Data laundering leading to meaningful principal component classification criterion and map attribute in surface geochemistry

Principal components classification based on geochemical data from sea bed samples offers a discriminant methodology for assignment of sea bed core location to defined types of hydrocarbon seep characteristics. Significant contributions to the geochemical fingerprint of the samples, like influence of sediment nature and biogenic input, are considered bias effects by oil explorationists and may be removed by aid of the method of principal components target rotation. This removal is called data laundering, and map attributes representing known hydrocarbon accumulations can be constructed from laundered data sets. Signatures of the Draugen (Haltenbanken, Norway) sea bed type occur over the Heidrun and Smørbukk fields and points out regions of interest to exploration in unexplored areas.