Interaction between source rock and evaporite: A case study of natural gas generation in the norther

It is well known that oil generated from source rocks of saline-lake facies is characteristic of low Pr/Ph ratio and high contents of gammacerane. The authors found that gas generated from the same source rocks was high in benzene and cyclohexane contents and had light carbon isotope compositions. In this study, a series of thermal simulations of gas generations on source rock with/without evaporites (such as carbonate, gypsum, and sodium chlorite, respectively), were conducted. It was found that the gypsum played an important role on the catalyzsis of gas generation in the thermal simulations. Compositions of the gaseous hydrocarbons generated from source rocks with evaporites are very similar to those of natural gases discovered from northern Dongying Depression. Meanwhile, in the thermal simulations, it was found that the carbon isotopic compositions of gaseous hydrocarbons generated from source rocks with evaporites are lighter than those of the gases from source rocks without evaporites. Therefore, it is concluded that natural gases discovered from northern Dongying Depression are the product of interaction between source rocks and evaporites (especially gypsum) of the saline facies.