Geochemical Fingerprinting: Identification of Storage Gas Using Chemical and Isotopic Analysis

Distinguishing natural gases from different sources is of critical importance to the gas industry and to the general public. Gas which migrates from gas or oil wells, pipelines, or storage reservoirs can result in a significant loss to the company and can sometimes reach the surface or enter public water supplies and result in hazardous situations. In some cases, gas which is thought to be leakage gas or migrated gas is, in fact, naturally occurring (native) gas. It is therefore of prime importance to be able to distinguish gases from different sources.