Upper Permian Oil Shale Upper Permian Oil Shale Deposits of Northwest China: Deposits of Northwest China:

WorldWorld’’s Largest?s Largest?

Alan R. CarrollDepartment of Geology and Geophysics

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Deposit Period Oil In Place (106 tons) United States (Green River Fm.) Tertiary 213,000

United States (Phosphoria) Devonian 35,775

United States (Eastern) Devonian 27,000

United States (Heath Fm.) Teriary 25,778

Russia (Olenyok basin) Cambrian 24,000

Republic of Congo ? 14,310

Brazil (Irati Fm.) Permian 11,448

Largest Oil Shale DepositsLargest Oil Shale Deposits

(Dyni, J. R., 2006, Geology and Resources of Some World Oil-Shale Deposits: USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2005–5294, 42 p.)

Late Permian

Early Jurassic

Early Cretaceous

Oligocene

China Lake BasinsChina Lake Basins

• Permian Lake approximately equal in area to modern Caspian Sea

Late Permian JunggarLate Permian Junggar--TurpanTurpan--HamiHami LakeLake

(Carroll, and Wartes, 2003)

Map: Exxon

TectonicTectonicSettingSetting

• Junggar-Turpan-Hamibasins part of Altaidorogenic collage, lie at center of Asia

• Substrate has oceanic affinities; trapped or accreted ocean crust

• Continuous non-marine sedimentation from Permian onward

• Deformation focused on basin margins

Tectonic Basin ModelTectonic Basin Model

• Compressional uplift of basin-bounding “walls”• Turpan-Hami basin in wedge-top position?

Comparison to Green River Fm.Comparison to Green River Fm.

• Similar or greater in area• Greater thickness

• Silicic vs. carbonate-rich• Similar richness?

Late Permian Lacustrine DepositsLate Permian Lacustrine Deposits

• Distributed in several basins• Post-Permian deformation

• Outcrops in foothills of BogdaShan (Jurassic and later uplift)

(Carroll, and Wartes, 2003)

Junggar SouthJunggar South--North Cross SectionNorth Cross Section

• Regionally correlative interval up up to 2000+ m thick

HongyanchiHongyanchi Fm.Fm.

LucaogouLucaogou Fm.Fm.

JingjingzigouJingjingzigou FmFm

(Carroll, and Wartes, 2003)

TianchiTianchi SectionSection(N. (N. BogdaBogda Shan)Shan)

• Jingjingzigou, Lucaogou Fms.

• Dominantly silicic mudstone, siltstone

• Average 4% TOC over 800 m interval

• Total outcrop thickness ≥1300 m

(Carroll et al., 1992)

UnderfilledUnderfilled((JingjingzigouJingjingzigou Fm.)Fm.)

m-scale cycles

shrinkage cracks dolomicrite

(Carroll, 1998)

turbiditesoil shale

BalancedBalanced--fillfill((LucaogouLucaogou, , TaerlongTaerlong FmsFms.).)

(Carroll, 1998)

OverfilledOverfilled((HongyanchiHongyanchi Fm.)Fm.)

Silicic mudstone, freshwater limestone

(Carroll, 1998)

• Sample Interval ~ 10 m• ~1500 m total section

(N = 153)

Mean = 4%(all samples)

Mean = 5.7%(samples ≥ 5% TOC)

Max. 34.3%

Mean = 34.9 mg/g(samples ≥ 0.5% TOC)

Mean = 64.4 mg/g(samples ≥ 5% TOC)

Max. 225.7 mg/g

Organic EnrichmentOrganic Enrichment((JingjingzigouJingjingzigou, , LucaogouLucaogou, , HonyanchiHonyanchi FmsFms))

Junggar PermianJunggar Permian--Sourced OilsSourced Oils

• Permian oils in northwestern, central, and eastern Junggar basin• Southern Junggar basin over-mature due to deep Mz-Cz. burial

• NW China Permian lacustrine deposits cover an area approximately equal to Caspian sea, and locally exceed 2 km in thickness

• Based on LECO and Rock Eval measurements, maximum richness appears to be comparable to Green River Formation

• Much of the original oil potential has already been expended by thermal maturation, due to deep post-Permian burial

• Remaining resource likely very large, but detailed mapping and bulk assay data have not been published

• Structural complexity will influence exploitation

• These deposits are absent from previous global oil shale assessments, and surprisingly poorly known even within China

• More work needed!

ConclusionsConclusions

AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements

• Y. Liang

• S. A. Graham

• M. S. Hendrix

• T. J. Greene

• M. A. Wartes

• Stanford-China Industrial Affiliates

• Donors of the Petroleum Research Fund, American Chemical Society

• Graduate School, University of Wisconsin

Collaborators Funding

For More InformationFor More Information

Carroll, A. R., 1998, Upper Permian Lacustrine Organic Facies Evolution, Southern Junggar Basin, NW China: Organic Geochemistry, v. 28, p. 649-667.

Carroll, A. R., and Bohacs, K. M., 2001, Lake Type Control on Hydrocarbon Source Potential in Nonmarine Basins: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 85, p. 1033-1053.

Carroll, A. R., and Wartes, M. A., 2003, Organic Carbon Burial by Large Permian Lakes, Northwest China, in Chan, M. A., and Archer, A. W., eds., Extreme depositional environments: mega end members in geologic time: Geological Society of America Special Paper 370, p. 91-104.

Carroll, A. R., Brassell, S.C., and Graham, S.A., 1992, Upper Permian lacustrine oil shales of the southern Junggar basin, northwest China: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 76, p. 1874-1902.

Carroll, A. R., Graham, S.A., and Hendrix, M.S., 1995, Late Paleozoic tectonic amalgamation of northwestern China: sedimentary record of the northern Tarim, northwestern Turpan, and southern Junggar basins: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 107, p. 571-594.

Carroll, A. R., Graham, S.A., Hendrix, M.S., Chu, J., McKnight, C.L., Xiao, X., and Liang, Y., 1990, Junggar basin, northwest China: Trapped late Paleozoic Ocean: Tectonophysics, v. 181, p. 1-14.

Graham, S.A., Brassell, S., Carroll, A. R., Xiao, X., Demaison, G., McKnight, C.L., Liang, Y., Chu, J., and Hendrix, M.S., 1990, Characteristics of selected petroleum source rocks, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 74, p. 493-512.

Wartes, M. A., Carroll, A. R., and Greene, T. J., 2002, Permian Stratigraphic Evolution of the Turpan-Hami Basin and Adjacent Regions, Northwest China: Constraints on Post-amalgamation Tectonic Evolution: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 114, p. 131-152.

Wartes, M. A., Carroll, A. R., Greene, T. J., Cheng, K., and Hu, T., 2000, Permian lacustrine deposits of northwest China, in Gierlowski-Kordesch, E. H., and Kelts, K., eds., Lake Basins Through Space and Time: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Studies in Geology #46, p. 123-132.