Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Rosneft – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Geochemists from the Rosneft Research Institute in Tomsk have published** the results of a large-scale study of ancient oil varieties, conducted over 30 years. The findings are important for rethinking the history of hydrocarbon formation. A new understanding of oil structure will improve the accuracy of oil and gas potential assessments and the efficiency of reservoir development.
The aim of this unprecedented study, both in duration and data volume, was to investigate alkylbenzenes, a key component of oil that influences gasoline quality. From 1998 to 2025, specialists from the Tomsk-based corporate institute analyzed over 500 grades of oil from 11 oil provinces in Russia and abroad.
Thanks to advances in technology, a machine learning approach has been used to study the composition of alkylbenzenes in oil samples over the past two years. The developed models have accurately determined the origin of the oil and the conditions under which it formed.
In a number of ancient oil grades in Eastern Siberia (the Kuyumbinskoye and Yurubcheno-Tokhomskoye fields, developed by Rosneft Oil Company enterprises), a high concentration of tert-butylbenzene, a substance previously considered uncharacteristic of such geological formations, has been identified for the first time.
The study's results help to more accurately determine the original (parent) source of the oil: tert-butylbenzene indicates that the oil belongs to the Riphean period ("ancient" grades). Source data are used in basin modeling to predict oil migration, the potential for oil and gas potential in the area, and approaches to field development.
* Oil is extracted from rocks with a geological age of 1.1 billion to 5 million years – from the Meso-Neoproterozoic to the Cenozoic.
** The article “Composition and distribution of C3- and C4-alkylbenzenes in oil and oil source rocks from the Meso-Neoproterozoic to Cenozoic” by Nikolai Oblasov, Ilya Eftor, Ivan Goncharov and Svetlana Fadeeva was published in the authoritative international journal Organic Geochemistry, which specializes in research on all aspects of organic geochemistry.
Department of Information and Advertising of PJSC NK Rosneft January 28, 2026
Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.