Geological characteristics of large gas provinces and large gas fields in China

Based on the examination of the global researches on oil and gas provinces and large gas fields and the analysis of the features, attributes and distribution of large gas provinces and gas fields, this paper puts forward three indicators of determining large oil and gas provinces: spatial indicator, reservoir-forming indicator and resource indicator. It classifies the gas accumulated areas and large gas provinces in China and analyzes the controlling factors on the distribution of large gas provinces and large gas fields: the lateral distribution is mainly controlled by high-energy sedimentary facies and constructive diagenetic facies, palaeo-highs and their periclinal zones, deep faults, etc, and the vertical distribution is mainly controlled by unconformities, series of evaporates and deep low-velocity highly-conductive beds, etc. It also reveals the main geological characteristics of large gas provinces and large gas fields in China. Large gas fields in four-type basins have their own characteristics and onland large gas fields are dominantly developed in foreland basins and craton basins; there are three types of gas sources, of which, coal is the main source with high gas generating intensity and varying origins; reservoir rocks of the large gas fields (provinces) are of various types and dominated generally by low-middle permeability and porosity pore-type reservoirs; structural traps and litho-stratigraphic traps coexist in Chinese large gas fields and form dense high abundance and large-area low and middle-abundance large gas fields; most of the large gas fields have late hydrocarbon-generation peaks and reservoir formation, and experienced the process of multiple-stage charging and late finalization; large gas provinces (fields) have good sealing and preservation conditions, and evaporates seals are largely developed in large and extra-large gas fields. This paper intends to shed light on the exploration and development of large gas fields (provinces) through analyzing their geological characteristics.     

Natural gas origins of large and medium-scale gas fields in China sedimentary basins

China sedimentary basins present abundant natural gas resource thanks to its unique geological settings.Marine highly-matured hydrocarbon source rocks,widespread coal-measure strata and low temperature Quaternary saline strata,etc.,indicate the wide foreground of China natural gas resources. Up to now,most of the petroliferous basins have been discovered to have wholesale natural gas accumulation from Precambrian,Paleozoic,Mesozoic to Cenozoic in the east,the central,the west and the coast of China.These large and medium-scale gas reservoirs are mainly composed of hydrocarbon gas with big dry coefficient,tiny non-hydrocarbon,wide carbon isotope distribution and varying origin types,the hydrocarbon gas includes coal-formed gas,oil-formed gas,biogenic gas and inorganic gas, etc.Coal-formed gas is the main type of China natural gas resources,in particular several explored large-scale gas fields(>100 billion cubic meter)of Kela 2,Sulige and Daniudi,etc.,they all belong to coal-formed gas fields or the gas fields consisting mostly of coal-formed gas.Oil-formed gas is also abundant in China marine basins,for example marine natural gas of Sichuan Basin generated from crude oil cracking gas.Primary and secondary biogenic gas fields were discovered respectively in the Qaidam Basin and Western Slope of Songliao Basin.In addition,inorganic gases are mainly distributed in the eastern China,in particular the Songliao Basin with abundant carbon dioxide accumulation,indicating that the eastern China present large exploration potential of inorganic gas.     

Geologic characteristics,controlling factors and hydrocarbon accumulation mechanisms of China’s Large Gas Provinces of low porosity and permeability

Based on the analysis of the geological characteristics and controlling factors, we analyzed the formation mechanism of different types of gas reservoirs. The main characteristics of gas provinces with low porosity and permeability are mainly as follows: large area, low abundance, small gas pools and large gas provinces; widely distributed excellent hydrocarbon source rocks with closely contacted source-reservoir-cap association; development mainly in large continental depressions or in paralic shallow-river delta systems; many kinds of traps coexisting in large areas, dominantly para-layered lithologic, digenetic and capillary pressure traps; double fluid flow mechanisms of Darcy flow and non-Darcy flow; complicated gas and water relations; and having the resource distribution of highly productive “sweet spots”, banding concentration, and macroscopically large areas integrated. The main controlling factors of large sandstone gas provinces with low porosity and permeability are stable dynamic backgrounds and gentle structural frameworks which control the extensive distribution of alternate (interbedded) sandstones and mudstones; weak hydropower of large gentle lake basins controlling the formation of discontinuous, low porosity and permeability reservoirs in shallow-water deltas; regionally differential diagenesis and no homogeneous digenetic facies controlling the development of favorable reservoirs and digenetic traps; and weak and dispersive reservoir-forming dynamic forces leading to the widely distributed small traps with low abundance. Low porosity and permeability gas provinces with different trap types have different formation mechanisms which include fluid diversion pressure difference interactive mechanism of lithologic-trap gas accumulations, separated differential collection mechanism of digenetic-trap gas accumulations, and the Non-Darcy flow mechanism of capillary-pressure gas accumulations. Supported by PetroChina Science and Technology Project (Grant No. 07-01C-01-07) and Youth Innovation Fund Project (Grant Nos. 10100042KT96, 07-06D-01-04-01-03)     

Formation mechanism of in-situ volcanic reservoirs in eastern China:A case study from Xushen gasfield in Songliao Basin

A large number of in-situ volcanic reservoirs have been discovered from the Meso-Cenozoic rift basin group in eastern China.Based on drilling results in combination with geological and geophysical analysis,a case study from the Early Cretaceous Xujiaweizi fault-depression shows that the formation mechanism of in-situ volcanic reservoirs is characterized by"fault-controlled body,body-controlled facies,facies-controlled reservoir,and reservoir-controlled accumulation".In other words,deep faults control the volcanic eruption type,volcanic body,and gas reservoir distribution;the volcanic body determines the spatial distribution of volcanic facies and volcanic gas reservoir size;the volcanic facies control reservoir physical properties and effective thickness of gas formation;the volcanic reservoir properties control gas reservoir type and gas productivity.The result is useful to guiding the discovery of in-situ volcanic gas reservoirs in faulted basins in both theory and practice.     

油气勘探综合地球物理研究方法综述

目前我国油气勘探难度不断加大，前新生代海相碳酸盐岩残留量地已成为我国油气资源二次创业的突破口。面对复杂地质体，只有综合应用各种地球物理现到数据，各种方法采长补短才能获得对目标的较全面地认识。本文阐述了油气勘探进行踪合地球物理研究的必要性、综合地球物理研究方法的应用现状和主要进展以及研究方法，指出油气勘探的发展方向要走综合地球物理研究的路子、区域制约局部，深层约数浅层是综合地球物理研究的原则；物性的研究是综合地球物理的前提；而联合反演是综合地球物理的实质。通过对综合地球物理研究成功实例的总结，提出综合地球物理研究中的难点和待解决的问题，指出了今后综合地球物理的发展方向。     

南中国海深水区典型火山发育地震反射特征研究

海洋油气勘探尤其是深水勘探面临着三高难题——高成本、高风险、高技术.如何对储层进行准确预测,是地球物理工作者及地球物理技术亟待解决的问题.本文对火山机构喷发机理及其地球物理特征进行分析,结合邻近工区在火山发育特征规律的认识成果,针对南中国海深水区目标区内典型火山发育,运用常规地震时间切片、剖面分析及沿层均方根振幅属性和沿层小时窗三维地震镂空显示等技术,分析了目标火山发育情况、火山岩喷溢情况、地震反射特征及岩相分布,并建立了该类型火山发育特征、岩相分布规律以及空间展布规律及变化特征的认识.本文的研究成果为该地区准确识别火山发育及预测其分布规律提供了参考,尤其是在钻井少的情况下进行地质异体常识别和储层预测,有利于该地区石油天然气勘探工作以及区域地质认识.     

Main factors controlling the foundation of medium-giant gas fields in China

Medium-giant gas fields refer to those whose proved reserves are or more than 10 × 10⁹ m³. Now, 30 such fields have been found in China. The main controlling factors of their formation are as follows:gas-generating center and its surroundings; traps related to paleo-uplift in the gas-generating area; traps of medium-giant size hidden in low-medium rank coal-bearing series and those above or beneath the coal measures; late reservoir formation; poretype reservoir in gas-generating area and well-developed regional cap rock.     

Characteristics of China’s oil and gas pool formation in latest geological history

The structural activities took place extensively in the Asia continent during the Cenozoic era owing to the strong continent-to-continent collision and continuous compression between the India Plate and the Eurasia Plate. Huang Jiqing called such structural activities Himalayan movement. China’s sedimentary basins developed and took shape mainly during the Himalayan movement period. It is also the main period for formation and development of the oil and gas reservoirs. Of 366 large and medium-sized oil and gas fields currently found in China, 212 reservoirs were formed in the Neogene-Quaternary period. The proportion is as high as 68.2%. The oil and gas migration and accumulation in the latest geological period, which were controlled by the times, properties, styles and strength of the Himalayan movement, took place mainly in eight regions, such as the low uplift area of Bohai Sea, the onshore faulted sag area of Bohai Bay, anticlinorium zone in Daqing, the foreland fold-and-thrust belt in West China, the tilted structural zone in West China, the cratonic palaeohigh in the Tarim Basin, the zone of fault and fold belt in the East Sichuan Basin, and the biological gas zone in the East Qaidam Basin. The oil and gas pool formations in those regions have their own characteristics. With the great potential and broad prospect, those regions are the main exploration areas in China in the future.     

中国油气资源企盼二次创业

中国石油天然气工业在过去50年的第一次创业中，主要是在新生年代陆相沉积盆地中获得丰富的油气资源，当前在严峻的形势下，国家必须进行油气资源的第二次创业，第二次创业要从突破前新生代（中生代、古生代、甚至更早）海相碳酸盐岩地层中的油气开始，解放思想，提高认识并大力发展地球物理勘探技术，努力解决复杂地质体成象问题，探索海相油气资源，使这次创业得以成功。     

无井地震储层预测及烃类检测——以北黄海中部坳陷A构造为例

北黄海盆地是中国东部勘探及研究程度较低的含油气盆地之一,从原始地震资料分析入手,利用研究区波阻抗、道积分、瞬时振幅、瞬时频率等多种地震资料特殊处理方法及AVO油气检测技术,并结合沉积相和区域地质资料,对北黄海中部坳陷A构造的储盖层分布、含油气性等油气地质条件进行分析预测,认为研究区A构造中新生带地层纵向上主要有两套有利的储盖组合,且构造中部和翼部含油气性较好。     

Formation mechanism and geochemical characteristics of shallow natural gas in heavy oil province,China

Shallow gas reservoirs are distributed widely in Chinese heavy oil-bearing basins.At present,shallow gas resources have opened up giant potentials.The previous researches indicate the intimate genetic relationship between shallow gas and heavy oil.Shallow gas resources are generated from crude oil degraded by anaerobic microscopic organism,it belongs to biogenic gas family of secondary genesis, namely heavy oil degraded gas.Shallow gas resources are usually distributed in the upward position or the vicinity of heavy oil reservoirs.They are mainly of dry gas,which are composed of methane and only tiny C2 heavy hydrocarbon and relatively higher contents of nitrogen gas.Generally,methane isotopes are light,whose values are between biogenic gas and thermal cracking gas.Ethane isotopes are heavy,which mixed possibly with thermogenic gas.Carbon dioxide bear the characteristics of very heavy carbon isotope,so carbon isotopic fractionation effects are very obvious on the process of microscopic organism degradation crude oil.The heavy oil degraded gas formation,a very complex geological,geochemical and microbiological geochemical process,is the result of a series of reactions of organic matter-microbes and water-hydrocarbon,which is controlled by many factors.     

环渤海地区油气资源探查的思考

回顾过去渤海勘探实践的经验，对于指导今后的研究工作是十分重要的。40年来渤海地区发现大量新老第三纪陆相石油资源，成为中国的重要产油区，也积累了丰富的勘探经验。深化环渤海地区油气资源的探查，首先应考虑前新生代海相油气资源。但其勘探是高难度的，前景是诱人的。应该认真贯彻下列认识原则：（1）区域指导局部；（2）深部制约浅层；（3）在地震处理解释创新的同时，大力发展综合地质地球物理研究。     

Geological conditions of coal and gas(oil)-bearing basins in China

Coal is the richest fossil fuel in the world. Theby-product formed during incoalation is gas that iscomposed primarily of methane (CH4)[1,2]. This gascan generally be named coal measure gas. Accordingto the occurrence conditions, coal measure gas can befurther divided into humic gas and coal-bed methane.Humic gas refers to coal measure gas that generatesfrom the coal measure source rocks (coal and dark-coloured argillaceous rocks in coal measures), and canbe expelled and migrate into various …     

南海北部大陆边缘盆地地热特征与油气富集

本文报道了莺歌海盆地、北部湾盆地共148个新测热导率数据,根据收集的钻井温度数据新增计算65个大地热流数据;结合前人研究成果绘制了南海北部大陆边缘沉积盆地的地温梯度图、大地热流分布图;系统归纳了南海北部大陆边缘油气勘探成果.结果表明,南海北部大陆边缘珠江口盆地、琼东南盆地、北部湾盆地、莺歌海盆地的平均热流值分别为68.7±11 mW/m²、71.1±13 mW/m²、65.7±8.9 mW/m²、74.7±10 mW/m²,属于典型的“热盆”.热流区域分布特征总体上受大地构造背景控制,随地壳厚度从北向南,由陆架到陆坡区逐渐减薄而增高,水热活动与岩浆活动等是引起局部高热流异常的原因.盆地地温场的差异控制和约束了油气分布富集规律,从研究区油气勘探成果中可以发现,该区域的气田多发育于高热流盆地（凹陷）,而中-低热流盆地（凹陷）则多孕育油田,油气田具有“北油南气”的分布特征.     

Gas formation mechanism of marine carbonate source rocks in China

It has been proven in exploration practice that thecarbonates in China not only can generate hydrocar-bons, but also form commercial reservoirs. The car-bonates are different from clastic rocks in view of theirdeposition environment as well as their sedimentaryand diagenetic processes. Therefore, the evaluationcriteria and hydrocarbon generation mechanism forcarbonates can not be the same as that for clasticrocks, and it is important to establish a special hydro-carbon generation mechanism and…     

Main models and distribution patterns of gas reservoirs in large-medium gas fields of China

Based on characteristics and trap types of gas reservoirs in large and medium gas fields in China, 4 gas reservoir models have been established:(i) structural trap gas reservoir model I, formed earlier than or simutaneously with generating of gases; (ii) structural trap gas reservoir model II, formed later than generating of gases; (iii) fossil weathered residuum gas reservoir model; and (iV) mud diapir abnormal temperature and pressure gas reservoir model. Distribution patterns of large-medium gas fields are described with the concept of “sealed compartment”. It is concluded that the inner-compartment area, marginal area of the compartment and the areas between two overlapped sealed compartments are the most favourable areas for discovering large-medium gas fields. Project supported by the “85–102” Chinese National Key Science and Technology Project.     

Carbon isotope characteristics,origin and distribution of the natural gases from the Tertiary salty lacustrine facies in the West Depression Region in the Qaidam Basin

Since the Meso-Cenozoic, controlled by paleoclimate, a series of fresh to brackish water basins and salt to semi-salt water basins were developed in wet climatic zones and in dry climate zones in China, respectively[1]. The geological and geochemical char…     

Source and distribution of mercury in natural gas of major petroliferous basins in China

Based on the analysis of the natural gas samples of 146 wells from four major petroliferous basins of China, the source and distribution of mercury in natural gas in major petroliferous basins of China were identified. Studies have shown that the mercury concentration of natural gas in petroliferous basins of China varies widely, ranging from 0.01 to 4050 μg/m~3. The gas well with the highest mercury concentration is in the Xushen gas field in the Songliao Basin. The mercury concentration in the craton basin is relatively low, and the secondary gas reservoir in the Tarim Basin has the lowest mercury concentration. In the rift basin, due to the presence of deep faults which cut the basement and mixing effects of deep fluids, the mercury concentration in natural gas may be abnormally high, e.g. the Xushen gas field in the Songliao Basin. In relatively stable basins where deep and large faults do not develop, mercury is primarily of organic origin. In rift basins where deep fluids are mixed with gas reservoirs,mercury in natural gas may mainly come from the deep fluids and is characterized by abnormally high mercury concentration and R/Ra values.     

Using geochemical tracing system to identify new types of gas sources in marine strata of the Hotan River Gas Field in the Tarim Basin

There are natural gas sources of various modes of occurrence in superimposed basins. Besides the conventional kerogen and ancient oil reservoir, dispersed soluble organic matter (DSOM) is an important direct gas source. Because of its wide distribution, great potential to generate gas and proneness to crack under catalysis, DSOM is an important type of gas source in the highly evolved zones in marine strata. Through the geological and geochemical analysis that reflects the long-period evolvement and multipl...     

海底冷泉流体渗漏的原位观测技术及冷泉活动特征

海底冷泉渗漏是海洋环境中广泛分布的自然现象.本文主要介绍海底冷泉原住观测技术及全球几个典型冷来渗漏活动地区的原位观测结果.冷泉渗漏活动主要发育在海底裂隙和断层发育的地区,海底常有泥火山、麻坑、水合物、冷泉生物群落和冷泉碳酸盐岩的发育.冷泉渗漏主要包括液体和气体两种形式,流体流动包括上升流和下降流两种方式,流量变化大,主要与海底环境及构造作用有关.烃类渗漏是以气泡、油滴的形式沿断层向海底喷溢,释放量大,运移过程主要受涌浪、静水压力和裂隙压力等因素控制.冷泉渗漏活动是复杂的水文地质过程,受水合物形成和分解产生的气藏的充注和排空、深部常规油气藏的破坏及海底环境变化等多种作用的控制.