Abstract
Several oils from the Zhun-Ge-Er and Tarim Basins in Xinjiang Province, China, were characterised by GC-MS, and two novel series of tricyclic alkanes were observed. On the basis of mass spectral interpretation and comparison with the thermal alteration products of cholesterol, it is proposed that these compounds are structurally similar to steranes, but differ in that ring A is open, due to cleavage of either the 1–10 or 4–5 bond. The distribution of these tricyclic alkanes closely parallels that of the unaltered steranes, suggesting that they are originally derived from the steranes, or original sterols, via a thermal degradation mechanism. The tricyclic alkanes appear to be resistant to biodegradation and hence when all of the regular steranes have been removed by biodegradation, it is still possible to use these tricyclic alkanes for oil/oil or oil/source rock correlations.
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