Fingerprinting of Natural Gases from North Slope Petroleum Systems: Sources, Geochemical Characterization, Maturity and Mixing

By

L. Ellis (Terra Nova Technologies), A. Holba (Phillips Petroleum Co.), and W.D. Masterson (Phillips Alaska, Inc.)

While the provenance of oils discovered in North Slope petroleum systems have attracted much exploration research and attention, the derivation of gases associated with these oils in many cases appears inferred. The stratigraphic and regional occurrence of many major and minor source rocks, concomitant with structural features facilitating conduit migration pathways, results in a potentially complex mixing scenario of gases derived from different source rocks. The importance of fingerprinting and establishing ‘end-member’ gas types is therefore paramount to exploration understanding and modeling. The regional ‘end-member’ gas types derived from known North Slope source rocks and the geochemical characteristics defining these gas types are evaluated.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90008©2002 AAPG Pacific Section/SPE Western Region Joint Conference of Geoscientists and Petroleum Engineers, Anchorage, Alaska, May 18–23, 2002.