palo Duro basin. The Palo Duro basin oils appear to have been sourced locally and can be divided into four groups: those similar to oils sourced in the western Hardeman basin, two groups that correlate with source rocks in different parts of the Palo Duro basin, and one group of oils that appears to be a mix of Hardeman and Palo Duro oils. A linear unmixing program was applied to the suspected mixtures in an attempt to determine the quantitative contribution of the two proposed end-member sources.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90096©1990 AAPG Southwest Section Meeting, Wichita Falls, Texas, March 11-13, 1990