| Abstract: | Black shales of the Paleocene Patala Formation are proven source rocks for conventional hydrocarbons in southern Potwar Basin of Pakistan and are assumed to be effective source rocks towards north in the Margalla Hill Range of Pakistan. In this regard, the current study focuses on source rock geochemistry of the Paleocene Patala Formation to assess its source rock potential, organic matter types and thermal maturity levels in the Mar-galla Hill Range of North Pakistan. Source rock generative potential, kerogen types and thermal maturation of the analysed rock samples were unraveled by using Rock-Eval pyrolysis Tmax, TOC (total organic carbon) and vitrinite reflectance ( R0 ) analyses. TOC analysis coupled with S2 yield revealed poor to fair source rock quality encountered within the formation. The pyrolysis Tmax vs Hydrogen Index ( HI) , showed mostly Type Ⅲ kerogen dominated by thermally immature to mature organic matter. The HI and genetic potential is low and revealed poor hydrocarbon generation potential of the formation. The S1 vs TOC plots confirm the indigenous nature of the hydrocarbons hosted by Patala Formation. The vitrinite reflectance outcomes indicated immature to mature source rock beds lying in dry gas zone. The HI and OI signatures and abundance of Type Ⅲ kerogen are indica-ting dominance of terrestrial organic matter within the formation. Overall, the investigated Patala Formation ex-posed at the studied section of Margalla Hill Range, Pakistan acts as a poor source rock unit for liquid hydrocar-bon generation but holds prospects for dry gas generation in the study area. |
