Petroleum generation in the southeastern part of the Pannonian basin (Serbia)

Various good-quality Tertiary petroleum source rocks are determined in the Serbian part of the Pannonian Basin, which generated most of the petroleum in the last 8 million years. The results of the vitrinite reflectance measurements, the Rock-Eval data interpretation and the modeling of kerogen maturation and transformation are in very good to excellent agreement. The present-day position of the oil window is mainly in the temperature range from 110-120°C to 165-170°C, which generally corresponds to a relative depth of 2000-3200 m. The earliest oil generation in the area began towards the end of the Carpathian (Lower Miocene source rocks in the Danube-Morava depression); in the majority of other areas it took place about 8 to 4 million years ago, during the Pontian and Pliocene (Middle Miocene and Pannonian source rocks). Substantial generation of Tertiary thermogenetic gas correspond to the present-day temperature of some 140°C, and oil cracking starts at over 175-180°C. The most productive - Sarmatian and Pannonian - source rocks have not reached the necessary maturity in the local depressions of south Banat and the Dauube-Morava subdepression, which corroborated by the small exploration success and minor discoveries made in that area.