A NEW METHOD FOR MEASURING THE MATURITY OF PETROLEUM IN SOURCE ROCKS

Abstract

Values obtained from proton magnetic resonance measurements on the aromatic fraction of source rock extracts are proposed as a quantitative measure of the maturity of source rock hydrocarbons. The percentage of aromatic protons in the aromatic fraction is shown to correlate with the measured sediment temperatures for several different sedimentary sequences. Pyrolysis experiments have shown that these changes are due to thermal maturation of petroleum hydrocarbons. The application of the technique to routine source rock evaluation is discussed.