Occurrence Of The Neutron Absorbing Trace Element Boron Part 11: Boron In Oil Field Waters*

Worldwide experience indicates that boron (B) is a characteristic minor element in formation brines associated with petroleum (Mrazec, 1926; Tageeva, 1939; Nikolaev, 1938). Several early Russian data and the recent study of Pavlova (1957) have shown a regular increase in B with depth, apparently without any direct relationship to C1. However, the ratio boron/chloride (B/C1) was found to be very helpful in correlations (Guliaeva, 1942) and useful to distinguish genetic groups of natural waters encountered in several oil bearing regions (Kazmina, 1951). Both Tageeva (1942) and Guliaeva (1942) observed concentration of boron in alkaline waters. Chilingar (1958), in a discussion of the chemical composition of oil-field waters from the Apsheron Peninsula in Azerbaidzhan, USSR, lists the minor element boron as a supplementary hydrohemical indicator which is more common in the bicarbonate type of water. Our review of additional data given in the Russian literature has shown similar findings, with the average boron content in ground waters of about 3 to 4 mg/l, which appears to be considerably lower than the B-content (Table I) in brines associated with hydrocarbon accumulation.