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The controls on the composition of biodegraded oils in the Liuhua11-1 Oilfield, Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea

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Abstract

(1) The geochemical characteristics of extracted oils in three oil columns from the Liuhua11-1 Oilfield in the Pearl River Mouth Basin of South China Sea were analyzed in detail. The results show that the oil of Liuhua 11-1 Oilfield is generated from a single source rock, and belongs to maturate oil and their maturities have little difference. (2) The characteristics of saturated hydrocarbon gas chromatography, bulk composition, concentrations of biomarkers and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry of saturated hydrocarbon indicate that all samples studied were biodegraded, and the maximal level of biodegradation is less than PM level 6. (3) Bulk composition and the degree of biodegradation presented excellent gradient variations in the oil columns, and the highest degradation rates occurred at or near the oil–water contact (OWC). The key biomarkers of steranes and terpanes and maturity parameters of saturated hydrocarbon were not affected by degradation, which means that they are stable in slight to moderately biodegraded oils. Across the oilfield, the degree of biodegradation of LH11-1-3 was higher than that of LH11-1-1A and LH 11-1-4 in general. (4) We infer that the strong hydrodynamic conditions (tectonic control) and high reservoir temperatures (50–65 °C) are the primary controllers of the degree of oil biodegradation in the Liuhua 11-1 Oilfield and the late hydrocarbon accumulation may also have an important effect. The bulk composition and degree of biodegradation with excellent gradient variations in the oil columns were obviously controlled by the vertical distance from its in situ place to OWC. The highest supply of nutrient at the OWC results in high abundance of microorganisms and the highest degradation rate. And the lateral variation in level of biodegradation across the oil reservoir may be mainly control by the salinity of bottom water, the supply of nutrient and the energy of the bottom water.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Major National Science and Technology Project of China (Grant No. 2011ZX05033004-003). The authors are grateful to Mr. Zulin Chen for the geochemistry analysis of the core samples. Special thanks to Miss Panpan Tian for her key improvement of English writing in this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNOOC Energy Technology & Services Unconventional Oil & Gas Technology Research Institute, Tianjin, 300452, China

    Jiang Kaixi, Xiang Nian & Guo Qingzheng

  2. School of Earth Environment and Water Resources, Yangtze University, Wuhan, 430100, Hubei, China

    He Wenxiang

  3. CNOOC Central Laboratory, Tianjin, 300452, China

    Peng Li

  4. Research Institute of Shaanxi Yangchang Petroleum (Group) Co. Ltd., Xi’an, 710075, Shaanxi, China

    Han Changchun

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  1. Jiang Kaixi
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  2. He Wenxiang
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  3. Xiang Nian
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  4. Peng Li
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  5. Han Changchun
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  6. Guo Qingzheng
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Correspondence to He Wenxiang.

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Kaixi, J., Wenxiang, H., Nian, X. et al. The controls on the composition of biodegraded oils in the Liuhua11-1 Oilfield, Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea. Chin. J. Geochem. 34, 320–329 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-015-0031-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11631-015-0031-0

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