Investigation on Implications of Carbonaceous Mudstone From the Yuka Area for Gas Exploration in the Saishenteng Sag via Hydrocarbon Generation Simulation Experiments

Through hydrocarbon generation kinetic simulation experiments on Middle Jurassic source rocks using a gold‐tube autoclave confined system in the northern margin of the Qaidam Basin, the hydrocarbon‐generation kinetic parameters of the source rocks were obtained, and the hydrocarbon‐generation history was simulated. The experimental results indicate that the activation energy for methane generation exhibits two peaks, at 57 and 66 kcal/mol, respectively, and the frequency factor A is 1 × 10 12 /s. The activation energy of C 1–5 generation has only one peak, which is 59 kcal/mol, and the frequency factor A is 1.1 × 10 15 /s. We simulated the gas generation history of the Middle Jurassic source rocks in the Saishiteng Sag using Kinetics software. The results indicate that the Middle Jurassic source rocks in the center of the sag are primarily gas‐prone. They entered the oil generation window ( R 0 ≈0.6%) during the N1 period and the gas generation window ( R 0 ≈0.8%) in the middle of the N 2 1 period. The peak of hydrocarbon generation occurred during the N 2 3 period. Currently, they are still generating significant amounts of gas, with a cumulative methane yield of 103.23 mL/g TOC. The simulation of the hydrocarbon‐generation history reveals that the Middle Jurassic source rocks in this area generate a large amount of gas, indicating that the latent anticlinal structures in the overlying Cenozoic strata are the main exploration targets.