Petrophysical characterisation of tight sandstone gas reservoirs using nuclear magnetic resonance: a case study of the upper Paleozoic strata in the Kangning area,eastern margin of the Ordos Basin,China

Residual and movable porosity are significant parameters for characterising petrophysical properties, especially in tight reservoirs. Eight tight sandstone samples from the upper Paleozoic gas-bearing strata in the Kangning area, from the eastern margin of the Ordos Basin, were analysed using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), petrography, and porosity and permeability tests. The lithology and pore types were identified and classified using petrography and SEM. The residual and movable porosity were obtained with NMR. In addition, NMR was used to visualise pore structure and pore size distribution. The results suggest that the upper Paleozoic sandstones in the study area mainly comprise feldspathic litharenite and litharenite. The sandstone porosity and permeability are low, with means of 5.9% and 0.549 mD, respectively. Four pore types exist in the tight sandstones: residual primary pores, grain dissolution pores, micropores (clay-dominated) and microfractures. The T₂ spectra under water-saturated conditions correlate with pore size and can be used to distinguish small and large pores based on the transverse relaxation time cutoff value of 10 ms, which corresponds to a pore diameter of 0.232 μm. Small pores account for 72% of the pores in the tight sandstones. The continuous bimodal T₂ spectra suggest good connectivity between small and large pores, despite the low porosity and permeability. In this study, the movable porosity of the major tight sandstone gas reservoirs is higher than the residual porosity, which confirms the effective evaluation of movable porosity to tight sandstone reservoirs, based on NMR experiments.     

Lithofacies features and mechanism of formation of “Zihe-type” time- and strata-bound iron ore deposits in central Shandong province

The Lower Palaeozoic system is a series of iron-bearing rocks consisting mainly of shallow sea-fades carbonates. On the basis of microfacies analysis of the carbonate rocks, the Lower Palaeozoic sedimentary sea basin is divided into two broad sedimentary-tectonic regions of four sedimentary facies and eight subfacies. The original iron-rich carbonates were deposited in saltlakes, lagoons, etc. of the restricted basins. Over the long geological history, the original iron formations were reconstructed to various extents by late tectonic processes. Geological observations and studies on the equilibrium mechanism of oxygen/sulfur isotopic fractionation and the composition and temperature of fluid inclusions in the minerals indicate that thermal brines played an important role in reworking of the original iron-rich carbonate rocks, which led to the formation of sedimentary-reworked strata-bound ore deposit.     

临潼-长安断裂带(FN )西段走向研究

临潼-长安断裂是渭河盆地内西安凹陷与骊山凸起的分界断裂,该断裂东北段位置和走向清楚,但西南段(神禾塬以西)的推测走向并无实证资料。在临潼-长安断裂西南方向延伸区域内,通过对3条总长近27km的人工地震勘探剖面解译,发现均存在北倾断裂异常,在其中1处异常布置的地质钻探剖面显示,上更新统和中更新统地层存在错断现象。这些勘探异常点被认为是临潼-长安断裂带中的最北侧断裂FN,其连线基本在1条线上,以大约SW240°的方向,延续了临潼-长安断裂带中段走向,继续向西南方向延伸。     

Reservoir characteristics and methane adsorption capacity of the Upper Triassic continental shale in Western Sichuan Depression,China

The well-developed continental shale sequences in the Western Sichuan Depression are characterised by extremely low porosity and permeability, complex lithologies and strong lateral facies changes. The overall lack of proper characterisation of the shale properties has restricted gas exploration and development in the region. In this study, shales from the fifth member of the Xujiahe Formation of the Upper Triassic (T₃x⁵) are comprehensively characterised in terms of their organic geochemistry, mineral composition, microscopic pore structure and gas content. In addition, the influence of various geological factors on the adsorbed gas content is investigated. We proposed a new model for predicting the adsorption gas content of continental shale. The T₃x⁵ shale sequence is found to be rich in organic matter but with variable mineral compositions, pore types and reservoir physical properties. The porosity and permeability of shales are better than those of siltstones and fine sandstones interbedded with the shale under an overall densification background. Mesopores (2–50 nm) are common in the shale sequence, followed by micropores and then macropores. The gas-adsorption capacity of organic-rich shales increases with increasing TOC and clay-mineral contents, maturity and pressure, but decreases with increasing quartz content, carbonate minerals and temperature. The gas-adsorption capacity can thus be expressed as a function of organic matter, clay-mineral content, temperature and pressure. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experiment results and indicate that adsorption gas in the studied shales accounts for 78.9% of the total gas content.     

深穿透地球化学勘查技术对隐伏稀有金属矿的勘查指示：以甲基卡X03号锂矿脉为例

花岗伟晶岩型锂矿是锂资源的重要矿产类型,目前随着勘查程度的提高,发现地表出露的伟晶岩型锂矿资源的几率越来越小,下一步的勘查重点应放到找寻隐伏型锂矿资源。近年来,深穿透地球化学勘查手段在隐伏矿勘查中发挥了重要作用。其中土壤微细粒分离测量技术能有效探测深部异常信息,已在多种景观覆盖区进行了试验,并取得了显著的效果。本文以四川甲基卡X03号隐伏锂矿脉为研究对象,利用土壤微细粒分离测量技术,开展深穿透地球化学勘查技术对隐伏锂矿脉探测的试验研究,并分析了成矿及伴生元素组合特征,结果表明：Li、Be、Rb、Cs、Sn、Nb、Ta、Bi、Pb、U等元素具有较好的相关性,富集程度高,异常明显,异常峰值显著;其中,Li-Be-Bi-Cs-Rb-Pb-U元素组合与研究区X03号矿脉成矿元素组合具有良好的耦合性;利用土壤微细粒分离测量技术取得的元素高异常范围与已知隐伏矿体具有较好的对应关系,可以将上述元素作为该区域寻找锂矿的指示元素。以上结果证实了深穿透地球化学勘查技术能有效指示深部隐伏锂矿体,可以将深穿透地球化学勘查技术应用于西部高寒山区景观覆盖区地球化学找矿勘查中。