Thermal maturity is often readily available from optical vitrinite reflectance measurements, but in marine sediments with absence of terrigenous organic material (vitrinite macerals) or formations older than the Devonian, this technique has limitations. Raman spectroscopy has been applied as an alternative measurement to infer thermal maturity in challenging formations. Organic-rich outcrop samples from the Jordanian Lajjoun and Sultani deposits and from a Far East shale were characterized for their key geochemical properties (bulk chemical and mineral composition, total organic carbon content) and thermal maturity. Bulk mineral and chemical abundances were quantified using standard X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence techniques. Total organic carbon (TOC) content was calculated from programmed temperature pyrolysis. Thermal maturity was determined and compared using conventional vitrinite reflectance and a novel, rapid laser Raman spectroscopy method. The Jordanian samples are organic-rich (16.3–17.4 wt% TOC), while the Far Eastern sample is relatively organic-lean (2 wt% TOC). Programmed pyrolysis shows that the Jordanian samples seem immature with high remaining hydrocarbon generative potential (S2), whereas the sample from the Far East appears to be overmature with extremely low S2 value. These findings were confirmed by the results from organic petrography as well as through Raman spectroscopic measurements. The Far Eastern samples are suggested to be highly mature (4.6–5.7% VRE), whereas the Jordanian samples were found to be immature (0.4–0.5% VRE). Robust Raman maturity determination allows to define and refine petrophysical properties of kerogen and thus enhance the accuracy in predicting hydrocarbon in place and the potential for its recovery.

通常可以通过光学镜质体反射率测量获得热成熟度，但是在没有陆源有机物质（镜质体微晶石）或泥盆纪年龄较早的地层的海洋沉积物中，该技术存在局限性。拉曼光谱法已被用作替代方法，以推断具有挑战性的地层中的热成熟度。来自约旦Lajjoun和Sultani矿床以及远东页岩的富含有机物的露头样品具有关键的地球化学性质（大块化学和矿物成分，总有机碳含量）和热成熟度的特征。使用标准的X射线衍射和X射线荧光技术对大量矿物质和化学物质的丰度进行了定量。总有机碳（TOC）含量是根据程序设定的温度热解计算得出的。使用常规的镜质体反射率和新颖的快速激光拉曼光谱法确定并比较了热成熟度。约旦的样品富含有机物（TOC为16.3–17.4 wt％），而远东的样品则相对有机含量较低（TOC为2 wt％）。程序热解表明，约旦样品似乎不成熟，具有较高的剩余烃生成潜力（S2），而远东地区的样品似乎过早，S2值极低。这些发现被有机岩石学以及拉曼光谱测量的结果所证实。建议远东样品高度成熟（4.6-5.7％VRE），而约旦样品则不成熟（0.4-0.5％VRE）。