Abstract
Six crude oils from the North Sea and the corresponding silica-adsorbed fractions are analysed by 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and subsequent principal component analysis. Solvent shifts, integrals and peak heights are used as input in the principal component analysis. The silica-adsorbed fractions are enriched in condensed aromatics relative to the crudes. The individual crudes vary from being relatively naphthenic/aromatic to relatively paraffinic. The principal component loadings for the peak heights strongly indicate the presence of a long straight chain aliphatic compound containing a heteroatom substituent. The compound is particularly abundant in the paraffinic oils. It is believed that it may be active in the formation of stable water-in-crude oil emulsions.
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