BTEX Content of Marine Surface Sediments Used as Indicators of Marine Oil and Gas

A number of studies indicate that the anomaly of BTEX content in core and sediments samples are valuable oil and gas geochemical exploration indicators. This anomaly with high-resolution, high precision was directly related to oil and gas reservoirs. As there is a huge cost associated with the collection and analysis of samples, the application of BTEX indicators was limited in marine oil and gas geochemical exploration. This research focuses on the characteristics of BTEX content of marine surface sediments in Liaodong Gulf using a method of thermal desorption and gas chromatography technology. The result reveals that above reservoirs and oil source sag, the content of BTEX is higher, and it decreases with the increase of distance. In particular, the xylene changes significantly. The results confirm the effectiveness of BTEX indicators in oil and gas prospects prediction and shows a good application prospect in the field of marine oil and gas geochemical exploration. Besides, the abnormal high values of BTEX content present over the coast demonstrates that human activity and faults also influence the BTEX content, therefore it is imperative to conduct a comprehensive analysis combined with other geological characteristics and geochemical indicators to guarantee good forecast effects.