Thermal Properties of Evaporitic Rocks and their Geothermal Effects on the Kuqa Foreland Basin, Northwest China

•Complete dataset of thermal properties of evaporites from the Kuqa foreland basin of China was measured.•Different mixing mean models are evaluated with measured thermal properties of sedimentary rocks.•Contrasting thermal properties of evaporites strongly influence basin geothermal regime. Many hydrocarbon reservoirs show a strong relationship with evaporitic rocks worldwide. Data regarding the thermal properties of evaporitic rocks are crucial for temperature prediction and basin modelling of salt-bearing sedimentary basins; however, their systematic measurement remains limited. This study reports a complete dataset of thermal properties of 20 evaporitic and clastic rocks from the Kuqa foreland basin, a typical Cenozoic salt-bearing basin with prolific hydrocarbon potential in northwest China. The results indicate that gypsum and rock salt have the lowest and highest thermal conductivity (1.57 ± 0.04 and 4.51 ± 0.73 W/m·K, respectively) and clastic rocks have an intermediate mean of 1.87–2.78 W/m·K. The average radiogenic heat production of evaporitic rocks is 0.10–0.14 μW/m3, remarkably lower than that of clastic rocks (1.33–1.38 μW/m3). Accordingly, thermal properties of the sedimentary rocks show a large variability in lithology. The mineral composition and porosity influence the thermal properties, and the geometric mixing model is confirmed to well predict the thermal properties of sedimentary rocks. Contrasts in the thermal properties between evaporites and other common sedimentary rocks could change the basin’s geothermal regime. This new dataset of thermal properties of evaporitic rocks provides parameters necessary in accurate basin modeling for salt-bearing basins.