Petroleum geochemistry of the Sea Lion Field, North Falkland Basin

The Sea Lion Field, lying approximately 220 km north of the Falkland Islands in the northern rift of the North Falkland Basin, contains waxy oil in Lower Cretaceous reservoir sands. The oil is likely to be sourced from Lower Cretaceous lacustrine source rocks lying beneath the reservoir sands. A significant complication in interpreting the geochemical data for the Sea Lion oils comes from their overprinting by leaching of bitumen components (especially biomarkers) from immature organic-rich claystones that are interbedded with the reservoir. Accordingly, best estimates of maturity are obtained from gasoline-range and aromatic hydrocarbons. A higher maturity charge is seen in oils from some of the more western wells, consistent with their higher gas–oil ratios. Basin modelling has shown that the source rocks are more mature to the south of the Sea Lion Field, and the observed differences in oil maturity can be related to sourcing from different parts of this kitchen area and/or different stratigraphic intervals of the source-rock package. Gasoline-range hydrocarbons provide evidence for phase fractionation, with some oils having lost a more volatile fraction whilst others have received additional gas charge. A gas leg in the Beverley and Casper South reservoirs in Well 14/15-4Z appears to have been the original fluid charge, and has not displaced oil, although gas compositions suggest that gas was co-generated with oil, and subsequently separated into two phases, at least in some parts of the field.