Gas solubilization of oil - an important petroleum migration mechanism in the deep-water gulf coast?

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:214818

Whelan, J ^[1]

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1. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA (United States)

Organic geochemical constraints on oil and gas migration into offshore Louisiana Gulf Coast Eugene Island Block 330 Tertiary reservoirs are: (1) very homogeneous biomarker composition; (2) marine Early Cretaceous or Jurassic source; (3) maturities of all oils are very similar, Rc=0.6 to 0.75%; (4) gases are considerably more mature than oils (Ro=1.3 to 1.5%); (5) oil and gas migration into some intervals has occurred very recently (within the last few years); (6) oil compositions are similar to those of other deep water Gulf Coast oils and are different from those of continental shelf oils; and (7) fractionation of n-alkanes according to molecular weight has occurred in a series of stacked reservoirs connected by a fault system. Gas dissolution of oil below overpressure in a deeper reservoir (below 20,000 ft) and then episodic flow of gas/oil up the fault into the stacked overlying reservoirs has been postulated to explain these geochemical observations. Recent results relating to the feasibility and possibly more general importance of this mechanism will be presented.

• OSTI ID: 214818
• Report Number(s): CONF-950801--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
03 NATURAL GAS
CONTINENTAL SHELF
DISSOLUTION
FRACTIONATION
GASES
GEOCHEMISTRY
MOLECULAR WEIGHT
OFFSHORE SITES
PETROLEUM