--> ABSTRACT: Regional Thermal Maturity and Hydrocarbon Potential of the Mesozoic Succession in the Drake Hydrocarbon Field, Sverdrup Basin, Arctic Canada, by Thomas Gentzis, Fariborz Goodarzi; #91002 (1990).

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ABSTRACT: Regional Thermal Maturity and Hydrocarbon Potential of the Mesozoic Succession in the Drake Hydrocarbon Field, Sverdrup Basin, Arctic Canada

Thomas Gentzis, Fariborz Goodarzi

The thermal maturity and source-rock potential of the sedimentary succession in the Drake hydrocarbon field, Melville Island, Arctic Canada, have been studied using reflected white, fluorescent light microscopy and Rock-Eval pyrolysis.

Vitrinite reflectance in Cretaceous sediments ranges from 0.35 to 0.56%; in Jurassic sediments it ranges from 0.40 to 0.66%; and in Triassic sediments, from 0.50 to 0.80%. The Triassic Schei Point Group shales and siltstones contain organic matter of marine origin, whereas the predominantly plant-derived organic matter present in the Jameson Bay, Ringnes, and Deer Bay formations has higher TOC. Among the Schei Point Group sediments, the Eden Bay Member of the Hoyle Bay Formation has high TOC content (^sim5.0%) and high HI values (in excess of 600 mg HC/g Corg). It is followed by the Cape Richards

Member and the Cape Caledonia Member of the Murray Harbour Formation (^sim5.0% TOC). The Schei Point Group sediments are occasionally bitumen stained and have high potential for the generation of liquid hydrocarbons.

The regional thermal maturation pattern of the Mesozoic is not solely a reflection of the present-day geothermal gradients, an indication that anomalous zones of high geothermal gradients may have existed in the past, at least since the Mesozoic sediments attained maximum burial depth. Thermal subsidence, folding, uplift, erosion, and high primary heat flow associated with periods of diapiric and igneous intrusions may have been responsible for the thermal maturity pattern in the Drake hydrocarbon field.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91002©1990 AAPG Rocky Mountain Section Meeting, Denver, Colorado, September 16-19, 1990