Abstract
Geochemical characterization of crude oils is one important classification and exploration tool within the oil business. One maturation parameter is the ratio of cyclic/open demetallized porphyrins (ratio DPEP types/Ethio types). Chromatographic properties of porphyrinic compounds are briefly reviewed. One high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was selected for measurement of the DPEP/Ethio parameter. This tool is suited for whole crude oils, vacuum residua, and nonvolatile fractions such as asphaltenes. Exploratory data from heavy, medium, and light crude oils; their vacuum residua; and asphaltenes suggest a correlation between maturity [DPEP/(DPEP + Ethio) parameter] and aspects such as solid deposition and processability during upgrading operations. Results with the studied set of samples will be discussed by considering “Earth” (time under reservoir conditions) as a reactor that steadily converts hydrocarbon mixtures, disproportioning them into two major types: I. light ends, II. molecules with a set of undesirable properties such as extended condensation, loss of alkyl appendages, higher density, higher intermolecular aggregation tendency, and high coking indexes. Examples with Venezuelan crude oils will illustrate these aspects.
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