Quick-look assessments to identify optimal CO2 EOR storage sites

A newly developed, multistage quick-look methodology allows for the efficient screening of an unmanageably large number of reservoirs to generate a workable set of sites that closely match the requirements for optimal CO₂ enhanced oil recovery (EOR) storage. The objective of the study is to quickly identify miscible CO₂ EOR candidates in areas that contain thousands of reservoirs and to estimate additional oil recovery and sequestration capacities of selected top options through dimensionless modeling and reservoir characterization. Quick-look assessments indicate that the CO₂ EOR resource potential along the US Gulf Coast is 4.7 billion barrels, and CO₂ sequestration capacity is 2.6 billion metric tons. In the first stage, oil reservoirs are screened and ranked in terms of technical and practical feasibility for miscible CO₂ EOR. The second stage provides quick estimates of CO₂ EOR potential and sequestration capacities. In the third stage, a dimensionless group model is applied to a selected set of sites to improve the estimates of oil recovery and storage potential using appropriate inputs for rock and fluid properties, disregarding reservoir architecture and sweep design. The fourth stage validates and refines the results by simulating flow in a model that describes the internal architecture and fluid distribution in the reservoir. The stated approach both saves time and allows more resources to be applied to the best candidate sites.     

Possible impact of dam reservoirs and river diversions on material fluxes to the Gulf of Thailand

Thai people have always been agricultural-based, although rainwater is not enough to sustain year-round agricultural practice. The first earth-filled dam was built across a valley near Sukhothai over 700 years ago. Now, there are six major multipurposed dam reservoirs, among which the largest is the Sri Nakarind (SN) built across the Kwae Yai River, the main branch of the Mae Klong River in the western part of Thailand. The first multipurposed dam reservoir built on the Chao Phraya (largest) River System is the Bhumibhol Dam on the Ping River. In this paper, the two Mae Klong River Dam Reservoirs and their biology and chemistry are discussed. Also investigated are the historical records of material fluxes to the Gulf of Thailand in down-core sediment profiles and in 40-year bands of coral, Porites lutea, taken from the Upper Gulf of Thailand near Si Chang Island. Sediment cores studied did not show clear decreases in the biogenic silica concentration in the Upper Gulf area after the building of dams. Part of the reasons might be the higher rate of dissolution of silica in tropical waters bioturbation of surface layers or the constant disturbance of the bottom sediment by fishermen using bottom trawls. The record in the coral bands seems to be more promising in reflecting the material flux change due to dam construction. An attempt to detect changes in diatom population with time due to the expected decrease in siliceous material discharge was not possible because there was a change from the use of 70 μm mesh size to 20 μm mesh size resulting in the increase of species and biomass, although the diatom percentage remained above 80% in all estuarine samples.     

上新世——早更新世青藏高原北缘隆升的磁性地层学证据

对新疆叶城剖面西域砾岩及下伏第三纪地层的磁性地层学研究表明 ,西域砾岩的沉积时代为晚上新世至早更新世 ,磁性地层年龄为 3.5至 <1.8Ma。阿图什组沉积于早上新世 ,古地磁年龄为 4 .6～ 3.5 Ma。阿图什组以砂岩和粉砂岩为主夹薄层砾岩 ,为河流相及冲积扇前缘相。西域砾岩以厚层砾岩为主夹风成粉砂岩 ,为典型洪积—冲积扇堆积。西域砾岩的沉积反映了青藏高原北缘晚上新世至早更新世强烈的隆起和剥蚀     

Study on the connectivity of heavy oil reservoirs by ultraviolet spectrum technique in the western part of the QHD32-6 oilfield

As a new method, the ultraviolet spectrum technique is applied to studying the connectivity of biode-gradable heavy oil reservoirs. The similarity of crude oils can be judged according to the extinction coefficient （E） because aromatic hydrocarbons and non-hydrocarbons have conjugated bonds and obvious absorption in the ultraviolet range, and different materials have different characteristics and additives. The relationship diagram is made in terms of the extinction coefficients （E） of the samples by taking E as the Y-axis and wavelength as the X-axis. The connectivity of oil reservoirs is estimated according to the curve positions and characteristic fingerprints of the sampies. The connectivity of part of the reservoirs in the western part of the QHD32-6 oilfield was studied with this method. The results showed that the connectivity of samples from wells F7 and F8 in the Nm-2 oil reservoir zone is good, that of samples from wells F17 and F20 in the Nm-1 oil reservoir zone also is good, and that of samples from wells F17, F19, and F20 is poor.     

Geologic Characteristics of Gas Reservoirs in West Sichuan Foreland Basin

The foreland basin in West Sichuan is a tectonic unit that has undergone multi-periods tectonic movements of Indosinian-Yanshanian-Himalayan. Since late Triassic, it has been in a passive subsidence environment controlled by basin margin mountain systems and by the compression with abundant sediment sources. With the complex geologic setting, the main geologic characteristics of natural gas reservoir are listed as following:(1)Source rocks are coal-bearing mud and shale series with high to over maturity, and long and progressive hydrocarbon generation-displacement period. The key accumulation period is middle-late Yanshanian epoch.(2)There are three gas-bearing systems vertically, each of which has different reservoir mechanism, main-controlled factors and distribution law, so the exploration thoughts and techniques are also different.(3)Undergoing multi-period generation-migration-accumulation, oil and gas have encountered multi-period modification or destruction, and gas accumulation overpass multiple tectonic periods. So the trap type is complicated and dominated by combination traps. Because the main accumulation period of natural gas is early and the reservoir encountered the modification of strong Himalayan movement, there is great difference in the fullness degree of gas reservoirs and complicated gas-water relation. (4) Reservoir is tight to very tight, but reservoirs of relatively high quality developed under the super tight setting. (5) The key techniques for oil and gas exploration in west Sichuan foreland basin are the prediction of relatively favorable reservoirs, fractures and gas bearing; and the key techniques for oil and gas development are how to improve the penetration rate, reservoir protection and modification.     

碎屑岩自生粘土矿物的沉淀作用及其对储层的影响——以川西坳陷上三叠统须家河组砂岩为例

粘土矿物是影响碎屑岩储层物性的重要因素.本文以川西坳陷孝泉-新场-合兴场地区上三叠统须家河组砂岩为例,应用铸体薄片、普通薄片、X射线衍射分析和扫描电镜分析,研究了在成岩过程中自生粘土矿物的沉淀作用及其对储层的影响.结果表明自生绿泥石对储层原生孔隙的保存和次生孔隙的发育有利,自生高岭石的含量反映了次生孔隙的发育程度,而伊利石对储层的影响是负面的.     

冀中坳陷饶阳凹陷留西地区古近系沙河街组沙三上亚段沉积相与隐蔽油藏

通过岩心观察和单井相分析,结合沉积背景资料,认为留西地区古近系沙河街组沙三上亚段发育辫状河三角洲相和湖泊相,以辫状河三角洲前缘亚相和滨浅湖亚相为主,主要发育辫状分流河道、越岸沉积、水下分流河道、河口坝、席状砂等微相。根据层序地层学基本原理,结合前人研究成果,认为本区沙三上亚段为一完整的三级层序,可划分为低位、湖侵和高位3个体系域,分别对应于沙三上亚段沉积时期的早期、中期和晚期,绘制了每个沉积阶段的沉积相图,在此基础上研究了沉积体系的平面展布特征。沙三上亚段沉积时期形成的北高南低的构造背景与辫状河三角洲近东西向展布的砂体形态相互配置,加之良好的油源供给,为后期成藏创造了条件。沙三上亚段沉积早期发育的辫状河三角洲前缘水下分流河道与河口坝砂体是主要的储集体,与沉积中期发育的烃源岩形成了十分有利的生储盖组合,具有优越的隐蔽油藏发育条件。总结了该区隐蔽油藏成藏的4种模式,确定留西地区中南部沙三上亚段沉积早期发育的辫状河三角洲前缘砂体是下一步隐蔽油藏勘探的有利目标。     

松辽盆地宋芳屯油田扶杨油层孔隙结构及其影响因素

通过镜下观察,宋芳屯油田扶杨油层孔隙类型较多,以粒间孔为主。细管压力曲线上看,曲线较陡,分选差,孔隙结构特征参数总体上较差,与孔隙度、渗透率有一定的关系,大的孔隙对渗透率的贡献最大。扶杨油层的孔隙结构较复杂主要由于成岩作用影响,压实作用使孔隙空间显著缩小,胶结作用和自生粘土矿物生长使孔隙进一步缩小和复杂化,后期的溶蚀作用使孔隙空间增加。     

Paleomagnetism of the Esterel rocks: a revisit 22 years after the thesis of Hans Zijderveld

For his PhD. thesis, Zijderveld (1975) studied the paleomagnetism of the Permian Esterel rocks (southern France). High-quality thermal and alternating-field demagnetization diagrams were interpreted to determine the direction of the characteristic natural magnetization. For the Esterel volcanics, a mean direction of Dec = 206.5°, Inc = –23°, ₉₅ = 5.7°, k = 112 was found for this magnetization. The dispersion in this mean is remarkably low. Only the declination of the Reyran Rhyolite in the Reyran River quarry clearly deviated from this mean. This deviating direction is not found in our samples, taken at the same site. As many faults occur in this quarry, it is suggested that Zijderveld sampled this rhyolite on a small rotated block. To verify whether the small dispersion in the mean paleomagnetic direction of the Esterel rocks has a geomagnetic or a rock-magnetic origin, two conglomerate tests were carried out. One of these might be interpreted as positive. The results of the other conglomerate test (Agay Formation) are ambiguous: four of the six measured boulders show directions close to the mean paleomagnetic direction of the Esterel rocks. Rock-magnetic measurements show that the remanence is carried by a magnetite and a hematite fraction. The low dispersion in the paleomagnetic directions, the conglomerate tests, and hematite as remanence carrier suggest that the characteristic remanence in the Esterel volcanics was not instantaneously acquired during cooling, but might be affected by remagnetization due to weathering.     

Aftershocks series monitoring of the September 18, 2004 M = 4.6 earthquake at the western Pyrenees: A case of reservoir-triggered seismicity?

On September 18, 2004, a 4.6 mbLg earthquake was widely felt in the region around Pamplona, at the western Pyrenees. Preliminary locations reported an epicenter less than 20 km ESE of Pamplona and close to the Itoiz reservoir, which started impounding in January 2004. The area apparently lacks of significant seismic activity in recent times. After the main shock, which was preceded by series of foreshocks reaching magnitudes of 3.3 mbLg, a dense temporal network of 13 seismic stations was deployed there to monitor the aftershocks series and to constrain the hypocentral pattern. Aftershock determinations obtained with a double-difference algorithm define a narrow epicentral zone of less than 10 km², ESE–WNW oriented. The events are mainly concentrated between 3 and 9 km depth. Focal solutions were computed for the main event and 12 aftershocks including the highest secondary one of 3.8 mbLg. They show mainly normal faulting with some strike-slip component and one of the nodal planes oriented NW–SE and dipping to the NE. Cross-correlation techniques applied to detect and associate events with similar waveforms, provided up to 33 families relating the 67% of the 326 relocated aftershocks. Families show event clusters grouped by periods and migrating from NW to SE. Interestingly, the narrow epicentral zone inferred here is located less than 4 km away from the 111-m high Itoiz dam. These hypocentral results, and the correlation observed between fluctuations of the reservoir water level and the seismic activity, favour the explanation of this foreshock–aftershock series as a rapid response case of reservoir-triggered seismicity, burst by the first impoundment of the Itoiz reservoir. The region is folded and affected by shallow dipping thrusts, and the Itoiz reservoir is located on the hangingwall of a low angle southward verging thrust, which might be a case sensible to water level fluctuations. However, continued seismic monitoring in the coming years is mandatory in this area to infer more reliable seismotectonic and hazard assessments.