The effect of origin and genetic processes of low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum on their stable carbon isotopic compositions

Stable carbon isotopic compositions of individual low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons, such as alkylbenzenes, alkylnaphthalenes and alkylphenanthrenes, were measured from a set of oils, mostly from the North-West shelf of Australia, of varying age, facies type and thermal maturity. The object...

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Main Authors: Le Metayer, Pierre, Grice, Kliti, Chow, C., Caccetta, Louis, Maslen, Ercin, Dawson, Daniel, Fusetti, L.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Pergamon 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7147
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author Le Metayer, Pierre
Grice, Kliti
Chow, C.
Caccetta, Louis
Maslen, Ercin
Dawson, Daniel
Fusetti, L.
author_facet Le Metayer, Pierre
Grice, Kliti
Chow, C.
Caccetta, Louis
Maslen, Ercin
Dawson, Daniel
Fusetti, L.
author_sort Le Metayer, Pierre
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Stable carbon isotopic compositions of individual low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons, such as alkylbenzenes, alkylnaphthalenes and alkylphenanthrenes, were measured from a set of oils, mostly from the North-West shelf of Australia, of varying age, facies type and thermal maturity. The objective was to assess the influence of thermal maturity and source during generation of these aromatics on their stable carbon isotopic compositions. For most of the oils studied, δ13C of the aromatic components show a 13C depletion as the degree of methylation increases. For the alkylnaphthalenes, the 13C depletion is most pronounced for low maturity oils compared to high maturity oils. δ13C of the methyl groups of these alkylnaphthalenes were calculated and the resulting data display significant differences between ‘mature’ and ‘immature’ oils, suggesting that isotopically lighter methyl groups are ‘released’ as thermal maturation proceeds. Therefore, we propose an isotopic fractionation associated with the methyl transfer mechanisms affecting low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons during diagenesis.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2014
publisher Pergamon
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-71472017-09-13T14:38:34Z The effect of origin and genetic processes of low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum on their stable carbon isotopic compositions Le Metayer, Pierre Grice, Kliti Chow, C. Caccetta, Louis Maslen, Ercin Dawson, Daniel Fusetti, L. Methane Petroleum Carbon isotopes Sources Maturity Aromatic Hydrocarbons Trans-alkylation Reservoirs Geosynthetic Processes Stable carbon isotopic compositions of individual low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons, such as alkylbenzenes, alkylnaphthalenes and alkylphenanthrenes, were measured from a set of oils, mostly from the North-West shelf of Australia, of varying age, facies type and thermal maturity. The objective was to assess the influence of thermal maturity and source during generation of these aromatics on their stable carbon isotopic compositions. For most of the oils studied, δ13C of the aromatic components show a 13C depletion as the degree of methylation increases. For the alkylnaphthalenes, the 13C depletion is most pronounced for low maturity oils compared to high maturity oils. δ13C of the methyl groups of these alkylnaphthalenes were calculated and the resulting data display significant differences between ‘mature’ and ‘immature’ oils, suggesting that isotopically lighter methyl groups are ‘released’ as thermal maturation proceeds. Therefore, we propose an isotopic fractionation associated with the methyl transfer mechanisms affecting low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons during diagenesis. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7147 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2014.04.008 Pergamon restricted
spellingShingle Methane
Petroleum
Carbon isotopes
Sources
Maturity
Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Trans-alkylation
Reservoirs
Geosynthetic Processes
Le Metayer, Pierre
Grice, Kliti
Chow, C.
Caccetta, Louis
Maslen, Ercin
Dawson, Daniel
Fusetti, L.
The effect of origin and genetic processes of low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum on their stable carbon isotopic compositions
title The effect of origin and genetic processes of low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum on their stable carbon isotopic compositions
title_full The effect of origin and genetic processes of low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum on their stable carbon isotopic compositions
title_fullStr The effect of origin and genetic processes of low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum on their stable carbon isotopic compositions
title_full_unstemmed The effect of origin and genetic processes of low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum on their stable carbon isotopic compositions
title_short The effect of origin and genetic processes of low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum on their stable carbon isotopic compositions
title_sort effect of origin and genetic processes of low molecular weight aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum on their stable carbon isotopic compositions
topic Methane
Petroleum
Carbon isotopes
Sources
Maturity
Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Trans-alkylation
Reservoirs
Geosynthetic Processes
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7147