Tag Archives: oil migration

Biomarkers; forensic tools for hydrocarbon fingerprinting

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I like a good detective thriller. Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Britain’s BBC networks have produced some quality shows over the past few years.  Forensics is usually equated with ‘who dunnit?’ but science also makes use of forensic-like tools to help unravel mysteries and solve problems.  This post looks at certain chemical compounds found in hydrocarbon deposits.  The compounds are specific, complex organic molecules called biomarkers.  Biomarkers provide scientific fingerprints of oil deposits, that help scientists and oil explorationists decipher the where, when and how such deposits formed, and environmental scientists monitoring the migration and degradation of spilled oil. Continue reading

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The Oil Kitchen Rules

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Folded limestone and sandtone in the Front Ranges, Alberta

Oil is a Part of the Rock

As a kid growing up in NZ, my only contact with ‘O&G’ was watching my Dad filling the family car with (at that time leaded) gasoline, and Jed Clampett watching black gold oozing from his backyard.  Jed and his family had to forgo the possums, grits and cat’s paws for the rarefied atmosphere, with a twist of lemon, of Beverly Hills.  They had made their fortune on Texas Tea like countless others have done since. Continue reading

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