Biomarkers and carbon isotopes in hydrocarbon exploration: 5 days
Who should attend:
The course is primarily aimed at geologists and geophysicists with little previous knowledge of petroleum geochemistry, biomarkers and carbon isotopes.
Overview:
The course is intended to provide an understanding of petroleum geochemistry and petroleum systems analysis that can be applied by explorationists in regional evaluations, prospect appraisal and exploration decision-making. The explorationist may be required to estimate the amount and timing of oil and gas generation, evaluate drainage areas and migration paths, and from these evaluate charge risk and explain the presence/absence and character of hydrocarbon occurrences. Only by having a sound understanding of geochemical concepts and application of modelling software can the explorationist make sound interpretations of the available data and possibly plan further work. This course provides that opportunity.
Content:
- General principles of Oil-Source Correlation
- Environmental controls on source rock deposition
- Basic oil and source rock chemistry, fluid analysis, extraction, fractionation
- Gas chromatography, simple biomarkers
- Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), geochemical fossils, complex biomarkers
- Evaluation of GC-MS fragmentograms
- Application of biomarkers to maturity studies, oil-source correlation and Principal Component Analysis
- Carbon isotopes, principles and methods
- Carbon isotopes of petroleum fluids (source rocks and oils) in correlation studies Carbon isotopes of petroleum gases