Abstract Globally, there is significant economic interest in shale gas as a hydrocarbon resource. The success of unconventional shale gas exploration in the United State of America (USA) has raised interests for potential shale gas development in the Karoo Basin of South Africa. The Karoo Basin technically recoverable shale gas resource is estimated to be 13 Tcf, with 19–23 Tcf recoverable free gas. Due to the potential importance of the South African resource, this study characterized the Lower Permian Ecca Group shale and compared its geochemical and organic petrology properties with those of Devonian/Carboniferous shales of the Appalachian Basin, USA. The comparison of research data will aid in the understanding of shale gas potential of the Karoo Basin. Horizons from two boreholes (KZF-01 and KWV-01) drilled in the southern and southeastern Karoo Basin were evaluated and compared with samples of the Late Devonian Ohio and Early Carboniferous Sunbury Shales from the central Appalachian Basin, USA. Total organic carbon (TOC), total sulphur (TS), and organic petrology (bitumen and vitrinite reflectance, and maceral analysis) were used to assess organic richness and thermal maturity of the shale samples. In addition, the samples were evaluated for mineralogical content using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). Data indicates that the Whitehill Formation of the Karoo Basin has good to excellent shale source potential, with an average TOC of 4.35 wt%. However, thermal maturity data of the Whitehill Formation shows the organic matter to be overmature, with vitrinite reflectance equivalent values greater than 3% RoV. Total sulphur data for the Whitehill Formation and the Devonian/Carboniferous shales suggests that both were influenced by marine environments. Both the KWV-01 and Ohio/Sunbury shale samples contain high amounts of quartz, with clay mineral contents greater than 40% being observed in borehole KWV-01 samples. Collectively, this research study provides valuable data for shale gas exploration and development in the Karoo Basin, South Africa.

中文翻译：

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二叠纪白山地层、卡鲁盆地 (RSA) 和阿巴拉契亚盆地 (美国) 的泥盆纪/石炭纪页岩的地球化学和有机岩石学

摘要 在全球范围内，页岩气作为一种碳氢化合物资源具有重要的经济利益。美国（美国）非常规页岩气勘探的成功引起了人们对南非卡鲁盆地潜在页岩气开发的兴趣。Karoo 盆地技术上可采的页岩气资源量估计为 13 Tcf，其中 19-23 Tcf 可采游离气。由于南非资源的潜在重要性，本研究对下二叠统 Ecca 组页岩进行了表征，并将其地球化学和有机岩石学性质与美国阿巴拉契亚盆地泥盆纪/石炭纪页岩的地球化学和有机岩石学性质进行了比较。研究数据的比较将有助于了解卡鲁盆地的页岩气潜力。对在卡鲁盆地南部和东南部钻探的两个钻孔（KZF-01 和 KWV-01）的地层进行了评估，并与美国阿巴拉契亚盆地中部的晚泥盆世俄亥俄州和早石炭世森伯里页岩的样品进行了比较。使用总有机碳 (TOC)、总硫 (TS) 和有机岩石学（沥青和镜质体反射率以及微晶分析）来评估页岩样品的有机丰富度和热成熟度。此外，使用 X 射线衍射 (XRD) 评估样品的矿物含量。数据表明，Karoo 盆地Whitehill 组页岩源潜力良好，平均TOC 为4.35 wt%。然而，Whitehill 组的热成熟度数据显示有机质过成熟，镜质体反射率等效值大于 3% RoV。Whitehill 组和泥盆纪/石炭纪页岩的总硫数据表明两者都受到海洋环境的影响。KWV-01 和俄亥俄/森伯里页岩样品都含有大量石英，在钻孔 KWV-01 样品中观察到粘土矿物含量超过 40%。总的来说，这项研究为南非卡鲁盆地的页岩气勘探和开发提供了宝贵的数据。