A Charge History of Natural Gases from the Rotliegend Deposits in the Western Poland as an Effect of Hydrocarbon Generation and Expulsion in the Carboniferous Source Rocks: Previous and New Models

The Rotliegend basin (the Lower Permian), extending from the UK to Poland (Gast et al., 2010) has a significant hydrocarbon potential with most probably still not found hydrocarbon reserves, particularly in Poland (e.g., Burzewski et al., 2009; Karnkowski 2007; Pletsch et al., 2010). This giant basin is called the Southern Permian Basin and its Polish part is distinguished as the Polish Permian Basin (Figure 1). It began to develop in the latest Carboniferous, but its development continued during the entire Mesozoic up to the Cretaceous/Paleogene time when the basin inversion occurred (Karnkowski, 1999). The geological evolution in the study area was controlled mainly by the Teisseyre-Tornquist Zone (TTZ) which forms a border between the East European Craton and the Palaeozoic foldbelts and terranes of western and central Europe (Mazur et al., 2005; 2006). Rotliegend basin is superimposed onto the Carboniferous Variscan zone and its foredeep (Karnkowski, 1999; 2007; Mazur et al., 2005). Carboniferous strata occur in Poland in the almost entire substratum of the Rotliegend basin (Figure 1). The regional seal in the Polish part of the basin of the Rotliegend is constituted by the Zechstein evaporates (Figure 1).