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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database
AAPG Bulletin
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Samples from petroleum spills in the Gulf of Mexico and controlled experiments in both arctic and temperate waters were separated on silica gel into saturate and aromatic fractions. These column eluates were analyzed for their ^dgr13C and deuterium content to assess the atomic change with increase in the degree and type of degradative process. The isotopes of both fractions became heavier as degradation increased, with the saturate fraction showing a greater effect when compared with the aromatic fraction. Although degradation affects the isotope composition, the effect in even the most severely degraded oils is less than a part permil for carbon. The isotopic properties of seep oils detected in exploration programs should be correlatable to known crude oils in reservoirs in an area, even when the molecular properties have been badly altered by biodegradation.
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