Origin and maturity of oils in the Ukrainian Carpathians and their Mesozoic basement

Geochemical characteristics of 25 oils collected from Skiba Unit of the Outer Carpathians, Boryslav-Pokuttya Unit of the Carpathian Foredeep and their Mesozoic basement in the western Ukraine are presented in the paper. The first recognised oil family consists of almost all oils accumulated in the flysch sequence of the Outer Carpathians and the Carpathian Foredeep which have very similar geochemical characteristics. These oils were generated from Type II or II/III kerogen deposited in clastic sediments. They are low-sulphur and migrated short distances. Slight biodegradation processes are visible only in oils accumulated in shallow deposits in the Skiba Unit. Their source rocks are the Oligocene Menilite Shales from the Boryslav-Pokuttya Unit. Oils from the Kokhanivka and Orkhovychi deposits (the Mesozoic basement of the Carpathian Foredeep) constitute the second family. These oils are extremely heavy, high-sulphur and were generated from high-sulphur Type IIS kerogen deposited in the carbonate environment. The most probable source rocks for these oils are the Upper Jurassic strata. Oil collected from the Vola Blazhivska deposit (the Boryslav-Pokuttya Unit) shows intermediate parameters between the oil families described above. It is characterized by the presence of oleanane and high sulphur content. It was generated from the Menilite Shales containing high-sulphur kerogen. All oils were generated at an early stage or the peak of oil window.