Part 4 - Berg - Hughes Center
Part 4 - Berg - Hughes Center
Part 4 - Berg - Hughes Center
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Maps of present day heat flow (Fig. 83), of lithospheric stretching beta factors (Fig. 84),<br />
and plots of vitrinite reflectance values (Figs. 85-86) were prepared to assist with this<br />
analysis. The generation of hydrocarbons from Smackover lime mudstone was initiated<br />
at 6,000 to 8,500 feet during the Early Cretaceous and continued into the Tertiary, using a<br />
transient heat flow model (Table 1). Organic carbon contents of up to 1.80% have been<br />
recorded from the Smackover for this basin. The dominant kerogen types in the<br />
Smackover are amorphous and microbial with herbaceous. These Smackover lime<br />
mudstone beds exhibit thermal alteration indices of 3 - to 3 + . Hydrocarbon expulsion from<br />
Smackover source rocks commenced during the Early Cretaceous and continued into the<br />
Tertiary with peak expulsion chiefly in the Early to Late Cretaceous.<br />
Basin Modeling and Petroleum System Identification<br />
Basin modeling is crucial to petroleum system identification. In basin modeling,<br />
regional hydrocarbon flow patterns generally are discerned from two-dimensional<br />
models. Petroleum system characterization assists in the recreation of the history of the<br />
hydrocarbons within a specific geologic system in a basin. Knowledge of the petroleum<br />
system can greatly facilitate the development of improved exploration strategies for<br />
hydrocarbons in a basin. From the basin modeling and petroleum system characterization,<br />
petroleum systems identified as potential for the North Louisiana Salt Basin have been<br />
identified for this study.<br />
The burial and thermal maturation histories of the strata in this basin are consistent<br />
with its rift-related geohistory. Source rock analysis and geohistory, thermal maturity and<br />
hydrocarbon expulsion modeling indicate that lime mudstone of the Upper Jurassic<br />
Smackover Formation served as an effective regional petroleum source rock in the North<br />
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