Carbazoles and benzocarbazoles confirm migration of leaked petroleum through caprocks and overlaying formations of Valhall Well 2/8-8 in the North Sea

A wildcat may not result in a petroleum prospect; however, it may indicate potential need for frontier explo- ration, since petroleum could leak into economic accumu- lations. Carbazoles and benzocarbazoles are nitrogen compounds in petroleum and can be employed to explicitly explain migration direction and distance of leaking petro- leum. The hypothesis of this study is that the mechanism of the reaction involving the attraction of carbazoles to clay minerals on the matrix of the walls along their migration pathways determines the isomer that is preferentially attached to the mineral matrix. The objectives of this study are （a） to produce a profile for carbazoles and benzocar- bazoles ratios in the cap rock overlying the reservoir, （b） to compare carbazole and benzocarbazole ratios to 20S/ （20S ＋ 20R） （^（^C29 Sterane maturity ratios （c） to infer migration direction from the carbazoles and benzocar- bazoles ratio. Samples used were side wall cores and drill cuttings of water-based mud drilling. The EOM （ex- tractable organic matter） from various formations overlying the reservoir was obtained using Soxtherm Automatic Equipment. The TPH （total petroleum hydrocarbon） was obtained from the EOM by using a precleaned isolute C18 500 mg / 3 mL column, eluted with hexane, while the polars were eluted with dichloromethane. Fractionation into satu- rates and aromatics was done using a silver nitrate-silica gel column. The profiles of 1,8/1,3 and 1,8/2,4 dimethyl car- bazoles and the benzocarbazoles ratios show a vertical gra- dient of decreasing ratio with increasing vertical distance from the reservoir. This corroborates the %VRo equivalent of 20S/（20S ＋ 20R） αααC29 Sterane and the carbazole ratios infer vertical migration of leaked petroleum.

Astronomical Dating of the Middle Miocene Hanjiang Formation in the Pearl River Mouth Basin,South China Sea

The Hanjiang Formation of Langhian age （middle Miocene） in the Pearl River Mouth Basin （PRMB）, South China Sea consists of deltaic siliciclastic and neritic shelf carbonate rhythmic alternations, which form one of the potential reservoirs of the basin. To improve stratigraphic resolutions for hydrocarbon prospecting and exploration in the basin, the present study undertakes spectral analysis of high-resolution natural gamma-ray （NGR） well-logging record to determine the dominant frequency components and test whether Milankovitch orbital signals are recorded in rhythmic successions. Analytical results indicate the orbital cycles of precession （~19 ka and ~23 ka）, obliquity （-41 ka）, and eccentricity （~100 ka and --405 ka）, which provide the strong evidence for astronomically driven climate changes in the rhythmic alternation successions. Within biochronological constraint, a high-resolution astronomical timescale was constructed through the astronomical tuning of the NGR record to recent astronomically calculated variation of Earth＇s orbit. The astronomically tuned timescale can be applied to calculate astronomical ages for the geological events and bioevents recognized throughout the period. The first downhole occurrences of foraminifers Globorotalia peripheroronda and Globigerinoides sicanus are dated at 14.546 Ma and 14.919 Ma, respectively, which are slightly different from earlier estimates in the South China Sea. When compared with the global sea-level change chart, the astronomical estimate for the sequences recognized based on microfossil distributions have the same end time but the different initiation time. This is probably due to the local or regional tectonic activities superimposed on eustatic rise which postponed the effect of global sea-level rising. Astronomical timescale also resolves the depositional evolution history for the Langhian Stage （middle Miocene） with a variation that strongly resembles that of Earth＇s orbital eccentricity predicted from 13.65 Ma to 15.97 Ma. We infer that the main factor controlling the variability of the sedimentation rate in the Hanjiang Formation is related to the ^-405-ka-period eccentricity.

Source,depositional environment and maturity levels of some crude oils in southwest Niger Delta,Nigeria

A suite of crude oil samples,that had not been previously characterized geochemically,was collected from two oil fields in the southwest Niger Delta Nigeria.The saturate biomarkers were used to evaluate geochemical characteristics such as depositional environments,sources of organic matter and extent of biodegradation using gas chromatography-flame ionization detector and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.Distribution of n-alkanes(Pr/Ph,and isoprenoide/n-alkanes ratios),the abundance of hopanes,oleanane skeleton and C27-C29 steranes in the oils indicate that they were formed from mixed sources(marine and terrestrial kerogen) deposited in an oxic paleoenvironment with no particular maturity trend.These parameters also permit the source grouping of the oils into two families.