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Petroleum source rocks display significant variability in lithology, and quality, quantity and thermal maturity of organic matter. However, many regional geochemical studies focus on a few selected rock samples that may not represent the entire source rock section, which can affect estimates of resource potential assessment (conventional and unconventional). For nearly thirty years, the Triassic marine carbonate Shublik Formation has been suggested and confirmed as a key source rock for hydrocarbons in the North Slope of Alaska. The formation accounts for roughly one third of the oil in the supergiant Prudhoe Bay Field, and for nearly all of the oil in the second largest Kuparuk River Field.This dissertation examines oil-source rock correlation, source rock heterogeneity, distribution of organic-rich and -lean intervals, and evidence for migrated hydrocarbons in a stratigraphic framework with implications for unconventional shale resources evaluation. While different workers have conducted lithostratigraphic analysis of the Shublik Formation, and geochemical analyses of North Slope oils, this work links geochemistry, sedimentology, and petroleum system analysis, providing detailed shale resource system evaluation, which ultimately contributes to the growing body of knowledge in such exploration frontiers.

The presence of oil outside of Railroad Valley, northern Nye County has sparked the interest of exploration companies in Nevada. The geology in this region is very complex and the level of petroleum exploration is low. In order to understand the distribution of oil, a complete petroleum systems analysis is required. Previous studies confirmed that the Mississippian Chainman Shale and Cretaceous to Paleocene Sheep Pass Formation, Member B are source rocks. However, a number of other possible source rocks exist in northern Nye County, but they are not confirmed because of incomplete datasets. The goal of this thesis project is to determine if effective source rocks other than the Chainman Shale and Sheep Pass Formation exist in northern Nye County. I obtained samples from outcrops and used organic geochemistry to test the hypothesis that different strata, including Paleozoic Vinini, Pogonip, Woodruff, Guilmette Formations, Pilot Shale, Ely Limestone, and Cretaceous Newark Canyon Formation have the necessary qualities to be petroleum source rocks. This evaluation revealed source rock potential for Woodruff Formation, but none of the other analyzed candidate units met the requirements for organic matter quantity, quality, and thermal maturity in order to be called source rocks. The Devonian Woodruff Formation displayed excellent organic matter quantity, and oil-prone kerogen type, however samples appeared to be thermally immature. Additional oil - source rock correlation suggested genetic relationship between the Woodruff Formation and Chainman-derived oils from Railroad Valley. This knowledge will help to estimate the petroleum potential of northern Nye County for future exploration and development in Nevada.