Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to examine the thermal behavior of Fosterton oil mixed with reservoir sand. TGA experiments were performed in nitrogen and air atmospheres at the heating rate of 10 degrees C/min up to 800 degrees C. In this study, four sets of TGA runs were performed to examine the thermal behavior of Fosterton whole oil, and the coke sample derived from the whole oil. Similar to previous studies in the literature, we also observed low-temperature oxidation (LTO), fuel deposition (FD), and high-temperature oxidation (HTO) in the non-isothermal combustion experiment. Higher activation energy values were obtained in reaction regions at higher temperatures. The mean activation energy for whole oil in nitrogen and air atmospheres was 33 and 126 kJ/mol, respectively. Fresh coke samples derived from whole oil were subjected to isothermal combustion at different temperatures from 375 to 500 degrees C. Arrhenius model was used to obtain the kinetic parameters from the TGA data. From the model, the Arrhenius parameters such as activation energy (E = 127 kJ/mol) and the pre-exponential factor (A = 1.6 x 10(8)/min) were determined for the coke combustion. The results showed a close agreement between the kinetic model and experimental data for different combustion temperatures. It was observed that the apparent order of combustion reaction for different temperatures approach unity. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.