Organic geochemical evaluation and hydrocarbon prospects of the Coniacian Awgu Formation, southern Benue Trough, Nigeria
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Organic geochemical evaluation and hydrocarbon prospects of the Coniacian Awgu Formation, southern Benue Trough, Nigeria Friday Daniel Onwe-Moses 1 & Sunday Oliver Eze 1 & Anthony Uwaoma Okoro 1 & Okechukwu Pius Aghamelu 2 Received: 24 August 2018 / Accepted: 11 January 2019 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2019
Abstract Samples of shale from the Coniacian Awgu Formation (southern Benue Trough, Nigeria) were subjected to petro-geochemical analyses in order to determine the hydrocarbon potentials of the formation. The results of the analyses, which included total organic carbon (TOC) content determination and Rock-Eval pyrolysis, show that TOC ranges from 0.53 to 2.91 wt% (with average value of 1.76 wt%), while the generative potential and the hydrogen index range from 0.56 to 3.42 mg HC/g (av. 1.93 mg HC/g) and 67 to 109 mg HC/g TOC (av. 94 mg HC/g TOC), respectively. The results also show vitrinite reflectance value that vary between 0.52 and 0.63% Ro (av. 0.60% Ro) and pyrolysis temperature 428 to 433 °C (av. 431 °C), and organic matter predominantly the type III. On the basis of the TOC, the average TOC (1.76 wt%) exceeds the minimum value of 0.50 wt% required for good hydrocarbon source rocks, and the other assessed parameters which indicate terrestrial-sourced organic matter, this study reveals that the Awgu Formation is a potential source rock, but with more capabilities to generate gas than oil. The overall thermal maturity stage of the kerogens in the formation is within the immature to early (threshold) mature. Keywords Awgu Formation . Hydrocarbon potential . Organic geochemical analyses . Source rock evaluation
Introduction The demand for petroleum as an energy source will continue to dominate that of the other primary energy sources. This is partly because of its economical availability, wide application, and high cost of other alternatives energy sources. Petroleum is expected to account for up to 56% of the world energy demand by the year 2030. The need to meet this increasing energy demand, and reverse the dwindling volume of hydrocarbon in the producing fields, has necessitated a more intense search for oil and gas and the review of existing exploration data from many sedimentary basins with hydrocarbon potentials around the world. In the early days of exploration in Nigeria, Shell-D’Arcy prospected through the southern Nigeria basins which include the southern Benue Trough,
* Friday Daniel Onwe-Moses [email protected] 1
Department of Geological Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria
2
Department of Physics, Geology and Geophysics, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Nigeria
Anambra Platform, the Abakaliki Trough, Calabar Flank, and Mamfe Embayment (Unomah and Ekweozor 1993). Further exploration activities were, however, halted years after with the discovery of some prolific oil and gas fields in the Niger Delta Province (Whiteman 1982). In the Anambra Basin, about 1 billion barrels of crude oil and about 10 trillion standard cubic feet of gas have
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