Genetic Classification of Petroleum Systems! Gerard Demaison? and Bradley J. Huizinga ABSTRACT Our genetic classification of petroleum systems is founded on a simple working nomenclature that con- sists of combining qualifiers from each of the following three categories: (1) charge factor (supercharged, nor mally charged, or undercharged), (2) migration drainage style (vertically drained or laterally drained), and (3) entrapment style (high impedance or low impedance) The charge factor is estimated on the basis of the richness and volumetrics of mature source rocks. The source potential index (SPD, which combines source- rock richness and thickness into a single parameter, is a convenient shortcut for comparing the petroleum potential of diverse source rocks containing dissimilar kerogen types and for rapidly estimating regional, charging capacity. In extensively explored basins, a positive correlation exists between the magnitude of SPL and basin-wide petroleum reserves, The migration drainage style is determined from the structural and stratigraphic framework of a basin. Verti- cal-migration drainage, which occurs mainly through faults and fracture systems breaching a seal, is charac- teristic of petroleum systems contained within rift basins, deltaic sequences, salt-dome provinces, wrench basins, and fold-and-thrust belts, In contrast, lateral- migration drainage is dominant wherever stratigraphi- cally continuous seal-reservoir “doublets” extend over a Copyright 1981. The Amercan Assocation of Petroleum Geclogisl. All rots reserved “Manuscript received March 19, 1990; revised manuscript received Feoruary 5, 1991; tal acceptance May 17, 199% *Goclogy Deparment, Stanoré Unveriy, Sianfor, Calforia 84305, or P.0..Bor 1877, Capi, Calorie 9500, Schavion Overseas Petroleum in, 6001 Bolinger Canyon Read, San Ramon, Cafoma 9583, ‘Ths pope’ was presented at the AAPG Research Conference on te Petroleum Potential of Seomentary Basins, Leesburg, Virgina. Api 26, 1988, and atthe 1969 and 1991 AAPG Annual Conventions. The waters Woh to ackrowiodge W. Dow and &. Perodon forthe nial concept oF petroleum system, B. Tissot Yor frat introducing the idea of integrating Ihckness and veld into a single numeral expression, G. Ulrishek for his ‘ary erica revow of our maruserpl, and. Schnesdermann whose suppor and encouragement resuted in tie pape’ being witlen and presented. We are especialy ngebied fo L. Magoon. whe has retined the concept ot petcleum systom over recent years and has aso spent considerable efotn Improving aur onginal manuseript In adalton, the euthors gratefully ‘acknowledge the consicive views of Chevron’ management, namely MW Boyoe, EL Couch, and RE Kropachot very large area in a tectonically stable province (e.g commonly foreland or intracratonic platform basins), Recognition of the dominant migration style helps to predict the location of zones of petroleum occurrence in relation to the “hydrocarbon kitche The entrapment style, which is also dependent on. the structural framework and the presence and effec- tiveness of seals, describes the degree of resistance Ge., impedance) working against dispersion of the petroleum charge. Application of these working concepts should help to significantly reduce geologic risk, particularly in new ventures-type exploration INTRODUCTION During the last 40 years, several tectonic classi fications of sedimentary basins have been developed by petroleum geologists to provide a common frame- work of reference for the Earth's sedimentary basins (e.g., Weeks, 1952; Perrodon, 1972; Klemme, 1975, 1980, 1983; Bally and Snelson, 1980; Kingston et al., 1983, Helwig, 1985). These classifications have bk developed with the purpose of finding relations between tectonic style and petroleum occurrence. The most useful outcome of these studies has been to demonstrate the statistical predominance of giant fields, and major petroleum reserves in cratonic sags and fore- deep basins, in contrast to lesser reserves in pull-apart and thrust-belt settings (Klemme, 1975, 1980, 1983; Bois et al., 1982; Carmalt and St. John, 1986). Also. field-size distributions in petroleum basins generally show some relation to basin classification and basin size (Klemme, 1983). Furthermore, recognition of tec tonic style helps to predict regional retention efficiency (eg., in the evaluation of thrust belts; Vann, 1989) or abnormally high heat-flow regimes affecting source rock maturation and oil preservation (e.g., in proto- ‘oceanic rifts such as the Red Sea or Afar Triangle), Nevertheless, any degree of petroleum richness, ranging from near barren to highly prolific, can be observed among specific examples of each basin type. Bally and Snelson (1980) recognized this point by con- cluding that “the classification of basins does little to improve our hydrocarbon volume forecasting ability. This sobering opinion was echoed by Ulmishek (1986): 1626“Tectonic basin classifications are limited in their effec- tiveness of rating the richness of basins.” Grunau, (1987) went even further in stating: “A classification system which is based on measurable relevant criteria, and which is tuned to the needs of the explorationist, has not yet been developed.” The reason the analog approach does little to improve our hydrocarbon vol- lume forecasting ability is that source-rock volumes and, richness are unrelated to tectonic style. In other words, tectonically “look-alike” basins of similar size do not necessarily contain identical volumes of mature source rock and, thus, do not possess analogous regional charging potential. Furthermore, Bois et al, (1982) and Ulmishek and Klemme (1990) have documented that paleolatitudinal and paleoclimatic considerations are more important than tectonic style in explaining the world’s geographic distribution of prolific source rocks and major petroleum reserves. For instance, these authors show that highly favorable paleogeographic factors led to the inordinate development of prolific Upper Jurassic and middle to Upper Cretaceous source rocks in the greater Tethyan realm, which is the Earth's hest endowed region in terms of petroleum reserves (75% of the oil and 61% of the gas). The importance of source-rock distribution, rather than tectonie sty! also illustrated by the following examples. (1) In peri-Andean foreland basins, middle to Upper Cretaceous source rocks show an exponential decrease in petroleum potential from north to south, The tecton- ie style, which can be classified as a foreland ramp, and regional seals are similar; however, source rock rich: ness and thickness, as well as discovered Cretaceous- sourced petroleum reserves, tend to wane from north to south, (2) Coastal basins along the Brazilian Atlantic margin show very unequal petroleum richness, despite exten- sive exploration, The Campos basin alone contains 65% of all Brazilian reserves (Bacoccoli et al., 1989; Mohriak et al., 1990), whereas the neighboring Espirito Santo and Santos basins hold only minor reserves, The unequal occurrence of petroleum in Brazilian coastal basins is dependent on variations in the thickness and regional distribution of Lower Cretaceous lacustrine source rocks deposited in early rift settings. Otherwise, the tectonic style, the effectiveness of regional seals, and source-rock maturity levels are similar in all the basins along this South Atlantic margin, (3) Carbonate platform systems, whether associated with passive margins or foreland basins, also show extreme variations in petroleum richness, ranging from prolific (e.g., Campeche-Reforma basin in Mexico, Cen- tral Arabian basin) to marginal (e.g., South Florida basin, Adriatic basin). The differences in petroleum richness between the Campeche-Reforma basin and the South Florida basin are caused not so much by differ- ences in tectonic styles as by inequalities in source- rock volumes and basin geothermal parameters, In the ‘Campeche-Reforma basin, the prolific Upper Jurassic Demaison and Huizinga 1627 source-rock sequence is stratigraphically continuous, thick, and widespread (Gonzalez and Holguin, 1991). This source rock was deposited in a deep-water anoxic environment during a major marine transgression. The geothermal gradients are average in the Campeche- Reforma basin, In contrast, the South Florida basin con- tains rather thin Lower Cretaceous source beds that are erratically distributed, both vertically and laterally. They were deposited in ponded shallow-water, hypersaline, anoxic “basins,” which occurred inside the carbonate platform during a period of overall low sea level. Fur- thermore, the geothermal gradients tend to be lower in the South Florida basin Because source-rock volume and richness are unre- lated to tectonic style, we fell that a genetic classic tion scheme based on the processes of petroleum for- mation, migration, and entrapment had to be devised: to supplement conventional tectonic classifications. The geologic framework of a basin provides only the natural setting for these physico-chemical processes to interact in a manner that can lead to either concentra tion or dispersion of petroleum. The geologic history of a basin is the “program” that sequentially activates these physico-chemical processes during the passage cof geologic time (Perrodon, 1980). ‘Three important geologic factors control the accu- mulation of petroleum in the subsurface and, thus, are essential 10 the existence of viable “petroleum sy tems": (1) volumetrically adequate petroleum gener tion, occurring during or after the time of trap forma- tion; Q) favorable migration-drainage geometry leading to the focused movement of hydrocarbons into traps rather than to dispersion and loss of hydrocar- bons in either subsurface migration “waste zones” or up to the surface; and (3) the existence of volumetrical- ly adequate traps, capable of retaining their petroleum, charge from the earliest time of trap filling t0 the pre- sent day. Our plan is to genetically classify the main types of petroleum systems and to qualify and quantify, when- ever possible, the key factors that control the occur- rence, abundance, and habitat of oil and gas. ‘THE PETROLEUM SYSTEM A “petroleum system” is a dynamic, petroleum gen- erating and concentrating physico-chemical system, functioning in a geologic space and time scale. A petroleum system requires the timely convergence of certain geologic elements and events essential to the formation of petroleum deposits (¢.g., mature source rock, expulsion, secondary migration, accumulation, and retention; Nijhuis and Baak, 1990). This definition is quite similar to the earlier concepts of “source-reser- voir oil system” (Dow, 1974), “Petroleum System" (Per rodon, 1980, 1983; Perrodion and Masse, 1984; Magoon, 1987, 1988), “hydrocarbon machine” (Meissner et al.,1628 PETROLEUM ‘SYSTEM MIGRATION. GENERATIVE JENTRAPMENT| ‘SUBSYSTEM easerereea | fo ® cance — |) @ wararion U@ewrrapwenr FACTOR DRANG SME |-Supercharged Vertically Drained || -High Impedance -ormaty Charged Feaeetacea || Lateraty Drained || Low impedance a [A PETROLEUM SYSTEM IS CLASSIFIED "ACCORDING TO THE QUALIFIERS ‘SELECTED FROM THESE ‘THREE CATEGORIES Figure 1—Flow diagram for the genetic classification of a petroleum system. 1984), and “Independent Petroliferous System” (Ulmishek, 1986). A “petroleum basin” (or province) i a geologic entity containing at least one or more petroleum systems ‘The concept of the “petroleum system” is not syn- onymous with “play,” which is defined by Bois (1975) as “a continuous portion of sedimentary volume which contains pools showing the following characteristics (1) reservoirs within the same productive sequence occur throughout the zone, (2) hydrocarbons are of similar chemical composition, and (3) traps are of the same type. A petroleum system is composed of two subsystems (Figure 1) G) A generative subsystem provides a certain supply of petroleum during a given time span. Generative sub- systems are essentially controlled by chemical process- 5, consisting of biochemical transformation of dead organisms into kerogen during the source depositional stage (Demaison et al., 1984) and thermo-chemical kinetics, which control the transformation of kerogen, into petroleum (Tissot et al., 1987). (2) A migration-entrapment subsystem gathers petroleum from the mature source rocks and distributes it in a manner that may lead to either concentration of petroleum into economic accumulations or loss of petroleum due to dispersion and destruction. Migra. tion-entrapment subsystems are predominantly con- Genetic Classification of Petroleum Systems trolled by physical processes, including the buoyant rise of petroleum in water, fluid flow and capillary pressures in porous media (llling, 1939; Showalter, 1979), and pressure-temperature-composition relation” ships affecting phase behavior before and during petroleum entrapment, The understanding of petro- Jeum migration processes has made great advances since the mid-1970s (Durand, 1988) ‘The purpose of the proposed genetic classification of petroleum systems is t0 describe and predict (1) the rel- ative charging potential of petroleum systems and, thus, segments of petroleum basins and (2) the geographic location of zones of petroleum occurrence or plays in basins. As a part of this genetic classification, the source potential index (SPD is introduced as a useful tool for approximating regional charging potential. Furthermore, patterns of regional petroleum occurrence can be pre- dicted by delineating generative basins (i.c., *hydrocar- bon kitchens") and recognizing the migration style and distances (Demaison, 1984). The final result of integrat- ing hydrocarbon-kitchen mapping, migration style, and SPI ranking is a more effective evaluation of regional petroleum potential than that achieved by using the tec- tonic analog approach alone, A prerequisite to the genetic approach, however, is that the tectonic frame- work, sequence stratigraphy, geologic history, thermal history, and a reasonably adequate geochemical data- base must be fully integrated. ‘The themes reviewed in this paper do not address the prediction, before drilling, of the volume and com- position of petroleum trapped in individual prospects. Advanced computer-aided methodologies for quantita- tive prospect evaluation have already been described by Nederlof (1979, 1981), Sluijk and Nederlof (1984), and Nijhuis and Baak (1990). Instead, the present genetic classification scheme has been devised to con duct rapid, semiquantitative, regional evaluations. EVALUATION OF GENERATIVE SUBSYSTEMS Regional Charging In every petroleum system, the principal constraint to petroleum richness is the adequacy of the generative subsystem, which must be powerful enough to provide sufficient petroleum charge to the migration-entrap- ‘ment subsystem. The overriding importance of the gen- erative subsystem is obvious: if there is no petroleum generation in the subsurface, then all of the other nec essary requirements of a petroleum system (e.g., struc- ture, reservoir, seal) lose relevance. Charge has been defined as the “hydrocarbon vol- umes available for entrapment” (Sluijk and Nederlof, 1984). Charge volume equals the volume of petroleum, generated in the drainage area of a trap minus the vol- ume lost through migration processes. Overall migra~ tion losses result from the summation of primary-migration losses (expulsion from the source rocks into the carriers) and secondary-migration losses (in the carri- ers, between the source beds and the trap). The term “regional charge” is used to represent the total amount of petroleum available for entrapment in a regional hydrocarbon kitchen. (Regional charge quantity of petroleum generated in a regional hydrocar- bon kitchen minus expulsion and migration losses.) The regional charge is dependent on the original source-rock richness and volumetrics in the generative parts of the basin, Source-rock richness is most accu- rately expressed in terms of the hydrocarbon genetic potential (i.e., S; + aasured by Rock- Eval analyses on well cuttings, core, and outerop sam- ples. Hydrocarbon kitchens are delineated on source rocks by projecting source-rock maturity data from key wells onto seismic depth maps and/or by employing kinetic-modeling methods. Following these delin- ations, the volumes of mature source rock can be esti: ‘mated with the assistance of geochemical, stratigraphic, and seismic information. Finally, a gross approximation of the amount of petroleum generated in the kitchen can be obtained using source-rock genetic potentials, (in kg HC/t rock), mature source-tock volumes, source- rock densities, and maturity conversion factors (e.g, modeled transformation ratios). ‘The resulting amount of petroleum (in kilograms) can be converted to any unit of volume required by the evaluator. In an effort to extend beyond this point, deterministic methods using uncalibrated volumetric calculations have been proposed to predict the amount of petroleum pre- sent in an undrilled prospect or sector of a basin, These schemes are unworkable because of the great uncertain: ty associated with some, or all, of the input parameters. For example, expulsion efficiency and secondary-migra tion losses are not directly observable and, thus, defy accurate measurement, The calcukated amounts of petroleum generated from the drainage areas are invari- ably several orders of magnitude higher than what has already been found or can be reasonably expected in associated traps. To bring the calculated petroleum quantities to plausible propostions, the evaluator has to apply discount factors to compensate for expulsion and secondary-migration losses. These discounts are either assumed” by the evaluator, usually in response 10 per- sonal biases, or are sometimes obtained from numerical modeling. Although the former approach kicks any sci- entific merit, we believe that the modeling of petroleum losses also leaves much to be desired in terms of geolog ic realism because it is oversimplified. We agree with Schowalter (1989) that: “Migration losses and trap effi- Giency will vary with dip angle, oil/water density, inter- facial tension, wettability, and rock heterogeneity along the migration path, This ever expanding level of com: plexity in a realistic subsurface situation suggests tha quantitative geologic modeling of this problem is com- plex to the point of being insolvable.” For the same fun- damental reasons, mathematical modeling of expulsion response), 2s m Demaison and Huizinga 1629 efficiency from large source-rock volumes of varying thickness, sedimentologic fabric, mineral matrix, kero: gen richness, maturity, and pressure regime is also fraught with difficulties. Beyond the deduction that the hydrocarbon losses in petroleum systems are large, itis doubtful that operationally reliable charge predictions will ever be derived from uncalibrated deterministic models, Some calibrated methods exist for predicting the petroleum charge volumes available 10 undrilled traps; however, these methods require large data bases and complex, intensive statistical treatments (Sluijs and Ned: erlof, 1984) To sidestep the operational difficulties of regional charge, we have turned 1 a cal method, which we refer to as th index (SPD) stat leulating implified statisti- source potential Definition and Calculation of the Source Potential Index (SPI) The source potential index (SPD, or “cumulative hydrocarbon potential” (Tissot et al., 1980), is defined as the maximum quantity of hydrocarbons (in metric tons) that can be generated within a column of source rock under 1m? of surface area (Figure 2), Because SPI niSizS2)p 1000 'SP1= The maximum quentity of hydrocarbons that can be generated within a column ‘of source rock under 1m? of face area (In matric tons of hydrocarbons/square meter). SPI ‘= source rock thickness in meters. average genetic potential in kilograms hydrocarbons/metric ton rock. source-rock density in metric tons/cuble meter. S82 Figure 2—Definition and calculation of the source po- tential index (SPD.1630 is a measure of cumulative petroleum potential. it is important to bear in mind that (1) this parameter does, not distinguish between oil-gencrating vs. gas-generat ing capacity, and (2) the total quantity of hydrocarbons will not be fully realized unless the source-rock sequence is completely matured during burial. The SPI, which effectively combines source-rock thickness and richness into a single parameter, is calculated according to the following equation: HFS 1000 SPI = SPI = source potential index in metric tons hydrocar- bons/square meter b= source-rock thickness in meters. The source- rock thickness excludes intervening intervals that lack significant source potential; therefore, multiple source beds are combined to yield a cumulative thickness at the given locality. In practice, we have generally con- fined each source-rock sequence to include the cumu- lative thickness of only those fine-grained rocks show- ing genetic potentials in excess of 2 kg HC/t rock. (in certain cases where biomarker analyses unambiguously correlate oils to lean source rocks, this lower limit has been reduced to 1 kg HC/t rock.) Also, the source-rock thickness is corrected for well deviation, the dip of the source-rock sequence, or other structural complexities. (3) + 5p) = average genetic potential in kilograms hydrocarbons/metric ton of rock. The genetic potential, which is a semiquantitative measure of source-rock richness, is defined as the S, + S; yield from Rock-Eval pyrolysis (Espitalie et al., 1977). The S, represents the kilograms of hydrocarbons that are thermally distilled from 1 t of rock and the S, represents the kilograms of hydrocarbons that are generated by pyrolytic degrada: tion of the kerogen in 1 t of rock (Espitalie et al., 19775, Peters, 1986). Based on the systematic Rock-Eval pyrol- ysis of closely spaced samples (approximately every 10 ‘m) in a given well penetration or measured outcrop section, the average genetic potential for a source rock is determined by summing a sequence of rectangular areas, constructed by cross-plotting sample depths vs. the genetic potentials of individual whole-rock ples, and dividing the resulting sum by the total uncor rected source rock thickness, = source-rock density in metric tons/cubic meter. Although specific source-rock densities should be used in the SPI determinations, we have simplified our cal culations to date by arbitrarily assigning a density of 2.5 Um’ to all source rocks. For source rocks that are immature across an entire basin, the acquisition of SPIs fulfills no useful purpose because hydrocarbon generation has never taken place in the subsurface. SPI calculations for a given source rock only have relevance wherever thermally mature hydrocarbon kitchens have been identified Genetic Classification of Petroleum Systems The well penetrations or measured outcrop sections selected for SPI determination should be located with- in or immediately adjacent to the generative basin (ie. hydrocarbon kitchen). Since SPI is a measure of petroleum potential, the magnitude of SPI at a given location is optimal when the source rock is immature to early mature. A source rock that has attained a ‘middle oil-window" rank or higher maturity shows significantly reduced SPI because the average genetic potential is depleted due to petroleum expulsion. In certain cases, theoretical estimates of SPI prior to mat- uration can be calculated using the average genetic potential from a similar organic-facies equivalent locat ed in a less mature sector of the basin. At a given loca- tion, the difference between the theoretical SPI and present-day residual SPI can provide a crude estimate of the amount of petroleum expelled from the column of source rock under 1 m? (in metric tons hydroca bons/square meter). Each SPI is usually obtained from an individual exploration well or measured outcrop section; there- fore, the resulting value is representative of the source Unit at a specific location in the basin of interest. Some source rocks show nearly uniform richness and thick: ress over long distances; therefore, an SPI measured in, ‘an immature sector is representative of the original SPI of a more mature, lateral equivalent of the same source-rock unit. Although many other source rocks show significant lateral variations in thickness and organic facies, a general knowledge of paleogeogra- phy, source-tock depositional models (Demaison et al, 1984; Jones, 1987), and possible thickness changes (c.g,, derived from seismic data) allow an interpreter to determine whether the source rock in the undrilled sec- tor of the generative basin was likely to have shown a higher or lower SPI than those obtained from nearby wells or measured outcrop sections. Therefore, SPI cal- culations often serve to consirain the possible lateral changes in quantitative source-rock potential. The concept and the calculations necessary to for- mulate cumulative hydrocarbon potential, whi have renamed SPI for practical reasons, were first applied by Tissot et al. (1980) to show the variability in hydrocarbon source potential of Cretaceous black shales in Atlantic basins. Identical calculations were later expanded to a global geochemical data base by Demaison (1988) and Demaison and Huizinga (1989), ‘The original purpose for developing an SPI data base was to create the operational recognition that sourc rock volume, which is in part a function of thicknes as important as source-rock richness, Our concept of SPI is different from the “Source Potential Rating Index” proposed by Dembicki and Pirkle (1985). Their parameter is calculated by multiply- ing the average total organic carbon content (96TOC) of the source rock, the thickness of mature source rock, and certain maturity scaling factors. Although the method of Dembicki and Pirkle (1985) can be usefulfor mapping regional trends from a given source rock in a well-known basin, it is not suited for making valid comparisons of different source-rock sections from basins around the world because it does not take the variability of kerogen types into account. In contrast, our SPI ranking scale has been developed for the pri- mary purpose of making these global comparisons. We have made ranking of very different source rocks possi- ble by using hydrocarbon potential, rather than relative Units of effectively realized generation, and by express- ing source-rock richness in terms of the genetic poten- tial (.e., Rock-Eval S; + Sp yield), rather than 9%6TOC. Our use of the genetic potential, instead of %TOC, allows for a fundamentally viable ranking of the petroleum potential of diverse source rocks containing issimilar kerogen types. Thus, lean source rocks con- taining Type Ill kerogen but having substantial thick- nesses (e.g, Tertiary sequence of the Niger delta, Juras- sic source rocks of the Barrow-Dampier basin) can be ‘compared on the same SPI ranking scale to high-yield source rocks containing Type I or Il kerogen and hav- ing lower stratigraphic thicknesses (¢.g., Upper Jurassic source rocks of the North Sea or West Siberia basin). SPI can also be used for mapping regional variations in a given source-rock unit, as discussed elsewhere in our study. Applications of SPI to Exploration A relative source-rock ranking system has been devel- ‘oped by compiling the average SPls of individual source rocks from various basins (Figure 3; Table 1). For each source rock, the result listed in Table 1 has been deter- mined by calculating SPI at as many locations as possi- ble, within or adjacent to the hydrocarbon kitchens, and averaging these values. Although these averaged results, are tabulated in numerical order from highest to lowest, only substantial relative differences are considered important in the SPI comparison of two or more source rocks, Some basins contain multiple source rocks, which are listed separately in Table 1 (e.g., the Miocene and Eocene-Oligocene source rocks of the San Joaquin basin) of may not all appear due to lack of data In the appraisal of a petroleum system, the source rocks have to be evaluated in the context of the over- all structural and stratigraphic framework, which deter- mines the migration style. We have developed a pre- liminary SPI classification (Figure 4), which has been empirically derived from worldwide measurements of SPI and a general knowledge of the discovered hydro- carbon reserves that are likely to be derived from these specific sources. In vertically drained petroleum systems, SPIs are classified as low (SPI < 5), moderate GS SPI < 15), and high (15 £ SPD. In contrast, lateral- ly drained petroleum systems are significantly less demanding on the magnitude of SPI than are vertically drained systems. Compared to vertically drained Demaison and Huizinga 1631 petroleum systems, laterally drained systems common. ly contain broader areas of mature source rock, due to more laterally extensive source-rock development (eg., marine source rocks in laterally drained foreland basins vs. lacustrine source rocks in vertically drained early rift basins) and larger hydrocarbon-kitchen size (eg., in laterally drained foreland basins vs. vertically drained fold-and-thrust belts). Traps in laterally drained systems tend to fetch petroleum from larger areas of source-rock drainage, relative to those in ver tically drained systems. Because areal extent is also critical in determining source-rock volume, we tenta- tively propose lower limits to define the SPI categories in laterally drained systems (low: SPI < 2; moderate: 2 SPI <7; high: 7 € SPI). So far, our database includes SPls from only a limited number of laterally drained basins (e.g., Central Arabia, Maturin, West Siberia, Paris, Illinois, Oriente, Williston); therefore, the SPI categories for laterally drained systems are subject to future refinement. In extensively explored basins, a positive correlation exists between the magnitude of SPI and basin-wide petroleum reserves. Source rocks with high SPI, as defined in Figure 4, are statistically associated with large petroleum reserves and production from giant oil and gas fields (Figure 3; Table 1). In contrast, basins containing source rocks with low SPI, as defined in Fig- ure 4, are associated with either small basin-wide petroleum reserves and production from subgiant oil and gas fields or are nonproductive (Figure 3; Table 1). Although the use of SPI categories that shift with respect to the size of drainage areas (Figure 4) shows, great promise as an operationally viable shortcut for estimating regional charging capacity, we will continue to evaluate and refine this sliding SPI scale as more data become available. In the genetic classification of a petroleum system, the generative subsystem is described by the charge fac= tor (Figure 1), which semiquantitatively characterizes the total amount of hydrocarbons available for entrap- ‘ment (.e., regional charge). The three terms used to describe the charge factor (ie., supercharged, normally charged, or undercharged) are provisionally assigned. according to the magnitude of SPI (i.e., high, moderate, or low SPI, respectively, as defined in Figure 4), After a source rock showing a favorable SPI rating is identified, it is economically important to delineate the specific sectors of a basin that have the highest charg- ing capacity. This is primarily achieved by the integra- tion of SPI maps and maturity maps. The evaluation of regional trends in hydrocarbon charging capacity is also enhanced with the aid of paleogeographic maps, a knowledge of source-rock depositional models (Demaison et al., 1984), and a recognition of migration styles. This information will help in interpolating the charging capacity for areas occurring between locations of known SPI and possibly assist in extrapolating trends away from measured SPI data points,