High Resolution Direct Geochemistry and Remote Sense Applied to the Petroleum System Concept to Reduce Exploration Risk

Marcio Rocha Mello¹, J. Michael Moldowan², J. Magalhaes Macedo¹, and Carlos Leandro Da Silva^3
1 Analytical Solutions, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
² Stanford University and Biomarker Technology, Stanford, CA
³ OceansatPEG, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Hydrocarbon exploration in offshore deep:-water frontier areas of the South Atlantic entails both high costs and increased inherent risk of dry holes. The main uncertainty in this exploration setting is the presence of active petroleum systems. In this context the prediction and characterization of oil quality and origin and its generative hydrocarbon source rocks to charge potential traps is imperative. This paper shows some examples of the application of several predictive high resolution geochemical, Piston Core and remote sense tools as fully integrated models applied in the Niger Delta and in several deep water petroliferous basins offshore Brazil. The exploration technologies ranging from satellite images to age and environmental-related molecular geochemistry to diamondoids and compound specific isotope analyses of biomarkers (CSIA-B) are of fundamental importance to evaluate the hydrocarbon quality and potential in a frontier areas. When all this exploration state-off-the art technology are integrated with 3D Petroleum Systems Modeling in a petroleum systems context, they are powerful tools for regional as well as prospect-scale evaluations of hydrocarbon charge and accumulation risk.