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Petroleum Geochemistry - GEOS920
This unit will provide coursework masters students with the foundations of petroleum geochemistry, an essential skill for many jobs in the oil and gas industries. You will learn how to go about analysing the chemical composition of sedimentary rocks and fluids such as oils and gases, and especially the organic constituents. This unit will showcase organic geochemical techniques and will be strongly practically based. It will cover the following topics:(1) samples and preparation,(2) microscopy and microprobe,(3) bulk/solids analysis, including elemental analysis, total organic carbon and pyrolysis techniques such as Rock-Eval, MSSV and laser micropyrolysis,(4) spectroscopic methods such as NMR, Raman and FTIR, (5) solvent extraction of rocks and fractionation of totals extracts and oils, (6) gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, including MS-MS and GCxGC, (7) Time-of-Flight-Secondary Ion Mass spectrometry, (8) stable C, H, N, O and S isotopes of sedimentary rocks and fluids such as oils and gases, (9) correlation of oils with their potential source rocks and other oils. Experience will be gained in the manipulation and interpretation of data generated by these techniques. The students will learn about the application of these techniques to understanding petroleum systems, and also to deconvoluting the Precambrian biosphere.
| Credit Points: | 4 |
| When Offered: | S2 Day - Session 2, North Ryde, Day |
| Staff Contact(s): | Professor Simon George |
| Prerequisites: |
Admission to MGeoSc and GEOS309 |
| Corequisites: | |
| NCCW(s): | GEOS710 |
| Unit Designation(s): | |
| Assessed As: | Graded |
| Offered By: | Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Faculty of Science and Engineering |
Timetable Information
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