Paleoenvironmental, paleoclimatic, and organic matter assessment of the hybrid Kharita Formation (Albian) in the Abu Gharadig Basin, Egypt: Integration between palynology, organic petrography, and organic geochemistry

The Early Cretaceous (Albian) was a time of equatorial to polar temperature warming and increased environmental perturbations of the global carbon cycle and oceanic anoxia, which resulted in the widespread accumulation of organic carbon-rich sediments. During the Albian, the southern margin of the Tethys Ocean was characterized by marginal to shallow water conditions with minor phases of enhanced stratification and bottom water anoxia in northern Egypt. At this time, accumulation of the thick siliciclastic succession of sandstones versus shale intercalations of the Kharita Formation took place in the Abu Gharadig Basin. The Kharita Formation is investigated for palynological composition and palynofacies analysis, organic matter characterization, hydrocarbon generation potential, and thermal maturity assessment based on 30 and 26 drill cuttings samples from the BED2-3 and BED2-1x wells, respectively. A rich palynological assemblage of herbaceous hygrophilous plants, including pteridophyte spores and water ferns, along with Elaterates and Afropollis pollen indicated warm humid climate conditions. Furthermore, abundant occurrences of Araucariaceae and Cheirolepidiaceae, including Araucariacites, Inaperturopollenites, and Classopollis, reinforcing warm climatic conditions and their climax in areas near coastal vegetation. Statistical cluster analysis identified two palynofacies assemblages (PFA) based on stratigraphic variation in the particulate organic matter (POM). The PFA-1 characterized all samples of the BED2-3 and some intervals of the BED2-1x wells and comprised moderate abundances of phytoclasts and amorphous organic matter (AOM) that defined a kerogen Type II, whereas the PFA-2 was recorded only in the BED2-1x well and is dominated by phytoclast fragments of kerogen Type III. The geochemical screening revealed, based on the low average values of TOC (1.2 wt%), S₂ (1.8 mg HC/g rock), and HI (146 mg HC/g TOC), that the Kharita Formation is characterized by a kerogen Type III of gas-prone hydrocarbon but with low generation potential. T_max and vitrinite reflectance measurements along with greenish-to golden-yellow liptinite macerals indicated that the thermal maturity of preserved organic matter is still in the immature to the early mature stage of the oil window. Inconsistency in kerogen types between PFA-1 and geochemical deductions was interpreted in terms of microscopic investigations of the recovered AOM. Morphologic characteristics observed that most AOM particles were of terrigenous origin due to the impact of biodegradation and transformation of phytoclast particles into AOM, confirming a kerogen Type III of gas-prone hydrocarbons instead of Type II that was elucidated by palynofacies ternary diagrams. The occurrence of coaly matter in the BED2-1x infers closer proximity to fluvio-deltaic sources during deposition of the lower part of the Kharita Formation than in the BED2-3.