A study was carried out to test the usefulness of surface geochemical methods as regional evaluation tools in petroliferous region of the Mehsana block, North Cambay Basin. A suite of 135 soil samples collected from the depth of 2.5 m, were analyzed for adsorbed light gaseous hydrocarbons and carbon isotopes (@ 13 C methane and @ 13 C ethane ). The light gaseous hydrocarbon analysis show that the concentration ranges 402 ppb, 135 ppb, 70 ppb, 9 ppb and 18 ppb of C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , iC 4 and nC 4 , respectively. The value of carbon isotopic ranges of methane -29.5 to -43.0‰ (PDB) and ethane -19.1 to -20.9‰ (PDB). This data, when mapped, indicates patterns coinciding with major known oil and/or gas field of Sobhasan/Linch in this study area. The existence of un-altered petroliferous microseeps of catagenetic origin is observed in the study area. A regional study, such as the one described here, can provide important exploration facts concerning the regional hydrocarbon potential in a block. This method has been confirmed and can be applied successfully in frontier basins.
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