Application of biomarkers to petroleum migration in the Linyi fault area, Huimin Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, China

摘要

A geochemical investigation was carried out on 32 crude oil samples to investigate the origin of the oil and to trace the migration direction in the Linyi fault area, Huimin Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, China. The oils, which were characterized by low gammacerane content and a dominance of C-27 over C-29 regular steranes, originated from the source rock of the third member of the Shahejie Formation (Es3) in the Linnan Sag. A sequential charge of low-and high-maturity oils from the Es3 source rocks resulted in a decrease in oil maturity in the migration direction. The petroleum migration direction in the footwall of the Linyi fault was northward, away from the fault, and the migration direction at the southwest end (in the hanging wall) of the Linyi fault was westward, along the fault, as evidenced by lateral gradients of biomarker parameters of various maturity, density, and viscosity.