Geochemistry of biological marker compounds extracted from sediments and oils of the Bulge, northern Alaska and Yukon Territory

Conference · Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 EST 1991 · AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States)

OSTI ID:5875537

Banet, Jr, A C ^[1]

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1. Bureau of Land Management, Anchorage, AK (United States)

The North Slope is a major petroleum province with production from sediments ranging in age from upper Mississippian through Cretaceous and noncommercial discoveries in sediments from Proterozoic( ) to Tertiary age. Many oils, seeps, and stains, and outcrops are heavily weathered in the Arctic, especially in the Bulge. This severely limits the familiar hydrocarbon-source rock correlations and interpretations based on total organic carbon, pyrolysis data, stable isotopes, and chromatograms of C-15+ extracts. Biological marker compounds such as steranes and triterpanes are present in these extracts in small quantities and are less affected by the severe weathering effects. Despite their horrendous names (both IUPAC and common), gas chromatography-mass spectrometric determined distributions and ratios of these compounds are useful in determining hydrocarbon-source rock relations. Ternary plots of C-27, -28, -29 steranes and rearranged steranes show affinities for depositional environments, possible maturity effects, and source rock-extract correlations. Triterpane analyses show similar correlations and compounds unique to certain stratigraphic units. Comparisons of data from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Prudhoe, National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, and the Yukon-Beaufort indicate the existence of multiple oil kitchens in the region generating oil and gas.

• OSTI ID: 5875537
• Report Number(s): CONF-910403-; CODEN: AABUD
• Journal Information: AAPG Bulletin (American Association of Petroleum Geologists); (United States), Vol. 75:3; Conference: Annual meeting of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), Dallas, TX (United States), 7-10 Apr 1991; ISSN 0149-1423
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
58 GEOSCIENCES
ALASKAN NORTH SLOPE
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
BIOLOGICAL MARKERS
GEOCHEMISTRY
HYDROCARBONS
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
EXPLORATION
YUKON TERRITORY
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CONCENTRATION RATIO
CORRELATIONS
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
MATURATION
PETROLEUM
SEDIMENTS
SOURCE ROCKS
WEATHERING
CANADA
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMISTRY
CHROMATOGRAPHY
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
RESOURCES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SPECTROSCOPY
020200* - Petroleum- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
023000 - Petroleum- Properties & Composition
580000 - Geosciences