One hundred ninety-six black shale samples of the Late Devonian-Early Mississippian Bakken Formation were selected from eight drill cores located in Montana and North Dakota, USA. Samples were powdered and total organic carbon and programmed temperature pyrolysis analysis were performed at the U.S. Geological Survey Petroleum Geochemistry Research Laboratory in Denver, CO following standard lab protocols. Total organic carbon contents are reported as wt. % whole rock. Programmed pyrolysis measurements are reported as: S1 (mg HC/g rock), S2 (mg HC/g rock), and S3 (mg CO2/g rock). These values were converted to wt. % C (relative to whole rock) as follows: mg HC/g rock * 0.082 = wt. % C, mg CO2/g rock * 0.025. The S4 carbon pool is calculated as: S4 = TOC – S1 – S2- S3. Tmax values are reported in °C.

The West and Central African Rift System (WCARS) refers to the series of Cretaceous rift basins where commercial hydrocarbon accumulations have been discovered. The Babouri-Figuil Basin (BFB) is an area of interest in terms of petroleum prospecting related to the WCARS. Many researchers have identified potential petroleum source rocks in the BFB. However, most of these studies have focused exclusively on the eastern part of the basin with limited outcrop samples that may not be representative of the entire basin. Hydrocarbon source rocks can vary considerably within a basin in terms of their lithology, and the quality, quantity and thermal maturity of the organic matter (OM). Understanding the distribution of source rocks in the whole BFB is thus essential for exploration purposes. An integrated facies analysis and organic and inorganic geochemical techniques were applied to the basin’s sedimentary rocks and the complete findings can be found in the larger work referenced in this data release. Here, you will find the total organic and programmed temperature pyrolysis data compiled for the study.

In 2013 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) drilled a continuous core in the southeastern part of the Wind River Basin, Wyoming to evaluate the source rock potential of the Lower and lowermost Upper Cretaceous marine shales . The well, named the Alcova Reservoir AR–1–13, located on the northeast flank of the Alcova anticline was spud in the lower part of the Frontier Formation and ended in the upper part of the Cloverly Formation recovered core between 40.5 feet (ft) and 623 ft. Thirty-nine samples were selected to evaluate the source rock potential of the marine shales in the cored interval as determined by total organic carbon (TOC) and programmed pyrolysis analysis. Five samples are from the lower part of the Frontier Formation, 24 from the upper siliceous part of the Mowry Shale, 4 from the lower Mowry Shale (Shell Creek Shale of Eicher, 1962), and 6 from the Thermopolis Shale. TOC content was determined using the Leco combustion method after carbonate removal (see Jarvie, 1991 for details), and the programmed pyrolysis analysis was done using a Hydrocarbon Analyzer with Kinetics (HAWK, Wildcat Technologies) instrument (see Espitalie and others, 1977; Tissot and Welte, 1978; Peters, 1986; and Hunt, 1996 for detailed discussions of the pyrolysis method). The results of the analyses are presented in the data table.

In 2013 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) drilled a continuous core in the southeastern part of the Wind River Basin, Wyoming to evaluate the source rock potential of the Lower and lowermost Upper Cretaceous marine shales . The well, named the Alcova Reservoir AR–1–13, located on the northeast flank of the Alcova anticline was spud in the lower part of the Frontier Formation and ended in the upper part of the Cloverly Formation recovered core between 40.5 feet (ft) and 623 ft. Thirty-nine samples were selected to evaluate the source rock potential of the marine shales in the cored interval as determined by total organic carbon (TOC) and programmed pyrolysis analysis. Five samples are from the lower part of the Frontier Formation, 24 from the upper siliceous part of the Mowry Shale, 4 from the lower Mowry Shale (Shell Creek Shale of Eicher, 1962), and 6 from the Thermopolis Shale. TOC content was determined using the Leco combustion method after carbonate removal (see Jarvie, 1991 for details), and the programmed pyrolysis analysis was done using a Hydrocarbon Analyzer with Kinetics (HAWK, Wildcat Technologies) instrument (see Espitalie and others, 1977; Tissot and Welte, 1978; Peters, 1986; and Hunt, 1996 for detailed discussions of the pyrolysis method). The results of the analyses are presented in the data table.

This compilation presents total organic carbon and pyrolysis analysis data for the Pierre Shale, Niobrara Formation, and other Cretaceous marine shales in the Raton Basin-Sierra Grande Uplift Province. The data was used to characterize these potential source rock intervals in support of the oil and gas resource assessment in the province. The data was compiled from the publicly available files at the USGS Core Research Center in Lakewood, Colorado and from published literature.

This compilation presents total organic carbon and pyrolysis analysis data for the Pierre Shale, Niobrara Formation, and other Cretaceous marine shales in the Raton Basin-Sierra Grande Uplift Province. The data was used to characterize these potential source rock intervals in support of the oil and gas resource assessment in the province. The data was compiled from the publicly available files at the USGS Core Research Center in Lakewood, Colorado and from published literature.

In 2006, Rock Well Petroleum drilled and logged nearly 1,600 feet (ft) of continuous core on the southern part of the Casper arch in Natrona County, Wyoming (see fig1.png). The core hole, named the Poison Spider core #8 penetrated the interval extending from the Upper Cretaceous Frontier Formation to the Triassic Alcova Limestone. The core was subsequently donated to the U.S. Geological Survey Core Research Center (CRC) in Lakewood, Colorado, where it was sampled to evaluate the hydrocarbon source rock potential of the Lower and lowermost Upper Cretaceous marine shales.

In 2006, Rock Well Petroleum drilled and logged nearly 1,600 feet (ft) of continuous core on the southern part of the Casper arch in Natrona County, Wyoming (see fig1.png). The core hole, named the Poison Spider core #8 penetrated the interval extending from the Upper Cretaceous Frontier Formation to the Triassic Alcova Limestone. The core was subsequently donated to the U.S. Geological Survey Core Research Center (CRC) in Lakewood, Colorado, where it was sampled to evaluate the hydrocarbon source rock potential of the Lower and lowermost Upper Cretaceous marine shales.