Organic Geochemistry 76 (2014) 9–25

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Organic Geochemistry
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/orggeochem

Tertiary oils from Upper Assam Basin, India: A geochemical study

using terrigenous biomarkers
Neeraj Mathur ⇑
Centre of Excellence for Energy Studies, Oil India Limited, Rukminigaon, G S Road, Guwahati 781 022, Assam, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The Upper Assam Basin in northeast India is a Tertiary sub-basin of the Assam-Arakan Basin. Hydrocar-
Received 20 October 2013 bons are present in the Langpar Formation (Upper Palaeocene), Lakadong member of the Sylhet Forma-
Received in revised form 9 June 2014 tion (Lower Eocene), and the Barail (Oligocene), Tipam (Lower Miocene) and Girujan (Middle Miocene)
Accepted 14 July 2014
formations in the basin. A detailed study to understand the nature and origin of the oils from different
Available online 26 July 2014
stratigraphic horizons using terrigenous and other biomarkers has been carried out. Further, the variation
in maturities of oils occurring in different stratigraphic horizons has also been studied. The study shows
Keywords:
that rearranged oleananes, oleananes and bicadinanes are present in these oils implying land plant input
Upper Assam Basin
Tertiary oils
to their source rocks. The oils have been classified into different groups, using ratios of rearranged olean-
Terrigenous biomarkers anes, oleananes, bicadinanes and steranes, indicating presence of multiple source rocks in the basin with
Rearranged oleananes subtle variation in characteristics. Maturity studies show that oils from younger horizons (Barail, Tipam
Bicadinanes and Girujan) are more mature than oils from older horizons (Langpar and Lakadong). There is an apparent
mismatch in maturity of oils as measured by different biomarker maturity parameters. This is due to the
mixing of two different charges of oils, having different maturities and generated from two different
source rock kitchens, in the same reservoir. Principal component analysis (PCA) of biomarker data has
also been able to classify the oils into various groups. A new parameter has been developed, using ratios
of rearranged oleananes, for determining maturity of these oils.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The Upper Assam Basin is a Tertiary sub-basin of the
Assam-Arakan geological province located in the northeastern part
of the Indian subcontinent (Fig. 1). It has been a prolific hydrocar-
bon producer for more than a century since oil was first discovered
in Digboi in Upper Assam in 1889. The Digboi oilfield is still pro-
ducing from the Tipam Formation (Lower Miocene), although at a
very low rate. Hydrocarbons were discovered in the Oligocene
Barail Formation (1950s) followed by Upper Miocene Girujan
Formation (1970s). More recently, in 1989, hydrocarbons were also
discovered in deeper reservoirs in the Lakadong member of the
Sylhet Formation (Lower Eocene) and the Langpar Formation
(Upper Palaeocene).
Mathur et al. (2000) studied oils from Lakadong and Langpar
reservoirs from the Upper Assam Basin, using whole oil gas
chromatography. Their study has shown that these oils are waxy
with a predominance of n-alkanes in the carbon number range of
21–35 with maxima at C29. Moreover, pristane/phytane for these
⇑ Tel.: +91 9435039751; fax: +91 361 2262555.
E-mail addresses: nmathur@oilindia.in, neeraj.nmathur@gmail.com
oils is > 3. Thus, Lakadong and Langpar oils in the Upper Assam
Basin are derived from terrigenous organic matter (Hedberg,
1968; Tissot and Welte, 1984).
Mathur and Das (2013) carried out a study on the origin and
maturity of Lakadong and Langpar oils in the basin using selected
ion monitoring GC–MS analysis of biomarkers. They showed that
these oils have high oleanane and low sterane contents. Further,
C29 steranes are predominant amongst C27, C28 and C29 steranes.
The oils are derived from terrigenous source rocks deposited under
oxic to sub-oxic conditions. Also, the oils are early to mid-mature
and show evidence of migration contamination (Curiale and
Bromley, 1996).
An oil to source rock correlation study by Goswami et al. (2005)
in the western part of the basin showed that oils from the Bokabil
(Early to Middle Miocene) and Sylhet (Middle to Late Eocene) for-
mations are derived from terrigenous organic matter. The oils have
significant amounts of oleananes and bicadinanes, confirming their
terrigenous origin (Ekweozor and Udo, 1988; Alam and Pearson,
1990; Ekweozor and Telnaes, 1990; van Aarssen et al., 1990,
1992a; Curiale et al., 1994; Murray et al., 1994; Nytoft et al., 2010).
Several higher plant related C30 triterpanes have been observed
in Late Cretaceous/Tertiary oils from Southeast Asia, New Zealand

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2014.07.007
0146-6380/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
10 N. Mathur / Organic Geochemistry 76 (2014) 9–25

MANABHUM
KITCHEN
HAPJAN
SEALKATI

DIGBOI
KAMKHAT
NAHARKA
TIYA JORAJAN
KUSIJAN
SHALMARI
KHARSANG
NORTH TINALI
MADHAKALI
SAPEKHATI

NAGA
KITCHEN

Fig. 1. Map of the study area showing location of oilfields.

and Nigeria (Ekweozor et al., 1979a,b; Ekweozor and Udo, 1988;
Curiale and Lin, 1991; van Aarssen et al., 1992a; Woodhouse
et al., 1992; Murray et al., 1994; Sosrowidjojo et al., 1994). Detec-
tion of these compounds in oils and sediments requires a higher
selectivity method like metastable reaction monitoring (MRM)
GC–MS (Murray et al., 1994; Nytoft et al., 2010).
In this paper, oils from Girujan, Tipam, Barail, Lakadong and
Langpar reservoirs from the Upper Assam Basin have been studied
using MRM GC–MS, for the analysis of biomarkers such as C30
triterpanes, oleananes, bicadinanes, hopanes and steranes, to
understand their origin and maturity and to group them into
different families. Further, a ratio using C30 triterpanes (rearranged
oleananes) has been developed as a maturity parameter for these
oils.
2. Geological setting
The Upper Assam Basin is bounded in the northwest by the
eastern Himalayas, in the south by the Naga-Patkai Hills, in the
northeast by the Mishmi Hills and in the southwest by the Mikir
Hills and Shillong Plateau. The basin came into existence during
the Cretaceous and Early Cenozoic period and was located in a pas-
sive continental margin facing an open sea. The Upper Assam Basin
had received clastic sediments in varied shallow marine to paralic
and non-marine (deltaic, fluviatile) environmental conditions in
different geological times during Tertiary period. In the present
day configuration of the basin, the basement dips both towards
the southeast and northwest on the southern and northern flanks
of the basement ridge, respectively. The basement ridge which
trends NE–SW is possibly the eastern continuation of the Mikir
Hills and runs almost parallel to the present day Brahmaputra
River. The sedimentary thickness, which is < 4 km along the axis
of the basement ridge, increases to > 7 km towards the Naga-Patkai
range and the eastern Himalayan foothills region. The generalised
stratigraphic succession of the Upper Assam Shelf along with the
petroleum system is shown in Fig. 2 (Raju and Mathur, 1995;
Mathur et al., 2001).
3. Experimental
3.1. Samples
Thirty-seven well head crude oil samples were collected from
wells producing from Girujan, Tipam, Barail, Lakadong and Langpar
reservoirs in Upper Assam Basin (Table 1) ensuring coverage of
geographically dispersed oilfields. All the analyses were carried
out in the laboratory of Oil India Limited operating under
ISO17025 standard.
3.2. Separation
Asphaltenes were precipitated from oils by adding 50 times
excess n-hexane. The precipitated asphaltenes were Soxhlet
extracted to remove any trapped hexane soluble fraction. The
hexane soluble fraction was added to the maltenes obtained above.
Maltenes were separated into saturated hydrocarbons, aromatic
hydrocarbons and resins fraction using the Radke et al. (1980)
medium pressure liquid chromatography method. n-Alkanes were
removed from the saturated hydrocarbon fraction using Geokleen
(GH Geochem, UK). The resulting fraction, enriched in biomarkers,
was subjected to MRM GC–MS analysis.
3.3. GC–MS analysis
MRM GC–MS analysis was carried out using ThermoFisher
Trace Ultra gas chromatograph connected to TSQ triple stage
 N. Mathur / Organic Geochemistry 76 (2014) 9–25 11

Fig. 2. Stratigraphy of the study area.

quadrupole mass spectrometer. An Rtx-5 capillary column
(30 m  0.25 mm i.d., 0.25 lm film thickness) from Restek
Corporation, USA was used. The injector and GC transfer line
temperatures were maintained at 300 °C. The GC oven temperature
programme was as follows: 100 °C (3 min), ramp rate 25 °C/min,
200 °C, ramp rate 2 °C/min, 300 °C (3 min). Helium was used as a
carrier gas at a constant flow rate of 1 ml/min. The mass spectrom-
eter electron source was kept at temperature of 200 °C, and an ion-
isation energy of 70 eV. Argon was used as the collision gas and the
collision energy was kept at 15 eV. The following parent-daughter
transitions were used: 370 ? 191 for C27 hopanes, 398 ? 191 for
C29 hopanes, 412 ? 191 for C30 hopanes and triterpanes,
412 ? 369 for C30 bicadinanes and 400 ? 217 for C29 steranes.
The GC–MS was calibrated using standard C29 sterane and C30
hopane obtained from Chiron, Norway. The other biomarker
compounds were identified by comparing the mass chromatogram
with that available in the literature (Murray et al., 1994; Nytoft
et al., 2010). Geochemical data interpretation software, pIGI (IGI
Ltd, UK) was used for interpretation of data, plotting of diagrams
and statistical analysis.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Origin of oils
Previously unpublished results from a study carried out using
MRM GC–MS on a different set of oils from Upper Assam Basin
than the one used in this study show that oils from Girujan, Tipam,
Barail, Lakadong and Langpar reservoirs have predominant C29
steranes amongst C27, C28 and C29 steranes (Fig. 3). Therefore,
during this study, only the mass transition from 400 ? 217
corresponding to C29 steranes was monitored during MRM
GC–MS analysis and C27 and C28 steranes were not determined.
12 N. Mathur / Organic Geochemistry 76 (2014) 9–25

Table 1 compounds (rearranged oleananes) are present in these oils. These

Details of oil samples used in the study. compounds have been previously reported in Tertiary oils by var-
Well Depth (m) Formations ious workers (Murray et al., 1994; Nytoft et al., 2010) and refer-
Kharsang A 1396.5 Girujan ences therein. Table 2 lists the C30 triterpane compounds whose
Kharsang B 1392.0 Girujan peak heights were measured from the 412 ? 191 mass chromato-
Kumchai A 3491.5 Girujan gram along with the peak identification used by Nytoft et al.
Kumchai B 3520.0 Girujan (2010). Some of the compounds reported by Nytoft et al. (2010)
Digboi A 594.3 Tipam
Digboi B 685.8 Tipam
have not been included in this study as they were present in very
Digboi C 762.0 Tipam small quantities in Assam oils. Biomarker parameters used in this
Hapjan A 2269.0 Tipam study are described in Appendix A and biomarker data are
Jorajan A 2940.5 Tipam presented in Tables 3–5. Structures of terrigenous biomarkers used
Jorajan B 3144.0 Tipam
in this study are shown in Appendix B.
Naharkatiya B 3014.5 Tipam
Naharkatiya C 3004.0 Tipam Sterane/hopane ratio is a measure of eukaryotic vs prokaryotic
Hapjan B 2746.5 Barail input to the source rocks. Steranes are more abundant than hopane
Kusijan A 4105.0 Barail in marine oils and less abundant in terrigenous oils (Peters et al.,
Moran B 3410.7 Barail 2005). The sterane/hopane ratio is < 0.6 for the oils from Upper
Naharkatiya A 2715.0 Barail
Assam Basin (Fig. 5) implying that they have been generated from
Sapekhati A 4279.5 Barail
Shalmari A 3153.0 Barail terrigenous source rocks.
Baghjan J 3984.0 Lakadong The ratio oleananes/(oleananes + hopane) is used as both as a
Barekuri B 3993.0 Lakadong source and age indicator, as oleananes are derived from angio-
Bhogpara B 3843.0 Lakadong
sperms (flowering land plants), which became prominent in Late
Dikom C 3563.0 Lakadong
Dikom D 3587.5 Lakadong Cretaceous to Tertiary (Ekweozor and Udo, 1988; Ekweozor and
Kamkhat A 3639.0 Lakadong Telnaes, 1990; Peters et al., 2005). However, the abundance of
Kathalani B 3530.0 Lakadong oleananes in terrigenous sediments and oils has also been linked
Madhakali A 4091.5 Lakadong to marine influence during diagenetic phase of deposition
Mechaki B 5456.0 Lakadong
(Murray et al., 1997).
Moran C 4421.5 Lakadong
North Tinali A 4578.0 Lakadong A plot of steranes/(steranes + hopane) and oleananes/(olean-
Sealkati A 3634.0 Lakadong anes + hopane) (Fig. 6) is able to differentiate among Langpar and
Shalmari B 4506.0 Lakadong Lakadong oils, Barail, Tipam and Girujan oils and Tipam oils from
Tengakhat F 3994.5 Lakadong
Digboi. Oils from different reservoirs in the basin have subtle dif-
Tengakhat G 3546.0 Lakadong
Tengakhat H 3522.0 Lakadong
ferences in their sterane content. The steranes/(steranes + hopane)
Baghjan B 3931.0 Langpar ratio is < 0.21 for Langpar and Lakadong oils, Sapekhati Barail oil
Baghjan G 3972.0 Langpar and Digboi Tipam oils and between 0.29 and 0.35 for other oils.
Barekuri A 3890.5 Langpar A high oleananes/(oleananes + hopane) content (> 0.2 for most
oils) confirms that these oils are derived from Tertiary source
rocks. This is consistent with the fact that rocks older than Tertiary
The results of MRM GC–MS analysis for mass transitions of are not encountered in this part of the basin. Langpar and Lakadong
412 ? 191 corresponding to C30 triterpanes and 412 ? 369 corre- oils have higher oleanane contents compared to Barail, Tipam and
sponding to C30 bicadinanes, for representative oils from Lakadong, Girujan oils.
Barail, Tipam and Girujan reservoirs are shown in Fig. 4a–d. The Thus, Langpar and Lakadong oils, Sapekhati Barail oil and Digboi
mass chromatograms show that a number of C30 triterpane Tipam oils have generated from non-marine source rocks. Further,
source rocks for Langpar and Lakadong oils have received
significant land plant input. Barail, Tipam and Girujan oils have
generated from slightly more marine source rocks than Langpar
and Lakadong oils.
Bicadinanes/(bicadinanes + hopane) ratio is an indicator of
terrigenous input to the source rock of the oils, as bicadinanes
originate from ‘‘Dammar’’ resins exuded by tropical angiosperms
(van Aarssen et al., 1992a,b).
A crossplot of oleananes/(oleananes + hopane) and bicadinanes/
(bicadinanes + hopane) (Fig. 7) (Rangel et al., 2002; Peters et al.,
2005) shows that Langpar and Lakadong oils have higher relative
proportions of both oleananes and bicadinanes confirming signifi-
cant terrigenous input to their source rocks. Within the Langpar
and Lakadong reservoirs, oils from Baghjan, Barekuri and Mechaki
oilfields in the northeastern part of the basin are relatively richer in
bicadinanes. Also, Shalmari and North Tinali Lakadong reservoirs in
the south–south–west of the basin are lean in bicadinanes. Tipam
oils from Digboi oilfield and Barail oil from Sapekhati oilfield in the
southeast and south of the basin are lean in both oleananes and
bicadinanes implying that these oils have received little higher
plant input. Barail and Tipam oils, from the central part of the
basin, have moderate amount of oleananes and bicadinanes.
Fig. 3. Distribution of C27, C28 and C29 iso steranes (5a,14b,17b(H)
Girujan oils from the Kumchai and Kharsang fields, located in the
(20S + 20R)) + regular steranes (5a,14a,17a(H) (20S + 20R)) for Assam oils. Sample eastern and southeastern part of the basin have significant
set in this figure is different from the one used in rest of this study. quantities of bicadinanes.
 N. Mathur / Organic Geochemistry 76 (2014) 9–25 13

(a)

(b)

Fig. 4. 412 to 191 and 412 to 369 MRM transitions for (a) Lakadong oil from Dikom oilfield, (b) Barail oil from Naharkatiya oilfield, (c) Tipam oil from Naharkatiya oilfield, (d)
Girujan oil from Kumchai oilfield. Relative intensities for the two transitions are also shown. Peaks 1–11: C30 triterpanes, T T1 and R: bicadinanes. Refer Table 2 for peak
identification.

Nytoft et al. (2010) observed that the ratio of the sum of C30
triterpanes normalised to C30 triterpanes and oleananes increases
with diasteranes content indicating that oxic, clay rich systems
also favour the formation of C30 triterpanes. A similar relationship
has been observed for Assam oils (Fig. 8). It is observed that oils
from Langpar and Lakadong reservoirs, in most parts of the basin,
are rich in both C30 triterpanes and diasteranes indicating an oxic,
clay rich environment of deposition for the source rock for these
oils. Barail and Tipam oils are leaner in both C30 triterpanes and
diasteranes compared to Langpar and Lakadong oils. However,
14 N. Mathur / Organic Geochemistry 76 (2014) 9–25

(c)

(d)

Fig. 4 (continued)

within Barail and Tipam oils, Tipam oils from the Digboi oilfield are
even further depleted in C30 triterpanes and diasteranes.
Girujan oils from the Kumchai and Kharsang oilfields in the
eastern and southeastern part of the basin and Lakadong oils from
Madhakali and Moran in the southwest of the basin, are enriched
in C30 triterpanes compared to Barail and Tipam oils while having
similar diasteranes content.
Thus, there is a variation in properties of the oils, in terms of
source input and depositional environment of their source rocks,
across the basin and at different stratigraphic levels. Based on
 N. Mathur / Organic Geochemistry 76 (2014) 9–25 15

Table 2
C30 triterpane compound used in this study (Fig. 4) and their correspondence with the peak assignments in a previous study (Nytoft et al. (2010)).

Compound Peak assignment

Nytoft et al. (2010) This paper
9,15-Dimethyl-25,27-dinorhopane H1 ND
Unidentified C30 triterpane 1 1
Unidentified C30 triterpane 2 2
5(4 ? 3)abeo-3a(H), 18a(H)-oleanane (I) 3 3
Unidentified C30 triterpane 4 4
Unidentified C30 triterpane 5 ND
Unidentified C30 triterpane 6 5
Unidentified C30 triterpane 7 ND
3a,5b-Dimethyl-23a,25-dinor-10b(H), 18a(H)-oleanane (II) 8 6
C(14a)-Homo-26-nor-17a(H)-hopane H2 ND
1(10 ? 5)Abeo-3b-methyl-24b-nor-18a(H)-oleanane (III) 9 7
Unidentified C30 triterpane 9b 8
Unidentified C30 spirotriterpane 10 ND
17a(H)-diahopane H3 C30-diahopane
Unidentified C30 triterpane 11 ND
Unidentified C30 triterpane 12 9
Unidentified C30 triterpane 13 ND
Unidentified C30 triterpane 14 10
18 a Oleanane 15 18a-Oleanane
18 b Oleanane 16 18b-Oleanane
17a(H),21b(H)-hopane 17/H4 C30-hopane
Unidentified C30 triterpane 18 ND
Unidentified C30 spirotriterpane 19 11
17a(H),21a(H)-hopane H5 ND
17b(H),21a(H)-hopane H6 C30-moretane
19a(H) taraxastane 20 ND
trans-trans-trans-Bicadinane T T T
trans-trans-trans-Bicadinane T1 T1 T1
trans-trans-trans-Bicadinane R R R

ND = Not determined.

the above, the characteristics of oils from the Upper Assam Basin
have been summarised in Table 6.
Four potential source rocks are present in the basin, viz. Langpar
shales, Lakadong shales, Kopili shales and Barail coals and shales
(Fig. 2). It is likely that Langpar and Lakadong oils are sourced from
Langpar and Lakadong shales whereas Barail, Tipam and Girujan
oils have sourced from Kopili shales and Barail coals and shales.
Thus, oils in the Upper Assam Basin have sourced from multiple
source rocks.
4.2. Maturity of oils
Sterane maturity parameters (Seifert and Moldowan, 1986;
Peters et al., 2005) (Fig. 9) show that most of the oils from
Lakadong and Langpar reservoirs have low maturity, barring oils
from Madhakali and Moran that have high maturity. Sealkati,
Baghjan and Mechaki oils have very low maturity amongst
Lakadong and Langpar oils. Oils from stratigraphically younger
reservoirs, viz. Barail, Tipam and Girujan, have higher maturity
with Kumchai Girujan oils being highly mature. None of the oils
seem to have suffered any migration–fractionation as both the
sterane maturity parameters fall along the normal maturation
curve.
A plot of maturity parameters, C30 hopane/C30 moretane and
C30 diahopane/C29 moretane is used to determine the mixture of
early charge (containing C29 moretane) and late charge (containing
C30 diahopane), of oil in a reservoir (Cornford et al., 1983). These
parameters (Fig. 10) also show that most of the Lakadong and
Langpar oils have low maturity with Sealkati, Baghjan and Mech-
aki oils having very low maturity. However, Lakadong oils from
the Moran and Madhkali fields have high maturity. Barail and
Tipam oils and Kharsang Girujan oils have higher maturity com-
pared to Lakadong and Langpar oils. Kumchai Girujan oils are a
mixture of early charge and late charge as they have high C30
diahopane content and are falling away from normal maturation
trend (Fig. 10).
Bicadinane maturity index (BMI-1) is a very reliable maturity
parameter for terrigenous oils that contain bicadinanes (Murray
et al., 1994, 1997; Sosrowidjojo et al., 1996). BMI-1 continues to
increase in the oil window and is little affected by diagenetic
effects and biodegradation. BMI-1 values are < 3 for Assam oils
implying low maturity for these oils (Table 5). Further, BMI-1 val-
ues are low even for higher maturity Tipam and Girujan oils.
The parameters Ts/(Ts + Tm) and C29 Ts/(C29 Ts + C29 hopane)
have been widely used to determine maturity of oils and extracts
from low maturity to peak oil generation stage (Moldowan et al.,
1986; Peters et al., 2005). These parameters show that Langpar
and Lakadong oils from Baghjan and Mechaki have higher maturity
than most other oils (Table 5).
Thus, there is an apparent anomaly among the maturities of the
oils, as measured by different parameters. This is further brought
out by a crossplot of steranes maturity parameter C29 20S/(S + R)
sterane and hopane maturity parameter Ts/(Ts + Tm) (Fig. 11). It
can be seen that maturity of most of the oils increases in tandem,
as measured by these parameters. However, Baghjan, Barekuri,
Mechaki and Dikom oils show lower maturity based on C29 20S/
(S + R) steranes compared to Ts/(Ts + Tm). On the other hand,
Tipam oils from Digboi and Jorajan and Barail oil from Sapekhati
show higher steranes maturity.
Petroleum system modelling studies in the basin have shown
that there are two active source rock kitchens, namely the Naga
Kitchen in the south and Manabhum Kitchen in the northeast
(Fig. 1). Different reservoirs have received charge from the both
kitchens in different proportions (Mathur and Kumar, 2013). Since
the two charges could be of different maturities and having bio-
markers in different concentrations, the mixed oil accumulated
in these reservoirs has an apparent mismatch of maturities based
on different parameters.
 16
Table 3
Biomarker parameters used for correlation of oils.

Well Diasteranes/ Steranes/ C30 hopane/ Oleananes/ Bicadinanes/ Bicadinanes/ C30 diahopane/(C30
(diasteranes + steranes) (steranes + hopane) (C29 + C30 hopane) (oleananes + hopane) (bicadinanes + hopane) (bicadinanes + steranes) diahopane + C29 Ts)
Kharsang A 0.50 0.35 0.51 0.21 0.49 0.64 0.54
Kharsang B 0.50 0.33 0.52 0.19 0.49 0.66 0.53
Kumchai A 0.55 0.34 0.60 0.27 0.61 0.75 0.62
Kumchai B 0.55 0.35 0.59 0.28 0.61 0.74 0.63
Digboi A 0.50 0.16 0.48 0.10 0.24 0.62 0.46
Digboi B 0.51 0.15 0.49 0.11 0.23 0.63 0.46
Digboi C 0.53 0.15 0.55 0.11 0.27 0.68 0.51
Hapjan A 0.57 0.33 0.54 0.28 0.38 0.55 0.47
Jorajan A 0.55 0.34 0.52 0.22 0.35 0.52 0.42
Jorajan B 0.56 0.29 0.50 0.23 0.32 0.53 0.46
Naharkatiya B 0.62 0.31 0.48 0.21 0.34 0.53 0.41

N. Mathur / Organic Geochemistry 76 (2014) 9–25

Naharkatiya C 0.61 0.30 0.49 0.20 0.33 0.54 0.42
Hapjan B 0.59 0.32 0.55 0.28 0.39 0.57 0.49
Kusijan A 0.57 0.31 0.54 0.27 0.39 0.59 0.48
Moran B 0.61 0.32 0.54 0.29 0.33 0.51 0.47
Naharkatiya A 0.59 0.32 0.59 0.29 0.39 0.58 0.52
Sapekhati A 0.55 0.21 0.48 0.14 0.20 0.48 0.40
Shalmari A 0.60 0.31 0.53 0.28 0.34 0.53 0.46
Baghjan J 0.68 0.13 0.52 0.38 0.71 0.94 0.41
Barekuri B 0.67 0.10 0.57 0.36 0.67 0.95 0.47
Bhogpara B 0.61 0.12 0.51 0.35 0.61 0.92 0.45
Dikom C 0.61 0.12 0.51 0.38 0.58 0.91 0.43
Dikom D 0.60 0.13 0.49 0.37 0.57 0.90 0.44
Kamkhat A 0.65 0.12 0.51 0.39 0.62 0.92 0.42
Kathalani B 0.60 0.15 0.48 0.39 0.60 0.90 0.42
Madhakali A 0.54 0.17 0.56 0.41 0.60 0.88 0.50
Mechaki B 0.68 0.13 0.53 0.33 0.72 0.95 0.41
Moran C 0.52 0.20 0.56 0.43 0.66 0.89 0.52
North Tinali A 0.59 0.11 0.48 0.35 0.40 0.85 0.45
Sealkati A 0.63 0.12 0.51 0.41 0.54 0.90 0.45
Shalmari B 0.62 0.11 0.53 0.42 0.40 0.85 0.51
Tengakhat F 0.63 0.13 0.55 0.38 0.59 0.91 0.47
Tengakhat G 0.63 0.14 0.57 0.38 0.63 0.91 0.50
Tengakhat H 0.61 0.12 0.52 0.38 0.57 0.91 0.49
Baghjan B 0.63 0.13 0.62 0.39 0.68 0.93 0.50
Baghjan G 0.65 0.11 0.54 0.38 0.66 0.94 0.43
Barekuri A 0.66 0.09 0.56 0.36 0.63 0.94 0.50

Parameters are described in Appendix A.

 N. Mathur / Organic Geochemistry 76 (2014) 9–25 17

Table 4
Ratio of C30 tritrpanes to oleananes used in this study.

Well Ratio 1 Ratio 2 Ratio 3 Ratio 4 Ratio 5 Ratio 6 Ratio 7 Ratio 8 Ratio 9 Ratio 10 Ratio 11
Kharsang A 0.40 0.42 0.29 0.13 0.09 0.80 0.25 0.16 0.09 0.08 0.15
Kharsang B 0.39 0.41 0.27 0.14 0.11 0.85 0.28 0.20 0.09 0.09 0.17
Kumchai A 0.43 0.43 0.29 0.12 0.16 0.97 0.30 0.21 0.10 0.10 0.15
Kumchai B 0.42 0.43 0.28 0.11 0.13 0.95 0.30 0.20 0.09 0.09 0.15
Digboi A 0.29 0.29 0.26 0.10 0.10 0.46 0.15 0.15 0.10 0.02 0.21
Digboi B 0.28 0.30 0.25 0.09 0.09 0.41 0.14 0.13 0.07 0.02 0.21
Digboi C 0.33 0.32 0.28 0.11 0.14 0.57 0.15 0.17 0.10 0.03 0.20
Hapjan A 0.36 0.34 0.35 0.08 0.13 0.70 0.19 0.17 0.10 0.05 0.12
Jorajan A 0.35 0.33 0.36 0.09 0.14 0.58 0.15 0.16 0.09 0.05 0.12
Jorajan B 0.36 0.31 0.37 0.08 0.15 0.68 0.18 0.16 0.09 0.05 0.13
Naharkatiya B 0.42 0.38 0.43 0.10 0.19 0.74 0.15 0.16 0.11 0.03 0.13
Naharkatiya C 0.38 0.34 0.41 0.10 0.18 0.62 0.15 0.15 0.12 0.04 0.15
Hapjan B 0.37 0.34 0.35 0.08 0.16 0.72 0.19 0.17 0.09 0.05 0.12
Kusijan A 0.37 0.31 0.33 0.07 0.15 0.70 0.20 0.16 0.08 0.05 0.12
Moran B 0.39 0.29 0.40 0.06 0.19 0.70 0.17 0.15 0.09 0.05 0.11
Naharkatiya A 0.34 0.32 0.36 0.08 0.19 0.72 0.17 0.17 0.10 0.05 0.12
Sapekhati A 0.33 0.28 0.38 0.07 0.18 0.58 0.15 0.15 0.11 0.03 0.20
Shalmari A 0.38 0.29 0.38 0.06 0.19 0.71 0.17 0.16 0.09 0.05 0.12
Baghjan J 0.42 0.25 0.44 0.08 0.44 1.71 0.24 0.31 0.19 0.11 0.18
Barekuri B 0.39 0.28 0.38 0.05 0.40 1.50 0.23 0.31 0.18 0.09 0.17
Bhogpara B 0.31 0.26 0.31 0.07 0.33 1.39 0.20 0.33 0.13 0.07 0.17
Dikom C 0.30 0.23 0.36 0.06 0.38 1.35 0.18 0.31 0.16 0.08 0.16
Dikom D 0.29 0.24 0.34 0.07 0.36 1.34 0.19 0.31 0.14 0.07 0.16
Kamkhat A 0.35 0.21 0.40 0.06 0.43 1.40 0.17 0.29 0.19 0.08 0.16
Kathalani B 0.32 0.28 0.31 0.09 0.33 1.41 0.21 0.33 0.13 0.06 0.17
Madhakali A 0.24 0.31 0.21 0.10 0.22 1.39 0.25 0.34 0.08 0.06 0.16
Mechaki B 0.41 0.22 0.45 0.06 0.46 1.70 0.23 0.32 0.20 0.11 0.18
Moran C 0.25 0.34 0.21 0.12 0.19 1.37 0.28 0.35 0.07 0.06 0.16
North Tinali A 0.24 0.24 0.32 0.06 0.36 1.27 0.16 0.32 0.14 0.06 0.18
Sealkati A 0.26 0.16 0.36 0.05 0.40 1.12 0.16 0.28 0.16 0.06 0.16
Shalmari B 0.20 0.19 0.31 0.05 0.37 1.15 0.16 0.32 0.13 0.05 0.18
Tengakhat F 0.33 0.28 0.36 0.06 0.36 1.59 0.18 0.32 0.16 0.08 0.16
Tengakhat G 0.35 0.26 0.35 0.09 0.39 1.35 0.18 0.32 0.13 0.08 0.17
Tengakhat H 0.28 0.23 0.33 0.06 0.37 1.29 0.18 0.30 0.15 0.08 0.16
Baghjan B 0.34 0.20 0.40 0.06 0.40 1.31 0.20 0.28 0.19 0.09 0.17
Baghjan G 0.36 0.22 0.42 0.07 0.41 1.50 0.22 0.29 0.20 0.10 0.18
Barekuri A 0.33 0.28 0.39 0.06 0.38 1.52 0.22 0.33 0.20 0.09 0.19

Ratios 1. . .11 are described in Appendix A.

4.3. Principal component analysis
Principal component analysis (Davis, 1973) has been carried out
using all the biomarker parameters used in this study (Appendix
A). A plot of first two principal components (Fig. 12) is clearly able
to separate Assam oils into following groups
Group I: Oils from Langpar and Lakadong reservoirs comprising
of following sub-groups.
 Ia: Oils from Langpar and Lakadong reservoirs in central part of
the basin.
 Ib: Oils from Moran and Madhakali Lakadong reservoirs in
south–west of the basin.
 Ic: Oils from Shalmari and North Tinali Lakadong reservoirs in
south–south–west of the basin.
 Id: Oil from Baghjan, Barekuri and Mechaki Langpar and
Lakadong reservoirs in north-east of the basin.
Group II: Oils from Barail and Tipam reservoirs comprising of
following sub-groups.
 IIa: Oils from Barail and Tipam reservoirs in the central part of
the basin.
 IIb: Oils from Barail reservoir in Sapekhati and Tipam reservoir
in Digboi in southern part of the basin.
Group III: Oils from Girujan reservoir in Kumchai and Kharsang
in east and southeast of the basin.
The plot of principal component loadings (not shown here)
shows that maximum variance in principal component 1 comes
from C30 triterpane-5/(C30 triterpane-5 + oleananes) and C30 triter-
pane-2/(C30 triterpane-2 + oleananes). Similarly, maximum
variance in principal component 2 comes from C30 triterpane-7/
(C30 triterpane-7 + oleananes) and C30 triterpane-3/(C30 triter-
pane-3 + oleananes). Thus, the ratios C30 triterpane-2/C30 triter-
panes-5 and C30 triterpane-7/C30 triterpane-3 can capture the
variance of principal components 1 and 2. C30 triterpane-3 corre-
sponds to compound I (5(4 ? 3) abeo-3a (H),5b(H),18a(H)-olean-
ane) and C30 triterpane-7 corresponds to compound III (1(10 ? 5)
abeo-3b-methyl-24b-nor-18a(H)-oleanane) of Nytoft et al. (2010).
A plot of these ratios (Fig. 13) is able to differentiate among Lang-
par and Lakadong oils, Barail and Tipam oils and Girujan oils. Fur-
ther, it is also able to differentiate between Moran and Madhakali
oils (Group Ib) and rest of the Langpar and Lakadong oils. However,
these ratios are not able to separate Digboi Tipam oils from other
Tipam oils. Further, oils from Lakadong reservoirs from south–
south–west (Group Ic) of the basin and from Langpar and Lakadong
reservoirs from Baghjan, Barekuri and Mechaki (Group Id) are also
not separated from other oils from Langpar and Lakadong reser-
voirs in central part of the basin (Group Ia).
From the above, it is apparent that the ratio C30 triterpane-2/C30
triterpanes-5 is dependent on the maturity of the oils. This is con-
firmed when this ratio is plotted against C29 20S/(20S + 20R) ster-
anes (Fig. 14). There is a good correlation between these two
parameters and the ratio C30 triterpane-2/C30 triterpane-5 contin-
ues to increase into the peak oil generation stage when the sterane
 18
Table 5
Biomarker maturity parameters used in this study.

General C29 steranes C29 steranes iso/ C29 hopane/(C29 C30 hopane/(C30 C30 diahopane/(C30 C29 Ts/(C29 Ts + C29 Ts/ BMI-1 18 a/(a + b)
20S/(S + R) (iso + reg) hopane + C29 moretane) hopane + C30 moretane) diahopane + C29 moretane) Hopane) (Ts + Tm) Oleanane
Kharsang A 0.54 0.59 0.90 0.90 0.70 0.18 0.34 2.42 0.61
Kharsang B 0.53 0.57 0.90 0.90 0.71 0.19 0.33 2.37 0.64
Kumchai A 0.57 0.58 0.89 0.91 0.83 0.26 0.42 2.31 0.58
Kumchai B 0.55 0.59 0.90 0.90 0.84 0.26 0.45 2.34 0.58
Digboi A 0.52 0.55 0.89 0.89 0.48 0.12 0.18 2.58 0.61
Digboi B 0.53 0.54 0.89 0.89 0.48 0.12 0.19 2.49 0.58
Digboi C 0.55 0.54 0.90 0.90 0.56 0.12 0.19 2.69 0.60
Hapjan A 0.53 0.55 0.88 0.89 0.60 0.18 0.27 2.64 0.54
Jorajan A 0.48 0.53 0.87 0.89 0.44 0.14 0.19 2.65 0.54

N. Mathur / Organic Geochemistry 76 (2014) 9–25

Jorajan B 0.52 0.54 0.88 0.89 0.51 0.14 0.22 2.65 0.54
Naharkatiya B 0.52 0.54 0.89 0.92 0.45 0.12 0.18 2.42 0.47
Naharkatiya C 0.53 0.55 0.90 0.91 0.46 0.12 0.17 2.53 0.49
Hapjan B 0.51 0.55 0.89 0.90 0.62 0.18 0.29 2.71 0.56
Kusijan A 0.53 0.56 0.91 0.91 0.69 0.20 0.36 2.74 0.57
Moran B 0.48 0.51 0.90 0.91 0.57 0.15 0.24 2.75 0.51
Naharkatiya A 0.50 0.54 0.88 0.90 0.65 0.19 0.28 2.79 0.55
Sapekhati A 0.52 0.55 0.91 0.92 0.50 0.13 0.20 2.71 0.52
Shalmari A 0.50 0.53 0.90 0.91 0.58 0.16 0.25 2.77 0.53
Baghjan J 0.41 0.46 0.82 0.88 0.47 0.22 0.27 2.65 0.53
Barekuri B 0.46 0.51 0.86 0.90 0.57 0.19 0.29 2.90 0.45
Bhogpara B 0.48 0.49 0.89 0.91 0.57 0.17 0.21 2.78 0.49
Dikom C 0.40 0.42 0.85 0.88 0.46 0.17 0.19 2.61 0.48
Dikom D 0.44 0.43 0.86 0.88 0.47 0.16 0.20 2.68 0.49
Kamkhat A 0.39 0.38 0.84 0.87 0.44 0.18 0.20 2.63 0.48
Kathalani B 0.49 0.50 0.89 0.90 0.56 0.18 0.22 2.87 0.51
Madhakali A 0.54 0.57 0.91 0.93 0.74 0.21 0.28 2.77 0.57
Mechaki B 0.37 0.45 0.82 0.87 0.50 0.24 0.29 2.67 0.65
Moran C 0.53 0.60 0.92 0.94 0.79 0.23 0.33 2.80 0.58
North Tinali A 0.45 0.41 0.87 0.88 0.43 0.12 0.16 2.86 0.48
Sealkati A 0.38 0.36 0.81 0.85 0.38 0.15 0.16 2.45 0.49
Shalmari B 0.45 0.37 0.85 0.88 0.47 0.13 0.15 2.70 0.51
Tengakhat F 0.49 0.46 0.89 0.90 0.58 0.16 0.21 2.77 0.45
Tengakhat G 0.46 0.46 0.86 0.88 0.55 0.17 0.20 2.67 0.49
Tengakhat H 0.43 0.41 0.85 0.88 0.50 0.15 0.19 2.61 0.48
Baghjan B 0.36 0.46 0.83 0.87 0.56 0.22 0.28 2.57 0.51
Baghjan G 0.37 0.44 0.82 0.87 0.48 0.21 0.27 2.54 0.50
Barekuri A 0.45 0.47 0.87 0.90 0.59 0.18 0.30 2.53 0.48

Parameters are described in Appendix A.

 N. Mathur / Organic Geochemistry 76 (2014) 9–25 19

Fig. 5. Distribution of steranes/hopane for Assam oils.

Kharsang Kumchai

Sapekhati

Digboi

Fig. 6. Oleananes/(oleananes + hopane) vs steranes/(steranes + hopane) for Assam oils.

Baghjan,
Barekuri,
Mechaki

Kumchai

Kharsang

Shalmari,
North Tinali
Digboi

Sapekhati

Fig. 7. Oleananes/(oleananes + hopane) vs bicadinanes/(bicadinanes + hopane) for Assam oils.

20
Fig. 8. Diasteranes/(diasteranes + steranes) vs C30 triterpanes/(C30 triterpanes + oleananes) for Assam oils.
Table 6
Summary of characteristics of Assam oils and the source input/depositional environment of their source rocks.
Geological formation and geographical
location of oils
Langpar/Lakadong oils from most part of
basin
Lakadong oils from Madhakali and Moran in
the southwest of the basin
Lakadong oils from Shalmari and North
Tinali in the south–south–west of the
basin
Langpar/Lakadong oils from Baghjan and
Mechaki in the north-eastern part of the
basin
Barail/Tipam oils from central part of the
basin
Barail oil from Sapekhati and Tipam oils
from Digboi in the southern part of the
basin
Girujan oils from Kumchai and Kharsang in
eastern and south-eastern part of the
basin
Fig. 9. Sterane maturation parameters C29 steranes iso/(iso + reg) and C29 steranes 20S/(S + R) for Assam oils (maturation curve from pIGI software).
N. Mathur / Organic Geochemistry 76 (2014) 9–25
Moran,
Madhakali Kumchai
Kharsang
Digboi
Oil characteristics Source input/Depositional environment
Rich in oleananes, bicadinanes, C30 triterpanes and diasteranes, but lean in Significant land plant input; non-
steranes marine, oxic clay rich environment
Lean in diasteranes compared to Langpar/Lakadong oils from most part of Significant land plant input; non-marine
the basin environment
Lean in bicadinanes compared to Langpar/Lakadong oils from most part of Land plant input; non-marine, oxic clay
the basin rich environment
Relatively richer in bicadinanes compared to Langpar/Lakadong oils from Significant land plant input; non-
most part of the basin marine, oxic clay rich environment
Leaner in oleananes, bicadinanes, C30 triterpanes and diasteranes, but richer Less land plant input; less oxic
in steranes compared to Langpar/Lakadong oils from most part of the basin environment compared to Langpar/
Lakadong oils
Leaner in oleananes, bicadinanes, C30 triterpanes diasteranes and steranes Very less land plant input; non-marine
compared to all other oils in the basin depositional environment
Relatively rich in bicadinanes and C30 triterpanes compared to Barail/Tipam Moderate land plant input; sub-oxic
oils from central part of the basin environment
Moran,
Madhakali
Sealkati
Baghjan,
Mechaki
 N. Mathur / Organic Geochemistry 76 (2014) 9–25 21

Moran

Madhakali

Kumchai

Baghjan,
Mechaki
Sealkati

Fig. 10. Maturity parameters C30 diahopane/C29 moretane and C30 hopane/C30 moretane for Assam oils (maturation curve from pIGI software).

Baghjan,
Barekuri,
Mechaki,
Dikom

Digboi,
Jorajan,
Sapekhati

Fig. 11. Cross plot of maturity parameters C29 steranes 20S/(S + R) and Ts/(Ts + Tm) for Assam oils.

Group IIb
Group Ia
Group Ic

Group IIa

Group Id

Group Ib

Group III

Fig. 12. Principal components 1 and 2 for Assam oils.

22 N. Mathur / Organic Geochemistry 76 (2014) 9–25

Group Ib

Group III

Groups IIa+IIb
Groups Ia+Ic+Id

Fig. 13. Plot of ratio of C30 triterpane compounds 2 and 5 vs 7 and 3 (see Fig. 4) for grouping of Assam oils.

Fig. 14. Correlation of the ratio C30 triterpanes 2 and 5 with maturity parameter C29 steranes 20S/(S + R).

maturity parameter has reached its maximum value. Thus, the
ratio C30 triterpane-2/C30 triterpane-5 can be used as a maturity
parameter for Tertiary terrigenous oils from Upper Assam Basin.
5. Conclusions
In the Upper Assam Basin, oil is present in the Langpar Forma-
tion (Upper Palaeocene), the Lakadong member of the Sylhet For-
mation (Lower Eocene), and the Barail (Oligocene), Tipam (Lower
Miocene) and Girujan (Middle Miocene) formations. The presence
of rearranged oleananes and other similar land plant components
(collectively referred to as C30 triterpanes), oleananes and bicadin-
anes in these oils shows that they are derived from Tertiary terrig-
enous source rocks that have received significant land plant input.
However, there are subtle differences in the characteristics of these
oils that are brought out by parameters based on the ratios of C30
triterpanes, oleananes, bicadinanes and steranes. This implies that
multiple source rocks are present in the basin. Further, oils from
younger Barail, Tipam and Girujan horizons are more mature than
oils from older Langpar and Lakadong horizons. There is an appar-
ent mismatch in maturity, as measured by different maturity
parameters, among oils in Langpar and Lakadong reservoirs. This
is due to the mixing of two different charges of oils from separate
source rock kitchens, namely, the Naga kitchen in the south and
Manabhum kitchen in the east.
Principal component analysis of biomarker data has classified
the oils into following groups.
 Group I: Oils from Langpar and Lakadong reservoirs with four
sub-groups.
 Group II: Oils from Barail and Tipam reservoirs with two
sub-groups.
 Group III: Oils from the Girujan reservoir.
A new maturity parameter has been developed, based on the
ratio of C30 triterpane compounds that can be used to evaluate
the maturity of Assam oils from low to peak maturity range.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the reviewers Dr. Asif and an
anonymous reviewer for their suggestions that have significantly
improved the paper. The author is grateful to the Management of
Oil India Limited for permission to publish this work. Help in
analytical work by Dr. M.K. Sarmah and Mr. S. Borthakur is grate-
fully acknowledged.
 N. Mathur / Organic Geochemistry 76 (2014) 9–25 23

Appendix A

Biomarker parameters used in this study.

Parameter Description
Diasteranes/(diasteranes + steranes) 13b(H),17a(H)-Diastigmastane 20S + 20R/(13b(H),17a(H)-
Diastigmastane 20S + 20R + 5a,14b,17b(H)-stigmastane
20S + 20R + 5a,14a,17a(H)-stigmastane 20S + 20R)
Steranes/(steranes + hopane) (5a,14b,17b(H)-stigmastane 20S + 20R + 5a,14a,17a(H)-
stigmastane 20S + 20R)/(5a,14b,17b(H)-stigmastane
20S + 20R + 5a,14a,17a(H)-stigmastane
20S + 20R) + 17a(H),21b(H)-hopane)
C30 hopane/(C29 + C30 hopanes) 17a(H),21b(H)-hopane/(17a(H),21b(H)-
norhopane + 17a(H),21b(H)-hopane)
Oleananes/(oleananes + hopane) (18 a + 18 b-oleananes)/(18 a + 18 b-oleananes + 17a(H),21b(H)-
hopane)
Bicadinanes/(bicadinanes + hopane) (Bicadinanes T + T1 + R)/(Bicadinanes T + T1 + R + 17a(H),21b(H)-
hopane)
Bicadinanes/(bicadinanes + steranes) (Bicadinanes-T + T1 + R)/(bicadinanes-T + T1 + R + 5a,14a,17a(H)-
stigmastane 20S + 20R + 5a,14b,17b(H)-stigmastane 20S + 20R)
C30 diahopane/(C30 diahopane + C29 Ts) 17a(H)-diahopane/(17a(H)-diahopane + 18a-30-norneohopane)
C30 triterpanes/(C30 triterpanes + oleananes) (Sum of C30 triterpanes 1 to 11)/(sum of C30 triterpanes 1 to 11 + 18
a + 18 b-oleananes)
C29 steranes 20S/(S + R) 5a,14a,17a(H)-stigmastane 20S/(5a,14a,17a(H)-stigmastane
20S + 20R)
C29 steranes iso/(iso + reg) (5a,14b,17b(H)-stigmastane 20S + 20R)/(5a,14b,17b(H)-
stigmastane 20S + 20R + 5a,14a,17a(H)-stigmastane 20S + 20R)
C29 hopane/(C29 hopane + C29 moretane) 17a(H),21b(H)-norhopane/(17a(H),21b(H)-
norhopane + 17b(H),21a(H)-normoretane)
C30 hopane/(C30 hopane + C30 moretane 17a(H),21b(H)-hopane/(17a(H),21b(H)-hopane + 17b(H),21a(H)-
moretane)
C30 diahopane/(C30 diahopane + C29 moretane 17a(H)-diahopane/(17a(H)-diahopane + 17b(H),21a(H)-
normoretane)
C29 Ts/(C29 Ts + C29 Hopane) 18a(H)-30-norneohopane/(18a(H)-30-
norneohopane + 17a(H),21b(H)-norhopane)
Ts/(Ts + Tm) 18a(H)-22,29,30-trisnorneohopane/(18a(H)-22,29,30-
trisnorneohopane + 17a(H)-22,29,30-trisnorhopane)
BMI-1 trans-trans-trans Bicadinanes-T/(T1 + R)
18a/(18a + b) oleananes (18 a-oleanane)/(18 a + 18 b-oleananes)
Ratio 1 C30 triterpane-1/(C30 triterpane-1 + 18 a + 18 b-oleananes)
Ratio 2 C30 triterpane-2/(C30 triterpane-2 + 18 a + 18 b-oleananes)
Ratio 3 C30 triterpane-3/(C30 triterpane-3 + 18 a + 18 b-oleananes)
Ratio 4 C30 triterpane-4/(C30 triterpane-4 + 18 a + 18 b-oleananes)
Ratio 5 C30 triterpane-5/(C30 triterpane-5 + 18 a + 18 b-oleananes)
Ratio 6 C30 triterpane-6/(C30 triterpane-6 + 18 a + 18 b-oleananes)
Ratio 7 C30 triterpane-7/(C30 triterpane-7 + 18 a + 18 b-oleananes)
Ratio 8 C30 triterpane-8 (C30 triterpane-8 + 18 a + 18 b-oleananes)
Ratio 9 C30 triterpane-9/(C30 triterpane-9 + 18 a + 18 b-oleananes)
Ratio 10 C30 triterpane-10/(C30 triterpane-10 + 18 a + 18 b-oleananes)
Ratio 11 C30 triterpane-11/(C30 triterpane-11 + 18 a + 18 b-oleananes)
24 N. Mathur / Organic Geochemistry 76 (2014) 9–25
Appendix B
Associate Editor—Andrew Murray
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