Origin of near-surface hydrocarbon gases bound in northern Barents Sea sediments

In the southern part of the Norwegian Barents Sea extensive hydrocarbon exploration and drilling has led to several oil and gas discoveries, yet little is known on the petroleum systems and potential hydrocarbon reservoirs in the northern Norwegian Barents Sea. If hydrocarbons generated by thermogenic processes deep in the subsurface migrate to the surface, traces of these hydrocarbons can remain in the near-surface sediments and provide indirect information on potential petroleum systems. Near-surface hydrocarbon prospecting is a method frequently used in hydrocarbon exploration of frontier areas, where no direct geochemical information from drilling is available.