| Stable isotopic analysis generally lends itself to solving two main problems in the exploration for Natural Gas, Oil, and Coal. First, isotopic compositions are indicative of the nature of the paleo-geography of the basin under study and thus point to those areas which might have been more productive as potentials for sources of fossil organic matter. Here, the geochemist is looking for those indicators of paleo-environment; i.e. which areas were marine or non-marine, deep-water or shallow, cold or warm, nutrient-rich or depleted, marshy or evaporative, etc.? These are precisely the types of questions for which isotopic studies are best suited and have been well exploited. Second, development and effective production of known (already located) reserves of fossil fuels often requires a correlation of material from one locality to another. Questions that might be asked include: |
 Is the oil we're finding here the same as
that from the field over there (and
thus
can be comingled) My well plugged up after I tried to stimulate
production by pumping down umpteen
bbls.
of crude from that field over there!
Where
did the wax come from, the new production
or the oil I used?Are the rocks that outcrop on this side of
the basin the same as those over there,
or
perhaps in the subsurface where we
found
the show of oil ?Am I producing gas from my own subsurface
storage facility, or is it a part of
that
other companies gas reserves? Are they
selling
my gas? |
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