Occurrence and preservation of primary organic matter in a hybrid unconventional reservoir: Montney Formation, Western Canada Sedimentary Basin

Ardakani, Omid H.; César, Jaime; Pedersen, Per Kent; Mackie, Samantha J.; Reyes, Julito; Wood, James M.

doi:10.1016/j.coal.2022.104096

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…It is worth noting that if biodegraded hydrocarbons were the parental material for the produced fluids during maximum burial of Montney, the same material would be more gas-condensate prone given its compositional characteristics resembling kerogen type III/IV 57,58 . This leads us to a reinterpretation of previously reported pyrolysis data of Montney samples from British Columbia, which had indicated kerogen type III/IV though it is known (based on biomarkers and basin history) that the organic matter of all potential source rocks (including Montney) is prominently marine 6,7,39 . It is very likely that the parental organic material in those pyrolyzed samples was a biodegraded residue, which typically has higher oxygen content and more complex structures resembling kerogen type III/IV 57,58 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

“…An example can be found in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB), specifically the Lower Triassic Montney Formation, which contains vast petroleum accumulations that resulted from thermal degradation of migrated hydrocarbons as this geological unit reached maximum burial and temperature [2][3][4][5] . Original organic matter has also been recognized in the Montney Formation from Alberta 6 , but its contribution to the total hydrocarbon production remains unknown.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Paleo-biodegradation and hydrocarbon mixing in a major hybrid petroleum reservoir

César

Ardakani

Watt

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Some of the parental material for hydrocarbons produced from low-permeability reservoirs in Western Canada corresponds to thermal products from biodegraded oil. This has been proved by the occurrence of framboidal pyrite, which is often formed during microbial sulfate reduction (MSR). In addition, the identified pyrite framboids are associated with the presence of phosphorus (P). Phosphorus (as phosphate) is a key nutrient and energy carrier for sulfate-reducing bacteria. The pyrite-P assemblage occurs embedded in solid bitumen (thermal residue), which confirms that migrated hydrocarbons provided the environment for microbial growth. Molecular products of severe biodegradation such as 17-nortricyclic terpanes were also detected. Biodegradation effects have been masked not only by thermal degradation of biodegraded oil during maximum burial, but also due to hydrocarbon mixing with late gas-condensate charges. Suitable conditions for biodegradation (< 80 °C, basin uplift) occurred during the Early Cretaceous. The confirmation of paleo-biodegradation means that there was a significant hydrocarbon loss that we have not accounted for. Likewise, MSR and Early Cretaceous seawater sulfate might have played an important role in the generation of the hydrogen sulfide (H2S) detected today.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 59%

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confidence: 99%

Paleo-biodegradation and hydrocarbon mixing in a major hybrid petroleum reservoir

César

Ardakani

Watt

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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“…It is important to mention that in sample X12143, primary organic matter was identified besides solid bitumen (Ardakani et al, 2022). Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility of fatty acids bimodality resulting from the mixture of migrated hydrocarbons and in-situ organic matter.…”

Section: The Significance Of Fatty Acids In Fossil Organic Matter Fro...mentioning

confidence: 88%

“…In recent environments, alkan-3-ols have only been identified in surface-wax washings of Primulaceae (Radulovic and Zivkovic Stosic, 2021) or are perhaps usually not reported in studies of recent organic matter. At this stage, an association with plant contribution is challenged by the limited evidence of terrestrial organic matter contribution to Montney hydrocarbons (e.g., Ardakani et al, 2022). If we attempt to find other potential precursors based on the molecular structure, a suitable candidate may be the 3-hydroxy-fatty acid compound class, which are widely distributed in aquatic environments.…”

Section: Frontiers In Earth Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Maximum burial and thermal maturity reached in the Late Cretaceous/Early Paleogene caused thermal cracking of accumulated hydrocarbons which led to the petroleum accumulations we know today (Wood and Sanei, 2016;Ducros et al, 2017;Euzen et al, 2021). Primary organic matter has also been identified within Montney (Ardakani et al, 2022). However, the relative contribution from in-situ kerogen to the petroleum accumulations remains unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fatty acids, alkanones and alcohols from a major lower Triassic low-permeability petroleum reservoir

et al. 2023

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For the first time, polar organic compounds in extracted bitumen from the Lower Triassic Montney Formation have been analyzed. This stratigraphic unit is one of the most prolific low-permeability reservoirs in Western Canada. However, its organic geochemical characterization is a challenge due to low biomarker concentration in the liquids and frequent mixing of gas/condensate hydrocarbons. Since typical biomarkers were not available, this study focused on another group of molecules, polar oxygen-compounds, which were derivatized and subsequently resolved using chromatographic techniques. In the polar fractions, based on their contrasting molecular distributions, n-fatty acids and alkan-2-ones do not seem to share a common origin and do not have an apparent association with the n-alkanes. This study is also the first report of 1,13-, 1,14- and 1,15-diols in fossil organic matter; and in carbon number ranges of C15-C29, C16-C29 and C17-C29 respectively. The similar distributions of 1,14- 1,15-diols suggests a common origin for these compound classes, whereas theand 1,13-diols seem to derive from a different source or mechanism. A series of alkan-3-ols has also been identified in the C12-C28 range, sharing a common distribution pattern with the n-fatty acids. The large variability detected in the molecular distribution of oxygen-containing aliphatic compounds introduces the question whether they may record a geochemical signature that precedes thermal degradation and hydrocarbon migration events within Montney reservoirs.

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Oil migration from internal and external source rocks in an unconventional hybrid petroleum system, Montney Formation, western Canada

Rudra,

Wood,

Biersteker

et al. 2024

International Journal of Coal Geology

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Occurrence and preservation of primary organic matter in a hybrid unconventional reservoir: Montney Formation, Western Canada Sedimentary Basin

Cited by 10 publications

References 56 publications

Paleo-biodegradation and hydrocarbon mixing in a major hybrid petroleum reservoir

Paleo-biodegradation and hydrocarbon mixing in a major hybrid petroleum reservoir

Fatty acids, alkanones and alcohols from a major lower Triassic low-permeability petroleum reservoir

Oil migration from internal and external source rocks in an unconventional hybrid petroleum system, Montney Formation, western Canada

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