Geochemical applications in petroleum systems analysis: new constraints and the power of integration

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the role that geochemistry plays in petroleum systems analysis, and how this can be used to derive constraints on the key elements and processes that give rise to a successful petroleum system. We discuss the history of petroleum geochemistry before reflecting on the next frontier in geochemical applications in hydrocarbon systems. We then review the individual contributions to this Special Publication. These papers present new geochemical techniques that allow us to develop a more systematic understanding of critical petroleum system elements; including the temperature and timing of source-rock deposition and maturation, the mechanisms and timescales associated with hydrocarbon migration, trapping, storage and alteration, and the impact of fluid flow on reservoir properties. Finally, we provide a practical example of how these different geochemical techniques can be integrated to constrain and generate a robust understanding of the prolific Paleozoic petroleum system of the Bighorn Basin.

Noble Gases in Deepwater Oils of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

“…As such, migration of a hydrocarbon phase through this rock‐unit will inevitably result in some hydrocarbon‐water exchange. Migration pathways can vary in their length‐scale from short, in the case of some unconventional systems with interbedded sandstones and source intervals (e.g., Bakken shale), to long, that is (many hundreds of kilometers; Lawson et al, ). These findings have profound implications for how and where fluids interact in hydrocarbon systems, and thus the volumetric ratios that are predicted using equilibrium solubility models.…”

Reconstruction of palaeo‐oil reservoirs in the ultra‐deep and over‐mature Sinian Dengying Formation of the Central Sichuan Basin: Insights from basin and petroleum system modelling

“…Basin and petroleum system modelling (BPSM) is an important and advanced research method for oil and gas reservoir simulations and evaluations. It is widely used for hydrocarbon generation and expulsion from source rocks (Albriki et al, 2021; Alipour et al, 2022; Lutz et al, 2021; Wang et al, 2023; Zeinalzadeh et al, 2015), pressure and temperature (P–T) evolution (Mohamed et al, 2016; Nguyen et al, 2016), fluid property simulation and formation process prediction (Ahmed et al, 2022; Baur & Katz, 2018; D'Ambrosio et al, 2021; Evenick, 2022; Feng et al, 2020; Kishankov et al, 2022; Kroeger et al, 2021, 2022), and exploration risk assessment in low‐medium maturity and low‐exploration target regions (Badejo et al, 2021; Lawson et al, 2018; Liu & Liu, 2023). Its simulation path from the source rock to the traps has the ability to avoid relying on bitumen observations from massive but limited borehole data, making it possible to reconstruct the PORs distribution in the historical period of present‐day high to over‐mature regions.…”

Position-specific distribution of hydrogen isotopes in natural propane: Effects of thermal cracking, equilibration and biodegradation

“…And, because the approach to equilibrium may be time dependent, it is possible that site specific hydrogen isotope fractionation may serve as a kind of 'geospeedometer' for evaluating gas reservoir storage times. This kinetic property in the carbonate geothermometer has been shown to have significant value for constraining thermal histories of rock samples (e.g., Passey and Henkes, 2012;Shenton et al, 2015;Lawson et al, 2018;Mangenot et al, 2019;Ingalls, 2019). If such a property were demonstrated in propane, it would provide an opportunity to assess the thermal histories of fluids that migrate within sedimentary systems.…”