--> Abstract: Organic Geochemistry, a Powerful Technology, Applied to Characterization and Identification of Oil Spills, by S. M. Barbanti, M. R. Mello, P. W. Brooks, M. M. Reis, and J. R. Cerqueira; #90933 (1998).

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Abstract: Organic Geochemistry, a Powerful Technology, Applied to Characterization and Identification of Oil Spills

Barbanti, Silvana M.; Mello, M. R.; Brooks, P. W.; Reis, M. M. and Cerqueira, J. R. - Petrobras/Cenpes

The exploration, production, and transportation of oil in the petroleum industry has been subject to accidents involving oil spills. Petrobras has developed a method-ology for determining the source of spilled oil involving specific analytical techniques and the integration of isotopic and molecular data instead of using merely a simple fingerprint interpretation. The Research Center of Petrobras has investigated more than 200 occurrences of oil spills since January 1989 by using analytical techniques, such as medium pressure liquid chromatography (MPLC), high resolution gas chromatography (HRGC), carbon isotope mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), as well as a database with more than 5000 oil samples from many basins around the world (Fig. 1).

The most common oils identified as sources of oil spills are Arabian and Venezuelan oils which are very distinctive from Brazilian oils. The response time is 24 - 48 hours after the arrival of samples in laboratories at Petrobras Research Center.

This work reports case histories emphasizing the application of organic geochemistry in the determination of the origin of oil spills in the Brazilian coast.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90933©1998 ABGP/AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil