R. Paul Philp

Joe and Robert Klabzuba Chair in Geology and Geophysics
George Lynn Cross Research Professor

D.Sc., 1998, University of Sydney, Australia
Ph.D. 1972, University of Sydney, Australia
B.S. (Hons), 1968, University of Aberdeen, Scotland

pphilp@ou.edu

Organic Geochemistry Group

Petroleum and Environmental Geochemistry

My research interests are centered on the study of organic material as it is deposited in the sedimentary environment and undergoes a number of changes resulting from diagenesis, microbial degradation, and thermal maturation at higher temperatures in older sediments. Particular attention is given to studying the fate of individual organic compounds that can be related to specific sources of organic material and used to provide information on the type of hydrocarbon products a source rock will produce, its maturity, whether an oil has been biodegraded, and relative migration distances of oils. In addition, biomarkers have been shown to be useful in basin modeling studies. Development of pyrolysis techniques for the characterization of the insoluble organic matter in a known source rock is another area of research.

Traditional analysis of crude oils and the organic extracts from source rocks generally reveal the presence of hydrocarbons containing up to around 40 carbon atoms. Recent work by my students and I has shown in many samples that these compounds actually extend to compounds containing 100 carbon atoms and possibly more. The presence of these compounds has been observed using the relatively novel technique of high temperature gas chromatography and a variety of concentration techniques. The discovery of these compounds is extremely important for predicting problems associated with paraffin deposition during production of crudes both at the well head and in the pipelines. Further work is aimed at developing methods to predict in advance when and how much paraffin deposition may be expected from a particular oil.

The overall aim of this research program is to (1) further our understanding of the fate of organic matter after it has been deposited into the environment and (2) to trace the production of fossil fuels from this material.

In a recent study funded by the US Coastguard, my students and I have been examining the use of combined gas chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry as a means of correlating oil spills with the source of the spill. This study is also being expanded to demonstrate that the same technique can be used to determine the source of oil which may have contaminated birds or other wild life in the area of a spill. Thus in the attached diagram extracts from contaminated bird feathers are compared with the suspected source both by gas chromatography and GCIRMS. The similarity between the two samples is clearly demonstrated by the isotopic data.

In some cases biodegradation and weathering of the oils make it extremely difficult to undertake this correlation successfully. However the isotopic composition of the individual components in the altered samples can be compared with the values for the same components in the original samples to make this correlation. To date most of this work has been undertaken with samples spilled in the marine environment. However in the near future these studies will be expanded to cover a wider range of organic compounds spilled in many different types of environments.

Other research projects include:

Assessment of biomarkers for use as paleoclimatic and depositional environmental indicators.
Correlation of crude oils and suspected source rocks from basins around the world including China, Africa, South America, Australia and New Zealand.
Exploitation of geochemical techniques in environmental monitoring studies.

Selected Publications

Philp, R.P., 1997, Forensic Geochemistry, Natural Resources and Environment, 67-69.

Coates, J.D., Woodward, J., Allen, J., Philp, R.P. and Lovley, D.R., 1997, Anaerobic degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and alkanes in petroleum-contaminated marine harbor sediments. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 63, (9), 3589-3593.

Philp, R.P., and Mansuy, L., 1997, Petroleum geochemistry: concepts, applications and results. Energy and Fuels, 11, 749-760.

Masfield, C.T., Barman, B.N., Thomas, J.V., Mehrotra, A.K. and Philp, R.P., 1997, Petroleum and Coal. Anal. Chem. Application Reviews, 59R-94R.

Hwang, H.D. and Philp, R.P., 1997, Geochemical study of potential source rocks and crude oils in the Anadarko Basin, Oklahoma, AAPG Bull., 81(2), 249-275.

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(Hons), 1968, University of Aberdeen, Scotland pphilp@ou.edu Organic Geochemistry Group Petroleum and Environmental Geochemistry My research interests are centered on the study of organic material as it is deposited in the sedimentary environment and undergoes a number of changes resulting from diagenesis, microbial degradation, and thermal maturation at higher temperatures in older sediments. Particular attention is given to studying the fate of individual organic compounds that can be related to specific sources of organic material and used to provide information on the type of hydrocarbon products a source rock will produce, its maturity, whether an oil has been biodegraded, and relative migration distances of oils. In addition, biomarkers have been shown to be useful in basin modeling studies. Development of pyrolysis techniques for the characterization of the insoluble organic matter in a known source rock is another area of research. Traditional analysis of crude oils and the organic extracts from source rocks generally reveal the presence of hydrocarbons containing up to around 40 carbon atoms. Recent work by my students and I has shown in many samples that these compounds actually extend to compounds containing 100 carbon atoms and possibly more. The presence of these compounds has been observed using the relatively novel technique of high temperature gas chromatography and a variety of concentration techniques. The discovery of these compounds is extremely important for predicting problems associated with paraffin deposition during production of crudes both at the well head and in the pipelines. Further work is aimed at developing methods to predict in advance when and how much paraffin deposition may be expected from a particular oil. The overall aim of this research program is to (1) further our understanding of the fate of organic matter after it has been deposited into the environment and (2) to trace the production of fossil fuels from this material. In a recent study funded by the US Coastguard, my students and I have been examining the use of combined gas chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry as a means of correlating oil spills with the source of the spill. This study is also being expanded to demonstrate that the same technique can be used to determine the source of oil which may have contaminated birds or other wild life in the area of a spill. Thus in the attached diagram extracts from contaminated bird feathers are compared with the suspected source both by gas chromatography and GCIRMS. The similarity between the two samples is clearly demonstrated by the isotopic data. In some cases biodegradation and weathering of the oils make it extremely difficult to undertake this correlation successfully. However the isotopic composition of the individual components in the altered samples can be compared with the values for the same components in the original samples to make this correlation. To date most of this work has been undertaken with samples spilled in the marine environment. However in the near future these studies will be expanded to cover a wider range of organic compounds spilled in many different types of environments. Other research projects include: Assessment of biomarkers for use as paleoclimatic and depositional environmental indicators. Correlation of crude oils and suspected source rocks from basins around the world including China, Africa, South America, Australia and New Zealand. Exploitation of geochemical techniques in environmental monitoring studies. Selected Publications Philp, R.P., 1997, Forensic Geochemistry, Natural Resources and Environment, 67-69. Coates, J.D., Woodward, J., Allen, J., Philp, R.P. and Lovley, D.R., 1997, Anaerobic degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and alkanes in petroleum-contaminated marine harbor sediments. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 63, (9), 3589-3593. Philp, R.P., and Mansuy, L., 1997, Petroleum geochemistry: concepts, applications and results. Energy and Fuels, 11, 749-760. Masfield, C.T., Barman, B.N., Thomas, J.V., Mehrotra, A.K. and Philp, R.P., 1997, Petroleum and Coal. Anal. Chem. Application Reviews, 59R-94R. Hwang, H.D. and Philp, R.P., 1997, Geochemical study of potential source rocks and crude oils in the Anadarko Basin, Oklahoma, AAPG Bull., 81(2), 249-275.