oa Organic Geochemistry Studies of Carbonate-Evaporative Sourced Oils in the Southernmost Gom

Oils derived from carbonate-evaporative sources are characterized by low API gravities, and overall low amounts of hydrocarbons as compared to polars and asphaltenes ( Orr, 1996 ). These aromatic-asphaltic oils originate from sulfur-rich type I-IIS kerogens at low levels of thermal stress ( Orr, 1996 ). The Peten-Corozal Basin in Guatemala and Belize lies at the southernmost end of the Mexican Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and hosts the most proximal areas of a mid-Cretaceous carbonate-rich platform, which is known to contain several source rock intervals. Bulk geochemical and biomarker data are used here to characterize the organic facies generating the oils found in the Peten-Corozal Basin.