oa Geochemical characterization of petroleum in Jurassic reservoirs south of Ghawar field, Saudi Arabia): Implications for the petroleum system

Geochemical characteristics of recently discovered petroleum in Jurassic reservoirs of the Halfah, Yabrin, Dirwazah and Tukhman fields, south of Ghawar field (Saudi Arabia) are different from typical Jurassic crudes in the Abqaiq, Ghawar, Mazalij and other fields. The latter fluids correlate well with the excellent oil-prone source rocks from the Tuwaiq Mountain and Hanifa formations of the Arabian Basin. These classic Ghawar-type mediumgravity oils represent high-sulfur crudes (greater than 1%), have pristane/phytane (Pr/Ph) ratios typically less than 0.8 and contain biomarkers indicating that the oils are derived from source rocks deposited in a marine carbonate environment under anoxic, reducing conditions. Characteristic biomarker parameters that support this interpretation are C29-hopane/C30-hopane ratios that exceed 1.0, relatively low abundances of diasteranes, and dibenzothiophene/phenanthrene (DBT/P) ratios typically exceeding 3.0. The Halfah-Yabrin-Dirwazah-Tukhman crudes, south of Ghawar field, have low-sulfur contents (less than 1.0%), Pr/Ph ratios ≥1.0, C29-hopane/C30-hopane ratios less than 1.0, and relatively high amounts of diasteranes and the C24 tetracyclic terpane. Most of the differences in sterane and hopane biomarker distributions compared to the Ghawar-type fluids appear related to differences in the abundance of clay versus carbonate in the source rocks. These data provide evidence for a source rock organic facies change south of Ghawar field. This presentation discusses recent results related to oil-oil and oil-source rock correlations, genetic relationships, and their implications for exploration in the southern part of the Arabian Basin.