Keywords: 
• biomarker /
• Jurassic mudstone /
• source rock /
• oilsource correlation /
• the northern Qaidam Basin

Abstract: Two types of Jurassic mudstones with different total organic contents (TOC) from the northern Qaidam Basin were analyzed for biomarker features in this study. It is showed that these two types of mudstones have pronounced different biomarker compositions. The mudstones with high TOC contents show similar features to other Jurassic source rocks and their derived oils in the western China’s Jurassic petroliferous basins. In contrast, as to the mudstones with low TOC contents, it is characterized by an nalkane envelope that peaks at a low carbon number (e.g., nC16, nC17), Pr/Ph around 1.0, abundance of tricyclic terpane and gammacerane, and detection of 25norhopane series in two samples. Combined with organic petrographic features of mudstones, it is implied that the biomarkers reflect depositional environments and bioprecursors of the mudstones. Bioprecursors of high TOC mudstones consist mainly of algae, cutinites and sporophytes, under relatively anaerobic situations. As to the low TOC mudstones, organic maceral composition is composed mainly of mineral bituminous matrix, which comes from biodegradation of microalga by microbe under relatively more anaerobic conditions. Furthermore, based on a comparison between biomarkers of mudstones analyzed in this study and of presently explored oils, the oil source in the study area was discussed.