Source rock

A sedimentary rock rich in organic matter that generates oil or natural gas as burial and heating transform that organic matter into hydrocarbons.

Kerogen: A complex solid mixture of organic compounds in sedimentary rocks that can generate hydrocarbons when heated. Burial heating converts this insoluble organic material into oil and gas.
Total organic carbon: The proportion of a rock’s mass made up of organic carbon. It measures the organic richness that helps identify potential source rocks.
Petroleum exploration: The search for commercially recoverable oil and natural gas beneath Earth’s surface. Exploration assesses whether a basin contains mature source rocks capable of charging accumulations.
Reservoir rock: A porous and permeable rock that stores and transmits oil or natural gas. It stores hydrocarbons that may have migrated from a separate source rock.
Thermal maturity: The degree to which heat has altered organic matter in a sedimentary rock. It indicates whether a source rock has generated hydrocarbons and how far transformation has progressed.
Organic matter: Carbon-based material produced by living organisms or derived from their remains. Its preservation in sediments supplies the material from which source rocks generate hydrocarbons.
Oil shale: Fine-grained sedimentary rock containing abundant kerogen that can yield oil when heated. It is an organic-rich source rock whose kerogen generally requires additional heating to produce liquid fuel.
Seal rock: A low-permeability rock that impedes the upward or lateral movement of fluids. It traps hydrocarbons above a reservoir rather than generating them.
Oil window: The temperature range in which buried organic matter commonly generates liquid petroleum. Source rocks generate much of their oil after entering this range of thermal conditions.
Anoxic water: Water containing little or no dissolved oxygen. Oxygen-poor settings can limit decay and help preserve organic matter in accumulating sediment.

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