Analysis of gases in the earth's crust. Final report, January 1982-May 1988

Technical Report · Wed Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:6422716

Jenden, P D; Kaplan, I R

891 crustal gas samples have been collected for chemical analysis and stable isotopic measurements of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur and helium. 607 samples were collected from oil and gas fields. The remainder were obtained from canned drill cuttings, surface seeps, coalbed gas desorption wells, deep-sea sediments, soils, and geothermal wells. Models which assume that oil and gas are generated from sedimentary organic matter appear suitable for old, tectonically-stable basins such as the Appalachian basin and for younger basins bordering passive continental margins such as the Gulf Coast. In relatively young, tectonically-active basins such as the Sacramento, however, significant amounts of gas may be generated from shallow sedimentary rocks pyrolyzed by igneous intrusives, deeply-subducted metasedimentary rocks, and other deep-earth sources. Apart from the issue of deep-earth gas, studies conducted during the contract have improved geochemical models for hydrocarbon exploration by: augmenting the understanding of the origin and distribution of microbial gases, introducing parameters for more effective recognition of microbial and thermogenic gas mixtures, providing detailed documentation on the origin and migration of natural gas in a number of tectonically-distinct sedimentary basins, and documenting a novel instance of reservoir alteration by bacteria.

• Research Organization: Global Geochemistry Corp., Canoga Park, CA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6422716
• Report Number(s): PB-91-104273/XAB; CNN: GRI-5081-360-0533
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
011000 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
02 PETROLEUM
020200 -- Petroleum-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
03 NATURAL GAS
030200* -- Natural Gas-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
150302 -- Geothermal Exploration & Exploration Technology-- Geochemical Techniques & Surveys
58 GEOSCIENCES
580000 -- Geosciences
APPALACHIAN BASIN
BIODEGRADATION
CALIFORNIA
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON DIOXIDE
CARBON ISOTOPES
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
COAL DEPOSITS
COAL SEAMS
CONTINENTAL CRUST
DECOMPOSITION
DISTRIBUTION
DOCUMENT TYPES
DRILL CORES
EARTH CRUST
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
EXPLORATION
FEDERAL REGION IX
FEDERAL REGION VI
FEDERAL REGION VII
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS ANALYSIS
GAS FUELS
GASES
GEOCHEMISTRY
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGIC MODELS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES
GEOTHERMAL WELLS
GULF COAST
HELIUM ISOTOPES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
HYDROGEN SULFIDES
ISOTOPE RATIO
ISOTOPES
KANSAS
MASS TRANSFER
MINERAL RESOURCES
NATURAL GAS
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
NITROGEN ISOTOPES
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC MATTER
ORIGIN
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
PROGRESS REPORT
PYROLYSIS
RESOURCES
SAMPLING
SEA BED
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
SEDIMENTS
SEEPS
SOILS
SULFIDES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR ISOTOPES
TEXAS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
USA
WELLS
WEST COAST