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Savanna Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences (June, 2020), 2(1): 15-22

ISSN: 2695-2335

Petrology of Pyrite bearing Sandstones: Inference for Reservoir

Rock Quality and Paleoredox Conditions
Ali A. M. and Kwaya M. Y.
Department of Geology, Bayero University Kano (BUK), Kano
.
ABSTRACT
Pyrites are usually indicators of paleoredox conditions and hydrocarbon generation from organic matter. This study investigates
the mineralogy, chemical composition and reservoir quality of the pyritic sandstones found in Lambir Formation of Onshore West
Baram Delta, Sarawak Basin, which was selected because the prolific occurrence of hydrocarbon in the adjacent Miri Formation
has not been equally reflected in the Lambir Formation, despite their similarity in age (Miocene). X-ray diffraction of the collected
samples identified the presence of quartz, hematite and pyrite, while X-ray fluorescence confirmed the silicate, iron and sulfate
composition. The petrographic analysis shows the lithic samples are friable and highly porous (27%).The unstable more soluble
reduced or ferrous iron (Fe2+), indicated by the pyrite content, suggest water-logged soils, euxinic marine and organic-rich saline
waters, all denoting anoxic environments. The pyrite hinders quartz cementation, as indicated by the friability of the rock samples.
It also fills the pore spaces and reorganizes the detrital grains in a preferential alignment to create micro-laminations. Based on the
high content of syngenetic pyrite, it can be inferred that the thermochemical generation of sulfate could have led to the destruction
or depletion of hydrocarbon in the Lambir Formation.

Keywords: Pyrite, anoxic depositional environment; paleoredox conditions,Lambir Formation

INTRODUCTION diagenesis and the evolution pattern of early diagenetic

Pyrite is one of the most abundant authigenic sulfides that
occur in sedimentary rocks, and are plentiful in rocks that
are rich in organic matter, but less common in sandstones
(Pettijohn, 1957; Ardakani et al., 2016). Pyrites are
indicative of marine sedimentary deposition under neutral or
alkaline pH conditions (Liu et al., 2019). Thus, the study of
pyrite is very important, as its morphology could be utilized
to indicate paleoredox conditions (Orr, 1977; Liu et al.,
2019), which in turn will contribute to understanding the
reservoir rock quality of sandstones. The size distribution of
pyrite framboids has been effectively used as an indicator for
an anoxic–euxinic environment in ancient marine sediments
(Wilkin et al., 1996; Wilkin and Barnes, 1997; Wignall et
al., 2005; Pisarzowska et al., 2014; Gallego-Torres et al.,
2015), and the formation of authigenic or diagenetic pyrite
is related to hydrocarbon activity that influences the
hydrocarbon generation from organic matter (Ardakani et
al., 2016).
The focus of this research is on the sub-unit: pyrite
bearing/pyritic sandstones of the Lambir Formation,
Onshore Sarawak, Malaysia The Lambir Formation of the
onshore West Baram Delta, Sarawak, were selected because
the prolific occurrence of hydrocarbon in the Miri Formation
has not been equally reflected in the adjacent formations
(Lambir and Belait), despite their similarity in age
(Miocene), and slightly diachronous transitional contact
with the Setap Shale source rock (Leichti et al., 1960). This
can be attributed to failure to identify discrete reservoir units
and source intervals in Onshore West Baram Delta (Rijks,
1981; Anuar and Hoesni, 2008; Togunwa et al., 2015),
despite the fact that several studies have assessed the
structural and tectonic evolution, depositional sequences,
and geochemistry of the delta (Nagaran et al., 2014; Hiscot,
2001; Hall, 2002; Lambaise et al., 2002; Amir et al., 2013;
Madon et al., 2013; Cullen, 2014). This study aims to
investigate the implication of pyrite on the reservoir rock
quality of the Lambir Formation. The textural
characterization is significant because shallow sandstones
have been shown to provide important clues on shallow
minerals, which in turn can be used to interpret reservoir
rock quality (Salem et al., 1998; Kordi et al., 1998; Kassab
et al., 2014).This petrology study will supplement ongoing
exploration efforts in Onshore West Baram Delta of
Sarawak Basin.
Geology of Onshore Sarawak
Onshore Sarawak can be subdivided geologically into four
major areas: Eocene-Pliocene sediments; Cretaceous -
Eocene Belaga Formation; Pre-Cretaceous basement
complex; Tectonic mélange, and Eocene-Pleistocene
igneous body. The Eocene-Pliocene sediments are fluvial
deposits transported by the Baram River and tributaries
(Hutchinson, 1989), and are underlain by paleogene
molasses sediments. The Sarawak basin is divided into three
sub tectonostratigraphic zones overlying the West Borneo
basement, and they include: Kuching zone, Sibu zone and
Miri zone. The Miri zone is structurally complex sequence
of Paleocene to Eocene ophiolithic rocks, including spilite,
basalt, turf and radiolarian tuff (Hutchinson, 1989). The
Miocene sedimentary successions of the onshore West
Baram Delta were grouped into the Lambir (Middle-Late
Miocene), Miri (Middle –Late Miocene), Tukau (Late
Miocene –Early Pliocene) and Belait (Early –Late Miocene)
formations which are equivalent to the oil bearing Cycles V
and VI in the offshore area.
The Lambir Formation (Middle - Late Miocene) mainly
consists of fine to coarse-grained sandstone, shale with
minor limestone and marl cemented by iron oxides,
intercalations of sandy clay with bioturbation and
OphiomorphaNodosa, indurated clayey ironstone and
pyritic nodules (Hutchison, 2005; Ali and Padmanabhan,
2014). Provenance studies by Liechtiet al. (1960) suggested
shallow marine to deltaic sedimentary environment, while
Simmons (1999) put forward distal turbidite through to
upper distributary channel. Outcrops of Lambir Formation
can also be found in Belait Anticline, close to Kampong
Labi, Brunei, deposited in Berekas sub-basin with tidal
influence (Borrenet al., 1996), while its equivalent in Miri

*Corresponding author. E-mail: amali.geo@buk.edu.ng

Author(s) agree that this article remain permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License 4.0 International license
Petrology of pyrite…
was deposited in West Baram Delta under wave- and tide-
dominated conditions (Simmons et al., 1999).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The sample area is precisely located at Tusan headland, Miri,
Sarawak with coordinates: N4°24’89.04”, E114°03’50.78”.
Field samples were collected from the outcrop exposed in
the Tusan Beach area, along Miri - Bintulu coastline. The
outcrops of Lambir Formation are labeled ‘L’ in the North
East Sarawak, shown in Fig.1. Representative samples were
selected to provide reliable laboratory analysis results. The
characterization techniques carried out include thin sections,
andfield emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM:
Carl Zeiss Supra 55VP; operated at 5 to 20 kV). X-ray
Fluorescence (Bruker-AXS model S4 Pioneer XRF) was
used for the inorganic geochemical analysis of bulk
chemical composition of whole rock samples. X-ray
Figure 1: Map of the study area (modified after Geological Survey of Malaysia, 1995; Hutchinson, 2005).
RESULTS
Field Characteristics
The pyritic sandstones lithofacies originated from tidal
influenced shallow marine environment, consisting of
massive medium-grained to coarse-grained sandstone,
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diffraction (XRD) (Bruker-AXS model D8 Advance) was
performed for mineral identification using XRD
spectrometer. The Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR)
spectra were recorded at room temperature using a
Shimadzu FTIR 8400S. The total organic carbon content
(TOC) of the sample was measured using TOC analyzer
multi N/C 3100.
The porosity, pore size and pore size distribution of the
samples were determined using mercury intrusion
porosimetry (MIP). The mercury porosimetry analysis
involves the use of high pressure to force intrusion of
mercury into smaller pores, while mercury intrusion in
larger pores takes place at relatively lower pressure. Thus,
an extensive array of pore sizes can be measured and a pore
size distribution can be acquired beginning from 4 nm (400
MPa) up to approximately 800 µm (vacuum).
intercalations of sandy clay with bioturbation and
Ophiomorpha, indurated clayey ironstone and pyritic
nodules with Fe-bearing sandstones. The samples are dark
brown to black in color, with a yellowish tint. The sample is
depicted in Fig. 2.
Petrology of pyrite…
Fig. 2: Photographs of the hand specimen sample of Pyritic sandstones
XRD, XRF and FTIR
The XRD spectrum of the pyritic sandstones is presented
in Fig. 3. XRD spectra of the pyritic sandstones display
peaks indicating quartz, hematite and pyrite minerals.
Quartz is identified by its typical d-spacing values of
3.343, 4.26, 2.282, 2.13, 1.817 and 1.541Å. The pyrite
is recognized by d-spacing values of 2.21 and 1.916,
while hematite by d-spacing value of 2.69. The FTIR
characteristic absorbance of peaks at 1150cm-1,1240 cm-
1and 1090 cm-1for Si-O-C, CH , and SO
3 4 were
Fig. 3: X-ray powder diffraction spectra indicating the presence of quartz (Q), pyrite (Py) and hematite (H).
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identified, indicating the presence of organics and
sulfate minerals (pyrite), as shown in Fig. 4.The bands
at 677 cm-1and 786 cm-1 denote S-O-Si bonding and Si-
O quartz, respectively. The peaks at 920 cm-1 is assigned
to Si-O stretching. The peak at 1633 cm-1is assigned to
the H-O-H bending bond of water. X-ray fluorescence
(XRF) show that the sulphur content is as high as 34%
and 35.1%, with iron content of 12% and 13%, as shown
in Table 1. TOC duplicate values of 4.04% and 3.85%
were recorded (Fig. 5).
Petrology of pyrite… Savanna Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences

Fig. 4: FTIR spectra of the samples) indicating the presence of Fe-O, Si-O quartz, Si-O-Si, H2O, Si-O-C, SO4, CH3 bonds

Table 1: XRF Chemical composition of the study samples

S/N SiO2 Al2O3 K2O CaO Fe2O3 P2O5 MgO SO3 Cl Na2 ZrO TiO2 PbO
O 2
1 46.6 2.3 0.8 1 12 1.6 0.2 34 0.6 0.15 0.07 0.50 0.01

2 44.3 2.1 1.1 0.9 13 1.2 0.7 35.1 0.4 0.22 0.11 0.36 0.05

Fig. 5: TOC analysis measurement of the pyritic sandstone samples

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Petrology of pyrite… Savanna Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences

Thin sections and FESEM
The petrographic analysis was based on the renowned
studies of Dickinson (1985) and Tucker (1991). The thin
sections show the pyritic sandstones lithofacies consist of
friable ferruginous sandstone, pyrite with organic matter and
rock fragments (Fig. 6A). The porous sandstones comprise
highly fractured quartz grains. Quartz is the main
sedimentary mineral. The quartz grains vary from fine
grained to coarse grained sediments with high sphericity.
The grains are sub-rounded and moderately sorted and
relatively low clay matrix, which indicates moderate textural
maturity. Opaque minerals like iron oxides and rock
fragments are also observed. The detrital quartz grains are
characterized by point (tangential) and minimal floating
grain contacts (Fig. 6B). The arbitrarily oriented grains
indicate inactive water deposition. Distinctive for this rock
type is high inter-granular porosity due to possibly leached
matrix content during weathering, and poor or sparse quartz
cementation (Fig. 6B). The detrital quartz grains are
observed to be preferentially aligned along the axis of the
organic matter and pyrite particles. The fine-grained clay-
rich matrix material invades the intergranular pore spaces
and slightly replaces the margins of the sand grains. The
pyrite and clay matrix fill the interstices of the sand grains.
The FESEM images of the sample are depicted in Fig. 7. Fig.
7A shows the pyrite framboids. These syngenetic framboids
have an average grain size of 2 µm, which indicates the
sedimentary water body was a euxinic environment (Liu et
al., 2019). The pyrite framboids are shown to coat the quartz,
and infilling inter-granular space. The lithic minerals (pyrite
and clay minerals (C)) are shown coating the detrital quartz
grains and infilling the pore spaces (Fig. 7B).The pyrite
composition is confirmed by the EDX spectra in Fig. 8, with
the weight percentages of sulphur and iron being 2.74% and
47.98%, respectively.

Fig. 6: Optical micrographs of sample showing [A] highly fractured quartz grains sparsely cemented by pyrite, clay matrix,
organic matter, and rock fragments, [B] re-alignment of the quartz grains along the axis of the columnar shaped organics

Fig. 7: The SEM micrographs of Lambir sandstone (L1) showing (A) pyrite framboids [Py], (B) pyrite framboids

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Petrology of pyrite…
Fig. 8: EDX spectra showing Fe, K, S, indicating the presence of pyrites, iron oxides and clay minerals
MIP measurement
The pore size distribution plot shows a nearly unimodal
distribution (Fig.9), although a slight variation can be
observed. The dominant pore type is a micropore sized 10
Fig. 9: Pore size distribution plot
DISCUSSION
According to Petranekand Van Houten (1997), iron
infiltration suggests the samples were deposited in marine
deltaic, nearshore and shallow offshore environments. The
ferric (Fe3+) and/or ferrous (Fe2+) ions are derived from local
dissolution of iron-rich minerals or introduced as iron-rich
fluid from an external source. The high organic matter
results from the fact that fine organic matter tends to be
preferentially deposited with clay-and silt-size sandstone
matrix since the low permeability of the clay matrix inhibits
the influx of oxygen bearing fluid into the sediments. The
iron oxides, pyrite and organic matter hinder quartz
cementation, as indicated by the friability of the rock
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µm, with the minor presence of nanopores sized 10 nm to
1µm, and some mesopores.The cumulative pore volume of
the dominant micropore is almost 90mm3/g.
samples. The organics and pyrite fill the rock pore spacesand
reorganize the detrital grains in a preferential alignment to
create micro-laminations. The unstable more soluble
reduced or ferrous iron (Fe2+) suggests water-logged soils,
euxinic marine and organic-rich saline waters, all denoting
anoxic environments, given that oxygenated environments
are particularly depleted in organic matter which is
destroyed by oxidation. Besides bacteria sulfate reduction
(BSR) at low temperatures, sulfate reduction occurs
thermochemically at higher temperatures (Orr, 1977;
Berner, 1982; Cross et al., 2004), resulting in the oxidation
of organic matter and the loss of carbon based functional
groups (Ardakani et al., 2016). The H2S generated by the
Petrology of pyrite…
thermochemical process can be depleted by the iron content
(Machael, 2001). Thus, it can be inferred that the
thermochemical generation of sulfate could have led to the
destruction or depletion of hydrocarbon in the Lambir
Formation (Rickard, 2012). This inference is supported by
the TOC and porosity data. The pyritic sandstones exhibit
high TOC of approximately 4%, insinuating the high
hydrocarbon accumulation potential in the Lambir
Formation.
CONCLUSION
The pyrite distribution in sub units of the Lambir Formation
provides an opportunity to understand possible
hydrocarbon-charged fluid flow as the pyrite leaves an
impression of the fluid flow and the developing biochemical
reactions in the reservoir rock. The petrographic analysis
shows the lithic samples are friable and highly porous
(27%). Based on the modal analysis, the samples can be
described as lithic arenites, primarily from a quartzose
provenance in the recycled orogeny. The grain size of the
framboids (< 5 µm) indicates the pyrite is syngenetic. The
unstable more soluble reduced or ferrous iron (Fe2+)
indicated by the pyritic sandstones suggests water-logged
soils, euxinic marine and organic-rich saline waters, all
denoting anoxic environments. The pyrite hinders quartz
cementation, as indicated by the friability of the rock
samples, fill the pore spaces and reorganize the detrital
grains in a preferential alignment to create micro-
laminations. Based on the high content of syngenetic pyrite,
it can be inferred that the thermochemical generation of
sulfate could have led to the destruction or depletion of
hydrocarbon in the Lambir Formation.
Declaration of interest
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
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