THE GEOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OLIGOCENE - LOWER MIOCENE MENILITE FORMATION IN THE POLISH AND UKRAINIAN OUTER CARPATHIANS: A REVIEW

P. Kosakowski^1*, Y. Koltun², G. Machowski¹, P. Poprawa¹ and B. Papiernik¹

¹ AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków, Poland.

² Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of Fossil Fuels, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, 3-a Naukova St., Lviv, Ukraine.

^*Corresponding author, email: kosak@agh.edu.pl

Key words: Outer Carpathians, Poland, Ukraine, source rocks, thermal maturity, Menilite Formation, Oligocene, Miocene, hydrocarbon potential.

The principal source rocks in the Outer Carpathians are organic-rich shales in the Oligocene to Lower Miocene Menilite Formation. The average total organic carbon (TOC) content in the Menilite Formation is 4-8 wt%; the maximum measured is 26 wt%. Organic matter (OM) is oil-prone Type II kerogen derived mainly from algae and cyanobacteria which was deposited under euxinic conditions. The thermal maturity of the Menilite shales varies significantly within the Outer Carpathians, both vertically in relation to burial depth and laterally in different tectonic units, and increases from external to internal parts of the orogenic belt. Maturity in general ranges from immature to different phases of the "oil window" and up to the "gas window".

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