Bulletin of the Geological Society of Malaysia, Volume 78, November 2024, pp. 91-102

Oil characteristics and the onset of biodegradation on the eastern flank of the Malay Basin, offshore Peninsular Malaysia

 Franz L. Kessler¹,*, John Jong², Mazlan Madon³

¹ Trainer and consultant, Bommichring 7a, 63864 Glattbach, Germany

² A26-05 One Residences, No. 6 Jalan Satu, 55200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

³ 6, Jalan Kelab Golf 13/6G, Seksyen 13, 40100 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

* Corresponding author email address: franzlkessler32@gmail.com

Abstract: There is a great variety of oil types in the eastern Malay Basin flank area. We observe heavier, hence lower quality, oil at shallow reservoir levels, but mostly light oil in deeper petroleum reservoirs. The oils are characterized by varying amounts of wax, a fairly low sulphur content and, occasionally, significant levels of CO₂. Many of the shallow reservoir oils appear to have been derived from originally light oils that suffered from biodegradation, and are slightly enriched in sulphur, compared to the native oils. Oils in reservoirs with a temperature of less than 75 °C appear to have been biodegraded, whereas hotter reservoirs with temperatures above 90 °C appear to have been unaffected.

Keywords: API gravity, thermal gradient, biodegradation, Malay Basin, oil, petroleum, sulphur, viscosity, CO₂

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Manuscript received 30 May 2023;
Received in revised form 11 October 2023;
Accepted 22 January 2024
Available online 30 November 2024

https://doi.org/10.7186/bgsm78202408

0126-6187; 2637-109X / Published by the Geological Society of Malaysia.
© 2024 by the Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) License 4.0.