Geochemical application of sterane and triterpane biomarkers to a description of oils from the Taranaki Basin in New Zealand

Journal Article · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1988 · Organic Geochemistry; (UK)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0146-6380(88)90249-5· OSTI ID:7173162

Czochanska, Z; Sheppard, C M; Weston, R J; Wood, T A; Woolhouse, A D ^[1]; Gilbert, T D; Philp, R P ^[2]

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1. DSIR, Petone (New Zealand)
2. CSIRO Division of Fossil Fuels, North Ryde (Australia)

The distributions of sterane and terpane biomarkers in a suite of 25 oils from onshore and offshore regions of the Taranaki Basin of New Zealand have been determined by gc-ms. Features of these distributions include the presence of relatively high concentrations of a number of C{sub 24} tetracyclic terpanes, the virtual absence of tricyclic terpanes, a predominance of C{sub 29} normal-, iso- and dia- steranes and the presence of a number of non-hopanoid triterpanes. In one member of the suite (Urenui) 18{alpha}(H)-oleanane is the most abundant component (m/z 191 ion chromatogram) of the terpane class of biomarkers. Based upon the distributions of 18{alpha}(H)oleanane, the McKee and Moturoa families of oils can be delineated. These terpane distributions are qualitatively similar to those encountered in crude oils from a number of Far-eastern Basins and from the Handil field of the Mahakam delta (Indonesia). The Taranaki oils are of approximately the same thermal maturity. Maturity parameters calculated from the distributions of C{sub 29} steranes and of 17{beta}(H),21{alpha}(H)- and 17{alpha}(H),21{beta}(H)- hopanes confirm recent findings of incomplete nuclear isomerization in oils derived from Tertiary sediments. An attempt has been made to correlate the McKee-1 and Maui-4 crude oils with potential source rocks from depths of 3,708 m and 3,825 m respectively. The rocks studied have attained insufficient maturity to have been the sources of these oils.

• OSTI ID: 7173162
• Journal Information: Organic Geochemistry; (UK), Vol. 12:2; ISSN 0146-6380
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
NEW ZEALAND
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
PETROLEUM
STRUCTURAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
BIOLOGICAL MARKERS
CORRELATIONS
DEPTH
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
GEOCHEMISTRY
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
MATURATION
MOLECULAR WEIGHT
SOURCE ROCKS
AUSTRALASIA
CHEMISTRY
CHROMATOGRAPHY
DIMENSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MINERAL RESOURCES
RESOURCES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SPECTROSCOPY
023000* - Petroleum- Properties & Composition
020200 - Petroleum- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration