Origin of gasoline-range hydrocarbons and their migration by solution in carbon dioxide in Norton basin, Alaska.

Keith A. Kvenvolden; George E. Claypool

doi:10.1306/2f919431-16ce-11d7-8645000102c1865d

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Origin of gasoline-range hydrocarbons and their migration by solution in carbon dioxide in Norton basin, Alaska.

Keith A. Kvenvolden·George E. Claypool

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Abstract

Carbon dioxide from a submarine seep in Norton Sound, Alaska, carries a minor component of gas- and gasoline-range hydrocarbons. The molecular and isotopic compositions of the hydrocarbon gases and the presence of gasoline-range hydrocarbons indicate that these molecules are derived from thermal alteration of marine and/or nonmarine organic matter buried within Norton basin. In the gasoline-range hydrocarbons, individual cyclic and branched-chain molecules are much more abundant than straight-chain hydrocarbons. This distribution suggests that the hydrocarbon mixture is an immature, petroleumlike condensate of lower temperature origin than normal crude oil. The submarine seep provides a natural example in support of a carbon dioxide solution transport mechanism thought to be operative in the migration of hydrocarbons in certain reservoirs.

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American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin Article

Source-reported bounding extent: 63.07645235894631° to 64.55688329813844° latitude; -168.61155210225576° to -163.3380837888408° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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Keith A. Kvenvolden, George E. Claypool. 1980. Origin of gasoline-range hydrocarbons and their migration by solution in carbon dioxide in Norton basin, Alaska.. https://doi.org/10.1306/2f919431-16ce-11d7-8645000102c1865d

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