Gas generation from oil-prone mudstones in the Eocene Wenchang A Depression, Pearl River Mouth Basin

Gas derived from the primary cracking of kerogen and the secondary cracking of oil has historically been the focus of petroleum geologists, given its importance as a gas source. The Wenchang A Depression within the Zhu III Sub-basin is the largest gaseous hydrocarbon-rich depression in the Pearl River Mouth Basin (PRMB), and the sources of gaseous hydrocarbons in this depression are a research focus. Mudstones from the Eocene Wenchang Formation contain type I and type II organic matter and are oil-prone, with TOC, S1+S2, and HI values mostly ranging from 1.42% to 3.12%, 9.71 mg/g to 20.61 mg/g, and 410.71 mg/g·TOC to 736.17 mg/g·TOC, respectively. Data of gaseous hydrocarbon yields and carbon isotopic compositions show that the gaseous hydrocarbons generated from oil-prone mudstones are mainly derived from the secondary cracking of oil, and the plot of δ 13 C 2 – δ 13 C 3 versus ln(C 2 /C 3 ) effectively identified the gas source. To further assess the gas generation processes and the ratio of oil-cracking gas under geological conditions, we reconstructed the history of gaseous hydrocarbon generation in mudstones from the Wenchang Formation in the Wenchang A Depression. Results showed that gaseous hydrocarbon generation began at approximately 33 Ma, a maximum of 69% of total gaseous hydrocarbons (C 1 –C 5 ) were generated by oil cracking, and total heavy hydrocarbon gases (C 2 -C 5 ) were mainly generated from oil cracking (65%–81%). This study provides a deeper understanding of the characteristics of gas generated from oil-prone mudstones and is important for gas exploration in the Wenchang Depression.