Elsevier

Applied Geochemistry

Volume 5, Issues 1–2, January–March 1990, Pages 103-114
Applied Geochemistry

Hydrothermal petroleum generation in Red Sea sediments from the Kebrit and Shaban deeps

https://doi.org/10.1016/0883-2927(90)90041-3Get rights and content

Abstract

Petroleum impregnated sediments and massive sulfides have been found in two deeps of the northerns Red Sea. Biological marker distributions in extracts and polar fraction degradation products were analyzed in order to elucidate the source of the petroliferous material. Two organic phases could be distinguished according to their source and maturity.

The amounts of n-alkanes show a marked decrease with depth, whereas the concentrations of various branched and cyclic hydrocarbons increase, resulting in a humpof unresolvable compounds in a depth as shallow as 300 cm. Changes in concentrations and distributions of hopanoids in the Kebrit Deep sediments indicate a rapid increase of maturity with depth. The deepest core section (300 cm) and the masive sulfide reveal comparable maturation indices typical for mature oils.

By chemical degradation of the polar fractions a series of C40-isoprenoids was obtained, which reveals a considerable contribution from methanogenic and thermophilic archapbacteria to the immature organic matter. The data suggest that petroliferous material ofthermogenic origin migrates through the younger sequences, superimposes the autochthonous organic substances in the sediments and furthermore, forms asphaltic impregnations in the massive sulfides.

References (60)

  • SeifertW.K. et al.

    Paleoreconstruction by biological markers

    Geochim. cosmochim. Acta

    (1981)
  • SimoneitB.R.T.

    Hydrothermal effects on organic matter—high vs low temperature componets

    Org. Geochem.

    (1984)
  • SimoneitB.R.T. et al.

    Organic geochemistry of deep sea drilling project sediments from the Gulf of California—Hydrothermal effects on uncosolidated diatom ooze

    Org. Geochem.

    (1984)
  • SimoneitB.R.T. et al.

    Low temperatre hydrothermal maturation of organic matter in sediments from the Atlantis II Deep, Red Sea

    Geochim. cosmochim. Acta

    (1987)
  • ten HavenH.L. et al.

    Organic geochemical studies of a Messinian evaportive basin, northern Apennines (Italy) I: hydrocarbon biological markers for a hypersaline environment

    Geochim. cosmochim. Acta

    (1985)
  • BäckerH. et al.

    Morphology of the Red Sea central graben between Subair Islands and Abul Kizaan

    Geol. Jb.

    (1975)
  • BlighE.G. et al.

    A rapid method of total lipid extraction and purification

    Can. J. Biochem. Physiol.

    (1959)
  • BonattiE.

    Punctiform initiation of sea floor spreading in the Red Sea during transition from a continent to an oceanic rift

    Nature

    (1985)
  • BonattiE.

    The rifting of continents

    Sci. Am.

    (1987)
  • ChappeB. et al.

    Polar lipids of archaebacteria in sediments and petroleum

    Science

    (1982)
  • ChappeB. et al.

    Fossil evidence for a novel series of archaebacterial lipids

    Naturewissenschaften

    (1979)
  • CraigH.

    Geochemistry and origin of the Red Sea brines

  • DegensE.T.

    Molecular nature of nitrogenous compounds in seawater and recent marine sediments

  • DegensE.T. et al.

    Principles of petroleum source bed formation

  • DegensE.T. et al.

    Hot Brines and Recent Heavy Metal Deposits in the Red Sea

    (1969)
  • DidykB.M. et al.

    Organic geochemical indicators of palaeoenvironmental conditions of sediments

    Nature

    (1978)
  • EglintonG. et al.

    Leaf epicuticular waxes

    Science

    (1967)
  • EmeisK.C.

    Bio-Geochemische Untersuchungen

  • EmeisK.C. et al.

    Organic carbon and nitrogen, sediment composition, and clay mineralogy of deep sea drilling project site 603; Western Atlantic ocean

  • GalimovE.M. et al.

    Organic matter in oceanic sediments of high thermogradient (DSDP Leg 64, Gulf of California)

  • Cited by (53)

    • Coarse calcite grains in hydrocarbon-rich tuffaceous mudstone in a Permian volcanic lake—An indicator for subaqueous volcanic deposition and related hydrocarbon generation

      2022, Sedimentary Geology
      Citation Excerpt :

      Second, thermal energy released by volcanic-hydrothermal activities speed up the generation process from organic matters to hydrocarbon. Simoneit (1984) termed this petroleum as “hydrothermal petroleum” in the Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California, and was observed in some other rift basins, such as the East African Rift Valley (Simoneit et al., 2000), Red Sea Trough (Michaelis et al., 1990), and Bohai Bay Basin (Zhu et al., 1994). Third, deep fluids upwelling through fractures dissolved some constituents in reservoir rocks to improve the porosity and permeability (Smith, 2006; Davies and Smith, 2006).

    • Hydrothermal catalytic conversion and metastable equilibrium of organic compounds in the Jinding Zn/Pb ore deposit

      2021, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
      Citation Excerpt :

      Little is known about the catalytic effect of minerals on hydrothermal organic transformations from a geological perspective (Püttmann et al., 1989). Hydrothermal organic reactions at abnormally high temperatures are known to occur at various global locales, including mid-ocean ridges, continental rift systems, pre-orogenic and subduction zones, back-arcs, hot springs, and volcanically-active areas (Simoneit, 1985, 2018; Clifton et al., 1990; Michaelis et al., 1990; Simoneit et al., 2000, 2004; Yamanaka et al., 2000; Venkatesan et al., 2003; Ventura et al., 2012). Common mineral assemblages of sphalerite (ZnS), galena (PbS), and pyrite or marcasite (FeS2) in base metal deposits are often related to continental hydrothermal systems (Chen et al., 2003; Xue et al., 2007).

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text