Application of Palynology in Petroleum and Coal Exploration

Palynology includes a wide range of organic walled microfossils, including spores, pollen, dinoflagellates, chitinozoa, fungal spores, acritarchs, etc. In this chapter, we discuss the use of palynological studies in the fields of petroleum and coal exploration. As palynomorphs are well known for being extremely resilient to the forces of nature (and also the effects of harsh chemical laboratory processing), in favorable conditions, they are abundantly well retained in litho-units and provide an important tool in stratigraphic correlation and paleo-environmental interpretation. Palynology is also used to infer thermal maturity, as well as to understand the production capabilities of basins and inferring the quality of coal deposits. In the past few decades, with the advent of cutting-edge processing and analyzing scientific tools, more and more uses of palynology in newer frontiers have emerged.