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A three-dimensional insight into the Mackenzie Basin (Canada): Implications for the thermal history and hydrocarbon generation potential of Tertiary deltaic sequences

¹ Department 4, Chemistry of the Earth, Section 4.3 Organic Geochemistry, GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Telegrafenberg, D-14473 Potsdam, Germany; kkroeger{at}gfz-potsdam.de
² Department 4, Chemistry of the Earth, Section 4.3 Organic Geochemistry, GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Telegrafenberg, D-14473 Potsdam, Germany; ondrak{at}gfz-potsdam.de
³ Department 4, Chemistry of the Earth, Section 4.3 Organic Geochemistry, GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Telegrafenberg, D-14473 Potsdam, Germany; dipri{at}gfz-potsdam.de
⁴ Department 4, Chemistry of the Earth, Section 4.3 Organic Geochemistry, GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Telegrafenberg, D-14473 Potsdam, Germany; horsf{at}gfz-potsdam.de

Karsten Kroeger joined the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam as a postdoctoral fellow in 2005. He holds a diploma in geology from the Technical University in Karlsruhe and a Ph.D. from the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz on Tertiary marine isotope systems, paleoecology, and carbonate sedimentology. His current research focuses on gas hydrate systems and integrated basin modeling.

Robert Ondrak received a Ph.D. in geology from the RWTH (Rheinisch-Westphälische Technische Hochschule) Aachen in 1993. He joined the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam in 1992. His research focuses on reactive transport modeling, geothermal energy production, and basin modeling. In 2001, he joined the organic geochemistry section, where he has since worked on basin modeling.

Rolando di Primio joined the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam as a senior research scientist in 2001 after having worked as an exploration geologist in the Norwegian petroleum industry for several years. He holds a diploma in geology from the RWTH Aachen, Germany, and a Ph.D. from the University of Cologne. His research interests are hydrocarbon phase behavior, basin modeling, and organic geochemistry.

Brian Horsfield is a professor of organic geochemistry and hydrocarbon systems at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany, and leads the Department of Chemistry of the Earth at GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam. He has 28 years of experience working with and for the industry in upstream research and development. His research interests include predicting fluid compositions ahead of drilling in petroleum systems and unraveling the workings of the deep biosphere.

The stratal architecture of the Mackenzie Basin was reconstructed based on seismic and well data and used to define a three-dimensional model to reconstruct the so-far poorly known thermal and maturation history of the basin. To correctly account for the complex tectonic history of the Mackenzie Basin, episodes of uplift and erosion were implemented based on interpretations of original depositional surfaces. Our results indicate that the combined effects of basin inversion and low surface temperatures inhibited maturation from the late Miocene forward in all except the most deeply buried parts of the basin. This explains why upper Eocene and younger deposits are mostly immature despite their burial to more than 5000 m (16,400 ft). The specific history of the basin is shown to control the time intervals of potential hydrocarbon generation. Predictions of transformation ratios using a variety of published kinetics to account for source rock kinetic variability indicate that potential generation from Paleocene and older strata occurred mainly before the late Oligocene. The generation from Eocene strata, however, occurred mainly during the Miocene and, therefore, is interpreted to be a source for Oligocene and younger gas-rich reservoirs. These findings contribute to a better understanding of hydrocarbon systems in the Mackenzie Basin and are the basis for future studies of hydrocarbon migration and accumulation.