Petrography and geochemical affinities of Spitsbergen Paleocene coals, Norway

The vitrinite reflectance within the Longyear seam varies from 0.76% at the base to 0.62% at the top. This could be due to suppressed reflectance from impregnation by bitumen, which is supported by the occurrences of cleats filled with exsudatinite. Oil expulsions were observed on polished sections of coal and host rocks of both seams. GC-MS analyses proved that the oil is coal derived. As the total liptnite of the seam is < 3% this may require further investigations.