Use of a geochemical method to analyze the hydrocarbon accumulation process in the Bongor Basin, Chad

The oil discovery in the Precambrian basement fractured buried-hills of the Bongor Basin, Chad, is a milestone for the African onshore exploration play. Geochemical techniques including GC, GC/MS were adopted to analyze the biomarker composition and geochemical characteristics of oils from the Baobab buried-hill and shales from the Baobab N and Mimosa (MM) sags, respectively. The oil-source correlations were carried out for the buried hill oils and source rocks of BN/MM sags, and the hydrocarbon accumulation process was interpreted based on the thermal evolution history. The results indicate that BN/MM sags have contributed to the oils of the Baobab buried-hill field along with two phases of hydrocarbon accumulations. The MM sag started to expel hydrocarbon in the middle Late Cretaceous (about 85 Ma), and then in the late Late Cretaceous (about 70 Ma) both the MM and BN sags expelled hydrocarbons for the Baobab buried-hill trap.