Geochemistry of Cretaceous Sea Rocks from the LEO-3X Well in the Eastern Abidjan Margin, Côte d’Ivoire Offshore Basin

Abstract

In this study, we apply geochemical and statistical analyses to evaluate the source rocks and kerogen type of Cretaceous sediments from the Cote d’Ivoire sedimentary basin. The geochemical analysis includes pyrolysis data such as total organic carbon (TOC%), generation source potential (S2) and hydrogen index (HI). The results of the cluster analysis separated the source rocks in the study area into two main groups. 1) Source rocks characterized by HI > 300 (mg/g), TOC from 1.76% to 3.19% by weight, and S2 from 6.55 to 14.46 (mg/g), indicating good to excellent source rocks with type II kerogen and are capable of generating oil. 2) Source rocks characterized by HI between 200 and 300 (mg/g), TOC from 1.6 to 2.02 wt%, and S2 from 3.45 to 5.36 (mg/g) indicating medium to good source rocks with type II-III kerogen and capable of generating a mixture of oil and gas.