--> Applications of Exploration Geochemistry to Risk Reduction, by B. J. Katz; #90986 (1994).

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Abstract: Applications of Exploration Geochemistry to Risk Reduction

Barry J. Katz

Throughout the past decade, there has been a growing interest in the financial side of petroleum exploration. This has led to the use of various branches of the geosciences to risk the components which comprise a petroleum system. Among the elements considered are those associated with hydrocarbon charge. The primary tools used in this assessment are analytical geochemistry and geochemical modeling. Both branches of geochemistry have over the past two decades had an explosion of knowledge.

Petroleum geochemistry provides fundamental information on the presence and/or absence of a hydrocarbon source rock, the oil- and/or gas-proneness of the source, and its level of thermal maturity. Geochemistry can, however, provide additional information critical in establishing the commercial value of any given petroleum system, play, or prospect. This includes information on producibility and quality of reservoired fluids by predicting waxiness, API gravity, sulfur content, and abundance of nonhydrocarbon components. In addition geochemistry can be used to assess the potential for oil and gas by examining the stability of heavy hydrocarbons under current and past reservoir conditions. And finally, geochemical tools can be used to estimate the quantities of hydrocarbons generated and expelled, the relative and absolute timing of hydrocarbon charge, and the migration history.

This presentation will focus on these geochemical elements by providing examples where they would have reduced the geologic risks associated with petroleum exploration and exploitation.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90986©1994 AAPG Annual Convention, Denver, Colorado, June 12-15, 1994