Pergamon

Org. Geochem. Vol. 29, No. 1 3, pp. 429 448, 1998

~2 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
Printed in Great Britain
PI I : S0146-6380(98)00053-9 0146-6380/98/$ - see front matter
Inter and intrafield hydrocarbon compositional variations in the Ul a
and the Gyda fields (Central Graben-North Sea)-implication for
understanding the controls on hydrocarbon distribution within and
between these fields
S. A. AHSAN t*, D. A. KARLSEN ~, A. W. MITCHELL 2 and N. ROTHWELL 3
'Petroleum Geochemistry Program, Department of Geology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1047, N-
0316 Oslo, Norway, 2BP Exploration Company (Colombia) LTD, Carrera 9A No. 99-02, Santafe de
Bogota, Bolivia and 3BP Kuwait Ltd, P.O. Box 29335, 13039 Safat, Kuwait
Abstraet--A suite of 34 oil samples from the Ula and 30 from the Gyda oil fields lying in the Central
Graben of the Norwegian Continental Shelf, was analyzed using thin layer chromatography with flame
ionization detection (TLC-FID), capillary gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-
F1D) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results obtained were used to calcu-
late several source and maturity based parameters. These parameters suggest that within the Ula Field,
oils produced more recently have greater compositional homogeneity than those produced earlier. This
has been attributed to a recent change in the crestal fault behavior. This change in fault behavior is
probably production related. The Gyda Field oils are compositionally more homogeneous. However,
oils from the Gyda South Culmination are compositionally different. This difference shows up in both
maturity and sourc e related parameters. 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved
Key wo r d s - - Ul a Field, Gyda Field, compositional variations, reservoir communications
INTRODUCTION
Although large-scale spatial variation in petroleum
composition has been known for some time, it is
only recently that these have been interpreted using
petroleum geochemical techniques (Larter e t al . ,
1990 and references therein).
The most likely factors causing observed pet-
roleum compositional variations are:
(i) depositional environment of source rocks or
facies variations within a given source rock if pet-
roleums are known to be derived from a single
source rock;
(ii) level of thermal maturity in the drainage area
of the source rock. In a continually subsiding basin
such as the North Sea, the source rock has been
expelling petroleums at different maturity levels at
any given time (e.g. Cornford e t al . , 1986);
(iii) phase separation after petroleum leaves its
source rock (e.g., Silverman, 1965; England and
Mackenzie, 1987, t989; Larter and Mills, 1991).
Such phenomenon is known to mask facies and
maturity relationships if these are based on empiri-
cal utilization of molecular and isotopical par-
ameters (Galimov, 1973; Thompson, 1987;
Thompson e t al . , 1990);
(iv) biodegradation and water washing (e.g.,
Connan, 1984; Ahsan e t al . , 1997);
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Fax:
+47-22-854215; E-mail: s.a.ahsan@geologi.uio.no
(v) i n - s i t u maturation of organic matter within
the reservoir rock (e.g., Gabrielsen e t al . , 1985);
(vi) compositional differences due to contami-
nation of petroleums as they pass through another
source rock (Curiale and Bromley, 1996);
Of these six factors which could potentially be re-
sponsible for compositional differences in oilfields,
the first four are generally considered more import-
ant and hence are frequently cited in the literature.
Once petroleum is entrapped in a reservoir, diffu-
sive and density-driven mixing processes would tend
to eliminate the original gross vertical compo-
sitional differences in a petroleum column ( ca.
100 m) within the time scale of reservoir filling ( c a.
10 Ma, England and Mackenzie, 1989). However,
inherited lateral compositional differences are not
eliminated as fast, owing to the inability of lateral
diffusion, [with a (length) 2 time dependency] to
achieve chemical equilibrium within a typical field
fill-time. Thus an oilfield may remain in disequili-
brium in a lateral direction over a sufficiently long
geological time (England and Mackenzie, 1989).
These compositional heterogeneities may help us to
understand field-filling direction and place limits on
the probable locations and types of source rocks
filling a field (England and Mackenzie, 1989;
Karlsen and Larter, 1989; Larter e t al . , 1990;
Horstad e t al . , 1990; Hillebrand and Leythaeuser,
1992).
429
430 S.A. Ahsan e t al .
Depending on the oilfield geometry, porosity and
permeability distributions in the reservoir rock
units, fault patterns, production rate and the spatial
locations of wells, petroleum production can also
strongly influence the compositional heterogeneity
in an oilfield. Logically one would expect that the
overall impact of petroleum production would tend
to reduce the compositional variation at a much
faster rate than any of the processes mentioned
above. Thus a given oilfield can be homogenized,
even laterally within a timescale spanning merely
the production history. Hence any of the infor-
mation regarding field filling direction and probable
location of effective source rocks might be lost rela-
tively fast after initiation of production.
PRODUCTION HISTORY OF THE ULA AND THE GYDA
FIELDS
The Ula and the Gyda Fields lie in quadrant 7/12
and 2/1 respectively, in the Norwegian sector of the
Central Graben. The Ula and the Gyda Fields have
recoverable reserves of 435 and 202 million barrels
respectively (Fjerstad and Bergem, 1993). The Ula
Field has produced 345 million barrels of oil since
production start up in 1986, the Gyda Field has
yielded 145 million barrels of oil since production
start in 1990. The Ula and the Gyda oilfields cover
areas of 20 and 25 km z respectively (Oxtoby, 1994).
The Ula Field was discovered in 1976 and the dis-
covery well 7/12-2 encountered 154m thick pet-
roleum filled Upper Jurassic sandstones (Home,
1987). The Gyda Field was discovered in 1980 by
well 2/1-3. At present the Ula Field is producing
from 10 wells located almost exclusively in the cen-
tral crestal portion of the field with injection of sea
water into the reservoir using seven injection wells.
The Gyda Field is currently producing from seven-
teen wells, and several injection wells have either
been drilled or the production wells have been con-
verted to injection wells (Rothwell e t a l . , 1993).
Both fields are in their mature stage of production.
Figure l(a) and (b) show well locations in the
Ula and the Gyda Fields from which oil samples in
the present study were analyzed. Also shown in
these figures are important structural elements of
these two fields. The broken line on the Ula Field
map represents the division between the easterly
and westerly located wells. Average maturity values
for oils from wells located on either side of this line
were calculated. For the Gyda Field oils, average
maturity values for wells located in three structural
segments (see discussion under trap types and as-
sociated fault systems) were also calculated. The
sample codes used in Figs 3 and 5 are also shown
above well names in case of the Ula and below well
names in case of the Gyda Field in Fig. l(a) and
(b). Both the Ula and the Gyda Fields are produ-
cing from the Upper Jurassic sandstones formally
J U l a F i e l d i
( , ) :,!~ ii'i
\ \ ~ v ' ; > ' " ' ~ ' , - S , , , "w'~'i-~L, ~ t I
\'~."~ < - - . _ / . . - ~ & j ( / c ' ,
~ 1 = _ , . = ~ . , . ' ~ / " ~ ~ , / /
~ ' , X / ( .
, : : o ~ , ~ ~ 7 ~ - I ~ / /
0 r t o~
. . - Dividing line b/t eastern
and western wells
G y d a F i e l d i
( W J . . . . T : " v ' [' ~ _.~i;~:: .
l ' ~ I , " i ' . o "
o 1 2 k m " % t /
Normal Fault
Mapped reservoir
, o pinch-out
Fig. 1. Well location map over the (a) Ula and the (b) Gyda oil fields. Shown in these maps are also
the depth contours over top of the reservoir sandstone in these fields. Several faults are also shown.
The broken line on the Ula Field map shows the line dividing the eastern and the western wells (see dis-
cussion under Section 12). Shown above (for the Ula Field) and below (for the Gyda Field) well names
are sample codes used in Figs 3 and 5 and Tables 2 and 3.
Inter and intrafield hydrocarbon 431
q
Tria
ssic

Jurassic Cretaceous Tertiary ~ ~
Source Rock
Cap Rock
Ula or
Gyda Fins. ~/ / ~ Reservoir Rock
Graben Margin Faulting
~ ~ Salt Movement
Trap Formation
Structural ( U l a ) ] S t m c t u r a l / S t r a t i g r a p h i c ( G y d a ) Trap Type
I
I 1
Expulsion Time
Fig. 2. Events chart showing development of important structural elements in the Ula and Gyda Fields
through geologic time.
called the Ul a and t he Gyda sandst ones. The essen-
t i al features of the t raps in these fields had al r eady
devel oped in the Cret aceous time, i.e., l ong before
ent r apment of the current l y reservoi red pet rol eum.
The Upper Jurassi c Mandal For mat i on is serving as
bot h t he source and cap rock in these fields. These
feat ures of the Ul a and Gyda Fi el ds are shown rela-
tive t o time in Fig. 2.
Spencer et al . (1986) st udi ed the source r ock dis-
t r i but i on and qual i t y of different pot ent i al source
candi dat es in the Ul a Tr end [the name of the
faul t ed nor t heast er n boundar y of the Cent ral
Tr ough as t ermed by Bailey et al . (1981)]. Based on
the t ot al organi c cont ent and the t ype of organi c
mat t er in these source rocks t hey cat egori cal l y
el i mi nat ed the Far s und For mat i on as bei ng the
pet r ol eum source. Fur t her mor e, the Haugesund
For mat i on is t he age equi val ent of the Ul a
For mat i on (the reservoi r hor i zon in Ul a) and is
t herefore not devel oped. Based on the richness and
4.0
2 . 0 -
0.0
-2.0 2
&
&
O
sat/aro _
pr/ph~
(2*n-C22)l (n-C21+n-C23)
0
polars ~
-4.0 I
-4.0 -2.0
[ Gy d a Oi l s ]
e
n-C17/(n-C17+n-C27) %
Matufl~ variation
I
0.0 2.0
PC1 ( 35. 2%)
pr/n-Cl7
o
m
ph~n-C18
O
4.0
NOn L]a T~d oils
A New oil wi t hout an ol d equlv
TdMsic oils
Old oils wi t ho ut ne w equiv.
Old oils with new equiv.
4B' New oils with ~,d equt,,
Cres t
Down-dip
Gy d a Sout h
Paramet ers f or PCA
Fig. 3. Principal component biplot using bulk composition and GC-FID based parameters for oils from
the Ula and the Gyda Fields.
432 S. A. Ahsan et al.
Ol d Oi l s
Sal/Arom 2.7
Pr/Ph 1.4
Pr/n-C17 0.4
7 / 1 2 - A1 6 PWn- Ct 8 0.4
Alkane Ind. 75.1
i
Time
7/12-A16
Sat/Atom 2.5
Pr/Ph 1A
Pr/n-C17 0.5
Ph/n-C18 0.4
Alkane Ind. 78.1
Sat/Arom 2.6
Pr/Ph 1.4
Pr/n-C17 0.4
7/12-A12A PWn.C18 0.4
Alkane Ind. 76.4
Ne w Oi l s
7/12-A12A
Sat/Arom 2.4
Pr/Ph 1.4
Pr/n-C17 0.5
Ph/n-C18 0.4
Alkane Ind. 78.4
Fig. 4. Representative GC-FID traces of the two old and new oils from the Ula Field. Shown on these
traces are also GC-F1D and bulk composition based parameters.
thickness of the Mandal Formation, Spencer et al .
(1986) suggested this to be the petroleum source
and that it is currently generating significant quan-
tities of petroleum from its labile kerogen com-
ponent. Using geothermal modeling, Spencer et al .
(1986) estimated that the Mandal Formation was
undergoing peak oil generation by Miocene times in
the kitchen areas feeding the Ula Trend.
Bulk composition and molecular data on DST
oils from the Ula Field were used by Larter et al .
(1990) to discern the maturity of the source rock
that fed the field, the directions of fillings, and tim-
ing of accumulation development. They found small
differences in wells from the crest of the field, but
flank wells exhibited large differences. The bulk
composition, biomarker and solution gas data
suggested to Larter et al. (1990) that the petl'olcums
in the crestal wells are closely related, whilst wells
on the flanks of the structure contain related pet-
roleum but with some local facies variation and
maturity influences. Larter et al . (1990) further con-
cluded that petroleum in the high quality zones are
homogeneous, whereas lower Ula and Triassic oils
were chemically variable.
Using detailed compositional analyses of pet-
roleum inclusions and the currently reservoired pet-
roleum, Karlsen e t al . (1993) evaluated petroleum
entrapment timing in different diagenetic phases.
They concluded that the earliest petroleum in the
K-feldspar phase is significantly different in the dis-
tribution of tricyclic terpanes and pentacyclic triter-
panes. Based on the molecular maturity parameters,
the petroleum in the K-feldspar phase is less mature
than the petroleum in either the authigenic quartz
phase or the currently reservoired petroleum. Further-
more, the petroleum in the authigenic quartz phase
shows similar distribution of tricyclic terpanes and
pentacyclic triterpanes to the currently reservoired
petroleum. These two types of petroleums were
shown to be derived from the Mandal Formation.
Karlsen and Larter (1991) used TLC-FID to dis-
cern the distribution of polar enriched zones (PEZ)
in the Ula Field. In well 7/12-6 five such PEZ' s
were found between 3540-3640 m. The TLC-FID
technique was further shown by the authors to be
potentially useful in the detection of the oil-water
contacts (OWC). Nedkvitne et al . (1993) studied the
effect of oil emplacement on diagenesis of K-feld-
spar and quartz in the Ula Field. The results of
their study showed that the formation of authigenic
quartz continues even after sufficient oil saturation
had occurred. Oxtoby et al . (1995) studied the fluid
inclusions in the Ula reservoir sandstones to unravel
the field filling direction, migration pathways and
the distribution of OWC. These authors observed
six different OWCs and that the OWC is deeper in
Inter and intrafield hydrocarbon 433
4. 0 "
2 . 0 -
-~ 0 . 0 -
e4
e4
- 2. 0 -
- 4 . o - .t~
- 6 . 0 -
- 4 . 0
4 . 0
2 . 0 -
tt~
,.~ 0 . 0 -
- 2 . 0 -
- 4 . 0 -
J Ul a Oi l s ]
( a )
. t
#
A' : ~7~ "~ Maturity variation r
Non Ula Trend oils
~J~ New oil without an old equiv.
Triassic oils
Old oils without new equiv.
New oils with old equiv.
Old oils with new equiv.
i ~ Parameters for PCA
I [
0 . 0 4 . 0
P C I ( 2 6 . 0 % )
Gy d a Oi l s [
8 . 0
Maturit~ variation
~ Parameters for PCA
c,~st
Down-dip
Gyda South
- 6 . 0 ! I
- 4 . 0 0 . 0 4 . 0 8 . 0
P C 1 ( 2 6 . 0 % )
1 2 . 0
1 2 . 0
Fig. 5. PC biplot using GC-MS data. (a) biplot for the Ula Filed oils (b) biplot for the Gyda Field oils.
Though the Ula and the Gyda Field oils have been plotted separately, they were calculated from a
single data file. Thus the scores on oil samples from the two fields can be compared. The scores on oil
samples from the two fields have been plotted separately for clarity and easy comparison of samples.
t he east ern par t of t he field t han t he west ern
par t . Accor di ng to these aut hor s, oil filled i n-
cl usi ons persist to a great er dept h i n t he east ern
par t i mpl yi ng this t o be t he ma i n filling di r ect i on,
a nd t hat t he OWCs were di fferent pr i or to pr o-
duct i on start.
434 S. A. Ahs an e t al .
While a modest amount of work on the organic
geochemistry of the petroleum in inclusions or the
currently reservoired petroleum from the Ula Field
has been published, the same is not true of the
Gyda Field. The present study, as well as describing
the organic geochemistry of oils from the Gyda
Field, will attempt to address the influence of pro-
duction on the compositional changes of oils from
the Ula Field. Organic geochemical characteristics
of oils from the Ula and the Gyda Fields will
further be used to establish whether vertical and lat-
eral compartments are present in these fields.
Smalley and Hale (1995) using an integrated study
of molecular maturity parameters, GC fingerprint-
ing, PVT data, well test and fault seal analyses with
interpretation of 3-D seismic, showed the Ross
Field (UKCS) to be divided into several compart-
ments. This was attributed to a continuous shale
layer more than five kilometers in lateral extent and
several sealing faults within the field. Similarly,
Smalley and England (1994) used the oil compo-
sition, isotopic composition of water in the water
leg and irreducible water in the oil leg to ascertain
the presence of barriers in the Forties Field
(UKCS). Their results showed that there exists a
barrier between the Southeast Forties area and the
main field. This barrier is attributed to an increase
in the shale/sand ratio in the intervening area.
TRAP TYPES AND ASSOCIATED FAULT SYSTEMS
The trap in the Ula Field is relatively simple. It is
a salt-cored, largely dip-closed pericline, elongated
in the NW- SE direction, with a vertical closure of
c a . 160 m (Spencer e t a l . , 1986) and it is dissected
into two major and several minor blocks by normal
faults (Brown e t a l . , 1992; Oxtoby e t a l . , 1995).
The throw across the NW-SE trending crestal
fault system is variable. Along the field crest, very
little or no throw is observed. Furthermore, the
faults in the south-eastern part of the Ula Field
have very little throw and hade in the opposite
direction. The NW SE oriented transfer fault is
located at the southern end of the Crestal Fault and
has 30-50 m of displacement. This is insufficient to
disconnect the reservoir sands, yet it separates
water-bearing Ula Formation in the foot wall from
oil-bearing Ula Formation in the hanging wall. This
fault is regarded as sealing (Brown e t a l . , 1992).
The Gyda Field has been divided into three
regions of different structural style (Rothwell e t a l . ,
1993). The northwestern (down-dip) area has simple
roll over geometry, formed by movement over the
deeper faults, resulting in parallel Jurassic and
Permian faults, and transfer faults normal to both.
The central (crest) area overlies the Permian terrace
and associated fault system creating a complex Late
Jurassic graben with the differing senses of motion
resulting in east-west oriented transfer faults. The
southern area, the Gyda South Culmination, is a
tight rollover on the western bounding fault of the
central horst block. The field is thus intensely
faulted, though the throw on many of these faults
is less than the limit of conventional seismic
resolution. Despite this structural complexity and
apparent compartimentation, production has demon-
strated that communication in some reservoir layers
is good. However, several distinct field compartments
are defined from pressure data, and geochemical data
from Gyda South indicate that sealing faults con-
trolled the filling and cementation history, resulting in
rapid changes in reservoir quality over short distances
(Rothwell e t a l . , 1993).
EXPERIMENTAL
Oil samples were analyzed by Iatroscan thin layer
chromatography-flame ionization detection (TLC-
FID) (Karlsen and Larter, 1991) to determine their
gross composition. The amount of saturated, aro-
matic and polars (resins + aspahltene) in the Cls+
fraction was quantified and normalized to 100%.
Whole oil samples were analyzed on a 30 m DB-1
column (i.d. = 0.25 mm) in a Varian 3500 GC-FID
(40C initial temperature, gradient of 4C min -I to
final temperature of 310C) using split injection.
Prior to the analysis on GC-MS all oils were frac-
tionated into saturated and aromatic hydrocarbon
fractions using MPLC according to the method of
Radke e t a l . (1980). The excess solvent was evapor-
ated using a Turbovapor. A Turbovapor, as
opposed to the conventionally used Rotavapor,
assures avoidance of complete dryness of samples
by warning the analyst with a beep sound and auto-
matically stopping the vaporization procedure when
a predetermined volume has been achieved. Prior to
analysis on GC-MS, all MPLC fractionated satu-
rated hydrocarbon fractions were adducted on 5
silica (West e t a l . , 1990) to remove n-alkanes. Both
the aromatic and saturated hydrocarbon fractions
were analyzed on a Fisons MD 800 GC-MS using a
60m DB-5 ms column (i.d. = 0.25 mm, pro-
grammed 80 180C with 10Cmin -I and 180-
310C with 1.7C min l). The ions monitored were
m / z 191, 217, 218, 178, 192, 198, 231 and 253. All
analysis on GC-MS was carried out in electron
impact mode at 70 eV.
SPATIAL AND PRODUCTION HISTORY RELATED
COMPOSI TI ONAL DIFFERENCES 1N OILS
In order to understand the effects on composition
of oils in terms of spatial and temporal differences
in the production history, oils from the Ula Field in
the present study have been divided into the follow-
ing categories.
(i) Earlier produced oils without more recently
produced oils from the same wells;
Inter and intrafield hydrocarbon 435
(ii) Mor e r ecent l y pr oduced oil wi t hout ear l i er
pr oduced oil f r om t he same well;
(iii) Ear l i er pr oduced oils wi t h mor e r ecent l y pr o-
duced oils f r om t he same wells. These oils will be
t er med as ol d oils her eaf t er ;
(iv) Equi val ent s of oils in cat egor y III, but pr o-
duced mor e recent l y, t er med her eaf t er as new oils;
(v) Oils f r om t he Tr i assi c aged Skager r ak
Fo r ma t i o n in t he Ul a Fi el d;
The Gyda Fi el d has been di vi ded i nt o t he f ol l ow-
i ng t hr ee mai n st r uct ur al el ement s. Oils f r om wells
l ocat ed in t hese st r uct ur al el ement s have t hus been
di vi ded i nt o t he f ol l owi ng t hr ee cat egori es:
(i) Oils f r om wells l ocat ed in t he crest;
(ii) Oils f r om wells l ocat ed in t he down- di p por -
t i on of t he field;
(iii) Oils f r om t he Gyda Sout h Cul mi nat i on.
REPRODUCIBILITY OF ANALYSIS
Some of t he oil sampl es anal yzed in t he pr esent
st udy were st or ed in our l ab f or several years. I t
was t hus f ound i mper at i ve t o cr oss- check t he ana-
l yt i cal resul t s agai nst t hose done on t he same oils
some years ago t o ascer t ai n t he compos i t i onal var i -
at i ons t hat we obser ve in t hese oils were not an art i -
f act of l ab st or age. Kar l s en e t al . (1993) publ i s hed
t he resul t s of geochemi cal par amet er s f or some o f
t he oils t hat were al so i ncl uded in t he pr esent st udy.
Though, t he pr esent st udy does not r epor t some of
t he par amet er s t hat Kar l s en e t al . (1993) used in
t hei r st udy, still we cal cul at ed t hese par amet er s
specifically t o cr oss- check t he r epr oduci bi l i t y of
analysis. A c ompa r i s on of t he numer i cal val ues o f
geochemi cal par amet er s based on t he anal ysi s o f
Kar l s en e t al . (1993) and t he pr esent st udy is gi ven
in Tabl e 1. The di fferences wher e obser ved in
Tabl e 1 can be at t r i but ed t o t he di fferences i n t he
GC col umns used in t he t wo studies. I n t he pr esent
st udy, DB- 5 ms c ol umn whi ch gi ves bet t er peak res-
ol ut i on was used agai nst t he DB- 1 c ol umn t hat was
used by Kar l s en e t al . (1993). The 24R and 24S epi-
mer s f or t he mono- and t r i ar omat i c st eroi ds, f or
exampl e, ar e not r esol ved by t he DB-1 c hr oma t o-
gr aphi c c ol umn (Pet ers and Mol dowa n, 1993; p.
246).
PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS (PCA)
The P CA consi st s of choos i ng uncor r el at ed l i near
c ombi na t i ons of t he var i abl es in such a way t hat
each successi vel y ext r act ed l i near combi nat i on,
cal l ed a pr i nci pal component , has a smal l er var -
iance. I f t he var i abl es have si gni fi cant l i near i nt er-
cor r el at i ons, t he first few pr i nci pl e c ompone nt s will
account f or a l arge par t o f t he t ot al var i ance. These
ma y t hen be used t o descr i be t he var i at i on as
obs er ved i n t he or i gi nal var i abl es ( Mc Ca mmo n ,
1966). Teln~es and Dahl (1986) used PCA in t hei r
oi l - oi l cor r el at i on st udi es of oils f r om t he
Nor we gi a n sect or of t he No r t h Sea. Based on py-
r ol ys i s - gas c hr oma t ogr a phy, pet r ogr aphi c and bul k
geochemi cal dat a, Oygar d e t al . (1988) used 117
var i abl es f or each sampl e in t he suite t o di scer n t he
ker ogen char act er i zat i on. Kar l s en e t al . (1995) stu-
di ed t he oils f r om t he Ha l t e nba nke n ar ea of t he
Nor we gi a n of f shor e usi ng PCA. A br i ef r evi ew of
t he l i t er at ur e t hus i ndi cat es t hat t he P CA has been
r out i nel y appl i ed in several geochemi cal studies.
BULK COMPOS I TI ON AND GC-F1D DATA BASED PCA
Fo r bul k compos i t i on and GC- F I D dat a based
PCA, pr i s t ane/ phyt ane, pr i st ane/ n- Cl 7 ( n- al kanes
ar e i dent i f i ed by t hei r c a r bon number s) , phyt ane/ n-
Cl s, per cent n-C lv/(n-C lv-l-g/-C 27) ( al kane Index),
( 2 * n - C z z ) / ( n - C z l + n-C23) (R22 Index), per cent pol a r
cont ent a nd s at ur at ed t o ar omat i c r at i o val ues wer e
used.
Pr i s t a ne / phyt a ne r at i os of oils or bi t umens have
been used t o i ndi cat e t he r edox pot ent i al o f t he
sour ce sedi ment s ( Di dyk e t al . , 1978). However ,
Co n n a n (1974) showed t hat this r at i o i ncreases wi t h
mat ur i t y. Si mi l arl y, Al exander e t al . (1981) f ound
Table 1. Comparison of some of the GC-FID and GC-MS based parameters between the present study and that by Karlsen et al. (1993)
hopX/
Samples %VRE MPDF (hopX + normor.) A3 pr/ph p r / n - Cl 7 ph/n-Cis
7/8-3 DsT-2 Karlsen et al.
(1993) 0.80 0.42 0.80 0.60 1.50 0,73 0~58
present study 0.71 0.42 0.83 0.96 1.40 0.80 0.60
7/12-6 DST-2 Karlsen et al.
(1993) 0.83 0.44 0.89 0.60 1.33 0.39 0.35
present study 1.01 0.51 0.92 0.74 1.40 0.40 0.40
7/12-6 DST- 1C Kar l sen et al.
(1993) 0.74 0.37 0.88 0.92 1.32 0.40 0.35
present study 0.72 0.34 0.90 0.96 1.50 0.40 0.30
7/11-5 DST-1 Karlsen et al.
(1993) 1.01 0.57 0.82 0.96 1.55 0.47 0.35
present study 1.08 0.62 0.64 0.94 1.40 0.50 0.30
2/1-3 DST-2 Karlsen et al.
(1993) 0.84 0.44 0.83 0.94 1.20 0.55 0.56
present study 0.79 0.49 0.88 0.94 n.d. n.d. n.d.
436 S . A. Ah s a n e t al .
the pristane/phytane ratio to increase with maturity
as well. Pristane/n-Cl7 and phytane/n-C18 ratios
decrease with increasing maturity (Peters and
Moldowan, 1993; p. 118). The abundance of n-Ci7
relative to r t - C27 indicates enrichment of algal com-
pared with the terrestrial input in the source rocks
(Tissot and Welte, 1984; p. 380). None of the oils
analyzed in the present study were found to have
alkane index values less than 50 percent, thus indi-
cating predominance of n-Cl7 compared with n-C27.
Oils with predominance of even n-alkanes are
characteristic of carbonate or evaporite source
rocks deposited in reducing and hydrogenating en-
vironment (Tissot and Welte, 1984; p. 386). Thus
the R22 index does not weigh significantly either on
PC1 or PC2 as none of the oils studied here are de-
rived from carbonate or evaporite-type source rock.
For related oils of increasing thermal maturity,
Peters and Moldowan (1993; p. 218) found increas-
ing saturated to aromatic hydrocarbon ratios.
Based on the bulk composition and GC-FID par-
ameters' PCA, the combined scores and the load-
ings plot called the biplot is presented in Fig. 3
(samples bearing same numbers indicate duplicate
analysis). The first and second principal com-
ponents account for 35.2 and 19.8% of the variance
in the data set respectively. With the exception of
an oil sample from the Gyda South Culmination,
the Ula and the Gyda Field oil sets completely sep-
arate along PCI in Fig. 3 (for description and lo-
cation of samples, see Table 1 and Fig. l(a) and
(b). If PCI is taken to represent maturity axis, then
it can be suggested that all the Gyda Field oils,
with the exception of an oil from the Gyda South
Culmination are less mature than oils from the Ula
Field. There seems to be some degree of separation
between the Ula and the Gyda Field oil sets along
PC2 as well, as the majority of the Ula Field oils
are negatively weighted on PC2 as opposed to the
majority of Gyda Field oils that weigh positively on
this PC. This implies that the Ula Field oils are
generally characterized by lower alkane index values
compared with the Gyda Field oils.
The oils from the non Ula Trend wells 7/8-3 and
7/11-5 plot in the area defined by the Gyda and
Ula Field oil sets respectively. The oil from well 7/
8-3 shows the highest pristane/n-Ci7 and phytane/n-
Cl8 values as opposed to the oil from well 7/11-5
that shows these values to be more or less equal to
the DST oils from the Triassic aged Skagerrak
Formation. The DST oil samples from wells 7/12-6
and 7/12-2 that come from the Triassic aged
Skagerrak Formation plot along PC1 with the high-
est negative scores indicating these samples to have
the lowest pristane/n-C~7 and phytane/n-C~8 values.
With the exception of only one new oil sample,
all other such samples plot separately from those of
the earlier produced ones along PC2.
Oil samples from wells 7/12-7 and 7/12-9 also
plot distinctly from all other oils in the data set.
These samples are characterized by higher alkane
indices compared with all other Ula Field oils.
With the exception of an oil sample from the
Gyda South Culmination, oils from other structural
elements of the Gyda Field do not plot quite dis-
tinctly from each other.
Figure 4 presents representative GC-FID traces
of two old and new oil samples from the Ula Field.
Some GC-FID and bulk composition based par-
ameters are also shown on these traces.
GC-MS DATA BASED PCA
For the purpose of the present study, an assort-
ment of source and maturity related parameters
were used either from the published literature or
some modified versions of the published parameters.
These parameters were subsequently subjected to
PCA in order to assess the compositional variations
in oils in different parts of the Ula and the Gyda
Fields. Any conclusion regarding the geochemical
determination of compartments in a given field has
to be substantiated by for example, pressure and
isotope data of water in the water and in the oil
legs as well. In the absence of this supporting data,
the intrafield compositional variation could be
interpreted to arise from several factors. The press-
ure data during the pre-production phase of the
Ula Field development are either incomplete or are
unreliable due to the sensitivity of instruments used
to gauge pressure (Heum, 1996). However, compari-
son of PCA analysis of oils from the same wells
produced earlier and more recently suggests that
there has been a change (probably production re-
lated) in the sealing fault behavior in the Ula Field,
as the more recently produced oils are composition-
ally more homogenous compared with the earlier
produced ones.
The parameters used for PCA and presented in
Appendix A, are both maturity and source rock
dependent and variations in these parameters are
thus meant to indicate variations in maturity and
the source rock facies feeding a given reservoir.
Table 2 shows the values of the parameters used for
PCA along with the averages and standard devi-
ations for each of the subgroup of oils from the
Ula and the Gyda Fields.
COMPOSI TI ON OF THE ULA FI ELD OI LS
In order to assess the compositional variations in
the Ula Field oils, several steranes, triterpanes and
aromatic compounds based maturity and source
facies related parameters were used. Both the Ula
and the Gyda Field oil sets were analyzed (using
PC) using data contained in a single file. However,
the biplot for oils from the two fields were plotted
Inter and intrafield hydrocarbon 437
separat el y for cl ari t y and easy compar i son of oil
samples from the two fields and within these fields.
Fi gure 5(a) shows bi pl ot of oil sampl es from the
Ul a Fi el d and the non Ul a Tr end wells 7/8-3 and 7/
11-5. I t is appar ent from this figure t hat , based on
the par amet er s given in Tabl e 2 and Appendi x A,
the Ul a Fi el d oils show l arger composi t i onal vari -
at i ons t han the Gyda Fi el d oils. PCI and PC2
account for 26.0 and 21.5% of vari ance respectively
in the dat a set. Mos t of the mat ur i t y based par -
ameters pl ot al ong PC1, whereas the homohopane
and some sterane based source par amet er s pl ot
al ong PC2. I t is therefore, PC1 and PC2 are inter-
pret ed t o represent mat ur i t y and source r ock facies
vari at i ons respectively. However, it shoul d be men-
t i oned here t hat some of the mat ur i t y and source
rel at ed par amet er s do not show a 90 separat i on,
thus i ndi cat i ng influence of bot h mat ur i t y and
source effect on these paramet ers. The percent ages
of C28 and C29 ( o ~ f l f l ) steranes, for exampl e pl ot at
45 to the est abl i shed mat ur i t y axis in the negative
PCI and positive PC2 quadr ant . Similarly, percen-
t age of C27 relative to the sum of C27 and C29 ster-
anes pl ot at an angle of 45 to the mat ur i t y axis in
the posi t i ve PC1 and negative PC2 quadr ant . These
examples have been given here to i l l ust rat e the fact
t hat these par amet er s are affected by bot h mat ur i t y
and source r ock facies vari at i ons.
Nevertheless, the new oils pl ot in a confined ar ea
i mpl yi ng composi t i onal homogenei t y. The ol d oils
show large composi t i onal vari at i ons as evidenced
by the l ocat i ons of these sampl es in the bi pl ot . The
ol d oils whose mor e recent equi val ent s were not
avai l abl e show even l arger composi t i onal var i at i on
t han the ol d oils. The new oil wi t hout an ol d equiv-
al ent however, pl ot close t o the ot her new oils and
one ol d oil.
DST oil sampl es from the Skager r ak For mat i on
pl ot to the ext reme left of Fi g. 5(a) with slight devi-
at i on on PC2 i mpl yi ng t hat these oils are affected
most l y by mat ur i t y. These oil samples were, in
terms of the bul k composi t i on and GC- FI D par -
amet ers' based PCA, shown to be among t he most
mat ur e oils. In t erms of the GC- MS dat a based
PCA these oils appear to be among the least mat ur e
oils in t he Ul a Fi el d oil set. Thi s di screpancy coul d
perhaps be at t r i but ed to the response of different
t ypes of compounds used in assessing the mat ur i t y
of these oils. However, based on %VRE (Radke,
1988), the DST oil sampl e f r om well 7/12-6 in t he
Skager r ak For mat i on appear t o be the most mat ur e
sampl e in the Ul a Fi el d oil set.
Oil samples 7/12-A07, 7/12-A08 and 7/12-A02
pl ot al ong PC2 with very slight devi at i on on PC1.
These sampl es are charact eri zed by rel at i vel y higher
C33, C34 homohopanes and percent age of 4-met hyl
steranes relative t o C29-cX~ (20R) steranes.
Fur t her mor e, these samples on account of the
charact eri st i cs ment i oned above appear t o be differ~
ent t han most ot her Ul a Fi el d oil samples. The Ni /
(Ni + V) val ue of the oil from well 7/12-A08, for
exampl e is 0.53 as opposed to 0.91 for DST-2 oil
from well 7/12-6.
The oi l sampl e f r om well 7/12-4 SMP 92 posi -
tively weighs on PC2 with al most negligible score
on PC1. This sampl e is charact eri zed by higher rel a-
tive percent age of Czs compar ed wi t h the sum of
C2s and 4-met hyl steranes. In addi t i on, this sampl e
shows l ower relative abundance of C33 and C34
homohopanes with respect t o 17~(H) C30 hopane.
The non Ul a Tr end oils from wells 7/8-3 and 7/
11-5 weigh negat i vel y and posi t i vel y respectively on
PC1 whi ch shows most l y mat ur i t y effects. Oils f r om
wells 7/8-3 and 7/11-5 are among the least and the
most mat ur e respectively among the entire dat a set.
In fact several mat ur i t y par amet er s show consist-
ent l y (which is rarel y the case) this t o be the case
(Table 2). The oil sampl e from well 7/8-3 has API
and GOR values of 29 and 177 scf./bbl, respect-
ively. On t he ot her hand, the API gravi t y of oils
from the Ul a Tr end t ypi cal l y varies from 38 to 41
and GOR values have been f ound up t o 1100 scf./
bbl. (Spencer e t a l . , 1986). The whole oil 613C val ue
for the oil sampl e from well 7/8-3 is -30.3%0 which
is similar t o t ypi cal Mandal For mat i on source r ock
derived oils. The 613C val ue for DST 2 oil f r om
well 7/12-6 is -29.7%0 suggesting its der i vat i on f r om
the Mandal For mat i on. St r and and Slaatsveen
(1987) descri bed oils f r om well 7/11-5. They i nt er-
pr et ed oil from 7/11-5 t o be derived either f r om the
Mandal or the Far s und For mat i on. On the bi pl ot
in Fig. 5(a), this sampl e shows ext remel y high posi -
tive weight on PC1 and t hus pl ot s to the ri ght in
this figure al ong PC1. This is because of the fact
t hat it shows the highest r at i os of the C23 tricyclic
and C24 t et racycl i c t er pane relative t o 17~(H) C30
hopane.
The relative abundance of C23 tricyclic and C24
t et racycl i c t ri t erpanes t o 17c~(H) C30 hopane have
been shown in t he l i t erat ure to be rel at ed t o ei t her
source or mat ur i t y. Aqui no Net o e t a l . (1983) and
Peters e t a l . (1990) showed t hat tricyclic t erpanes
are generat ed from the kerogen at relatively hi gher
mat ur i t y t han the homohopanes. Aqui no Net o e t
a l . (1983) furt her showed t hat oils and bi t umens
from car bonat e rocks have low concent rat i ons of
tricyclic t erpanes above C26, compar ed with t hose
from ot her deposi t i onal envi ronment s where the
C26-C30 and C19-C25 concent rat i ons are similar.
Pal acas e t a l . (1984) and Connan e t a l . (1986)
suggested t hat abundant C24 t et racycl i c t er pane in
pet r ol eum was a mar ker for car bonat e and evapor -
ite deposi t i onal envi ronment . However, Peters and
Mol dowan (1993; p. 176) i ndi cat ed t hat r at i os of
t et racycl i c t erpanes t o hopanes increase in mor e
mat ur e source rocks and oils suggesting great er
st abi l i t y of the t et racycl i c t erpanes. Karl sen e t a l .
(1993) observed low relative abundance of C23 tri-
o
m
o
~ <
o
2 <
~~
.~_ . ~
B>
a~
. : ~
_ +
Z
r.i
438
r.,,. a
,.d
ka
S. A. Ahs a n e t a l .
. . Q ~ . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . ~ . . . . . . ~ .
. . . ~ . . . . . . . . ~ . . .
. . . . . . ~ o . . ~ .
~ . . . . . . . . . . . ~ - - ~ ~ . . .
~ ~ ~ ~ - ~ ~ . ~ ~ ~ o
0
~ ~ ~ ~ . . . . ~ . . .
~ ~ e q e q -,i q
o o
. . . . . . e h~- -
~- ~- ~- < ~Z
Inter and intrafield hydrocarbon 439
e4
440 S. A. Ahsan e t al .
cyclic t erpanes compar ed with C30 hopanes in
ext ract s of the Mandal For mat i on source rock, and
also in non- par t i t i oned (for example, oils unaffected
by gas st ri ppi ng) Cent ral Gr aben oils. They furt her
suggested t hat di ssi mi l ari t y in the facies is the mai n
cont r ol on the differences between t he r at i o of tri-
cyclic t erpanes to the pent acycl i c t ri t erpanes in the
K- f el dspar inclusions as compar ed wi t h the cur-
rent l y reservoi red oil in the Ul a For mat i on. Since
bot h C23 tricyclic and C24 t et racycl i c t erpanes show
si mul t aneous increase in relative abundance com-
par ed t o C30 hopane, the higher relative concen-
t rat i ons of these compounds in the 7/11-5 oil is
supposed to be mai nl y mat ur i t y related.
Fi gur e 6(a) and (b) shows pl ot s of t r i ar omat i c
sterane and phenant hrene (Kval hei m e t a l . , 1987)
based par amet er s versus percent ages of C23 tricyclic
t erpane relative to 17cffH) C30 hopane. The C23 tri-
cyclic t eprane percent age relative to 17c~(H) C30
hopane shows an initial st eady increase with
i ncreasi ng mat ur i t y up to appr oxi mat el y 1.0%
VRE. At higher mat ur i t y levels, the increase in the
C23 tricyclic t erpane relative to 17~(H) C30 is sub-
st ant i al with slight increase in mat ur i t y and
becomes mor e or less i ndependent of any mat ur i t y
increase. I t is therefore, suggested t hat the percen-
tage of C23 tricyclic t erpane relative to 17~(H) C30
hopane is mat ur i t y dependent and increases linearly
with mat ur i t y up to 1.0% VRE.
The suite of oils from the Hei dr un Fi el d in the
Hal t enbanken ar ea t hat Karl sen e t a l . (1995) stu-
di ed included one condensat e with API and GOR
values of 70.6 and 2636 scf./bbl, respectively. This
oil also has higher relative abundance of C23 tri-
cyclic t erpane compar ed with the 17c~(H) C30
hopane. The API and GOR values of the oil from
well 7/11-5 are 39.2 and 1410 scf./bbl, respectively.
I n compar i son, a typical DST oil from t he Ul a
For mat i on from well 7/12-6 has API and GOR
values of 36.9 and 672 scf./bbl, respectively.
Int erest i ngl y, compar i son of the Ul a bi pl ot with
t hat of the Gyda in Fig. 5(b) shows t hat 7/11-5
sampl e pl ot close to the oil samples from the Gyda
Sout h Cul mi nat i on whi ch are also some of the most
mat ur e oils in the dat a set.
The ol d oils from wells 7/12-A14 and 7/12-A18
pl ot close to each ot her in the bi pl ot and hence
show si mi l ar composi t i onal vari at i on. However,
compar i son of ol d oils from wells 7/12-A16 and 7/
12-A12A which are l ocat ed on either side of the
crestal faul t system show t hat these have subst an-
tially different composi t i ons. Mor e recently pr o-
duced oils from the same wells however, show
subst ant i al homogeni zat i on i ndi cat i ng t hat t here
has pr obabl y been a recent change from sealing to
communi cat i ng in t he crestal faul t behavior. Thus
differences among oils from different wells are elimi-
nat ed and samples f r om wells l ocat ed even on either
side of t he crestal faul t system show homogeni z-
ation. Fi gur e 7 present s represent at i ve mass frag-
ment ogr ams of two of the ol d and their equi val ent
new oils from either side of the crestal fault system.
COMPOSITION OF THE GYDA FIELD OILS
A t ot al of 30 DST and pr oduct i on oils from the
Gyda Fi el d were anal yzed in the present study. The
results obt ai ned on these oils were used to cal cul at e
sterane, t ri t erpane and ar omat i c compounds based
par amet er s as done wi t h t hose from the Ul a Field.
In or der to ascert ai n reproduci bi l i t y of analyses,
dupl i cat es were run on some samples.
The closer pr oxi mi t y in the bi pl ot of DST oils in
wells 2/1-3 and 2/1-4 suggests t hat the oil col umns
in these wells are composi t i onal l y homogenized.
Compar i son of DST oils from different wells indi-
cat e t hat these are also rel at i vel y mor e homogeni zed
l at eral l y compar ed with Ul a Fi el d oils. The pr o-
1. 3
I . I
0 . 9
0 . 7
0 . 5
~. 1.0
( a )
eo ~ ~
* , , - t o z ~
o +0 _E 0. 6
o 0 +
. o Ee
fTJ
J u u ~ 0. 4
6 0 1 2 0 1 8 0 2 4 0 3 0 0
C 2 3 t r i c y c l i c t e r p a n e l C 3 0 h o p a n e ( % )
o , ( h )
mo
;'M'a."
I l eo
o
I I I I
0 60 120 180 2 4 0 3 0 0
C 2 3 t r i c y c l i c t o r p a n o / G 3 0 h o p a n o (%)
Fig. 6. Percentage of C23 tricyclic terpane relative to 17~(H)C30 hopane depends initially linearly on
%VRE (a) and triaromatic steroid (b) based maturity parameters and exponentially at higher maturity
levels.
C23
7/12-A16
Ts
l~ime
D2
P
G
m/z 191
N
~fi Zx
Ol d Oils
7/12-A16
m/z 217
4 0
7/12-A12A
m/z 191
k.
7/12-A16
Ne w (
m/z 191
7/12-A12A
m/z 217
Dils
7/12-A16
m/z 217
7/12-A12A
; <
7/12-A12A
m/z 217
Fig. 7. Representative mass fragmentograms of oils from the Ul a Field produced earlier (old oils) and
more recently (new oils). Several triterpane and sterane based source and mat uri t y paramet ers have
been calculated using peak height ratios from these fragmentograms. For peak identifications see
Appendix A.
442 S. A. Ahsan e t al .
duct i on oils f r om the Gyda Fi el d also show compo-
si t i onal consi st ency on par wi t h ot her DST oils. It
appear s t hr ough this di scussi on t hat the Gyda Fi el d
oils are general l y composi t i onal l y homogeneous
bot h vert i cal l y and l at eral l y. This implies t hat
unlike the Ul a Fi el d, the Gyda Fi el d has good com-
muni cat i on despi t e its l ower por osi t y and per-
meabi l i t y characteristics. The por osi t y in well 2/1-3
in the reservoi r zone varies from 12 to 21%, and
the average permeabi l i t y is 84mD. Average per-
meabi l i t y in t he Gyda Fi el d is 30 mD, however the
bul k of the reservoir has a per meabi l i t y of < 1-
10 mD (Rot hwel l e t a l . , 1993).
In the Gyda Sout h Cul mi nat i on, the per meabi l i t y
in the reservoi r zone averages 2 mD in well 2/1-9,
whereas in well 2/1-9A which is 450 m di st ant from
the 2/1-9 well, the permeabi l i t y in the same reser-
voi r zone is 340 mD. By compar i son permeabi l i t y
and por osi t y in the Ul a Fi el d fall in the 650-
850 mD ranges and 15- 22% respectively (Spencer
e t a l . , 1986).
The great er composi t i onal homogenei t y of the
Gyda Fi el d oils may represent either exclusively or
a combi nat i on, of the fol l owi ng factors:
(i) consi st ency in the source r ock facies in the
drai nage ar ea of the field;
(ii) good l at eral and vertical communi cat i on
between different segments of t he field;
(iii) l onger residence t i me for the Gyda Fi el d oils
for the physi cal homogeni zat i on process to influ-
ence composi t i on mor e effectively.
However, as a result of r api d Neogene subsi-
dence, the hydr ocar bon generat i on from the
Mandal For mat i on source r ock and ent r apment in
2/1-9 (Gyda South)
ndz 191
m/ z 217
. =
Ti me
SaffArom 3.0 ]
Pr/Ph 1.4 [
P r / n - C 1 7 0 . 5
P h / n - C 1 8 0 . 4 [
A l k a n e I n d . 92.1J
Fig. 8. Representative ffagmentogram and GC-FID trace of a sample from the Gyda South
Culmination. Oil from Gyda South Culmination differ in maturity from other oils from the Gyda
Field.
I n t e r a n d i nt r a f i e l d h y d r o c a r b o n 443
structures in t he Ul a Tr end are recent phenomena
(Karl sen et al . , 1993 and Lat t er et al . , 1990).
Therefore, f act or (iii) shoul d not exert any specific
cont rol on the composi t i onal homogenei t y of the
Gyda Fi el d oils. Fi gur e 8 present s represent at i ve
mass f r agment ogr ams and a GC- FI D t race of a
sampl e f r om t he Gyda Sout h Cul mi nat i on.
Bot h the DST and pr oduct i on oil sampl es f r om
Gyda Sout h (2/1-9 and 2/1-A13) pl ot away f r om
ot her Gyda Fi el d oils. These are the most mat ur e
oils for t he Gyda suite. These oils show similarities
with oil from well 7/11-5 i ncl udi ng higher rel at i ve
abundance of C23 tricyclic and C24 t et racycl i c ter-
panes. Likewise, oil sampl es 2/ 1-A14A and 2/1-A26
pl ot di st i nct l y from ot her Gyda Fi el d oils.
Curi ousl y enough the composi t i on of oils from
wells 2/1-A01 and 2/ 1-A14A which lie adj acent to
each ot her show large composi t i onal differences.
The oil sampl e from 2/ l -A01 shows geochemi cal
charact eri st i cs si mi l ar t o t hose of the ot her Gyda
Fi el d oils. Wells 2/ l - A01 and 2/ 1-A14A lie on ei t her
side of a densely faul t ed por t i on of the field. The
composi t i onal differences in these adj acent wells
coul d be due t o sealing faul t behavi or. The oils
from wells 2/ 1-A14A and 2/1-A26 show si mi l ar geo-
chemical charact eri st i cs to t hose from wells 7/12-
A02, 7/8-3 and 7/12-A08 in the Ul a Fi el d possi bl y
i mpl yi ng si mi l ar source r ock facies.
MATURI TY ASSESSMENT OF THE ULA AND THE GYDA
FI ELD OI LS
segments (Rothwe11 et al . , 1993). Average values of
mat ur i t y par amet er s for oils f r om wells l ocat ed in
these segments were also cal cul at ed. It is appar ent
from Tabl e 3 t hat oils f r om wells l ocat ed in the
east ern par t of the field are mor e mat ur e t han oils
from wells in the western par t of the field. Engl and
and Mackenzi e (1989) pr oposed t hat reservoir filling
oft en t akes pl ace from onl y one side. I f the assump-
t i on of reservoi rs being filled f r om onl y one side is
consi dered t o be val i d t hen t here will be a general
t rend in mat ur i t y across a reservoir, with the most
recently generat ed pet r ol eum found nearest its
source rock. Based on the differences in mat ur i t y
level of oils from wells in the east ern and western
segments, wi t h east ern oils being mor e mat ure, it is
i nt erpret ed t hat the mai n pet r ol eum charge filling
the Ul a Fi el d came from the east ern di rect i on.
Based on mat ur i t y model i ng, Lar t er et al. (1990),
also i nferred this to be the mai n filling di rect i on.
Fur t her mor e, based on persistence of oil i ncl usi ons
t o a great er dept h in the east ern and sout h east ern
par t of the field, Oxt oby et al. (1995) and
Nedkvi t ne et al. (1993) i nferred t hat the mai n pet -
r ol eum charge came from t he east ern di rect i on.
Oil sampl es from wells 7/11-5 and 7/8-3, which
lie out si de t he Ul a Trend, are t he most and the
l east mat ur e oils anal yzed respectively.
I n the Gyda Fi el d, the most mat ur e pet r ol eum is
f ound in the Gyda Sout h Cul mi nat i on, whereas the
cent ral (crestal) ar ea shows the lowest mat ur i t y
levels.
In or der to assess the mat ur i t y of the oils, several
t ri t erpane, st erane ( mono- and tri-) and phenan-
threne based par amet er s were used. For t he Ul a
Fi el d, sampl es from wells l ocat ed in the east ern
par t of the field were defined as one group, whereas
the wells in t he western par t make up anot her
group. Aver age values of each mat ur i t y par amet er
were then cal cul at ed separat el y for each group.
Tabl e 3 present s the average values of each of the
mat ur i t y par amet er s for oils from wells l ocat ed in
the western and east ern par t s of the Ul a Fi el d. The
Gyda Fi el d has been di vi ded i nt o t hree st ruct ural
FI ELD FI LLI NG MODELS
Kar l sen et al. (1993) identified oil empl acement in
the crest al par t of the Ul a Fi el d to have i ni t i at ed as
earl y as 75-45 My BP. Brown et al. (1992) pr o-
posed t hree al t ernat i ve model s t o expl ai n the
observed differences in t he OWCs and hydr ocar bon
di st r i but i on in different par t s of the Ul a Fi el d.
These t hree model s are (a) sealing faults, (b)
dynami c aqui fer and (c) confined wat er t ank. The
aut hors, however, mai nt ai ned t hat none of these
Tabl e 3. Average values of some of the mat uri t y paramet ers calculated for wells from the eastern and western part s of the Ul a Fi el d and
three st ruct ural segments of the Gyda Field
Mat ur i t y paramet ers Average values of mat ur i t y paramet ers
Ul a field Gyda field
western eastern
wells wells crest down-di p Gyda sout h
C23 tricyclic terpane/17c~(H)-Cso hopane 36,15
C24 tetracyclic terpane/17~(H)-C3o hopane 26,68
C2o triaro, ster. /(same + C28 20R triaro. ster. ) 0,89
C2o + Czt triaro. ster. /(same + S C26 C28 triaro.ster.) 0,71
(3-MP + 2-MP)/(9-MP + I-MP) 0,91
Met hyl di benzot hi ophene rat i o 2.96
%VRE (Radke, 1988) 0.84
%VRE (Kval hei m e t a l . , 1987) 0.90
%VRE (Radke, 1988) 0,73
Ts/(Ts + Tm) 0.72
47.85 40.51 43.68 151.00
30.98 28.56 28.30 68.66
0.90 0.92 0.94 0.99
0.73 0.78 0.83 0.95
0.93 0.90 0.92 1.28
3.12 2.37 3.42 3.59
0.87 0.83 0.84 0.93
0, 9l 0,89 0,90 1,09
0.74 0.68 0.76 0.77
0.73 0.68 0.62 0.80
444
S. A. Ahsan et al.
models fully explain the observed fluid distribution.
In each of these models the role of the Jurassic cres-
tal fault system is of paramount importance.
According to the authors the sealing fault model is
preferred over other models as it has the potential
to explain most of the observations. They further
maintained that the sealing faults may have broken
down as a result of the rapid creation of a large
pressure differential through field production.
However, there has been no substantial change in
pressure over the production history of the Ula
Field to indicate the break down of sealing faults.
Heum (1996), however, based on the pressure differ-
ences in water leg in the easterly and westerly
located wells, inferred a model, earlier called the
dynamic aquifer model by Brown e t al . (1992).
Brown e t al . (1992) maintained that the published
data on fluid flow rates (less than 1 mm/year) from
compaction of shales in the basin to the west of
Ula are inadequate to produce the observed con-
tacts.
The compositional differences are identified by
several sterane, triterpane and aromatic compound
based source and maturity parameters. The differ-
ence in compositional patterns between the old and
the new oils indicate that there has been a change
We s t
i i
East
Ini t i al Fi l l i ng St age
Go o d c o mmu n i c a t - [ La t e Cr e t a c e o us - /
i on b e t we e n e a s t Ea r l y Te r t i ar y I
tion
1
Fa ul t Pl a ne
Cl a y Smearing,_
Sal t Mo v e me n t
C o mmu n i c a t i o n St oppe d
Sal t Mo v e me n t
L a t e Te r t i ar y
S o u r c e R o c k Sect i on
P r o d u c t i o n St a r t
Fa ul t Seal Br e a k
D o w n a s a r e s ul t I /
o f Pr e s s ur e Di f f erent i al Si nc e P r o d u c t i o n St art
Sal t Mo v e m e n t
S o u r c e R o c k Sect i on
Fig. 9. Sketch over the Ula Field showing filling direction and change in the crestal fault behavior as a
result of production. The red and black lines represent oils of different composition.
Inter and intrafield hydrocarbon 445
in the crestal fault behavior over the producing life
of the reservoir. However, if crestal faults have
been sealing through geological time and the field
filling direction is from the east (based on maturity
modeling of Larter et al. (1990) and the present
study), then explaining the petroleum presence in
wells west of the crestal fault system becomes more
problematic. This can be explained in terms of the
progressive filling of the crestal part of the Ula
Field with simultaneous and subsequent salt move-
ment, diagenesis and fault plane clay smearing.
During the initial field filling phase, communication
between the eastern and the western parts of the
field was good. With increasing burial, different
diagenetic reactions particularly quartz authigenesis
reduced the porosity of the reservoir sandstones.
Furthermore, the salt intrusion has also possibly in-
itiated the movement of different faulted blocks in
the crestal part of the field in such a way that the
communication between the eastern and the western
parts of the field became poor. Fault plane clay
smearing could also have affected communication.
Thus, once the western part of the Ula Field was
filled with petroleum, communication became pro-
gressively poorer until becoming completely
impermeable in the Late Neogene. Figure 9 shows a
sketch of the Ula Field with initial oils of different
composition. As a result of sealing fault break
down due to production, the composition of the in-
itially different oil in the western part of the field
has been masked by flood of oil from the eastern
direction. This might be expected from a consider-
ation of the field's production history, with most
production, and hence the greater pressure sink,
being to the east of the crestal fault system.
Due to the greater structural complexity, a simi-
lar field filling model for the Gyda Field cannot be
given. However, based solely on the maturity differ-
ences of oils from the three structural segments into
which the Gyda Field has been divided, one could
infer that the Gyda South Culmination filled most
recently. However, this inference needs to be sub-
stantiated by other studies such as fluid inclusion.
CONCLUSIONS
The oils from the eastern part of the Ula Field
are more mature than from the western part of the
field. The main petroleum charge is therefore inter-
preted to have come from the eastern direction. The
oils produced earlier from the Ula Field show much
larger compositional variation compared with oils
produced more recently. This change in compo-
sitional pattern can be attributed to the change in
crestal fault behavior from almost non to comple-
tely communicating over the production history of
the field. The crestal fault systems that have been
communicating during the initial field filling phase
(but becoming completely non-communicating in
the Late Neogene) are therefore interpreted to have
broken down as a result of large pressure differen-
tial due to production. The slow diffusion and con-
vection related compositional homogenization
processes could have been effective through geologic
time. However, the compositional change as
observed in the Ula Field over the field production
history is much faster than could be envisaged by
slow diffusion or convection related processes.
Analysis of several DST oils from their respective
wells indicate that the Gyda Field is composition-
ally more homogeneous than the Ula Field. Oil
from the Gyda South Culmination, however,
appears to be derived either from a different facies
of the Mandal Formation or a different source rock
altogether. The oils from the Gyda South
Culmination are also more mature than oils either
in the crestal or down-dip portion of the field. Oils
from wells 2/l-A01 and -A14A which are located
adjacent to each other show large compositional
differences. This could be due to poor communi-
cation and/or different facies of the source rock in
the drainage area of oils in these wells.
Ac k n o wl e d g e me n t s ~ e are thankful to BP Norge UA
and partners for permission to publish and providing us
with oil samples and necessary information relevant to this
study. S. A. Ahsan also thanks BP and Elf for financial
support for his Ph.D. thesis of which this study will make
a part. The paper benefitted from careful and constructive
reviews by Dr Chris Cornford and Dr Lorenz Schwark.
The authors would also like to acknowledge Dr Radke for
his careful reading of the manuscript and for his construc-
tive advice.
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7~
A
G
K
N
O
U
V
0~
P
7
S
~r
17c~(H), 15e(Me)-27-norhopane (diahopane)
17/~(H),21 e(H)-30-normoretane
17e(H),21/~(H)-hopane
17//(H),21 cffH)-moretane
(22S)- 17~(H),21/~(H)-30-methylhopane
(22R)- 17c~(H),21 fl(H)-30-methylhopane
(22S)- 17~(H),21/~(H)-30-ethylhopane
(22R)- 17e(H),21/3(H)-30-ethylhopane
(22S)- 17c~(H),21/~(H)-30-n-propylhopane
(22R)- 17e(H),21/~(H)-30-n-propylhopane
(22S)- 17e(H),21/J(H)-30-n-butylhopane
(22R)- 17e(H),21/?(H)-30-n-butylhopane
(22S)- 17e(H),21//(H)-30-n-pentylhopane
(22S)- 17~(H),21/~(H)- 30-n-pentylhopane
P e a k s i denti fi ed on mlz 217
10 (20S)- 13/~(H), 17cffH)-diacholestane
l I (20R)- 13/~(H), 17cffH)-diacholestane
20 (20S)- 5~(H), 14c~(H), 17cffH)-cholestane
21/~ (20R)-5cffH),I 4//(H), 17//(H)-isocholestane
22 (20S)- 5c~(H), 14/~(H), 17/~(H)-isocholestane
25 (20R)-5~(H), ! 4~(H), 17c~(H)-cholestane
27 (24S + R)-(20R)-13/~(H),17cffH)-24-ethyldiacholestane
33 (24S + R)-(20R)-5~(H),14/~(H),17/~(H)-24-
methylisocholestane
34 (24S + R)-(20S)-5~(H),14/~(H),17/~(H)-24-
methylisocholestane
36 (24S + R)-(20R)-5~(H),14~(H),17~(H)-24-
methylcholestane
39 (24S + R)-(20S)-5c~(H),14cffH),17cffH)-24-ethylcholestane
40 (24S + R)-(20S)-5c~(H),14/?(H),17/~(H)-24-
ethylisocholestane
41 (24S + R)-(20R)-5~(H),14fl(H),17fl(H)-24-
ethylisocholestane
42 (24S + R)-(20R)-57(H),14~(H),17~(H)-24-ethylcholestane
APPENDIX A
46 (24S + R)-(20R)C30-sterane
P e a k s
C23
C24
Ts
Tm
X
D
D2
i denti fi ed on m/z 191 f ragment ogram
Extended tricyclic terpane
Tetracyclic terpane
18cffH)-22,29,30-Trisnorneohopane
17~(H)-22,29,30-Trisnorhopane
17c~(H),18c~(H),21fi(H)-28,30-bisnorhopane
17c~(H),21 fl(H)-30-norhopane
18c~(H)-30-norneohopane
Des cri pt i on o f paramet ers used in Fi g. 5( a) and ( b) and
Ta bl e s 1 - 3
A = (3-MP + 2-MP)/(9-MP + 1-MP) (modified after
methyl phenant hr ene di st ri but i on fraction 1 of Kval hei m
et al., 1987); C, M, N, O = C32_35 ( R and S epimers)
hopane distributions relative to C30 hopane (modified after
Peters and Mol dowan, i993); p. 147); P, Q = percentage
of C23 extended tricyclic t erpane and C24 tetracylic terpane
bot h relative to C30 hopane (Aquino Neto et al., 1983);
R = percentage of C35 relative to C34 homohopane
(modified after Peters and Moldowan, 1993; p. 147);
448 S . A. Ahs an e t a l .
D, S - relative di st ri but i ons of C28 and C29 ~ f l f l st eranes
( Huang and Mei nschei n, 1979); E = low mol ecul ar wei ght
st eranes relative t o C29 st eranes; B = per cent age o f C27
st erane relative to Cz9 st erane ( Huang and Mei nschei n,
1979); T = per cent age o f 4-met hyl st erane relative t o C29
~e~:~-20R st er ane (modi fi ed aft er Mol dowa n e t a l . , 1985);
U = per cent age of C28 c~ac~-20R rel at i ve t o t he sum o f C28
c~c~-20R and 4-met hyl st erane (modi fi ed aft er Mol dowa n
e t a l . , 1985); G, F and L = mol ecul ar based vi t ri ni t e reflec-
t ance ( Kval hei m e t a l . , 1987 and Radke, 1988); H = Z
t r i ar omat i c st eranes/ (same + Z monoar omat i c st eranes)
(modi fi ed aft er Mackenzi e e t a l . , 1985); I and A3 (Table 1)
C20 t r i ar omat i c steranes/(C20 t r i ar omat i c st erane + C28
t r i ar omat i c st erane) ( Mackenzi e e t a l . , 1985);
J = C2o q- C21 t r i ar omat i c st eranes/ (same + S C z 6 - C 2 s
t r i ar omat i c steranes); K = 4- met hyl di benzot hi ophene/ 1-
met hyl di benzot hi ophene ( Radke, 1988). T s / ( T ~ + Tin)
(Seifert and Mol dowan, 1978), %VRE (Table 1) ( Radke
and Wel t e, 1983).