The ability to characterize the composition of emerging unconventional Bakken tight oil is essential to better prepare for potential spills and to assess associated environmental concerns. The present work measured and compared the physical and chemical properties of Bakken crudes with conventional crude oils from various regions and different types of refined petroleum products. The physicochemical properties of Bakken crude are overall similar to those of conventional light crudes. The Bakken crude consists of high concentrations of monoaromatic hydrocarbons and alkylated PAHs with a clear dominance of the alkylated naphthalene homologues followed by the phenanthrene series. Its pyrogenic index (PI) values are considerably lower than typical conventional crude oils. The Bakken crude oils in this study exhibit a low abundance of petroleum biomarker such as terpanes, steranes and diamondoids and bicyclic sesquiterpanes. Since tight oil from the Bakken region is produced from low-permeability formations, variations in abundance and diagnostic ratios of common target petroleum hydrocarbons were found among these oils.
Keywords: Bakken; Biomarkers; Fingerprinting; PAHs; Tight oil; Unconventional crude.
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