Source rocks of the External Dinarides, Croatia

The External Dinarides, with an abundance of both autochthonous and allochthonous organic matter, have been the subject of sustained petroleum exploration by INA – Industrija nafte, d.d. (INA), Croatia’s national oil company, since the 1960s. To evaluate the residual hydrocarbon potential, a comprehensive suite of geochemical analyses, encompassing over 5,000 samples from drill cores, cuttings, outcrops, and formation fluids, have been performed. These investigations have delineated potential source rocks within various stratigraphic horizons and established critical genetic linkages between these source rocks and generated hydrocarbons, thereby refining the understanding of the region’s petroleum systems. This article synthesizes INA’s key findings derived from the extensive source rock data analysis, offering valuable insights into the remaining hydrocarbon prospectivity of the External Dinarides.