services

Geochemistry

From exploration through development, production & decommissioning, we turn laboratory analyses of rocks, oils, condensates and gases into confident decisions. We provide analytical services, consulting & interpretation, petroleum systems modelling, production allocation and wellsite gas evaluation to the oil & gas industry to maximise understanding, enhance value and reduce risk.

Our geochemists analyse rocks and fluids in our in-house specialist laboratories to reveal how hydrocarbons are generated, migrate, accumulate and correlate - the foundation for understanding any petroleum system.

By integrating that data across exploration, development and production, we reduce subsurface uncertainty and enable better-informed technical and commercial decisions throughout the asset lifecycle.
Success Stories
See all case studies
Diagnosing Annulus Gas
~12
Wells screened
1
Reservoir-connected annulus isolated from shallow biogenic gas
“Bubbling methane around infrastructure can be a concerning discovery – but if geochemical analyses quantifiably confirms the source as recent, near-surface gas, rather than a reservoir leak, follow up considerations are very different. Gas geochemistry is inexpensive, rapid and delivers the quantifiable information you need to be sure about.”
Senior Geochemist
APT
Overview
APT combined gas and fluid geochemistry with Girasol wellsite mud-gas interpretation to diagnose annulus gas across ~a dozen North Sea wells during decommissioning – establishing what the gas was, where it came from, and whether it mattered.
Challenge
Inspection ahead of decommissioning found gas in multiple annulus void spaces. Operators had to know whether it was a harmless shallow-gas phenomenon or a reservoir leak – a question with major safety, regulatory and cost implications.
Solution
Gas composition and stable isotopes, backed by fluid geochemistry and Girasol mud-gas interpretation, resolved each annulus gas as biogenic or thermogenic and pinpointed the one annulus with reservoir access – directing remediation where it was actually needed.
Analytical and Laboratory Services
Our specialist laboratories deliver the full analytical workflow for organic geochemistry - from source rock & reservoir screening (TOC, pyrolysis, vitrinite reflectance, etc) through detailed rock, oil & gas analyes (GC, GC-MS, GC-MS/MS and stable isotope analysis, etc). Our laboratories undertake rigorous QC on every dataset generated ensuring high-quality, consistent results you can build interpretations and models on with confidence.
APT hosts a complete organic geochemistry setup under one roof.
State-of-the-art GC/MS, GC-MS/MS and GC/IRMS facilities.
Rigorous QC for high-quality, consistent data
Consulting & Interpretation Services
We turn geochemical data into subsurface insight. By integrating geochemical, geological and reservoir data, our specialists evaluate source rocks, hydrocarbon charge, migration pathways, reservoir connectivity and fluid distribution - extracting maximum value from your data to support exploration, field development and production decisions with confidence.
Reduce exploration and development risk through expert geochemical interpretation.
Improve understanding of source rocks, hydrocarbon charge and migration pathways.
Strengthen reservoir management with fluid fingerprinting and connectivity analysis.
Production Allocation and Monitoring - APT Allomon
APT Allomon (Allocation & Monitoring) combined detailed geochemical fingerprinting with industry leading toolkits to allocate and monitor production across wells and facilities. Our SME’s deploy tailored approaches for each project allowing us to quantify contributions, track reservoir performance and evaluate changes, for both topside and subsurface applications. All without the need for downhole intervention, minimizing disruption and cost while maximizing value and flexibility. The APT approach is phase ambivalent and can be deployed on heavy to light oils & condensates, gases and waters.
Quantify fluid contributions for both topside and subsurface applications.
Monitor reservoir performance and changes.
Optimise production and field management from simple fluid sampling.
Wellsite Gas Interpretation - APT Girasol
APT Girasol brings geochemical interpretation to the well site, turning mud gas data into near real-time drilling decisions. Our unique software enables rapid identification of pay and contacts as well as evaluation and determination of phase, GOR and compartmentalisation/gradients. This toolkit (available as a consulting service or a software license) is an independent check on other downhole methods and given the ubiquitous collection of such data can be undertaken on virtually any well, including archived legacy data. Applications include exploration, appraisal, development and well integrity/decommissioning.  
Interpret mud gas data in near real time while drilling.
Re-evaluate underutilised legacy datasets for field development.
Identify and evaluate pay, phase & GOR.
Petroleum Systems Analyses / Basin Modelling
We build fully integrated 1D and 3D basin models to evaluate exploration risk, predict hydrocarbon charge and support field developments. Combining geological, geochemical and subsurface data within rigorously calibrated models, we assess source rock maturity, migration pathways, seal integrity, trap timing and fluid distribution - insight that sharpens prospect ranking and investment & development decisions.
Assess exploration risk and hydrocarbon charge potential.
Model source rock maturity, migration and trap timing.
Support prospect ranking and investment & development decisions.
A SELECTION OF OUR TECHNICAL EXPERTS
Geir Hansen
General Manager, Geochemistry & PSA
,
Applied Petroleum Technology (APT)
Senior Geochemist and General Manager at APT specialising in surface geochemistry, pre-and post-drilling well analysis, basin modelling, regional studies, and development of comprehensive geochemical databases.
READ MORE
Craig D. Barrie
COO (APT) / Senior Geochemist
,
Applied Petroleum Technology (APT)
COO at APT overseeing operations across the company’s international divisions, with expertise in reservoir geochemistry, isotope geochemistry, unconventional resource analysis, geochemistry consulting, and development of geochemical laboratories and workflows.
READ MORE

Related case studies

View all
Case study
Fingerprinting Commingled Production: Zone-by-Zone Allocation on a Multi-Zone Offshore Field
Case study
From Seeps to A Working Petroleum System: Gas Source(s) and Resource Potential
Case study
Diagnosing Annulus Gas: An Integrated Geochemistry & Girasol Workflow