Hydrocarbon Source Rock Assessments of the Late Jurassic Black Shales (Tokmar Formation) in the Central Taurus Region of Turkey

Abstract The hydrocarbon source rock potential and the thermal maturity of the Late Jurassic Tokmar Formation in the Boguntu area of the central Taurus region have been investigated. Tokmar Formation includes organic matter–rich dark grey shales alternating with carbonates that were deposited under dysoxic to anoxic marine conditions prevailed in the Late Jurassic. A total of 14 samples have been analyzed by Leco and Rock-Eval pyrolysis for determination of their hydrocarbon source rock characteristics and organic maturity. The total organic carbon content of the samples range from 0.26 to 1.53 wt%. The actual Rock-Eval pyrolytic yields (S1 + S2 peak values) are between 0.25 and 3.63 mg HC/g rock. The calculated hydrogen index and oxygen index values imply that the main organic matter types are Type II and Type III kerogens. Tmax versus hydrogen index values indicate that the Boguntu samples are thermally mature and took place in the oil generation window.