Advances in Organic Petrology and Geochemistry for Hydrocarbon Exploration, Paleoenvironmental Studies, and Energy Transition

Organic matter (OM) preserved in sedimentary successions provides valuable information on depositional environments, paleoclimate, sources of organic matter, thermal evolution, hydrocarbon generation potential, and basin development. Recent advances in organic petrography, molecular and bulk geochemistry, and spectroscopic techniques have significantly improved our understanding of the origin, preservation, transformation, and maturation of sedimentary organic matter.Organic-rich sediments such as coal, lignite, shale, peat, carbonaceous mudstone, and oil shale contain not only information relevant to hydrocarbon generation and paleoenvironmental conditions but may also host economically significant rare earth elements and other critical minerals. At the same time, the global energy transition is stimulating growing interest in the resource potential of unconventional geological materials, coal and coal-derived products, mine wastes, ash, and other secondary resources. Recent work has shown the potential importance of coal and associated strata as sources of REEs and other critical elements.This Research Topic aims to gather together multidisciplinary studies utilizing advanced analytical techniques such as organic petrography (maceral, mineral matter, vitrinite reflectance, microlithotype, palynology), organic geochemistry (biomarkers, stable isotopes, Py-GC-MS), mineralogy (XRD, FE-SEM), and inorganic geochemistry (XRF, ICP-MS) in hydrocarbon exploration, source rock evaluation for hydrocarbon generation, rare earth element and critical mineral exploration, basin evolution, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Special consideration will be given to studies that employ combined petrological, geochemical, isotopic, molecular, and spectroscopic techniques on shale, coal, peat, oil shale, crude oil, and sedimentary OM to provide new, valuable information on the evolution and significance of OM in the sedimentary system.The main objective of this Research Topic is to provide a multidisciplinary platform for integrating advanced organic petrology, organic geochemistry, inorganic geochemistry, sedimentology, and mineralogy of organic-rich sedimentary systems to understand their significance for hydrocarbon exploration, paleoenvironmental studies, critical mineral resources, and emerging energy technologies. Contributions that combine different analytical approaches and demonstrate how organic-matter characteristics can be applied to both hydrocarbon exploration and Earth’s environmental history are particularly solicited. In particular, this Research Topic will promote studies that go beyond routine geochemical characterization and provide new geological interpretations, improved proxy applications, integrated datasets, or novel analytical approaches.We welcome submissions covering, but not limited to, the following themes:• Organic petrography and organic matter characterization for paleomire settings: maceral, microlithotype, vitrinite reflectance, palynomorphs, phytoclasts, amorphous organic matter, maturity, rank, and petrographic indices.• Organic geochemistry and petrology for hydrocarbon exploration: source rock characterization, thermal maturity, kerogen typing, hydrocarbon potential, coalbed methane, conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon systems, and shale oil/gas potential.• Critical minerals and rare earth elements in sedimentary systems: REE and critical mineral enrichment in coal-bearing sequences, mineralogical hosts and modes of occurrence, organic versus inorganic association of REEs, critical elements associated with macerals, geochemical anomalies and enrichment mechanisms, provenance and source of critical elements, and REE resources in coal, coal waste, and associated strata.• Molecular geochemistry: application of biomarkers in petroleum exploration, organic matter origin, source input of OM, depositional redox conditions, maturity assessment, and oil–source rock correlation.• Stable isotope and elemental geochemistry for paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic studies: vegetation and organic-matter source reconstruction, paleoclimate and hydrological changes, redox conditions and water-column stratification, organic-matter responses to climate variability, elemental proxies for provenance, weathering, productivity, and depositional conditions, and stable-isotope applications in source-rock and petroleum studies.• Unconventional resources: organic-rich shale and coal as unconventional resources, coalbed methane systems, gas-prone and oil-prone source rocks, and the hydrocarbon potential of frontier and underexplored basins. Topic editors: Alok Kumar, KHAIRUL AZLAN MUSTAPHA, Prakash K Singh Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/86663/advances-in-organic-petrology-and-geochemistry-for-hydrocarbon-exploration-paleoenvironmental-studies-and-energy-transition