Cenomanian/Turonian boundary black shales in the western Taurus region are found in the Derekoy and Ballik formations of Lower and Middle Antalya Nappes. Petroleum source rock characteristics and richness of these shales have been examined by analytical techniques that included TOC and Rock-Eval analyses. Generation capacities and amount of hydrocarbons generated were evaluated by mass balance calculations. The analytical results point to the presence of marine Type II kerogen having high measured total organic carbon content (TOC) (up to 42.19 wt%) and HI values as high as 677 mg HC/g TOC. Mass balance assessments show that the fractional conversion (f) of the petroleum generation process and quantity of hydrocarbons expelled (S-1exp) from the source rock interval are fairly low. These results are interpreted as being due to immature and early mature levels of the source rock samples to generate hydrocarbons in sufficient amounts.