Evaluation of Potential Source Rocks in Northern Nye County, Nevada, USA - Implications for Hydrocarbon Exploration

The recent discovery of oil in the state of Nevada, USA outside of Railroad Valley, northern Nye County renewed the interest of many exploration companies. The geology in this region is very complex and the level of petroleum exploration is low. The structural complexity of the area has limited the success of drilled wells. In order to understand the distribution of oil, a complex petroleum systems analysis is required. Previous study describes the Mississippian Chainman Shale and Cretaceous to Paleocene the Sheep Pass Formation, Member B as confirmed source rocks, but there are a number of other potential source rocks in the northern Nye County (Anna et al., 2007), but they are not confirmed because of the lack of data. The goal of this research is to determine if viable source rocks other than Chainman Shale and Sheep Pass Formation exist in northern Nye County. I collected samples from outcrops and cores and using organic geochemistry tested whether different strata have the necessary qualities to be a petroleum source rocks. This knowledge help to estimate the petroleum potential of northern Nye County for future exploration and development in Nevada, USA.