Review on the Evaluation of Lower Paleozoic Carbonate Source Rocks in China

The evaluation of carbonate source rocks is very important to the assessment and exploration of oil and gas resources in China. Several key issues about the research on carbonate source rocks have been reviewed in this paper. They are as follows: (1)the thermal maturity of organic matter; (2)the lower limit of the abundance of organic matter in high-mature and over-mature carbonate source rocks;(3)the reestablishment of the original abundance of organic matter and its hydrocarbon-generating potential; (4)the mechanism and model of hydrocarbon generation in carbonate source rocks. It is suggested that the kinetic simulation of hydrocarbon generation is a new method for the evaluation of carbonate source rocks. The points for further study are also suggested.