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8220899 
Journal Article 
Relevance of Pentane- and Hexane-Utilizing Bacterial Indicators for Finding Hydrocarbon Microseepage: A Study from Jamnagar Sub-basin, Saurashtra, Gujarat, India 
Rasheed, MA; Lakshmi, M; Rao, PLS; Patil, DJ; Dayal, AM; Sudarshan, V 
2012 
1 
Natural Resources Research
ISSN: 1520-7439
EISSN: 1573-8981 
21 
4 
427-441 
English 
Mesozoic sediments are source rocks for nearly half the world's hydrocarbon reserves. Hence, there is great interest in the oil industry to know the trap and sub-trappean sediment thickness and their extent in the trap covered regions of Jamnagar study area. The microbial prospecting method is applied in the Jamnagar sub-basin, Gujarat for evaluating the prospects for hydrocarbon exploration by investigating the anomalous abundance of n-pentane- and n-hexane-oxidizing bacteria of this area. A total of 150 near-surface soil samples were collected in Jamnagar sub-basin, Gujarat for the evaluation of hydrocarbon resource potential of the basin. In this study, bacterial counts for n-pentane-utilizing bacteria range between 1.09 × 10 2 and 9.89 × 10 5 cfu/g and n-hexane-utilizing bacteria range between 1.09 × 10 2 and 9.29 × 10 5 cfu/g. The adsorbed hydrocarbon gases consisting of ethane plus hydrocarbons (ΣC 2+) of 1-977 ppb and n-pentane (nC 5) of 1-23 ppb. The integrated geomicrobial and adsorbed soil gas studies showed the anomalous hydrocarbon zones nearby Khandera, Haripur, and Laloi areas which could probably aid to assess the true potential of the basin. Integrated geophysical studies have shown that Jamnagar sub-basin of Saurashtra has significant sediment thickness below the Deccan Traps and can be considered for future hydrocarbon exploration. © 2012 International Association for Mathematical Geology. 
Hydrocarbon-utilizing bacteria; microbial prospecting; microseepage; petroleum exploration