Multiple reaction monitoring tool applied in the geochemical investigation of a mysterious oil spill in northeast Brazil

Abstract

In 2019, much of the northeastern coast of Brazil was impacted by a mysterious oil spill that caused an environmental disaster affecting 1009 beaches. Four samples were collected in the beaches between Sergipe and Pernambuco for geochemical characterization of the spilled oil and to compare with those main produced in Sergipe-Alagoas basin. Our approach in this evaluation was the use of a highly selective technique of sequential mass spectrometry by multiple reaction monitoring, to obtain the diagnostic ratios of hopanes and steranes biomarkers. Using these biomarkers ratios associated with multivariate statistical analysis, we found direct correlation between the spilled oil collected along the northeastern coast and no relationship between Sergipe-Alagoas basin crude oils was found. Furthermore, reported data for oils from Orinoco belt in Venezuelan basins were used for qualitative evaluation considering the indicative aspects suggested by the literature. Presence of highly specific biomarker 18α(H)-oleanane, and five other important diagnostic ratios evidenced correlation between the spilled oil and Naricual formation crude oils. Besides, due to the oleanane index, Ayacucho’s crude oil presented the strongest factor of correlation with the spilled oil found on the northeast coast of Brazil.

Key words
Biomarkers; forensic geochemistry; oleanane; naricual formation; steranes; hopanes