Recent Mediterranean Sea Sediments – An Analogue to Lower Cretaceous Petroleum Source Rocks in Lower Indus Basin, Pakistan

Abstract

The Recent Mediterranean Sea sediments from Cilician Basin show low total organic carbon (TOC) contents (0.3-0.6%) with a higher value of 0.8-1.52% being observed in the sapropelic layers. Similarly TOC contents of Cretaceous Lower Goru and Sembar Formations occur in the range of 0.25-1.79 and 0.93- 2.53%, respectively. TOC varies normally with grain size and environmental conditions. Non Sapropelic Mediterranean Sea sediments predominantly contain degraded amorphous organic matter (AOM) with a little concentration of terrestrial organic matter (TOM), while sapropelic layers contain of degraded AOM with increased amount of TOM (pollen, spores and plant fragments). The sediments in close proximity of Goksu River have high concentration of dark brownish woody vitrinite type of organic matter (terrestrial plant material) with recognizable rectangular woody structure and little coaly (inertinite) recycled type of organic matter (OM). Similarly, sediments of Lower Goru and Sembar Formations reveal the dominant occurrence of Type III (OM) but the presence of Type II was also observed in Almani-1 and Bhadmi-1. The geochemical and petrographic studies reveal that Recent Mediterranean Sea sediments, particularly sapropelic layers and sediments of the Goksu Delta predicted to be oil/gas prone on maturity.