Abstract

A preliminary study of crude oil fingerprinting using the Infrared Spectrophotometry method was undertaken. Crude oils exhibit infrared spectra which are similar in absorption wavelengths but different in intensities. Ten wave numbers of absorption were chosen to identify each of six crude oils : 720, 747, 810, 874, 1034, 1168, 1309, 1375, 1456 and 1600 cm-1. The fingerprints of the crude oils were determined by applying three ratio methods: peak to reference peak, peak to adjacent peak and peak to total peak, resulting in nine and ten identity numbers. The third method seems to have had better reproducibility and recognition than the other two.

The method is useful to distinguish crude oils even when they have undergone some weathering. Because two crudes mixed in several different concentrations can still be identified, this technique might be useful in exploration and petroleum reservoir applications such as : reservoir continuity, casing leak identification, pipeline leaks and oil spill identification etc. The possible utilization of this technique is under investigation.