Part 4 - Berg - Hughes Center

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