Organic geochemistry of Cuban oils—I. The northern geological province

Abstract

The isoprenoid, hopanoid and steroid compositions of 15 oils from the most productive oil fields in Cuba were studied to determine source-rock depositional environments and organic matter sources. The oils, which are from the northern geological province of Cuba and can be defined by the position with respect to the overthrust belt, can be grouped into two families: those from the Remedios (1) and those from the Placetas (2) tectonostratigraphic units. Remedios oils contain 17α(H)-diahopane, high relative amounts of 18α(H)-22,29,30-trisnorneohopane and diasteranes, which is indicative of generation from clay-rich source rocks. The crude oils of the Placetas Unit exhibit a sterane/hopane composition consistent with a carbonate origin. Nevertheless, these polycyclic hydrocarbons exhibit significant changes in composition, indicating that several organic matter sources, e.g. a carbonate/evaporitic origin of Varadero and Varadero Sur oils, have contributed to the oils from this Unit. The Remedios oils are more mature [evaluated from the C 29-αα20 S (S + R) and C 29-20 Rββ (ββ + αα) sterane indices] than the Placetas oils. A wide range of biodegradation levels are encountered in these oils (from 0 to 7–8 using the scale derived by Volkman et al. (1983). The high relative abundance of 25-norhopanes is a distinctive feature of Remedios oils. The presence of these compounds in lightly biodegraded or nondegraded oils corresponds to a mixing of paleobiodegraded oil with more recently sourced nondegraded oil in the reservoir. The most biodegraded oil, Cantel, exhibits C 27rr (rr + sd) and C 29-αα20 S (S + R) sterane ratios, C 30 αβ (αβ + βα) and T s (T s + T m) hopane ratios that have been altered by microbial attack.