Low-temperature thermal generation of hydrocarbon gases in shallow shales

Devon Rowe and Atis Muehlenbachs ()
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Devon Rowe: University of Alberta
Atis Muehlenbachs: University of Alberta

Nature, 1999, vol. 398, issue 6722, 61-63

Abstract: Abstract The thermal generation of hydrocarbon gases in sedimentary systems is generally thought to be an exclusively high-temperature process1, although previous work has indicated that significant generation may take place at burial temperatures as low as 65 °C (ref. 2). Here we present the carbon-isotope signatures of gases from the Western Canadian sedimentary basin. The isotope data show that low-temperature thermal generation of non-methane hydrocarbons occurs at temperatures lower than 62 °C and possibly as low as 20 °C. We can distinguish between gases of shallow3,4 and deep origin by using the carbon-isotope compositions of the non-methane components (ethane, propane and butane); the shallow gases have isotopic compositions consistent with a thermal origin, whereas the deep gases—although of abiogenic origin—bear isotopic signatures that have been biologically altered. These findings have allowed the development of a successful tool for detecting the source of leaking gases around oil wells in this basin, enabling cheaper and more effective remediation.

Date: 1999
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DOI: 10.1038/18007

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