Geochemical Analysis of Crude Oil from Northern Appalachian, Eastern Illinois, and Southern Michigan Basins

James A. Noel, Jerry Cole, Cathy Innes, Stephan Juzwick

In May 1986, the Ohio Board of Regents awarded a research grant to Ashland College to investigate the basinal origin of crude oil through trace-element analysis. The major thrust of the project was to attempt to "finger print" crude oils of various ages and depths from the northern Appalachian, eastern Illinois, and southern Michigan basins, to learn if the oldest crudes may have migrated among the basins. This in turn might give a more definitive time for the separation of the three basins. Nickel to vanadium ratios, were chosen to be the discriminators.

Nickel to vanadium ratios show that the Trenton oil from the fields at Lima, Ohio; Oak Harbor in Ottawa County, Ohio; Urbana, Indiana; Peru, Indiana; and Albion, Michigan, are all different. The Trempealeau oils in Harmony and Lincoln Townships, Morrow County, are similar, but they are different from those in Peru and Bennington Townships. The Devonian oils of the Illinois and Appalachian basins are distinctively different. The Berea oil shows little or no variability along strike. The Mississippian oils of the Illinois basin are different from the Berea oils and the Salem oil is different from the Chester. The only thing consistent about the Clinton is its inconsistency.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91041©1987 AAPG Eastern Section Meeting, Columbus, Ohio, October 7-10, 1987.