GEOCHEMICAL SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL, INC. (GSI) together with BASELINE RESOLUTION INC. (BRI) have completed an integrated geochemical study of Petroleum Systems active in the Greater Caribbean area. More than 400 crude oils and condensates from all the major fields were analyzed using state-of-the-art techniques to evaluate: (1) source facies, (2) thermal maturity, and (3) degree of alteration (biodegradation; migration/fractionation; mixing). Several seafloor oil seeps recovered in piston cores at various deep-water sites were also analyzed and correlated to the known production on the shelf, in order to assess active petroleum systems in these frontier areas.
Samples included in this important study are from the Equatorial Margin Basins of Northern Brazil (Foz do Amazonas, Para Maranhão, Barreirinhas, Ceara and Potiguar), onshore and offshore (Columbus Basin) Trinidad, Barbados, Guyana, Suriname, Guatemala, Belize, Cuba and Venezuela.
Crude oil samples were characterized through the use of a detailed analytical program including gas chromatography, stable carbon isotopes, and quantitative biomarker analysis of saturate and aromatic fractions by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS).
A regional framework was established by determining the number of distinct oil families. Source inferences with regard to age and paleoenvironment were made and source to oil correlations were established through comparison with source rock information form the literature. Oil chemistries were also used to identify complex processes determining oil quality which include, source facies variations, relative maturity, biodegradation, water washing, evaporative fractionation, gas stripping and remigration, and mixing of hydrocarbons. Detailed understanding of all these processes has important implications for exploration activity in the region.
Deliverables include the analytical data generated from the crude oils and an interpretive report. The interpretive report includes a map showing the distribution of oil families.
For additional information please contact:
Geochemical Solutions International 143 Vision Park Blvd. Shenandoah, TX 77384
Telephone: +1 281 364 0661
Fax: + 281 298 2400
Email: info@geochemsol.com