f Hydrocarbon provinces in the Ticino Area, Swiss Southern Alps

Up to present almost no exploration activity for hydrocarbons has been pursued in the Ticino area of southern Switzerland, despite the proximity to the Po basin, where several oil fields and particularly numerous gas accumulations have been found in the last decades. In order to evaluate the petroleum potential of southern Switzerland, gas geochemical investigations including free and adsorbed gases were combined with a basin modelling study (Greber el al., submitted). A total of 30 gas samples were collected from gas seeps and analysed for molecular and isotopic composition. Additional sediment samples were taken in the Mendrisiotto area (southernmost Switzerland) by shallow drillings to measure the molecular and isotopic composition of adsorbed gases. In addition, one-dimensional basin models (pseudo-wells) using the PC-based software BasinMod were calculated with the aim to test the interpretation of geochemical data in view of gas provenance and regional HC potential of southern Switzerland.