THE ORIGIN OF LIGHT-HYDROCARBONS IN PETROLEUM - A KINETIC TEST OF THE STEADY-STATE CATALYTIC HYPOTHESIS

A kerogen-specific, steady-state catalytic process is proposed for the origin of light hydrocarbons in petroleum. The postulated parent-daughter scheme predicts a unique invariance in a ratio of isoheptanes and dimethylcyclopentanes. In theory this ratio should remain constant over the entire lifetime of a source-rock generating petroleum. To test this hypothesis, two very large petroleum deposits were extensively sampled giving two sample sets believed to represent large time-segments of petroleum generation. The sets display a remarkable invariance in the predicted ratio. Moreover, the ratios for the two sets are distinct and constitute the outer limits for the ratio in a large database of over 2000 samples of petroleums. Thus, the ratio of isoheptanes and dimethylcyclopentanes remains constant over the course of petroleum generation. © 1990.