A discussion on the upper limit of maturity for gas generation by marine kerogens and the utmost of gas generative potential: Taking the study on the Tarim Basin as an example

The experimental data yielded by Rock-Eval pyrolysis, kerogen atomic H/C, Py-GC and gold-tube sealing thermal simulation on the marine Cambrian-Ordovician source rock from the Tarim Basin revealed that the upper limit of maturity for natural gas generation or the “deadline of gas generation” for marine types I and II kerogens is equal to 3.0% of vitrinite reflectance (R o); while the “deadline of gas generation” for type III kerogens typically like coals is as high as 10% R o. Thus, different organic matter has obviously different utmost maturities for gas generation. The mass-balance calculation by kerogen elements showed that when R o>1.5%, the utmost amount of gas generation for the marine type II kerogen is less than 185 m3/t TOC, accounting for less than 30% of its total hydrocarbon generative potential; when R o>2.0%, it becomes 110 m3/t TOC, less than 20% of the total hydrocarbon generative potential. The amount of the gas generative potential obtained by Rock-Eval is only around one tenth of the calculated value by the mass balance of kerogen elements at the same thermal evolutionary stage, while those by Py-GC and gold-tube sealing simulation are intervenient between the above two. The utmost of gas generative potential at the over 1.3% R o stage is around 60–90 m3/t TOC, therefore, the amount of gas generation obtained by Rock-Eval is the minimum of gas generative potential, while that by the mass-balance calculation of kerogen elements is the maximum that the actual amount of gas generation should not exceed.