The variation in the carbon isotope composition of the cap rock of Texas and Louisiana sulphur wells was investigated by means of a simultaneous collection mass spectrometer. These rocks showed anomalously large depletions in C-13. The isotope depletion in the decarboxylation of pyruvic acid, both by chemical means and by bacteria, was measured and the isotope composition of the carbon dioxide released was found to be similar to that of the cap rock. The hypothesis is advanced that the carbonate of the cap rock may have originated by the precipitation of carbon dioxide released in the bacterial decarboxylation of an organic substrate. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)