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A review and technical summary of the AAPG Hedberg Research Conference on "Origin of petroleum—Biogenic and/or abiogenic and its significance in hydrocarbon exploration and production"

¹ Chevron Energy Technology Company, 1500 Louisiana, Houston, Texas 77002; present address: Chevron Texaco, ETC, 4800 Fournace Place, Bellaire, Texas 77401-2324; barrykatz{at}chevron.com
² Department of Geological Sciences and Center for Sedimentary Basin Studies, P.O. Box 870338, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487; emancini{at}geo.ua.edu
³ CASRE IGS, National Academy of Science, 55-B Gonchar St., Kiev 01601, Ukraine; kitchka{at}casre.kiev.ua

Barry Jay Katz received his B.S. degree in geology from Brooklyn College and his Ph.D. in marine geology and geophysics from the University of Miami. He has held various technical and supervisory positions in Texaco's, ChevronTexaco's, and Chevron's technology organizations since joining Texaco in 1979. Barry is currently a Chevron Fellow and a team leader for hydrocarbon charge in Chevron's Energy Technology Company.

Ernest A. Mancini is a Distinguished Research Professor in petroleum geology and stratigraphy in the Department of Geological Sciences and Director of the Center for Sedimentary Basin Studies at the University of Alabama. His research focus is on sequence stratigraphy, sedimentary basin analysis, petroleum system studies, and reservoir characterization and modeling.

Alexander Kitchka is a full-time researcher at Centre for Aerospace Research of the Earth, National Academy of Science, Ukraine. His current fields of research and consultancy include the remote sensing data application for geoexploration, origin of petroleum, basement reservoirs, regional tectonics, and peer reviewing for several technical journals. He has authored and coauthored more than 80 papers and studies.

A research conference originally scheduled as a Hedberg Research Conference examining the origins of oil and gas was held in Calgary, June 2005. This report summarizes the 14 presentations made at the conference, which discussed data and evidence regarding the abiogenic and biogenic origins of petroleum. In addition, the postpresentation discussion is summarized. Multiple concepts for the abiogenic formation of petroleum were presented. These concepts fell mostly into two broad families: mantle degassing associated with the polymerization of low molecular weight compounds and serpentization in association with Fischer-Tropsch reactions. The Fischer-Tropsch reactions are catalyzed reactions in which carbon monoxide and hydrogen are converted into hydrocarbons. The presentations on the biogenic origin presented a uniform model in which sedimentary organic matter is thermally converted to oil and gas. Little common ground was found to exist between the abiogenic and biogenic schools of petroleum formation, with the possible exception of the importance of fluid flow in controlling the formation of hydrocarbon accumulations. Although few, if any, conference participants changed their perspectives, most concluded that the meeting was informative and a useful exercise.