Applications of petroleum geochemistry to basin studies

Abstract

Editorial Note: A two-day meeting on ‘Applications of petroleum geochemistry to basin studies’, convened by Dr Jim Brooks (Exploration Division, Britoil plc, 150 Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5LJ) was held at the Geological Society on 22–23 September 1981. Dr Jirn Brooks has provided the following Introduction During the last decade petroleum geochemistry has become a useful and increasingly applied aid in petroleum exploration. Although many oil explorationists and earth scientists are now familiar with the basic concepts of petroleum geochemistry, mainly due to the increase in the number of oil company and university research laboratories, service companies and the publication of an increasing number of research papers and textbooks, the petroleum industry is only recently becoming aware of the wide scope of modern geochemical techniques and methods available to assist in the different phases of petroleum exploration. Diminishing oil and gas reserves in mature basins, together with the increasingly remote locations and hostile environments of the world’s remaining unexplored sedimentary basins, is placing heavier economic and technological burdens on oil explorationists. These requirements, together with an increasing geochemical understanding of the origin, generation, migration and accumulation of petroleum has resulted in petroleum geochemistry becoming integrated with petroleum geology into basin studies. The papers presented at the two-day meeting were as follows: 22 September 1981 Morning session (Chairman: Dr A. J. Parsley, Britoil) Organic geochemistry as a geological tool W. G. Dow (Robertson Research US Inc., Houston, Texas) Deep gas prospects in sedimentary basins J. W. Hunt (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution,Woods