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The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database
AAPG Bulletin
Abstract
AAPG Bulletin, V.
2012. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.
DOI:10.1306/01021211094
Present Jurassic petroleum charge facing Paleozoic biodegraded
oil
: Geochemical challenges and potential upsides, Embla field, North Sea
oil
: Geochemical challenges and potential upsides, Embla field, North Sea
Sverre Ekrene Ohm,1 Dag A. Karlsen,2 Nghia T. Phan,3 Tor Strand,4 Gunnar Iversen5
1ConocoPhillips Norge; present address: ConocoPhillips, Subsurface Technology, 600 North Dairy Ashford, Houston, Texas 77079-1175; [email protected]
2University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; [email protected]
3University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; [email protected]
4ConocoPhillips Norge, P.O. Box 3, N-4064 Tananger, Norway; [email protected]
5ConocoPhillips Norge, P.O. Box 3, N-4064 Tananger, Norway; [email protected]
ABSTRACT
The Embla field, located in the greater Ekofisk area of the Norwegian part of the southern North Sea, has been producing
oil
and gas since the early 1990s. The wells on the crest are the best and most continuous producers, whereas the wells on the flanks are only good producers over limited periods after pressure buildup. The reason for the poorer production from the flanks is reduced permeability caused by the presence of bitumen, a nonmovable biodegraded
oil
that fills the pore space. This
oil
is shown to be of Paleozoic age and is suggested to have charged the Embla field at the end of the Triassic. The structure was uplifted and eroded during the Jurassic, and the Paleozoic
oil
accumulation became biodegraded on the
oil
-water contact. The crest of the structure is believed to have been protected from biodegradation until the seal was eroded, which resulted in the escape of the
oil
and the biodegradation of the residual
oil
. Subsidence during the Cretaceous, the formation of a new seal, and the Upper Jurassic source
rock
intervals reaching
oil
window maturity resulted in the structure being recharged. Partly contradicting maturity estimates based on various biomarker ratios suggest that the analyzed oils represent different mixing ratios between the two
oil
generations. The change in light
oil
composition observed between the drill-stem tests sampled approximately 20 yr ago and the presently produced
oil
suggests that the Embla field currently is receiving Jurassic-sourced
oil
.
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