勘探实践和地质地球化学分析显示,膏盐岩作为一种化学沉积岩虽然本身不具备生烃能力,但其岩系组合中不同程度富含的生烃物质,使得膏盐岩层系可作为海相盆地非常重要的烃源岩,因此,我国的高演化、低有机质丰度的海相膏盐岩层系也可以作为良好的烃源岩.分析表明:海相膏盐岩层系烃源岩具有多元化的生烃物质、异常活跃的有机-无机相互作用和膏盐岩层系特殊的物理化学条件,这些因素共同影响着其生烃物质来源、有机质热演化进程、产物的组分及产率、稳定同位素组成等特征,因此研究膏盐岩层系烃源岩的形成演化特征,对于我国海相膏盐岩层系源-藏匹配、生烃机理、烃源岩评价等问题具有重要的勘探实践和理论研究意义.此外,由于海相膏盐岩层系在成源和矿物组成方面的特殊性,传统的烃源岩评价指标如TOC、氯仿沥青"A"、S1+S2等难以适用于海相膏盐岩层系烃源岩,而采用总生烃碳的概念评价烃源岩演化及生烃潜力应该更为客观可靠.

Gypsum/salt-bearing strata series have been proved to be a very important hydrocarbon source in marine basins according to oil-gas exploration and geological-geochemical analysis, and the marine gypsum/salt beds with high maturity and low TOC in China can also act as a good source rock. The marine gypsum/salt strata have several hydrocarbon-generation substances, extremely active organic-inorganic interactions, and special physical-chemical conditions. These factors act synergistically in affecting the source of hydrocarbon, thermal evolution process of organic matter, component, stable isotopic composition and yield of the product. Therefore, the study of hydrocarbon generation of gypsum/salt-bearing source bed has important practical and theoretical significance to China's source-reservoir matching in marine gypsum/salt strata, hydrocarbon-generation mechanism and the evaluation of hydrocarbon source rock. Moreover, because of the particularity in hydrocarbon source and the mineral composition of the marine gypsum/salt strata, traditional evaluation indexes of hydrocarbon source rocks such as TOC, Chloroform asphalt "A", S1+S2, et al, are hardly suitable for marine source rock. So the dynamic evaluation of source rock evolution and hydrocarbon potential should be more objective and reliable by using total hydrocarbon-generation carbon method.