Significance of high-wax oil variability to Pacific Rim exploration and production
- Chevron Petroleum Technology Co., Richmond, CA (United States)
- Chevron Petroleum Technology Co., La Habra, CA (United States)
High-Wax oils are a class of paraffinic crudes that occur widely in Pacific Rim petroleum systems. New analytical technologies, particularly High Temperature Gas Chromatography (HTGC) show unexpected variations in the molecular weight ranges and concentrations of paraffin waxes within this class of crudes. These variations are source and maturity-related, providing paleoenvironmental and generative information useful to exploration. Paleoenvironmental factors revealed by high-wax oil HTGC source signatures can also help interpret the potential for nearby reservoirs. Furthermore, variations in wax compositions affect flow and organic scale-forming properties that impact the production economics of these oils. Lacustrine-sourced high-wax oils contain broad distributions of paraffin waxes ranging from C{sub 20} to C{sub 60} or higher. Various algae appear to be the source of higher molecular weight waxes in these oils. Paleoenvironmental factors, such as water salinities and paleoclimate, affect wax compositions of resulting lacustrine high-wax oils. Other terrestrial-sourced oils generated by paralic or nearshore marine source rocks show high concentrations of C{sub 25} to C{sub 35} waxes, but much lower distributions of higher molecular weight waxes. These high-wax oils appear to. contain waxes derived principally from terrestrial, higher plant materials. Results for high-wax petroleum systems in Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and China illustrate these conclusions with examples ranging in age from Carboniferous-Permian to late Tertiary.
- OSTI ID:
- 425462
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960527-; TRN: 96:004994-0093
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Annual convention of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Inc. and the Society for Sedimentary Geology: global exploration and geotechnology, San Diego, CA (United States), 19-22 May 1996; Other Information: PBD: 1996; Related Information: Is Part Of 1996 AAPG annual convention. Volume 5; PB: 231 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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