Biological marker geochemistry of selected oils and possible source rocks from central Alborz Basin

Kamali, Mohammad Reza; Zamani, Ziba; Moeinpour, Mohammad; Memariani, Mahmoud; Akbarpour, Shahrzad

doi:10.22059/jgeope.2013.31927

Biological marker geochemistry of selected oils and possible source rocks from central Alborz Basin

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Mohammad Reza Kamali

Ziba Zamani

Mohammad Moeinpour

Mahmoud Memariani

Shahrzad Akbarpour

Research Institute of Petroleum Industry, Tehran, Iran

10.22059/jgeope.2013.31927

Abstract

Surface oil seeps from Alasht, Lapur and Jenesem share many compositional affinities including distributions and concentrations of
normal alkanes, terpanes and steranes. These oils also show many similarities with that of Jurassic sediments (Shemshak Group, Klariz
Formation) systematically sampled from the Galandrud Coal Mine. Recent geochemical studies in this area indicated that the
Shemshak Group is rich in organic matter and has potential to generate oil and chiefly gas. The Kalariz Formation here is composed of
350 m of mudstones, siltstones and fine-grained sandstones with over 30 coal seams. This formation is thought to have sourced Alasht
and Lapur oil seeps. GC and GC-MS chromatograms of Jenesem oil are unique and show no any similarities with that of above
mentioned oils or the Shemshak Formation. This indicates that the Jenesem oil has been generated from a different source rock but its
origin is still unknown.

Keywords

Alborz Range

Shemshak Group

Oil seep

Source Rock

Correlation

Biomarker