The Kinetics of Oil Generation in a Saline Basin: A Case Study of the Source Rock of Tertiary in Zhahaquan Depression, Qaidam Basin, China

Pyrolysis of source rocks and kerogen isolated from the source rocks, which was collected from the Tertiary in Zhahaquan Depression, Qaidam Basin, China, was performed in a confined system. The kinetics for generation of crude oil from the source rocks and kerogen were studied and the kinetic parameters applied to modeling generation from the Tertiary source rocks on the basis of burial and thermal history of the Zhahaquan Depression. The results of kinetic modeling show that the source rocks entered the “oil window” a little earlier than the kerogen, however, it could be ignored in the geological time, which means that the catalytic role of the salts on the role of hydrocarbon generation control is weak. In addition, the elemental analysis data of kerogen shows that the high sulfur content, which might be the main reason of immature-low mature oil generation in Tertiary salinization Qaidam Basin.