GeoTarget Solutions Inc.
6948 Sperling Avenue,
Burnaby, BC, V5E 2W2, Canada
Tel: +1 514 796-7577

Geological Synthesis

Petroleum Exploration Services

GeoTarget Solutions Inc. is expanding into the energy sector with the introduction of specialised petroleum services. We are currently active in the foreland region of the northern Andes and the Gulf of Mexico. Thermal history reconstructions are provided to evaluate burial and erosional processes in sedimentary basins as well as sequence stratigraphic and kerogen analyses that are collectively used to determine the oil-hosting potential of a region.

Stratigraphic analyses

We offer stratigraphic analyses via i) field studies of surface rocks performed by GeoTarget Solutions Inc. personnel, and ii) compilation of stratigraphic data from pre-existing field and core data. High resolution sequence stratigraphy is used to establish subsurface heterogeneity in sedimentary strata, and to predict lithologies distal from controlled points.

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By treating sedimentary rocks as depositional sequences generated through time and linked to cyclic earth processes (e.g. global sea level variations), we are able to correlate and sub-divide reservoir units into a framework which will allow individual facies components to be distributed in a more robust way in the 3D model. Sequence stratigraphy is used to build 3D static models to define the architecture of the oil reservoir, which helps to characterize reservoir continuity and sedimentary heterogeneities.

Burial and exhumation analysis

We apply thermo- and geochronological techniques including thermal modeling software to establish time-constrained tectonic history models with special emphasis on mountain building, the origin and development of surrounding sedimentary basins. In conjunction with stratigraphic analyses, these methods have a significant potential to unravel oil and gas generation, fluid migration and trapping of hydrocarbons in sedimentary basins.

Oil source potential from visual kerogen analysis

We offer visual kerogen analysis of Particulate Organic Matter (POM) recovered from shales using fluorescent and transmitted light. Our analyses identify the origin of POM, and assess its thermal maturity. The origin and quality of POM is used for oil source rock evaluation and environmental analyses. POM of marine origin is regarded as oil prone kerogen type I, and its presence combined with other sedimentary facies characteristics allows the sequence stratigraphic significance of a given lithological unit to be determined. The thermal maturity of POM can be assessed by analyzing its color (e.g. of pollens and spores).

The visual estimation of the color of organic matter can be compared with thermal history analyses obtained by vitrinite reflectance, fission-track analysis and (U-Th)/He analysis to rigorously determine the thermal histories and preservation status of the POM. GeoTarget Solutions Inc. provides state-of-the-art thermal history analyses. When integrated with wireline logs, petrographic and stratigraphic studies, POM analysis provides robust geological constraints for modeling hydrocarbon targets.

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Petrogenetic Modelling

By documenting systematic variations in major and trace elements as well as isotopic signatures of lavas and their co-magmatic plutons through time and space we at GeoTarget Solutions Inc. are able to constrain their ultimate sources and consequently unravel ancient tectono-magmatic assemblages. These are only some of the services we offer that are related to petrogenetic evolution in mineralized and barren igneous systems:

  • Employment of fractional crystallization (FC), assimilation-fractional crystallisation (AFC) and equilibrium or partial melting (EM-PM) models to the formation and chemical diversification of intrusive and volcanic systems using major and trace elements combined with radiogenic and stable isotope systematics (i.e. a detailed understanding of magma genesis).
  • Understanding the evolution of ultramafic and mafic magmatic rocks which host base metal (Ni-Cu-PGE) sulfide deposits.
  • Petrogenetic processes associated with the formation of gem-stone bearing pegmatitic granites.
  • Geochemical assessment of kimberlite pipes by whole-rock and in situ analyses of (xeno) phenocrysts aimed at determining their diamond bearing potential.