Hydrocarbon source-rock evaluation - Solor Church Formation (middle Proterozoic, Keweenawan Supergroup), southeastern Minnesota
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Abstract
In the type section (Lonsdale 65-1 core, Rice County, Minnesota) the Solor Church Formation (Middle Proterozoic, Keweenawan Supergroup) consists primarily of reddish-brown mudstone and siltstone and pale reddish-brown sandstone. The sandstone and siltstone are texturally and mineralogically immature. Hydrocarbon source-rock evaluation of bluish-gray, greenish-gray and medium-dark-gray to grayish-black beds, which primarily occur in the lower 104 m (340 ft) of this core, shows: (1) the rocks have low organic carbon contents (<0.5 percent for 22 of 25 samples); (2) the organic matter is thermally very mature (Tmax = 494°C, sample 19) and is probably near the transition between the wet gas phase of catagenesis and metagenesis (dry gas zone); and (3) the rocks have minimal potential for producing additional hydrocarbons (genetic potential <0.30 mgHC/gm rock). Although no direct evidence exists from which to determine maximum depths of burial, the observed thermal maturity of the organic matter requires significantly greater depths of burial and(or) higher geothermal gradients. It is likely, at least on the St. Croix horst, that thermal alteration of the organic matter in the Solor Church took place relatively early, and that any hydrocarbons generated during this early thermal alteration were probably lost prior to deposition of the overlying Fond du Lac Formation (Middle Proterozoic, Keweenawan Supergroup).
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Hydrocarbon source-rock evaluation - Solor Church Formation (middle Proterozoic, Keweenawan Supergroup), southeastern Minnesota |
| Series title | Open-File Report |
| Series number | 84-554 |
| DOI | 10.3133/ofr84554 |
| Year Published | 1984 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | St. Paul, MN |
| Contributing office(s) | Minnesota Water Science Center |
| Description | i, 17 p. |
| Country | United States |
| Other Geospatial | Solor Church Formation |
| Online Only (Y/N) | N |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |