refinements for footwall red bed diagenesis in the sediment hosted stratiform copper deposits model the emplacement of copper in sediment hosted stratiform copper deposits requires the circulation of a low temperature chloride rich brine in rift filling footwall red beds probably driven by meteoric recharge in adjacent highlands the descending oxygen rich meteoric water may become saline probably by leaching of footwall evaporites or possibly by mixing with brines draining down from contemporaneous evaporite pans and evolve toward a moderately oxidized brine as oxygen is consumed during the diagenetic reddening of the initially nonred coarse grained clastic rift sediments under these conditions the pore solution attains its maximum ability to leach and transport trace amounts of copper from the red beds sediment hosted stratiform copper deposits may form where the brine crosses a redox boundary into reduced sulfide rich gray beds with further consumption of oxygen during reddening the brine may become highly reduced and able to take iron into solution possibly explaining synsediment hosted stratiform copper iron oxide alterations and deposits the timing of copper deposition is clearly linked to the diagenetic reddening of immature footwall sediments in rift basins a process considered to extend over millions of years

petrology geochemistry and na metasomatism of triassic jurassic non marine clastic sediments in the newark hartford and deerfield rift basins northeastern usa many sandstones and associated siltstones and shales of the triassic jurassic newark supergroup in the newark hartford and deerfield rift basins are immature feldspathic alluvial and lacustrine closed basin deposits they were derived from felsic igneous and metamorphic continental blocks on the flanks of their depositional basins the provenance was dominantly calc alkaline basement rocks similar to the sierra nevada of california the physical and chemical environments of erosion and deposition were probably similar to those in moist pleistocene holocene alluvial basins and playas in the great basin of california and nevada new petrographic and geochemical data for 113 samples indicate that albite rich sandstones and shales of the stockton lockatong and passaic formations in the newark basin and in the portland and east berlin formations of the hartford basin and analcime rich shales up to 52 normative analcime of the lockatong formation have unusually high na2o contents 4 7 textural evidence indicates both sodium replacement in feldspars and formation of authigenic albite and analcime in these rocks by comparison with modem sediments derived from similar provenance using mixing models it is estimated that up to 4 na2o was diagenetically added to the detrital clastics trace metals co cr cu ni zn abundances were apparently enhanced by deposition from brines in the lockatong formation analcime deposition occurred in shales with al2o3 na2o sio2 0 46 this ratio is found only in sediments to which na has been added from salts brines source rocks and the weathering products derived from them may be considered as a closed system in which sodium was retained partly in solids as feldspar and part went into solution during weathering the dilute solution migrated into the depositional basin where evaporation yielded concentrated brine during semi arid to arid climate in the drier parts of 21 000 yr milankovitch cycles reaction of brine during diagenesis at near surface and or shallow depths 2 km with ca plagioclase k feldspar and layer silicates at estimated temperatures 50 c to 100 c and ph 7 9 yielded thermodynamically stable authigenic albite and analcime in the sodium metasomatised clastic sediments low activity of k precluded development of authigenic k feldspar however k from solution incorporated into muds and silts as smectites were transformed to illite some lockatong beds contain anomalously high p2o5 ce la y th and u in authigenic apatite or monazite suggestive of mobilization of these elements in diagenesis

appraisal and evolution of hydrochemical processes from proximity basalt and granite areas of deccan volcanic province dvp in india summary this paper deals with a systematic hydrochemical study carried out at proximity basalt and granite areas of deccan volcanic province dvp in india to assess groundwater quality and evaluate the hydrochemical processes a total of 40 groundwater samples were collected equally from these areas and analyzed results showed that the groundwaters rich in alkaline earth in the basalt and alkali rich element in the granite the dominancy of cations was observed as ca 2 mg 2 na k in the basalt and na mg 2 k ca 2 in the granite whereas anions as hco 3 cl so 4 2 and cl hco 3 so 4 2 respectively hydrochemical processes were identified with the helps of ion exchange carbonate weathering and dissolution multiple ionic ratios and silicate weathering which shown the predominance of carbonate dolomite calcite and silicate anorthite weathering in basalt but in granite silicate alkali feldspar weathering was dominated factor analysis also showed that there were multiple processes acting on groundwaters were separated from the main cluster salinity sodium absorption ratio sar soluble sodium percentage ssp residual sodium carbonate rsc kelley s ratio kr and permeability index pi in well samples showed that groundwater in basalt was more suitable for irrigation purposes further a digital elevation model dem was generated using global mapper 8 0 version software which aided to decipher the thickness of basalt trap and vertical transition zone of basaltic trap and granitic basement aquifer at this dvp comprising with the well depths and groundwater chemistry

late palaeozoic hydrocarbon migration through the clair field west of shetland uk atlantic margin geochemical analysis of bitumen and hydrocarbon bearing fluid inclusions from the devonian carboniferous clair field indicates that the reservoirs contain a mixture of oils from different marine and lacustrine sources reconstruction of the clair field oil charge history using fluid inclusion petrography show that oil charging occurred at times of k feldspar quartz and calcite cementation temperature composition time data yielded from the integration of fluid inclusion microthermometry with high resolution ar ar dating date hydrocarbon bearing k feldspar overgrowths at 247 3 3 ma these data show that in order for oil to be trapped within primary fluid inclusions in k feldspar overgrowths hydrocarbon migration throughout the uk atlantic margin must have been taking place during the late palaeozoic and as such current industry oil play models based solely on oil charging from jurassic cretaceous marine sources are clearly incomplete and need revision apatite fission track analysis and vitrinite reflectance data were used to reconstruct thermal burial histories and assess potential oil generation from middle devonian lacustrine source rocks thermal history data from wells along the rona ridge adjacent to the clair field show that the palaeozoic section was heated to greater than 100 c at some time between 270 and 230 ma confirming that devonian source rocks were mature and expelling oil during the late palaeozoic at the time that authigenic k feldspar overgrowths were growing in the clair field

influence of an offshore shift in the gulf stream on waters of the south carolina continental shelf abstract a 4 3 month long dataset from moorings on the continental shelf off south carolina during 1986 showed unusual midrecord shifts in bottom pressure temperature stratification and alongshelf currents the gulf stream moved farther offshore during the second half of the time period this offshore position appears to have facilitated gulf stream influence on shelf waters all across the continental shelf

a model for the effect of illitization on porosity and quartz cementation of sandstones abstract quartz cementation is commonly the most important porosity reducing process in deeply buried quartzose sandstones on the norwegian continental shelf the quartz cement is mostly sourced from stylolites but silica may also be derived from illitization of kaolinite illitization can proceed at silica activities several times higher than quartz saturation whereas dissolution of quartz at stylolites is very sensitive to silica supersaturations and the illitization reaction may consequently stop or retard dissolution of quartz at stylolites since the illitization reaction does not cause a net porosity loss porosity loss due to precipitation of quartz cement is reduced or totally prevented over the depth temperature range where illitization takes place illitization affects albitizatio of k feldspar because both reactions consume k feldspar oil replacement during illitization may conceivably cause greater porosity loss than if oil were not present since oil emplacement might stop or retard illitization but not quartz cementation sourced from stylolites

assessing the maturity of oil trapped in fluid inclusions using molecular geochemistry data and visually determined fluorescence colours abstract the thermal maturity of oils extracted from inclusions and the fluorescence colours of oil bearing fluid inclusions have been measured in 36 sandstone samples from australasian oil fields the inclusion oils were analysed using an off line crushing technique followed by gc ms a maturity assessment was made for each inclusion oil using 25 molecular maturity ratios including a newly defined dimethyldibenzothiophene ratio dmdr each inclusion oil was placed in one of 4 maturity brackets approximately equivalent to early mid peak and post oil generation windows the fluorescence colours of oil inclusions were visually discriminated into blue white and yellow plus orange and their proportions estimated using point counting techniques sixteen samples have 85 of oil inclusions with blue fluorescence whilst other samples have more variable fluorescence colours one sample has 100 of oil inclusions with yellow plus orange fluorescence the results show that samples containing mainly blue fluorescing oil inclusions have thermal maturities anywhere within the oil window in particular the molecular geochemical data strongly suggests that oil inclusions with blue fluorescence can have relatively low maturities calculated reflectance

siliceous islands in a carbonate sea modern and pleistocene spring fed wetlands in ngorongoro crater and oldupai gorge tanzania abstract a biogenic mechanism is proposed that produces a diagnostic geochemical signature of perennial spring fed wetlands in arid basins especially the saline and alkaline volcanic basins of east africa respiration by vegetation and decay of organic matter within marshes in ngorongoro crater tanzania locally increases aqueous equation the resulting lowered ph inhibits the precipitation of calcite and decreases the rate of silica dissolution steep geochemical gradients are produced these are represented mineralogically by siliceous biomineralization within the perennial marsh and carbonate precipitation in surrounding ephemeral wetlands mudflats and lacustrine environments as a test of this model of geochemical sedimentation the mineralogy of the early pleistocene siliceous earthy claystone of oldupai gorge is consistent with its interpretation as a paleo spring wetland deposit because such deposits are expressions of the paleo water table this approach has potential applications in many studies of basin paleohydrology paleoclimatology paleoecology and archaeology

emplacement of bitumen asphaltite veins in the neuquen basin argentina veins of solid bitumen asphaltite have been commercially exploited in the neuquen basin argentina for over 100 yr veins are up to 5 m wide and several kilometers in length over a region of 15 000 km2 these veins were emplaced in fractures both parallel and at high angles to bedding in close proximity to their source rocks in the vaca muerta and agrio formations late jurassic early cretaceous two or more phases of bitumen emplacement can be recognized in several localities structures bearing viscous oil are younger than structures having solid bitumen bitumen emplacement was vigorous and caused brecciation and spalling of the host rocks the bitumen was also viscous and supports rock debris ranging in size from sand grains up to meter scale slabs brecciation bedding parallel injection and wall rock impregnation suggest high fluid pressures during emplacement high fluid pressure may have been engendered by substantial hydrocarbon generation from rich source rocks in a low permeability sequence and probably caused the fractures into which the bitumen migrated the bedding parallel veins facilitated decollement during thrusting that took place during and after bitumen emplacement the timing of emplacement relative to thrusting and oil migration constrains bitumen emplacement to the eocene oligocene

alteration halos in the tordillos sediment hosted copper deposit of the neuquen basin argentina abstract the tordillos sediment hosted cu deposit is located in the north central sector of the huincul high structure in the neuquen basin argentina it is hosted in sedimentary rocks of the huincul formation an upper cretaceous redbed sequence deposited in a fluvial environment field mapping petrography and chemical analysis of the authigenic clay sulfate carbonate and sulfide minerals at tordillos have identified systematic variation in alteration and paragenesis with time and with respect to the main feeder zones the alteration associated with cu mineralization provides evidence of a multistage infiltration of fluids spatially associated with paleo hydrocarbon migration driven by tertiary tectonism early diagenesis formed hematite kaolinite and calcite1 that have been preserved in the reddish brown mudstones later influx of hydrocarbons and warm reduced formation waters from deeper reservoir rocks is associated with dissolution of early cements and clasts and precipitation of new minerals in the thickest paleo channels of the huincul formation dissolution of early cements hematite kaolinite calcite1 and barite1 and clasts locally increased the porosity of sandstones up to 24 and destroyed hematite that changed sandstones and conglomerates from red to yellowish grey bitumen impregnations are abundant along with calcite2 3 and 4 pyrite minor montmorillonite quartz overgrowth and coarse barite2 crystals with primary organic fluid inclusions at the contact with hydrocarbon tubes the mno enrichment of calcite in stages 3 and 4 reflects their precipitation under reduced conditions grey and greenish grey sandstones with montmorillonite v hematite smectite chlorite group minerals and pyrite respectively are exposed between the reddish brown mudstones and the yellowish grey sandstones and conglomerates the grey and greenish grey horizons are representative of abrupt changes in eh ph conditions between regional early oxidizing solutions responsible for the formation of early diagenetic redbeds and later infiltration of reducing fluids responsible for alteration of sedimentary rocks copper mineralization is located inside the altered sandstones and conglomerates zones forming halos surrounding vertical tubes containing bitumen these tubes are interpreted as the conduits through which migrated hydrocarbons formation waters and subsequent chloride and metal rich fluids in these places pyrite calcite and barite cements of the altered rocks have been dissolved and replaced by copper rich sulfides and then by late supergene cu minerals interconnection among stacked permeable paleo channels in the mid section of the huincul formation facilitated the migration of several generations of fluids during early diagenesis hydrocarbon up flow and exhumation of the neuquen group resulting in the development of alteration halos and cu mineralization that can be used both in outcrop and drill core during exploration for sediment hosted cu mineralization

large scale bleaching of red beds related to upward migration of hydrocarbons los chihuidos high neuquen basin argentina abstract the striking arrangement of colorful facies in the sandstones outcrops of the los chihuidos high argentina has been attributed to the surface expression of hydrocarbon induced alteration the huincul formation late cenomanian early turonian is part of the thick continental red bed dominated neuquen group which consists of meandering fluvial deposits developed in a foreland basin visual distinctions reveal four diagenetic facies red white gray and minor brown sandstones differences in the diagenetic mineralogy among sandstones facies are interpreted to depend on the degree of interaction with hydrocarbon bearing solutions and the relative position of the redox roll front developed during this process the red facies represents the original oxidized sandstone with hematite kaolinite quartz and albite overgrowths and calcite cement precipitated under oxidizing conditions during the regional burial diagenesis the white facies formed during the interaction of red beds with reduced fluids in presence of hydrocarbons or organic acids where clasts and cement were partially dissolved and iron was reduced to fe2 due to redox reactions and removed resulting in the sandstone decoloration and in a marked development of the secondary porosity minor montmorillonite replaced kaolinite and detrital feldspars and a poikilotopic calcite precipitated filling the pores the gray and the brown sandstone bound the redox front which is characterized by the presence of abundant clay minerals and oxide minerals enriched in vanadium and copper montmorillonite and secondary hematite are dominant in the more oxidized gray sandstones whereas interstratified chlorite montmorillonite is more abundant in the more reduced brown sandstones the coexistence of these minerals indicates metastable reducing oxidizing conditions at the redox front based on diagenetic characteristics tectonic framework maturation timing of source rocks and petroleum emplacement history hydrocarbons could have migrated into the huincul formation during the tertiary uplift but later erosion could have released the hydrocarbons and exhumed the reservoir this multi scale investigation of diagenetic features related to burial history and to structure controlled upflow of hydrocarbons in a succession of siliciclastic rocks enhances modeling of a regional scale redox system worldwide our study offers new insight into the application of authigenic minerals to trace hydrocarbon pathways along red beds and to evaluate the reservoir quality in the understanding the importance of fluid compositions mixing and fluid rock interaction along a major redox system

an isochemical model for formation of authigenic kaolinite k feldspar and illite in sediments abstract although thermodynamic calculations indicate a narrow range of conditions for coprecipitation of kaolinite and k feldspar coexistence of authigenic kaolinite and k feldspar is common in jurassic sandstones of the north sea this paper shows that the coexistence of authigenic k feldspar and kaolinite may indicate that this narrow range of conditions did prevail and that the system behaved as a closed system these conditions are presence of muscovite in the sediment pore waters supersaturated with respect to quartz and temperatures lower than 50 c at higher temperatures the authigenic kaolinite and authigenic k feldspar may react and form authigenic illite muscovite and quartz cement the direction of the isochemical reaction is thermodynamically determined by the degree of supersaturation with respect to quartz in the formation water published data on the degree of supersaturation with respect to quartz in formation waters suggest that the illitization of kaolinite may take place at temperatures as low as 50 c much lower than previously believed

microcodium revisited root calcification products of terrestrial plants on carbonate rich substrates abstract microcodium is a problematic calcitic microfeature of many calcretes and calcareous paleosols in the cretaceous and tertiary continental and marine successions of the peri tethyan realm the main controversy about the microcodium structures is their origin and possible relation with calcified plant roots microcodium and rhizogenic root formed microfabrics were studied in calcrete profiles within the paleocene shallow marine carbonate succession in southwestern slovenia the prominent laminar calcrete horizons contain abundant calcite aggregates 150 m to 1 cm in size with perfectly preserved structural details of plant root tissues morphology and structure of these aggregates indicate that they formed through biologically controlled precipitation of calcium carbonate within the root cortical cells the morphologies intermediate between the typical microcodium aggregates composed of a single layer of individual elongate pyramidal or prismatic crystals of calcite measuring 100 500 m in length and 20 70 m in width and calcified roots with multilayer arrangement of isodiametric cells were observed and this supports previous rhizogenic interpretations of microcodium structures intermediate forms show that the typical microcodium aggregates formed through morphological transformation of the root tissue by growth of the calcite within the cortical cells which distorted the cell shape calcification of roots and the creation of microcodium structures can be explained as an effective nutrient acquiring mechanism used by certain types of terrestrial plants inhabiting nutrient poor calcareous substrates the widespread occurrence of microcodium in almost unaltered shallow marine limestones indicates that its formation took place during early stages of paleosol development probably reflecting specific types of vascular plants of a pioneer community that were able to colonize carbonate substrates during the early phases of subaerial exposure

open or closed geochemical systems during diagenesis in sedimentary basins constraints on mass transfer during diagenesis and the prediction of porosity in sandstone and carbonate reservoirs descriptions of mineralogy and textural relationships in sandstones and limestones have been used to establish a sequence of diagenetic events epigenesis involving mineral dissolution and precipitation which have been interpreted to have occurred during the burial history published epigenetic sequences commonly imply a geochemically open system with very significant changes in the bulk chemical composition of the sediments during burial near surface diagenetic reactions may be open involving significant changes in the sediment composition and formation of secondary porosity caused by high pore water flow rates of meteoric water or reactions with sea water near the sea floor calculations show that the bulk chemical composition of the sediments below the reach of high pore water flow rates of meteoric water or hydrothermal convection should remain nearly constant during progressive burial because of limited pore water flow mass transport between shales and sandstones is also limited because the pore water is in most cases buffered by the same minerals so that the concentration gradients are low recent studies show that silica released from clay mineral reactions in mudstones has been precipitated locally as small quartz crystals and not exported to adjacent sandstones if the geochemical constraints for mass transfer during burial diagenetic reactions are accepted the chemical reactions involved in diagenesis can be written as balanced equations this offers the possibility to make predictions about reservoir quality based on assumptions about primary sediment composition related to facies and provenance large scale changes in the bulk composition of sandstones and mudstones during burial diagenesis have been suggested but because such changes cannot be explained chemically and physically no predictions can be made burial diagenetic processes are in most cases not episodic but occur as slow adjustments to increased stress and temperature driving the sediments toward increased mechanical and thermodynamic stability as a result the porosity of a single lithology must decrease during progressive burial but each lithology has a different porosity curve this article discusses quantitative calculations and estimates that show clearly that burial diagenesis must represent geochemically nearly closed systems where mineral dissolution and precipitation must be balanced this provides a theoretical basis for the modeling and prediction of reservoir quality

geochemical constraints from formation water analyses from the north sea and the gulf coast basins on quartz feldspar and illite precipitation in reservoir rocks

the jurassic succession in west central argentina stratal patterns sequences and paleogeographic evolution abstract jurassic rocks in west central argentina are predominantly marine and marginal marine siliciclastics associated with prominent but volumetrically subordinate carbonates and evaporites facies developments were ruled by paleogeographic persistence within the southern infratropical latitude belt within 40 50 s and by siliciclastic derivation from the patagonian hinterland to the southwest minor volcanic and volcaniclastic supply arrived from the west out of a magmatic belt related to circum pacific convergence timing of the main marine flooding events and general correspondence with the high rank stratal packaging recorded in western north america suggest that global eustasy was also a factor in controlling the local stratigraphic record early jurassic sedimentation occurred within a series of semi isolated depocentres linked to fault bounded triassic troughs the sinemurian toarcian deposits record depocentre expansion and coalescence these trends were coeval with progressively more widespread marine invasions from the northwest and west leading to an elongate marine seaway which connected central patagonia with the pacific domain during the aalenian bajocian the region was subject to a more subdued tectonism and the foreland side of the basin became fringed by an extensive clastic embankment bathonian and early callovian were times when coarse clastics prograded into the basin while the marine embayment shrank as a result of stepwise forced regressions during late callovian to oxfordian globally rising sea level the depocentre witnessed the appearance of cosmopolitan invertebrates and a stratal pattern of basin widening and depositional underbalance that promoted cratonward onlap and inception of widespread carbonate deposition ooidal coralline carbonate development was terminated after a relatively sudden messinian style event that desiccated a large tract of the andean basin and favored massive precipitation of anhydrite in the course of the kimmeridgian the evaporite basin was largely flooded by siliciclastics and turned into a broad and featureless mudflat salina complex linked to a widespread erg and to an ephemeral drainage system by the tithonian at a period of peak oceanic stand marine connection was reinstated and recorded as the most widespread jurassic transgression across the neuquen aconcagua embayment shelfal deposition consisted of molluscs and ooid dominated carbonate terraces that grew in pulses tuned to eustatic fluctuations like in other prolific petroleum provinces around the world the tithonian basinal strata involve widespread euxinic deposits featuring unusually high organic content

mineralogical signature of hydrocarbon circulation in cretaceous red beds of the barda gonzalez area neuquen basin argentina the portezuelo formation is part of a red bed sequence in the neuquen basin assigned to the neuquen group lower cenomanian middle campanian in outcrops of the portezuelo formation in the barda gonzalez region iron oxide and hydroxide cements are only preserved in the less permeable claystone layers paleomigration of hydrocarbons and formation waters along the most permeable layers bleached the rocks due to partial to total dissolution of cements and grains and formation of several authigenic minerals 1 montmorillonite and pyrite in the medium to fine grained sandstones and mudstones and 2 multistage calcite and pyrite in the coarse grained sandstones and conglomerates the canyon diablo troilite of 24 4 to 60 values in pyrite point to microbial reduction of a sulfate precursor the oxidation of hydrocarbons and fluctuations in ph and carbon dioxide pressure caused by organic acids resulted in multiple stages of dissolution and precipitation of calcite calcite crystals host hydrocarbon bearing fluid inclusions pyrite with variable fluorescence color indicating that hydrocarbon composition changed with time the intermediate peedee belemnite 8 11 to 8 52 and 9 76 to 9 83 isotope composition of calcites may have resulted from mixtures of rich after the dissolution of local calcrete with poor from oxidizing hydrocarbons this contribution provides for the first time key information to predict the distribution of authigenic minerals in reservoir rocks in the basin and improves understanding of the diagenetic history of the portezuelo formation

model for hydrocarbon microseepage and related near surface alterations despite recent advances in surface and near surface geochemical methods there continues to be a need for improved understanding of the scientific basis relating these methods to petroleum deposits we have reviewed the literature pertinent to the several methods we have used and integrated that information with some 100 man years of our experience to contribute to that end evidence indicates that hydrocarbon micro seepage from reservoirs most probably involves buoyant colloidal size microbubbles of light hydrocarbons principally methane through the butanes ascending relatively rapidly through a water filled network of fractures joints and bedding planes bacterial consumption of these hydrocarbons creates carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide which may alter sediments producing detectable modifications in geomorphic seismic magnetic and radiometric properties we have used combinations of 1 airborne microwave sensing and laboratory analyses of soil gas hydrocarbons 2 shallow source aeromagnetic and soil magnetic susceptibility measurements 3 aerial and surface gamma ray measurements and 4 geomorphology to find productive oil and gas deposits results suggest that using these methods can substantially increase the probability of wildcat success and reduce finding costs in selected geologic settings however these surface methods cannot reveal depth size or quality of reservoirs or even if producible hydrocarbons will be found

hypersulfidic deep biosphere indicates extreme sulfur isotope fractionation during single step microbial sulfate reduction coexisting dissolved sulfide and sulfate from hypersulfidic interstitial waters of a 380 m long sediment core show a large isotopic difference of up to 72 caused by in situ microbial sulfate reduction this is considerably larger than the assumed biological maximum of 46 derived from laboratory studies with pure cultures of sulfate reducing bacteria similar high fractionations inferred from sedimentary metal sulfides have been previously explained by a multistage process involving sulfide reoxidation and disproportionation of sulfur intermediates our data show that extreme isotopic differences between sulfate and the reduced sulfur species can also be generated during microbial single step fractionation this result indicates that the sulfate reducing communities and or their cellular metabolic activities in the deep biosphere may differ from those observed in near surface sediments or the water column

the controls on the composition of biodegraded oils in the deep subsurface part ii geological controls on subsurface biodegradation fluxes and constraints on reservoir fluid property prediction the principal controls on the fluid properties of biodegraded oil systems have been determined by a combination of petroleum geochemistry numerical modeling of oil biodegradation in reservoirs and analysis of oil property data sets from a variety of geological settings petroleum biodegradation proceeds under anaerobic conditions in any reservoir that has a water leg and has not been heated to temperatures more than 80c in most reservoirs with low concentrations of aqueous sulfate methanogenic degradation is a primary mechanism of petroleum degradation whereas in waters containing abundant sulfate sulfate reduction and sulfide production may dominate net degradation of petroleum fractions in reservoirs is primarily controlled by the reservoir temperature the chemical compounds being degraded and relationships between the oil water contact owc area and oil volume the relative volumes of water leg to oil leg prior level of oil biodegradation and reservoir water salinity act as second order controls on the process typically degradation fluxes kilograms of petroleum destroyed per square meter of oil water contact area per year or kg petroleum m2 owc yr1 for fresh petroleum in clastic reservoirs are in the range of 103 104 kg petroleum m2 owc yr1 and increase with decreasing reservoir temperature from zero near 80c to a maximum flux at the owc of less than 103 kg petroleum m2 owc yr1 at a temperature less than 40c at very low reservoir temperatures and with severely degraded oils such as are seen in the near surface canadian tar sands at the present day the net degradation fluxes are much less than maximum values nutrient supply from the aquifer and adjacent shales mostly buffered by mineral dissolution probably provides the ultimate control on the range of degradation flux values oil compositional gradients and resulting oil viscosity variations are common on both reservoir thickness and field scales in biodegraded oil reservoirs and are a defining characteristic of heavy oil fields produced by crude oil biodegradation continuous vertical gradients in the oil columns document episodic degradation for many millions of years suggesting that the time scales of oil field degradation and petroleum charging are similar the flux temperature relationship we have derived coupled with typical reservoir charge histories defines the range of variation of fluid properties seen in many biodegraded oil provinces and identifies oil charge mixing of biodegraded and fresh oils and reservoir temperature history as the primary controls on fluid properties these flux temperature relationships are easily integrated into prospect charge modeling procedures sensitivity analyses show that the limiting factor in fluid property predictions using even this first level approach are ultimately constrained by the accuracy of current oil charge modeling estimates the absence today of any functional geochemical proxies for assessing oil residence time in oil fields and the substantial uncertainty in petroleum charging times estimated by forward basin modeling is a major obstacle to more accurate fluid property predictions that needs to be addressed