Thermal controls on biodegradation around the Peace River tar sands: Paleo-pasteurization to the west

Bitumens of the Alberta tar sands share a similar primary source rock, but exhibit varying levels of degradation. In the Peace River tar sands area, the wide range of API gravity and sulphur content in Lower Cretaceous reservoirs is investigated in terms of biodegradation processes, using detailed geochemical analyses, burial history modelling and charge/degrade modelling. Decreasing tar sand degradation to the west can be attributed to increasing reservoir temperatures which retard biodegradation. Gething oils west of the Peace River tar sands are derived from the same source, but are minimally degraded due to reservoir pasteurization at 80 °C shortly after charging. Long charge times, reservoir filling and possibly compositional or very low temperature degradation retardation have limited biodegradation of the Alberta tar sands despite long oil residence times and low reservoir temperatures.     

HPHT reservoir evolution: a case study from Jade and Judy fields, Central Graben, UK North Sea

3D basin modelling of a study area in Quadrant 30, UK North Sea was performed in order to elucidate the burial, thermal, pressure and hydrocarbon generation, migration and accumulation history in the Jurassic and Triassic high pressure–high temperature sequences. Calibration data, including reservoir temperatures, pressures, petroleum compositional data, vitrinite reflectance profiles and published fluid inclusion data were used to constrain model predictions. The comparison of different pressure generating processes indicated that only when gas generation is taken into account as a pressure generating mechanism, both the predicted present day as well as palaeo-pressure evolution matches the available calibration data. Compositional modelling of hydrocarbon generation, migration and accumulation also reproduced present and palaeo bulk fluid properties such as the reservoir fluid gas to oil ratios. The reconstruction of the filling histories of both reservoirs indicates that both were first charged around 100 Ma ago and contained initially a two-phase system in which gas dominated volumetrically. Upon burial reservoir fluid composition evolved to higher GORs and became undersaturated as a function of increasing pore pressure up to the present day situation. Our results indicate that gas compositions must be taken into account when calculating the volumetric effect of gas generation on overpressure.     

石油储层地球化学的原理及应用

储层地球化学是一门新兴的地学边缘学科，近几年，它已成为评价储层含油特征的重要手段，其核心内容是研究储层流体的非均质性。储层中石油组成的变化除由生物降解和水洗引起外，油源岩相和成熟度的变化同样能造成石油组成的非均质性。识别储层流体的非均质性不仅是重建油气聚集史的基础，而且还能为石油开发提供重要信息。这样能降低勘探目标的风险和油田开发费用。储层流体特征的旧纳依赖于油气、岩心抽提物的地化分析，其研究成果在勘探早期到油田生产结束过程中都能得到应用。     

Improved assessment of biodegradation extent and prediction of petroleum quality

Biodegradation of crude oil causes volumetrically important compositional changes, which lead to significant deterioration in quality, in particular during the early stages of alteration. To better understand these effects we focussed on a detailed assessment of light to moderate levels of alteration. We investigated a suite of 40 crude oil samples from five different petroleum systems to evaluate the extent of alteration occurring in reservoirs. Based on a comprehensive geochemical characterization, five individual crude oil sequences were defined, where compositional variability is mainly due to microbial activity in the reservoir. In particular, samples from the Gullfaks field (offshore Norway) and from a petroleum system offshore Angola illustrate that conventional molecular biodegradation parameters, such as the Pr/n-C₁₇ and Ph/n-C₁₈ alkane ratios are not suitable for defining the extent of biodegradation in petroleum reservoirs. Here, we suggest a new molecular biodegradation parameter, the degradative loss, that can be used to quantify depletion in individual crude oil constituents. The approach allows improved assessment of the extent of biodegradation in crude oil samples by means of the mean degradative loss. It is demonstrated that crude oil quality, as assessed from API gravity, can be predicted directly from the molecular composition of crude oils. Our data clearly indicate that the degradation patterns of light hydrocarbons and n-alkanes differ in different petroleum systems. This suggests that microbial communities are different and therefore generate different molecular degradation patterns which have to be evaluated individually for each system.     

高升油田储层流体非均质性研究

高升油田的主力产层沙三层莲花油层由阵发性的浊积砂岩构成，储层的非均质性强，储层流体－石油的总体组成和分子组成同样存在明显的非均质性，它依赖于储集砂岩的孔隙度和渗透率以及它们所处的地层和构造位置，流体非均质性的空间分布反映了油田的聚集史，后期的蚀变作用使储层流体的非均质性更加复杂化，正确认识储层流体的非均质性能为石油开采提供有用信息。     

单个油包裹体组分预测及其在油气成藏研究中的应用

了解单个石油包裹体详细的组分信息不仅有助于微观上定量认识油气充注过程中其成熟度的演化,还对精细刻画油气成藏过程中动力演化具有重要意义.根据石油包裹体热动力学原理,利用10个成熟度依次增大的已知组分的原油在匹配其饱和压力和改进气、液相摩尔体积计算前提下,建立了捕获不同组分原油的包裹体均一温度(Th_oil)与其在室温下(20 ℃)气泡充填度(F_v)关系的标准图版,从而通过对比实测的Th_oil和其室温下F_v与标准Th_oil-F_v图版,反推出油包裹体近似等效流体组分.对东营凹陷北带民丰深层油包裹体进行系统荧光分析、显微测温和包裹体体积3D重构等一系列的测定.结果表明丰8井和丰深1井各发生过两幕油气充注,其中丰8井第一幕油气充注(甲烷摩尔含量位于31%~35%之间)对其油气成藏贡献最大;而丰深1井第二幕充注的油气(甲烷摩尔含量大于60%)控制丰深1井凝析油藏成藏.从而为进一步厘定北带深层油气充注PVTxt史奠定基础.      

油气包裹体在油气地质研究中的应用--概念、分类、形成机制及研究意义

油气包裹体己成为油气成藏研究的有力工具,在划分油气运移充注期次、确定油气藏的形成时间、反映油气的成熟度及来源等方面均有重要的应用价值。近年来,利用油气包裹体及其共生的盐水溶液包裹体估算油气藏形成时的pVT条件是油气包裹体研究中的一个新热点,它为更准确地计算油气藏形成的温度一压力条件提供了一种独立的、更准确的技术手段。研究表明,包裹体岩相学和流体体系的热力学研究仍将是今后的发展重点。油气包裹体的pVT模拟技术尚处于初始阶段,两种软件（VTFlinc和FIT）的准确性和精确性虽有待进一步提高,但已经成为今后一个重要的发展方向。     

油气充注成藏贡献度及其意义

油气成藏过程常伴随着多幕次的油气充注, 通过流体包裹体方法确定的油气成藏时期大都包含了一个油气藏形成过程中多幕次的油气充注.然而, 不是所有的充注幕次都对现今的油气藏具有贡献.因而确定哪一幕油气充注对现今油气成藏的贡献程度最大, 才是准确厘定油气成藏时期的前提.油包裹体是油气充注的直接证据, 当其他因素影响较小时, 油包裹体荧光颜色的改变反映的是其成熟度的变化, 也是其源岩热演化程度改变的响应.油包裹体成熟度可以通过已知油藏油的微束荧光光谱参数和原油API度关系来定量表征, 古油气成藏贡献度分析就是建立在油包裹体API度预测的基础上.在每一幕原油充注时期内, 成岩矿物捕获的油包裹体API度频率分布符合正态分布趋势, 理论上, 当有几幕原油充注时, 原油API度分布就存在几个正态分布趋势.通过对比油包裹体API度频率分布直方图与油藏现今流体API度, 可以比较出哪一幕原油充注对现今油气聚集的贡献度最大, 从而为油气成藏过程分析和油气充注PVTx(压力-体积-温度-组分)史恢复提供更好的约束条件.      

油藏底水与隔夹层对原油生物降解程度的控制效应

系统剖析流花11-1礁灰岩油藏储层烃类的生物降解特征, 揭示油藏底水与隔夹层对原油生物降解程度具有显著控制效应, 这使得油藏原油生物降解程度及其分布预测更加复杂化.研究发现, 流花11-1油藏具有统一的油水界面, 油源类型单一, 原油成熟度较高且分布较窄, 可能为短期快速充注所形成的油藏.原油普遍遭受生物降解, 降解程度均小于6级.垂向上, 隔夹层虽可引起局部储层烃类降解程度的倒转, 但单井油柱生物降解等级仍以储层与油水界面的距离为主要控制因素, 表现为降解程度由顶部向底部呈明显梯度变化, 油藏底水控制效应明显.横向上, 油藏降解程度的差异主要由隔夹层控制下储层内原油与活跃底水的接触程度不同导致.在隔夹层密集发育区流体运动受阻, 进而使微生物营养物质供应不足, 代谢物质交换不畅, 原油降解程度相对较低.在上述研究的基础上, 建立了油藏底水与储层非均质性对原油生物降解程度的控制效应模型, 并探讨了该方法在稠油油藏开发中的应用.      

Grain growth in partially molten olivine aggregates

Grain growth rates in partially molten olivine aggregates were determined experimentally at a pressure of 1 GPa. The aim of the experiments with fine-grained starting material (solution–gelation derived Fo₉₀ olivine with a grain size of ∼1 μm with 2 and 4 wt.% added basaltic glass) was to determine growth rates during steady-state grain growth. A series of experiments was conducted at a fixed temperature of 1,350°C for durations from 2 to 700 h, and a second series at fixed duration (168 h) at temperatures from 1,250 to 1,450°C. The resulting activation energy (E=390 kJ/mol) and growth exponent (n=4.3) are comparable to melt-free results (Nichols and Mackwell 1991). The observed grain size distributions are broader than those predicted for normal grain growth or Ostwald ripening and most similar to the Log-normal distribution. The observed melt distribution is influenced by the continuous rearrangement of neighboring grains during growth. The relatively large growth exponent observed in this study and by Nichols and Mackwell (1991) where secondary phases are present suggests that grain growth in the upper mantle is slower than predicted by Karato (1989).     

The Spačice eclogite: constraints on the P–T–t history of the Gföhl granulite terrane, Moldanubian Zone, Bohemian Massif

Summary In the Kutná Hora Complex, the Běstvina Formation, which is similar to Gf?hl granulite, contains eclogite that has escaped widespread retrograde recrystallization. The eclogite assemblage, garnet + omphacite + quartz + rutile ± plagioclase, yields an estimate for peak metamorphic conditions of 18–20 kbar and 835–935 °C, which is comparable to that determined from felsic granulite, 14–20 kbar and 900–1000 °C. Garnet in eclogite exhibits both prograde and retrograde compositional zoning, from which constraints on thermal history of the Gf?hl terrane can be derived by diffusion modelling. At 900 °C, a garnet grain of 800–1000 μm radius would homogenize in 7.5–11.7 million years, but the existence of compositional gradients on a length scale of 100–200 μm suggests that the duration of peak metamorphism may have been limited to ∼500,000 years. Diffusion modelling of retrograde zoning in garnet yields a cooling rate of 150–100 °C/m.y. for a radius of 800–1000 μm and initial temperature of 900 °C. The relatively brief duration of high-pressure/high-temperature metamorphism and rapid cooling and exhumation of the Gf?hl terrane may be a consequence of lithospheric delamination during Early Carboniferous collision of Bohemia (Teplá-Barrandia) and Moldanubia (Franke, 2000).     

生物降解原油地球化学研究新进展

生物降解作用是原油的一种重要的蚀变作用,对原油的物性和经济价值有着负面的影响。全球石油大多遭受过生物降解。生物降解作用对常见生物标志物的影响得以较好的描述,综述了近年来高分子量正构烷烃、三环萜烷、25 降藿烷生物降解的新进展。目前对生物降解作用的细节、发生机理尚不十分清楚,讨论了原油喜氧和厌氧降解机制,认为厌氧作用可能起主导作用,降解速率很慢。温度是控制生物降解作用的重要因素,储层温度大于80℃不会发生生物降解作用。生物降解原油多为混源油,介绍了研究生物降解原油的多期成藏方法。沥青质不易生物降解,其热解产物及钌离子催化氧化产物在生物降解原油对比、油源对比中具有重要的作用;最后指出了今后的发展方向。     

生物降解作用对储层抽提物中多甲基取代萘分布的影响

对辽河盆地冷东油田冷43块沙三段油藏3口取心井岩心抽提物进行了详细的地球化学分析, 族组成和饱和烃生物标志物分布显示油藏遭受了不同程度生物降解作用的影响, 降解程度由油柱顶部向底部增大, 呈良好梯度变化特征.对比不同降解程度原油样品中三甲基萘、四甲基萘和五甲基萘含量和分布可以发现生物降解的明显控制作用, 根据甲基取代萘异构体在生物降解过程中相对含量的变化初步确定了三甲基萘、四甲基萘和五甲基萘单个异构体的生物降解顺序, 结果表明那些热力学稳定性高的异构体容易遭受微生物的攻击, 而热力学稳定性低的异构体却在生物降解过程中相对富集, 表明生物降解作用完全不同于热力学作用过程, 当原油遭受中等程度生物降解作用影响后, 根据热力学稳定性提出的成熟度参数不再能提供有效的成熟度信息, 易降解和难降解异构体间的比值却是衡量原油遭受生物降解作用程度的地球化学新指标.      

Thermodynamics of mixing in diopside–jadeite,CaMgSi<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>6</Subscript>–NaAlSi<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>6</Subscript>, solid solution from static lattice energy calculations

Static lattice energy calculations (SLEC), based on empirical interatomic potentials, have been performed for a set of 800 different structures in a 2 × 2 × 4 supercell of C2/c diopside with compositions between diopside and jadeite, and with different states of order of the exchangeable Na/Ca and Mg/Al cations. Excess static energies of these structures have been cluster expanded in a basis set of 37 pair-interaction parameters. These parameters have been used to constrain Monte Carlo simulations of temperature-dependent properties in the range of 273–2,023 K and to calculate a temperature–composition phase diagram. The simulations predict the order–disorder transition in omphacite at 1,150 ± 20°C in good agreement with the experimental data of Carpenter (Mineral Petrol 78:433–440, 1981). The stronger ordering of Mg/Al within the M1 site than of Ca/Na in the M2 site is attributed to the shorter M1–M1 nearest-neighbor distance, and, consequently, the stronger ordering force. The comparison of the simulated relationship between the order parameters corresponding to M1 and M2 sites with the X-ray refinement data on natural omphacites (Boffa Ballaran et al. in Am Mineral 83:419–433, 1998) suggests that the cation ordering becomes kinetically ineffective at about 600°C.     

A study of the factors and processes involved in the sedimentation of Tarbela reservoir,Pakistan

This study concerns Tarbela dam reservoir which is a major resource of Pakistan in terms of electricity generation and irrigation supplies. Rapid filling of reservoir due to sediment transported and deposited by Indus River is described and analysed in this article. Causes of sediment deposition and their impact on dam’s function and life are studied. The main characteristic parameters of the site are presented. The morphological evolution of the reservoir bed induced by dam construction, between the year 1974 when the River bed was in its original state before dam construction, and the situation of the river bed after the deposition of the sediment in the year 2006, is examined. A numerical model developed in this study (Khawaja and Sanchez in Tarbela dam: a numerical model for sediment management in the reservoir; coastal and maritime mediterranean conference, 1st edn, Hammamet, pp 111–114, 2009) allows obtaining the above-stated provisional evolution of the reservoir over the coming years. Finally, five potential remedial solutions are thoroughly discussed.     

Geochemistry of Heavy Oil in the T Block, Oriente Basin and its Origin

<正>Exploration and development experience show that there is obvious oil gravity difference between the southern part and northern part of the"M1"reservoir in the Fanny oil field in the slope of the Oriente Basin,Ecuador.The American Petroleum Institute Gravity(API) values of oils in the northern part are higher than the one in the southern part of the Fanny oil field,with the values of 20°and 10.0°-13.0°,respectively.So the primary purpose of this study was to analyze the heavy oil characteristics of biodegradation and the oil-oil correlation according to the biomarker data and theδ~(13)C signature of oil samples from T block.The results of the hydrocarbon gas chromatography fingermark and the inversion attribute characteristics indicated that there are fluid compartments between the"M1"reservoir of Fanny south.Finally,the models of oil-gas accumulation under the control of multiple-activities of complicated fault systems,as well as the origin of heavy oil,are contended.The early stage oils from the western part of the basin were biodegraded heavily in varying degrees in the whole basin,and the later stage oils were derived from the southern part in a large scale and were mature and lighter.Generally,oil mixing is the primary control of net oil properties,such as API gravity in Oriente Basin.We therefore predicted that the API gravity variation of oil pools radically depends on the injection amount of the later stage oil.Because of the shale barrier in the"M1"reservoir of Fanny south,the later stage hydrocarbon could not pass through and contribute to increase the oil API value.     

Oil charge history of Paleogene–Eocene reservoir in the Termit Basin (Niger)

A total of 73 oils from the sandstone reservoir of Paleocene–Eocene Sokor 1 Formation in the Termit Basin (eastern Niger) were analysed to investigate the distribution characteristics of biomarkers. Most of the oil samples are quite similar in their organic geochemical characteristics and should have been derived from the same source bed/source kitchen. The homogenisation temperatures of aqueous inclusions in Paleocene–Eocene reservoir of the Termit Basin vary with a range of 76–125?°C. By combining the homogenisation temperatures with the burial and geothermal histories reconstructed by 1-dimensional basin modelling, the timing and episode of oil charge can be obtained, i.e. 13 to 0?Ma for Paleocene–Eocene reservoirs in the Termit Basin. Two presentative geochemical parameters, i.e. Ts / (Ts?+?Tm) and 2,4-dibenzothiophene/1,4-dibenzothiophene (2,4-DMDBT/1,4-DMDBT) were applied to trace the oil migration direction and filling pathway. The preferred oil-filling points in the northwest section of the Termit Basin were determined, and the promising exploratory targets were proposed for further oil exploration in this region.     

油气成藏年代学研究进展及发展趋势

成藏年代学是当代石油地质学的一个前沿领域。80年代以来，随着油藏地球化学、流体包裹体方法、同位素测年法、油气水界面追溯法等多种新方法或新技术的引入，成藏年代学研究取得了重要进展，实现了由传统的间接向直接研究、宏观向微观研究，以及定性向定量（或定期向定年）研究的重要转变。间接研究与直接研究相结合、宏观与微观研究相结合、定性与定量（或定期与定年）研究相结合，已成为现代成藏年代学研究发展的重要趋势，这对于叠合盆地的成藏年代与成藏史研究尤为必要。就各种成藏年代学研究方法的应用及其存在的问题进行了简要分析和讨论。     

油藏色谱指纹非均质性形成机理及其稳定性实验模拟

从油田开发动态地球化学监测的基本地质概念模型出发，应用油藏流体非均质性理论，分析了不同地质时期原油色谱指纹变化的地质因素。通过指纹GC／MS鉴定和实验模拟地下不同温度和不同时间的开采条件，分析了油藏开采过程中色谱指纹的变化规律。结果表明：原油色谱指纹稳定性主要和化合物的性质、含量以及色谱柱分离度有关。油藏开采过程中，适当碳数范围内的原油色谱指纹在井底和井口的不同温度条件下以及同一单层在一定的观测时间范围内具有稳定性。研究结果对进一步开拓原油色谱指纹在油田开发管理中的应用具有重要的理论价值。