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Biodegradation in numerical basin modelling: a case study from the Gifhorn Trough, N-Germany

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Abstract

A mass balance concept based on petroleum compositional description using 14 individual compound groups has been developed to reproduce the process of in-reservoir petroleum biodegradation. Individual compound groups have been attributed different “biodegradabilities” and biodegradation rates to account for observed differences in their susceptibility to biodegradation. Petroleum compositional information is derived from basin modelling, in addition to temperature histories, filling rates and volumetric information. This new method has been subsequently applied to model the biodegradation processes in a petroleum system in the North German Basin. The case study area is situated in the Gifhorn Trough, where Jurassic reservoirs contain oils of variable API gravity (24°–33°), although present depth and temperature are similar. Numerical modelling revealed, however, that the filling histories of the individual reservoir structures differ considerably. Taking into account filling and temperature history of the reservoir structures, the newly developed biodegradation algorithm Biodexx predicted compositional data and API gravities similar to those observed in the study area, whereas earlier biodegradation approaches such as the biodegradation index (BDI) by Yu et al. (2002) did not reproduce the different biodegradation levels in the two investigated fields.

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Acknowledgments

This case study is part of the BioPetS RISK project which is a cooperation of RWTH Aachen University, Geoforschungszentrum (GFZ) Potsdam and IES GmbH. We thank RWE Dea for providing the case study data and for the permission to publish the results. Funding by the BioPetS consortium (Wintershall, RWE Dea, BG, Petrobras, Hydro, BP, Devon) is gratefully acknowledged. Robert Tscherny (now at Chevron, Houston) enthusiastically promoted and accompanied this project while still at IES. We also thank Lorenz Schwark (University Cologne) for helpful comments and suggestions and reviewers Detlev Leythaeuser and Hermann Weiss for thoughtful reviews on an earlier version of this manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. I. O. Blumenstein

    Present address: Wintershall Holding AG, Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 160, 34119, Kassel, Germany

  2. E. Müller

    Present address: Hydro Oil and Energy, Global Exploration, 0246, Oslo, Norway

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of Petroleum and Coal, RWTH Aachen University, Lochnerstr. 4-20, 52056, Aachen, Germany

    I. O. Blumenstein, B. M. Krooss & R. Littke

  2. GFZ Potsdam, Telegrafenberg, 14437, Potsdam, Germany

    R. di Primio

  3. IES GmbH, Ritterstr. 23, 52072, Aachen, Germany

    W. Rottke

  4. RWE Dea, Überseering 40, 22297, Hamburg, Germany

    E. Müller & C. Westerlage

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Correspondence to R. Littke.

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Blumenstein, I.O., Krooss, B.M., di Primio, R. et al. Biodegradation in numerical basin modelling: a case study from the Gifhorn Trough, N-Germany. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 97, 1115–1129 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-007-0272-1

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