| Citation: | Rujiao Cheng, Feiyu Wang, Yan Chen, Jing Zhang, Jianya Liang, Chong Jiang. Hydrocarbon Migration and Accumulation in Unconventional Shale Play from the Upper Paleogene Xiaganchaigou Formation in Ganchaigou Area, Western Qaidam Basin, China. Journal of Earth Science, 2026, 37(3): 1285-1303. doi: 10.1007/s12583-025-0356-5 |
Shale oil is generally considered to be petroleum generated from organic-rich mudstones and retained in place, or having migrated over a short distance and stored in adjacent organic-lean interbeds. However, in our study on the origin of petroleum in the Upper Xiaganchaigou Formation (E32), Ganchaigou area, western Qaidam Basin, China, we found that the E32 shale reservoirs have experienced large-scale and long-distance hydrocarbon migration and accumulation. This study utilizes organic geochemistry and basin modeling to characterize the maturity of crude oil and source rocks within the E32 shale reservoir. The results indicate that crude oil found in the immature to low-mature zone exhibits mature to overmature characteristics in organic geochemical and physical properties. In the strata within the oil window, the biomarker parameters and their absolute concentrations in crude oil still show significant differences from those of
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