ALBERT

Description: The maturity of sedimentary organic matter is a key parameter for evaluating oil and gas resources. Existing maturity indicators have different evaluation principles and application scopes. This study investigated samples of high to overmature lacustrine source rocks (Ro = 1.33%–4.24%) from the deep Shahezi formation in the Songliao basin, including the zone of catagenesis and metagenesis. Various methods, including vitrinite reflectance, Tmax, laser Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) were used to evaluate the samples' maturity. Through laser Raman analysis of representative samples from the Shahezi formation, most laser Raman parameters showed an inflection point or reversal when the thermal evolution of deep source rocks in the Shahezi formation reaches a certain stage. The variation trend of some Raman parameters and Ro has strong regularity (1.33% 〈 Ro 〈 3.52%). Based on FT-ICR MS, this research analyzed the relative content and molecular composition of polycyclic and heterocyclic aromatic compounds in soluble organic matter of lake source rock samples and comparison samples (marine shale). Quantitative maturity evaluation of organic matter was performed by converting the signal intensity of each compound. The fitting results of maturity parameter based on FT-ICR MS and Tmax indicated that the maturity parameter of the samples have high coefficient of correlations with maturity in the vitrinite reflectance (Ro) range of 1.33%–2.5% and the Tmax range of 420 °C–600 °C. The maturity parameter values decreased as Ro exceeded 2.5% and Tmax exceeded 600 °C. These findings are attributed to the thermal stability of organic compounds and the formation of pyrobitumen and graphite. The parameters of laser Raman spectroscopy also confirmed the growth of aromatic rings reflected by the maturity parameters of FT-ICR MS. These two methods revealed the structural changes of organic matter in the thermal evolution process from multiple perspectives and provided insights for the maturity evaluation of deep source rocks.