Onshore Azerbaijan Source Rock and Seep Study

• The executive companies: Geology Institute, Geochem Group Limited
• The year of publication: December 1994
• Code: 94/9140
• Volumes: total 5
   volumes with appendixes in same amount: 5

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Within this suite of four hundred and ninety two (492) sediment samples from thirty seven (37) outcrop localities, good, very good and rich source rocks are most extensive in the Maykop and particularly in the (Middle and) Upper Maykop. Effective Maykopian source facies occur in an east-west zone from Shemakha and Angicharan in the west to Yunusdag and Gezdeg in the east (Figure 1). The available data suggest that the Maykopian is a poor source facies in the south of the study area but within the east-west zone, it is richest in the east. Good source rocks should be more extensive and dependable in the offshore.

Both the Koun and the Productive Series are lean and ineffective, but good to rich source rocks occur in the Diatom Suite, the Cretaceous and the Bathonian-Callovian. At most localities the Diatom Suite is poor, but there are a few metres of good to very good source in the Umbaki area and more significantly an extremely rich oil source facies at Deali in the west. Data suggest an hypersaline environment, in which case the rich facies could be fairly widespread in the onshore but absent in the offshore. A degree of restriction and therefore the same risk, is implied for the extremely rich oil source in the Late Cretaceous at Atacay. Unfortunately this was collected from a debris flow and so the thickness of this source unit cannot be defined.

However, as the Late Cretaceous is the postulated source for the two analysed seeps from the Shemakha area, it is presumably extensive. The seeps around and to the northwest of Umbaki were probably sourced from the Early Maykop whilst those on the Apsheron Peninsula are from the Upper Maykop.

None of the analysed seeps relate to the Diatom Suite or to the Late Bathonian - Early Callovian at Tengi Alti in the north, which includes a substantial thickness of good and very good source rocks for oil. However, shows are present in the Jurassic at Jimichai and the Jurassic source facies could be extensive.

There are therefore, good source rocks in the Diatom Suite, Upper Maykop, Middle Maykop, Early Maykop, Late Cretaceous and Middle Jurassic. The Upper and Middle Maykop belong to a geochemical continuum but otherwise, each of these units and their products can be distinguished geochemically.

Following a presentation of the Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography (Chapters 3 and 4), the Geochemical interpretations and conclusions produced in this study are discussed in detail in Chapters 6 through 10.

CONTENTS

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Text Figure 1: Summary

 

2. INTRODUCTION
Text Figure 2: Source Rock and Seep Locations

2.1 Objectives

2.2 Report Format

2.3 Source Rock Samples

Text Figure 3: Stratigraphy of Study Area

2.4 Seep Samples

2.5 Analytical Data Base

2.6 Analytical Techniques

2.7 Interpretation Parameters

A. Source Richness and Organic Facies

B. Maturity

2.8 Sample Quality - Weathering

 

3. STRATIGRAPHY OF THE STUDY AREA

3.1 Jurassic

3.2 Cretaceous

3.3 Tertiary

Text Table 1: Maykop - Composite Section of the Northern Argillaceous Facies

Text Table 2: Maykop - Composite Section of the Southern Sandy and Argillaceous Facies

 

4. ALAEOGEOGRAPHIC RECONSTRUCTION

4.1 Hauterivian

Text Figure 4: Palaeogeography - Hauterivian

4.2 Koun

Text Figure 5: Palaeogeography - Koun

4.3 Maykop

Text Figure 6: Palaeogeography - Maykop

4.4 Chokrak

Text Figure 7: Palaeogeography - Chokrak

4.5 Karaganian - Konkian (Diatom)

Text Figure 8: Palaeogeography - Karaganian - Konkian

4.6 Sarmatian

Text Figure 9: Palaeogeography - Sarmatian

 

5. SOURCE ROCK IMPLICATIONS FROM STRATIGRAPHY AND GIA ARCHIVE
Text Table 3: Natural Radioactivity from the Rocks of Azerbaijan

 

6. REGIONAL SOURCE ROCK GEOCHEMISTRY
Text Figure 10: Source Rock Distribution

6.1 Jurassic

Text Figure 11: Regional Source Facies - Jurassic

6.2 Cretaceous

Text Figure 12: Regional Source Facies - Cretaceous

6.3 Koun

Text Figure 13: Regional Source Facies - Koun

6.4 Early Maykop

Text Figure 14: Regional Source Facies - Early Maykop

6.5 Middle Maykop

Text Figure 15: Regional Source Facies - Middle Maykop

6.6 Upper Maykop

Text Figure 16: Regional Source Facies - Upper Maykop

6.7 Diatom Suite

Text Figure 17: Regional Source Facies - Diatom Suite

6.8 Sarmatian

Text Figure 18: Regional Source Facies - Sarmatian

6.9 Productive Series

Text Figure 19: Regional Source Facies - Productive Series

 

7. SOURCE ROCK GROUPINGS

7.1 Saturates Chromatograms

Text Figure 20: Source Rocks: CPI vs jC19/jC20

7.2 Biomarkers

Text Figure 21: Jurassic Biomarkers

Text Figure 22: Environmental Changes with Time, Upper Bathonian - Early Callovian, Tengi Alti

Text Figure 23: Early Maykop Type Biomarkers

Text Figure 24: Middle Maykop Biomarker Groups

Text Figure 25: Upper Maykop Biomarker Groups

Text Figure 26: Diatom Suite Biomarkers - Steranes

Text Figure 27: Diatom Suite Biomarkers - Terpanes

Text Figure 28: Biomarker Differences by Age

7.3 Isotopes

Text Figure 29: Source Rock Pyrolysate Carbon Isotope Composition

Text Figure 30: Carbon Isotope Profile, Locality 28 (RAM), Diatom Suite

Text Figure 31: Carbon Isotope Profile, Locality 23 (MAY) Upper Maykop and Locality 8(KR) Middle Maykop

7.4 Conclusions

 

8. SEEP EVALUATION

8.1 Chromatographic Analyses

Text Figure 32: Organosulphur Chromatograms of Seeps

8.2 Biomarkers

Text Figure 33: Oil Seep Biomarkers, Group A and Group B

Text Figure 34: Oil Seep Biomarkers, Group C and Group D

8.3 Isotopic compositions

Text Figure 35: Oil Seeps - Deuterium and Sulphur Isotopes

Text Figure 36: Oil Seeps and Source Rocks. Carbon Isotope Composition

8.4 Seep to Seep Correlation

Text Figure 37: Oil Seep Families

8.5 Seep to Source Correlation

 

9. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Text Figure 38: Source Rock Distribution

Text Figure 39: Summary

 

10. GEOCHEMICAL EVALUATION OF OUTCROP LOCALITIES

Unless noted otherwise, Text Figures with the prefix "L" are photographs and sketches of the sampling localities. Those without a prefix refer to plots of source facies and pyrolysis results against logs. Chromatograms, histograms, mass fragmentograms and tabulated data are located in the Appendices. Numbers in the left hand margin are the Locality numbers
 

1. QORDUCOY RIVER (AG)
2. MESARINSK (MS)
3. ANGICHARAN (ANG) Text Figures L-1, 3-1, 2
4. SHIKHZAIRLY (SZG) Text Figures L-1, L-2, 4-1, 2
5. ANGICHARAN VALLEY (AV) Text Figure L-3
6. XILMILLI RIVER (K) Text Figures L-3, L-4, 6-1, 2
7. XILMILLI VALLEY (KV)
8. KOZLYCHAI RIVER (KR) Text Figures L-5, 8-1, 2
9. LAHIC RIVER (LE) Text Figures 9-1, 2
10. GALA ALTI CASTLE (T)

10 A LAHIC (LG)

11. ATACAY RIVER (ALR)
12. ALTIAGAC VILLAGE (ALT) Text Figures L-8, 12-1, 2
13. ATACAY DEBRIS FLOW (ALD)
14. GILGILCAY RIVER (GCR)
15. GILGILCAY RIVER - JURASSIC RIDGE (GCR)
16. GILGILCAY RIVER (GCR) Text Figure L-8
17. GILGILCAY RIVER (GCR) Text Figures L-9, 17-1, 2

17A GILGILCAY RIVER (GCR)

18. TENGI ALTI GORGE (TAG) Text Figures L-9, 18-1, 2
19. TUGCAY RIVER (AGA)
20. GYADYSU (GYA) Text Figure L-10
21. PEREKYUSHKYUL (PER) Text Figures L-10, 11, 12, 21-1, 2
22. YUNUSDAG (YUN) Text Figure L-13
23. XILMILLI (MAY, MAYB) Text Figures 23-1,2. See L-5
24. UMBAKI (UMB) Text Figure L-3
25. UMBAKI (UMB)
26. UMBAKI (UMB)
27. UMBAKI (UMB) Text Figures 27-1, 2
28. UMBAKI (RAM) Text Figures L-16, 17, 28-1, 2
29. SHIKHZAIRLY (SZG) Text Figures 29-1, 2
30. SHIKHZAIRLY (SZG) Text Figures L18, 30-1, 2
31. GEZDEG (GUZ Text Figure L-17
32. BADIRI (BD) Text Figures L-19, 32-1, 2
33. BOYANATA (BO) Text Figures 33-1, 2
34. SIYAKI (S) Text Figures L-22, 34, 2

35A KIRMAKY VALLEY (KV/MS) Text Figure L-23

35B KIRMAKY VALLEY (KV/GIA)
 

36. DEALI (DE)
37. JIMICHAI (J) Text Figures L-24, L-25, 37-1, 2