The saturated and aromatic hydrocarbon compositions of potential source rock samples from the Devonian/Carboniferous Duvernay, Exshaw, and Lower Banff formations, the Triassic Doig Formation, and the Jurassic Gordondale (Nordegg) and Poker Chip Shale formations in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) were investigated by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The study also included produced oils from the Cretaceous Clearwater play at Marten Hills and Peace River, oil sands cores from Athabasca and Cold Lake areas, and bitumen hosted in the Grosmont carbonate deposits.

Oil-oil and oil-source correlation based on the aromatic steroid hydrocarbon compounds is enabled by their strong resistance to biodegradation and their presence in all reservoir samples analyzed. In addition, of the aromatic steroids hydrocarbons, triaromatic-dimethylcholesteroids (TA-DMC) and triaromatic dinosteroids represent age-diagnostic biomarkers that distinguish Paleozoic versus Jurassic sources. The Duvernay, Exshaw, and Lower Banff extracts lack TA-DMC and triaromatic dinosteroids, whereas extracts from the Gordondale and Poker Chip Shale display appreciable quantities of TA-DMC and triaromatic dinosteroids. Meanwhile, the Doig falls between the Gordondale/Poker Chip Shale and Duvernay/Exshaw source types in terms of the distribution of these triaromatic steroids. The compositions of TA-DMC and triaromatic dinosteroids in the oil sands and Grosmont bitumen are remarkably similar, confirming that these oil deposits are genetically related. The aromatic steroid hydrocarbon compositions of the oil sands and Grosmont bitumen most strongly resemble those for the Gordondale and Poker Chip Shale. Saturated biomarker features of the oil sands and Grosmont carbonate bitumen including 28,30-bisnorhopane and high diasteranes relative to regular steranes, although lacking in the Gordondale extracts, may be introduced through mixing with oil generated from the Poker Chip Shale. However, plots based on aromatic steroids and source-specific biomarkers such as aryl and diaryl isoprenoids indicate some degree of mixing with Duvernay and/or Exshaw contributions. This is also supported by a mixing model employing the averaged concentrations of methyltriaromatic steroids from endmember Gordondale and Exshaw extracts. These findings along with additional biomarker evidence support a strong Jurassic contribution to the studied oil sands and call for re-evaluation of the petroleum systematics of the WCSB.

来自加拿大西部沉积盆地（WCSB）的泥盆纪/石炭纪Duvernay，Exshaw和Lower Banff地层，Triassic Doig地层以及Jurassic Gordondale（Nordegg）和Poker Chip页岩地层的潜在烃源岩样品的饱和和芳香烃成分）用气相色谱-质谱（GC-MS）进行了研究。这项研究还包括了在Marten Hills和Peace River的白垩纪Clearwater油田的成品油，Athabasca和Cold Lake地区的油砂岩心以及Grosmont碳酸盐矿床中的沥青。

基于芳族甾族烃化合物的油-油和油源相关性具有强大的抗生物降解能力，并且它们在所有分析的油藏样品中均存在。此外，在芳香族甾族烃中，三芳族二甲基胆甾类（TA-DMC）和三芳族二类甾体代表了区分古生和侏罗纪来源的年龄诊断生物标志物。Duvernay，Exshaw和Lower Banff提取物缺乏TA-DMC和三芳族二类固醇，而Gordondale和Poker Chip页岩中的提取物显示出大量的TA-DMC和三芳族二类固醇。同时，就这些三芳族类固醇的分布而言，Doig介于Gordondale / Poker Chip页岩和Duvernay / Exshaw源类型之间。油砂和Grosmont沥青中的TA-DMC和三芳族二诺甾类化合物的组成非常相似，证实了这些油藏具有遗传相关性。油砂和Grosmont沥青中的芳族甾族烃成分与Gordondale和Poker Chip页岩中的芳烃类固醇成分最为相似。尽管与Gordondale提取物相比缺乏油砂和Grosmont碳酸盐沥青的饱和生物标志物特性，包括28,30-双去甲ho烷和相对于常规甾烷的高非硬脂烷，但可以通过与扑克筹码页岩中产生的油混合来引入。但是，基于芳香类固醇和源特定生物标记物（例如芳基和二芳基类异戊二烯）的地块表明与Duvernay和/或Exshaw的贡献存在一定程度的混合。这也得到了混合模型的支持，该模型采用了来自最终成员Gordondale和Exshaw提取物中甲基三芳族类固醇的平均浓度。这些发现以及其他生物标志物证据支持侏罗纪研究油砂的强大贡献，并要求对WCSB的石油系统进行重新评估。