Identification of polycyclic sulfides hexahydrodibenzothiophenes and their implications for heavy oil accumulation in ultra-deep strata in Tarim Basin

Heavy oil accumulation in deep Ordovician carbonate stratum was discovered at present burial depths greater than 6600 m in the northern Tarim Basin, NW China. Density of the unusual ultra-deep heavy oils is greater than 0.92 g/cm³ at 20 °C. Crude oil produced from 6598 to 6710 m interval of the Ha9 well was selected for the thiophenic and sulfidic compounds characterization in order to understand the mechanism of heavy oil accumulation in the ultra-deep strata. In addition to the common thiophenic compounds, four homologues of novel polycyclic sulfides named as 1,1,4a,6-tetramethyl-9-alkyl-1,2,3,4,4a,9b-hexahydrodibenzothiophenes (H₆DBTs, 9-alkyl = H, methyl, ethyl, and propyl, respectively) were identified in Ha9 well crude oil, and it is the first time these biomarkers were detected in natural occurrence. H₆DBTs were generated from isoprenoid-related precursors reacted with reduced-state sulfur in early diagenesis stage by bacterial sulfate reduction. The occurrence of H₆DBTs further indicated biodegradation of the reservoir oil at a relatively mild temperature (60–65 °C), a favorable condition for microorganism survival. According to the history of reservoir forming, oil and gas accumulation occurred in reservoirs during the Late Permian period and then being uplifted, suffering biodegradation. Oil quality was significantly altered as a result of strong biodegradation since the Triassic. Heavy oil reservoir was buried deeper around. 5 Ma, leading to a rapid increase in reservoir temperature up to 150 °C at a burial depth of 6600 m. The quick burial and elevated temperature of the reservoir were favorable to the preservation of H₆DBTs.     

Petroleum generation and charge history of the northern Dongying Depression,Bohai Bay Basin,China: Insight from integrated fluid inclusion analysis and basin modelling

The petroleum generation and charge history of the northern Dongying Depression, Bohai Bay Basin was investigated using an integrated fluid inclusion analysis workflow and geohistory modelling. One and two-dimensional basin modelling was performed to unravel the oil generation history of the Eocene Shahejie Formation (Es3 and Es4) source rocks based on the reconstruction of the burial, thermal and maturity history. Calibration of the model with thermal maturity and borehole temperature data using a rift basin heat flow model indicates that the upper interval of the Es4 source rocks began to generate oil at around 35 Ma, reached a maturity level of 0.7% R_o at 31–30 Ma and a peak hydrocarbon generation at 24–23 Ma. The lower interval of the Es3 source rocks began to generate oil at around 33–32 Ma and reached a maturity of 0.7% R_o at about 27–26 Ma. Oil generation from the lower Es3 and upper Es4 source rocks occurred in three phases with the first phase from approximately 30–20 Ma; the second phase from approximately 20–5 Ma; and the third phase from 5 Ma to the present day. The first and third phases were the two predominant phases of intense oil generation.Samples from the Es3 and Es4 reservoir intervals in 12 wells at depth intervals between 2677.7 m and 4323.0 m were investigated using an integrated fluid inclusion workflow including petrography, fluorescence spectroscopy and microthermometry to determine the petroleum charge history in the northern Dongying Depression. Abundant oil inclusions with a range of fluorescence colours from near yellow to near blue were observed and were interpreted to represent two episodes of hydrocarbon charge based on the fluid inclusion petrography, fluorescence spectroscopy and microthermometry data. Two episodes of oil charge were determined at 24–20 Ma and 4–3 Ma, respectively with the second episode being the predominant period for the oil accumulation in the northern Dongying Depression. The oil charge occurred during or immediately after the modelled intense oil generation and coincided with a regional uplift and a rapid subsidence, suggesting that the hydrocarbon migration from the already overpressured source rocks may have been triggered by the regional uplift and rapid subsidence. The expelled oil was then charged to the already established traps in the northern Dongying Depression. The proximal locations of the reservoirs to the generative kitchens and the short oil migration distance facilitate the intimate relationship between oil generation, migration and accumulation.     

Hydrocarbon charging and accumulation history in the Niudong Buried Hill Field in the Baxian Depression,eastern China

The Niudong Buried Hill Field, which lies in the Baxian Depression of the Bohai Bay Basin, is the deepest oil/gas accumulation in eastern China. Its Precambrian dolomite reservoir occurs at burial depths of 5860 m–6027 m. This paper attempts to document the hydrocarbon charging and accumulation history in this field, which could greatly enhance the understanding of the mechanisms for the formation of deep hydrocarbon accumulations. Our previous study of oil trapped in fluid inclusions has demonstrated that the ratio parameters of the fluorescence spectral intensities at 425 nm and 433 nm (Q_425/433 ratio), and at 419 nm and 429 nm (Q_419/429 ratio) can be more effective for revealing hydrocarbon charging history than the previously-used fluorescence parameters such as Lambda max and red/green quotient as well as fluorescence colors. The hydrocarbon charging and accumulation history in the Niudong Buried Hill Field was studied with an integrated approach involving the application of these two spectral parameters of petroleum inclusion fluorescence as well as utilization of other data including homogenization temperatures of aqueous inclusions coeval with petroleum inclusions, and cross-cutting relationships of cements and “oil veins” in pores and fractures. The results indicate that the dolomite reservoir in the Niudong Buried Hill Field experienced three episodes of hydrocarbon charging. In the first two episodes (between 38.5Ma and 25Ma), the low mature and mature oils, which were derived from source rocks in the Sha-4 Member of the Eocene Shahejie Formation, migrated into the reservoir, but part of them leaked out due to normal faulting at the updip margin of the buried hill. These early-charged oils were preserved mainly in small pores in micritic dolomites by oil-wettability and capillary pressure. In the Neogene, the basin subsided as a whole and local faults at the updip margin became inactive and played a sealing role. By approximately 13Ma, the source rocks became highly mature and the generated hydrocarbons then migrated into the reservoir and accumulated. Therefore, the last charging is the most important for hydrocarbon accumulation in the Niudong Buried Hill Field.     

Petroleum accumulation in the deeply buried reservoirs in the northern Dongying Depression,Bohai Bay Basin,China: New insights from fluid inclusions,natural gas geochemistry,and 1-D basin modeling

The deeply buried reservoirs (DBRs) from the Lijin, Shengtuo and Minfeng areas in the northern Dongying Depression of the Bohai Bay Basin, China exhibit various petroleum types (black oil-gas condensates) and pressure systems (normal pressure-overpressure) with high reservoir temperatures (154–185 °C). The pressure-volume-temperature-composition (PVTX) evolution of petroleum and the processes of petroleum accumulation were reconstructed using integrated data from fluid inclusions, stable carbon isotope data of natural gas and one-dimensional basin modeling to trace the petroleum accumulation histories.The results suggest that (1) the gas condensates in the Lijin area originated from the thermal cracking of highly mature kerogen in deeper formations. Two episodes of gas condensate charging, which were evidenced by the trapping of non-fluorescent gas condensate inclusions, occurred between 29-25.5 Ma and 8.6–5.0 Ma with strong overpressure (pressure coefficient, P_c = 1.68–1.70), resulting in the greatest contribution to the present-day gas condensate accumulation; (2) the early yellow fluorescent oil charge was responsible for the present-day black oil accumulation in well T764, while the late blue-white oil charge together with the latest kerogen cracked gas injection resulted in the present-day volatile oil accumulation in well T765; and (3) the various fluorescent colors (yellow, blue-white and blue) and the degree of bubble filling (F_v) (2.3–72.5%) of the oil inclusions in the Minfeng area show a wide range of thermal maturity (API gravity ranges from 30 to 50°), representing the charging of black oil to gas condensates. The presence of abundant blue-white fluorescent oil inclusions with high Grain-obtaining Oil Inclusion (GOI) values (35.8%, usually >5% in oil reservoirs) indicate that a paleo-oil accumulation with an approximate API gravity of 39–40° could have occurred before 25 Ma, and gas from oil cracking in deeper formations was injected into the paleo-oil reservoir from 2.8 Ma to 0 Ma, resulting in the present-day gas condensate oil accumulation. This oil and gas accumulation model results in three oil and gas distribution zones: 1) normal oil reservoirs at relatively shallow depth; 2) gas condensate reservoirs that originated from the mixture of oil cracking gas with a paleo-oil reservoir at intermediate depth; and 3) oil-cracked gas reservoirs at deeper depth.The retardation of organic matter maturation and oil cracking by high overpressure could have played an important role in the distribution of different origins of gas condensate accumulations in the Lijin and Minfeng areas. The application of oil and gas accumulation models in this study is not limited to the Dongying Depression and can be applied to other overpressured rift basins.     

Tracing of deeply-buried source rock: A case study of the WC9-2 petroleum pool in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea

The identification of a deeply-buried petroleum-source rock, owing to the difficulty in sample collection, has become a difficult task for establishing its relationship with discovered petroleum pools and evaluating its exploration potential in a petroleum-bearing basin. This paper proposes an approach to trace a deeply-buried source rock. The essential points include: determination of the petroleum-charging time of a reservoir, reconstruction of the petroleum generation history of its possible source rocks, establishment of the spatial connection between the source rocks and the reservoir over its geological history, identification of its effective source rock and the petroleum system from source to trap, and evaluation of petroleum potential from the deeply-buried source rock. A case study of the W9-2 petroleum pool in the Wenchang A sag of the Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea was conducted using this approach. The W9-2 reservoir produces condensate oil and gas, sourced from deeply-buried source rocks. The reservoir consists of a few sets of sandstone in the Zhuhai Formation, and the possible source rocks include an early Oligocene Enping Formation mudstone and a late Eocene Wenchang Formation mudstone, with a current burial depth from 5000 to 9000 m. The fluid inclusion data from the reservoir rock indicate the oil and the gas charged the reservoir about 18–3.5 Ma and after 4.5 Ma, respectively. The kinetic modeling results show that the main stages of oil generation of the Wenchang mudstone and the Enping mudstone occurred during 28–20 Ma and 20–12 Ma, respectively, and that the δ¹³C₁ value of the gas generated from the Enping mudstone has a better match with that of the reservoir gas than the gas from the Wenchang mudstone. Results from a 2D basin modeling further indicate that the petroleum from the Enping mudstone migrated upward along the well-developed syn-sedimentary faults in the central area of the sag into the reservoir, but that the petroleum from the Wenchang mudstone migrated laterally first toward the marginal faults of the sag and then migrated upward along the faults into shallow strata. The present results suggest that the trap structure in the central area of the sag is a favorable place for the accumulation of the Enping mudstone-derived petroleum, and that the Wenchang mudstone-derived petroleum would have a contribution to the structures along the deep faults as well as in the uplifted area around the sag.     

Oil migration driven by exhumation of the Canol Formation oil shale: A new conceptual model for the Norman Wells oil field,northwestern Canada

Thermal history, petroleum system, structural, and tectonic constraints are reviewed and integrated in order to derive a new conceptual model for the Norman Wells oil field, and a new play type for tectonically active foreland regions. The thermal history recorded by Devonian rocks suggests that source rocks experienced peak thermal conditions in the Triassic–Jurassic, during which time oil was likely generated. After initial oil generation and expulsion, the Canol Formation oil shale retained a certain fraction of hydrocarbons. The shallow reservoir (650–350 m) is a Devonian carbonate bank overlain by the Canol Formation and resides within a hanging wall block of the Norman Range thrust fault. Both reservoir and source rocks are naturally fractured and have produced high API non-biodegraded oil. Thrust faults in the region formed after the Paleocene, and a structural cross-section of the field shows that the source and reservoir rocks at Norman Wells have been exhumed by over 1 km since then.The key proposition of the exhumation model is that as Canol Formation rocks underwent thrust-driven exhumation, they crossed a ductile–brittle transition zone and dip-oriented fractures formed sympathetic to the thrust fault. The combination of pore overpressure and new dip-directed subvertical fractures liberated oil from the Canol Formation and allowed for up-dip oil migration. Reservoir rocks were similarly fractured and improved permeability enhanced charging and pooling of oil. GPS and seismicity data indicate that strain transfer across the northern Cordillera is a response to accretion of the Yakutat terrane along the northern Pacific margin of North America, which is also the probable driving force for foreland shortening and rock exhumation at Norman Wells.     

Petrological and geochemical constraints on diagenesis and deep burial dissolution of the Ordovician carbonate reservoirs in the Tazhong area,Tarim Basin,NW China

Deeply buried (4500–7000 m) Ordovician carbonate reservoirs in the Tazhong area, Tarim Basin, NW China show obvious heterogeneity with porosity from null in limestones and sweet dolostones to 27.8% in sour dolostones, from which economically important oils, sour gas and condensates are currently being produced. Petrographic features, C, O, Sr isotopes were determined, and fluid inclusions were analyzed on diagenetic calcite, dolomite and barite from Ordovician reservoirs to understand controls on the porosity distribution. Ordovician carbonate reservoirs in the Tazhong area are controlled mainly by initial sedimentary environments and eo-genetic and near-surface diagenetic processes. However, vugs and pores generated from eogenetic and telogenetic meteoric dissolution were observed to have partially been destroyed due to subsequent compaction, filling and cementation. In some locations or wells (especially ZG5-ZG7 Oilfield nearby ZG5 Fault), burial diagenesis (e.g. thermochemical sulfate reduction, TSR) probably played an important role in quality improvement towards high-quality reservoirs. C2 calcite and dolomite cements and barite have fluid inclusions homogenization temperatures (Ths) from 86 to 113 °C, from 96 to 128 °C and from 128 to 151 °C, respectively. We observed petrographically corroded edges of these high-temperature minerals with oil inclusions, indicating the dissolution must have occurred under deep-burial conditions. The occurrence of TSR within Ordovician carbonate reservoirs is supported by C3 calcite replacement of barite, and the association of sulfur species including pyrite, anhydrite or barite and elemental sulfur with hydrocarbon and ¹²C-rich (as low as −7.2‰ V-PDB) C3 calcite with elevated Ths (135–153 °C). The TSR may have induced burial dissolution of dolomite and thus probably improved porosity of the sour dolostones reservoirs at least in some locations. In contrast, no significant burial dissolution occurred in limestone reservoirs and non-TSR dolostone reservoirs. The deeply buried sour dolostone reservoirs may therefore be potential exploration targets in Tarim Basin or elsewhere in the world.     

Kilometer-scale fault-related thermal anomalies in tight gas sandstones

Upper Carboniferous sandstones make one of the most important tight gas reservoirs in Central Europe. This study integrates a variety of geothermometers (chlorite thermometry, fluid inclusion microthermometry and vitrinite reflection measurements) to characterize a thermal anomaly in a reservoir outcrop analog (Piesberg quarry, Lower Saxony Basin), which is assumed responsible for high temperatures of circa 300 °C, deteriorating reservoir quality entirely. The tight gas siliciclastics were overprinted with temperatures approximately 90–120 °C higher compared to outcropping rocks of a similar stratigraphic position some 15 km to the west. The local temperature increase can be explained by circulating hydrothermal fluids along the fault damage zone of a large NNW-SSE striking fault with a displacement of up to 600 m in the east of the quarry, laterally heating up the entire exposed tight gas sandstones. The km-scale lateral extent of this fault-bound thermal anomaly is evidenced by vitrinite reflectance measurements of meta-anthracite coals (VR_rot ∼ 4.66) and the temperature-related diagenetic overprint. Data suggest that this thermal event and the associated highest coalification was reached prior to peak subsidence during Late Jurassic rifting (162 Ma) based on K-Ar dating of the <2 μm fraction of the tight gas sandstones. Associated stable isotope data from fluid inclusions, hosted in a first fracture filling quartz generation (T ∼ 250 °C) close to lithostatic fluid pressure (P ∼ 1000 bars), together with authigenic chlorite growth in mineralized extension fractures, demonstrate that coalification was not subject to significant changes during ongoing burial. This is further evidenced by the biaxial reflectance anisotropy of meta-anthracite coals. A second event of quartz vein formation occurred at lower temperatures (T ∼ 180 °C) and lower (hydrostatic) pressure conditions (P ∼ 400 bars) and can be related to basin inversion. This second quartz generation might be associated with a second event of illite growth and K-Ar ages of 96.5–106.7 Ma derived from the <0.2 μm fraction of the tight gas sandstones.This study demonstrates the exploration risk of fault-bound thermal anomalies by deteriorating entirely the reservoir quality of tight gas sandstones with respect to porosity and permeability due to the cementation with temperature-related authigenic cements. It documents that peak temperatures are not necessarily associated with peak subsidence. Consequently, these phenomena need to be considered in petroleum system models to avoid, for example, overestimates of burial depth and reservoir quality.     

Geochemical evidence for coal-derived hydrocarbons and their charge history in the Dabei Gas Field, Kuqa Thrust Belt, Tarim Basin, NW China

Large to middle-scale thrust structures are important reservoir plays for coal-derived hydrocarbons in the foreland basins of NW China, with both gas and some accompanying oil. In the Dabei Gas Field of the Kuqa Thrust, however, the oil and gas pools are vertically distributed in a quite unique way: (1) liquid oil and some dissolved gas are present in the Dawanqi Anticline with the reservoir at 300-700 m depth, forming the only oil field in the Kuqa Thrust; (2) gas and minor accompanying oil are found in the deep reservoir of the Dabei-1 and Dabei-2 thrust traps around 5000-6000 m depth; (3) an extremely dry gas pool is found in the Dabei-3 thrust trap where the depth of the reservoir is over 7000 m. Geochemical data suggest that the hydrocarbons in the Dawanqi Anticline and the Dabei thrust traps originated from a similar source, i.e. the underlying Jurassic coal measures, with some contribution from Jurassic lacustrine shales. The Jurassic source rocks did not start to generate oil until the Miocene (around the Kangcun Stage), and extended into the Pliocene (the Kuche Stage) with the main gas generation period in the Pliocene (the Kuche Stage) and the Quaternary. Because the traps formed relatively early, the Dabei-1 and Dabei-2 thrusts could trap some of the early generated oils, but most of the early charged oil was redistributed to the shallower Dawanqi Anticline during the Kuche Stage. The Dabei-3 thrust trap formed concurrently with major gas generation and thus could not trap liquid hydrocarbons. The difference in the vertical distribution of the hydrocarbon accumulations in the Dabei Gas Field resulted from a complex interplay of source variability, structural evolution of the basin and thermal maturation.     

Importance of vertical effective stress for reservoir quality in the Skagerrak Formation,Central Graben,North Sea

The complex fluvial sandstones of the Triassic Skagerrak Formation are the host reservoir for a number of high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) fields in the Central Graben, North Sea. All the reservoir sandstones in this study comprise of fine-grained to medium-grained sub-arkosic to arkosic sandstones that have experienced broadly similar burial and diagenetic histories to their present-day maximum burial depths. Despite similar diagenetic histories, the fluvial reservoirs show major variations in reservoir quality and preserved porosity. Reservoir quality varies from excellent with anomalously high porosities of up to 35% at burial depth of >3500 m below seafloor to non-economic with porosities <10% at burial depth of 4300 m below seafloor.This study has combined detailed petrographic analyses, core analysis and pressure history modelling to assess the impact of differing vertical effective stresses (VES) and high pore fluid pressures (up to 80 MPa) on reservoir quality. It has been recognised that fluvial channel sandstones of the Skagerrak Formation in the UK sector have experienced significantly less mechanical compaction than their equivalents in the Norwegian sector. This difference in mechanical compaction has had a significant impact upon reservoir quality, even though the presence of chlorite grain coatings inhibited macroquartz cement overgrowths across all Skagerrak Formation reservoirs. The onset of overpressure started once the overlying Chalk seal was buried deeply enough to form a permeability barrier to fluid escape. It is the cumulative effect of varying amounts of overpressure and its effect on the VES history that is key to determining the reservoir quality of these channelised sandstone units. The results are consistent with a model where vertical effective stress affects both the compaction state and subsequent quartz cementation of the reservoirs.     

Controls on reservoir quality of Lower Cretaceous tight sandstones in the Laiyang Sag,Jiaolai Basin,Eastern China: Integrated sedimentologic,diagenetic and microfracturing data

The Jiaolai Basin (Fig. 1) is an under-explored rift basin that has produced minor oil from Lower Cretaceous lacustrine deltaic sandstones. The reservoir quality is highly heterogeneous and is an important exploratory unknown in the basin. This study investigates how reservoir porosity and permeability vary with diagenetic minerals and burial history, particularly the effects of fracturing on the diagenesis and reservoir deliverability. The Laiyang sandstones are tight reservoirs with low porosity and permeability (Φ < 10% and K < 1 mD). Spatial variations in detrital supply and burial history significantly affected the diagenetic alterations during burial. In the western Laiyang Sag, the rocks are primarily feldspathic litharenites that underwent progressive burial, and thus, the primary porosity was partially to completely eliminated as a result of significant mechanical compaction of ductile grains. In contrast, in the eastern Laiyang Sag, the rocks are lithic arkoses that were uplifted to the surface and extensively eroded, which resulted in less porosity reduction by compaction. The tectonic uplift could promote leaching by meteoric water and the dissolution of remaining feldspars and calcite cement. Relatively high-quality reservoirs are preferentially developed in distributary channel and mouth-bar sandstones with chlorite rims on detrital quartz grains, which are also the locations of aqueous fluid flow that produced secondary porosity. The fold-related fractures are primarily developed in the silt–sandstones of Longwangzhuang and Shuinan members in the eastern Laiyang Sag. Quartz is the most prevalent fracture filling mineral in the Laiyang sandstones, and most of the small-aperture fractures are completely sealed, whereas the large-aperture fractures in a given set may be only partially sealed. The greatest fracture density is in the silt–sandstones containing more brittle minerals such as calcite and quartz cement. The wide apertures are crucial to preservation of the fracture porosity, and the great variation in the distribution of fracture-filling cements presents an opportunity for targeting fractures that contribute to fluid flow.     

Diagenesis of the palaeo-oil-water transition zone in a Lower Pennsylvanian carbonate reservoir: Constraints from cathodoluminescence microscopy,microthermometry, and isotope geochemistry

Oil-water transition zones in carbonate reservoirs represent important but rarely studied diagenetic environments that are now increasingly re-evaluated because of their potentially large effects on reservoir economics. Here, data from cathodoluminescence and fluorescence microscopy, isotope geochemistry, microthermometry, and X-ray tomography are combined to decipher the diagenetic history of a 5-m-long core interval comprising the oil-water transition zone in a Lower Pennsylvanian carbonate reservoir. The aim is to document the cementation dynamics prior, during, and after oil emplacement in its context of changing fluid parameters. Intergrain porosity mean values of 7% are present in the upper two sub-zones of the oil-water transitions zone but values sharply increase to a mean of 14% in the lower sub-zone grading into the water-saturated portions of the reservoir and a very similar pattern is observed for permeability values. In the top of the water-filled zone, cavernous porosity with mean values of about 24% is found. Carbonate cements formed from the earliest marine to the late burial stage. Five calcite (Ca-1 through 5) and one dolomite (Dol) phase are recognized with phase Ca-4b recording the onset of hydrocarbon migration. Carbon and oxygen cross-plots clearly delineate different paragenetic phases with Ca-4 representing the most depleted δ¹³C ratios with mean values of about −21‰. During the main phase of oil emplacement, arguably triggered by far-field Alpine tectonics, carbonate cementation was slowed down and eventually ceased in the presence of hydrocarbons and corrosive fluids with temperatures of 110–140 °C and a micro-hiatal surface formed in the paragenetic sequence. These observations support the “oil-inhibits-diagenesis” model. The presence an earlier corrosion surface between phase Ca-3 and 4 is best assigned to initial pulses of ascending corrosive fluids in advance of hydrocarbons. The short-lived nature of the oil migration event found here is rather uncommon when compared to other carbonate reservoirs. The study is relevant as it clearly documents the strengths of a combined petrographic and geochemical study in order to document the timing of oil migration in carbonate reservoirs and its related cementation dynamics.     

Litho-stratigraphic effect on Variscan fluid flow within the Prague synform,Barrandian: Evidence based on C,O, Sr isotopes and fluid inclusions

The Palaeozoic sedimentary sequence of the Prague synform (Ordovician–Devonian) in the centre of the Bohemian massif underwent Variscan deformation and thermal overprint events. Variscan veins widespread throughout the sedimentary strata have precipitated from syntectonic aqueous and hydrocarbon-rich fluids. Homogenization temperatures of aqueous inclusions increased from 70 up to 226 °C in the Cambrian rocks underlying the Prague synform. Seawater, modified due to intensive water–rock interaction, was the main fluid component. Fluid flow was limited and restricted to the lithostratigraphic compartments forming a rock-buffered system. Stable isotopic modelling (C, O) and final interpretations of the confined hydrostratigraphic fluid migration was supported by the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio in veins and wall rocks. Siliciclastic Cambrian and Ordovician rocks and the associated intersecting veins yielded similar isotopic signatures, and consequently the fluid migration is restricted to layer- and formation-scales. Gradually downwards increasing fluid temperature and compositional changes reflect burial at oil-window conditions. An open fluid system could be expected in proximity of major faults of the Prague syncline and at the top of the sedimentary sequence.     

Fluid inclusion and microfabric studies on Zechstein carbonates (Ca2) and related fracture mineralizations – New insights on gas migration in the Lower Saxony Basin (Germany)

New petrographic and fluid inclusion data from core samples of Upper Permian dolomitic limestone (Hauptdolomit, Zechstein group, Stassfurt carbonate sequence) from a gas field located at the northern border of the Lower Saxony Basin (LSB) essentially improve the understanding of the basin development. The gas production at the locality is characterized by very high CO₂ concentrations of 75–100% (with CH₄ and N₂).Samples consist of fine grained, mostly laminated and sometimes brecciated dolomitic limestone (mudstone/wackestone) from the transition zone between the shallow water zone (platform) and the upper slope. The study focuses on migration fluids, entrapped as fluid inclusions in diagenetic anhydrite, calcite, and fluorite, and in syn-diagenetic microfractures, as well as on the geochemistry of fluorite fracture mineralizations, obtained by LA-ICP-MS analysis. Fluid inclusion studies show that the diagenetic fluid was rich in H₂ONaClCaCl₂. Recrystallized anhydrite contains aqueous inclusions with homogenization temperatures (T_h) of ca. 123 °C, but somewhat higher T_h of ca. 142 °C was found for calcite cement followed by early Fluorite A with T_h of 147 °C. A later Fluorite B preserves gas inclusions and brines with maximum T_h of 156 °C. Fluorite B crystallized in fractures during the mobilization of CO₂-bearing brines. Crossing isochores for co-genetic aqueous-carbonic and carbonic inclusions indicate fluid trapping conditions of 180–200 °C and 900–1000 bars. δ¹³C-isotopic ratios of gas trapped in fluid inclusions suggest an organic origin for CH₄, while the CO₂ is likely of inorganic origin.Basin modelling (1D) shows that the fault block structure of the respective reservoir has experienced an uplift of >1000 m since Late Cretaceous times.The fluid inclusion study allows us to, 1) model the evolution of the LSB and fluid evolution by distinguishing different fluid systems, 2) determine the appearance of CO₂ in the geological record and, 3) more accurately estimate burial and uplift events in individual parts of the LSB.     

Alteration and multi-stage accumulation of oil and gas in the Ordovician of the Tabei Uplift,Tarim Basin,NW China: Implications for genetic origin of the diverse hydrocarbons

The Ordovician is the most important exploration target in the Tabei Uplift of the Tarim Basin, which contains a range of petroleum types including solid bitumen, heavy oil, light oil, condensate, wet gas and dry gas. The density of the black oils ranges from 0.81 g/cm³ to 1.01 g/cm³ (20 °C) and gas oil ratio (GOR) ranges from 4 m³/m³ to 9300 m³/m³. Oil-source correlations established that most of the oils were derived from the Mid-Upper Ordovician marine shale and carbonate and that the difference in oil properties is mainly attributed to hydrocarbon alteration and multi-stage accumulation. In the Tabei Uplift, there were three main periods of hydrocarbon accumulation in the late Caledonian stage (ca. 450–430 Ma), late Hercynian stage (ca. 293–255 Ma) and the late Himalayan stage (ca. 12–2 Ma). The oil charging events mainly occurred in the late Caledonian and late Hercynian stage, while gas charging occurred in the late Hercynian stage. During the late Caledonian stage, petroleum charged the reservoirs lying east of the uplift. However, due to a crustal uplifting episode in the early Hercynian (ca. 386–372 Ma), most of the hydrocarbons were transformed by processes such as biodegradation, resulting in residual solid bitumen in the fractures of the reservoirs. During the late Hercynian Stage, a major episode of oil charging into Ordovician reservoirs took place. Subsequent crustal uplift and severe alteration by biodegradation in the west-central Basin resulted in heavy oil formation. Since the late Himalayan stage when rapid subsidence of the crust occurred, the oil residing in reservoirs was exposed to high temperature cracking conditions resulting in the production of gas and charged from the southeast further altering the pre-existing oils in the eastern reservoirs. A suite of representative samples of various crude oils including condensates, lights oils and heavy oils have been collected for detailed analysis to investigate the mechanism of formation. Based on the research it was concluded that the diversity of hydrocarbon physical and chemical properties in the Tabei Uplift was mainly attributable to the processes of biodegradation and gas washing. The understanding of the processes is very helpful to predict the spatial distribution of hydrocarbon in the Tabei Uplift and provides a reference case study for other areas.     

Geothermometry and geobarometry of overpressured lower Paleozoic gas shales in the Jiaoshiba field,Central China: Insight from fluid inclusions in fracture cements

The Wufeng-Longmaxi organic-rich shales host the largest shale gas fields of China. This study examines sealed fractures within core samples of the Wufeng-Longmaxi shales in the Jiaoshiba shale gas field in order to understand the development of overpressures (in terms of magnitude, timing and burial) in Wufeng-Longmaxi shales and thus the causes of present-day overpressure in these Paleozoic shale formations as well as in all gas shales. Quartz and calcite fracture cements from the Wufeng-Longmaxi shale intervals in four wells at depth intervals between 2253.89 m and 3046.60 m were investigated, and the fluid composition, temperature, and pressure during natural fracture cementation determined using an integrated approach consisting of petrography, Raman spectroscopy and microthermometry. Many crystals in fracture cements were found to contain methane inclusions only, and aqueous two-phase inclusions were consistently observed alongside methane inclusions in all cement samples, indicating that fluid inclusions trapped during fracture cementation are saturated with a methane hydrocarbon fluid. Homogenization temperatures of methane-saturated aqueous inclusions provide trends in trapping temperatures that Th values concentrate in the range of 198.5 °C–229.9 °C, 196.2 °C-221.7 °C for quartz and calcite, respectively. Pore-fluid pressures of 91.8–139.4 MPa for methane inclusions, calculated using the Raman shift of C-H symmetric stretching (v₁) band of methane and equations of state for supercritical methane, indicate fluid inclusions trapped at near-lithostatic pressures. High trapping temperature and overpressure conditions in fluid inclusions represent a state of temperature and overpressure of Wufeng-Longmaxi shales at maximum burial and the early stage of the Yanshanian uplift, which can provide a key evidence for understanding the formation and evolution of overpressure. Our results demonstrate that the main cause of present-day overpressure in shale gas deposits is actually the preservation of moderate-high overpressure developed as a result of gas generation at maximum burial depths.     

Controls on reservoir quality in exhumed basins – an example from the Ordovician sandstone,Illizi Basin,Algeria

Petroleum exploration in many North African intracratonic basins targets Early Paleozoic sandstones as the primary reservoir objective. These sandstones are often characterized by highly variable reservoir quality (0.0001–1000 mD), and the ability to predict and selectively target areas of enhanced porosity and permeability is crucial to unlock the hydrocarbon potential. The objective of this study is to characterize the primary controls on reservoir quality in an Ordovician field in the Illizi Basin of Algeria through detailed core and petrographic analysis, and establish if variations in thermal history across the field have a material impact on reservoir quality. The best reservoir quality is observed in facies where primary intergranular porosity has been preserved in fine to coarse grained quartzarenites with less than 1% fibrous illite. These lithologies are most commonly found within the high-energy, tidally reworked, post-glacial facies sandstones of the uppermost Ordovician succession. Observed differences in quartz cement volume within compositionally and texturally similar samples from the southern and northern parts of the field are interpreted to reflect variations in thermal exposure due to deeper burial. This interpretation is supported by field-wide numerical modelling of sandstone diagenesis. This study indicates that subtle variations in thermal history can have a material impact on the spatial trends in reservoir permeability. Thermal history, therefore, is an important consideration in reservoir quality studies in exhumed basins where variations in present-day burial depth will be a poor guide for evaluating reservoir quality risk across a basin or play.     

Hydrocarbon evolution for a north-south section of the South Caspian Basin

A 150 km length, 6-second deep, seismic line across the west central and north parts of the South Caspian Basin was used to construct quantitative dynamical, thermal and hydrocarbon evolution patterns. The depth of the west part of the 2-D section of the South Caspian Basin is almost 30 km. The computer program GEOPETII was used to provide quantitative evolution models. The procedure provided an opportunity to investigate the development dynamics of: excess fluid pressure, porosity retention, rock fracturing, compaction, heat transfer, maturity, generation pressure, kinetic hydrocarbon generation, migration and accumulation, together with solubility effects on hydrocarbon transport. The results suggest that: (i) Temperature is 350–400°C in the deepest part of the section at a depth of 26–29 km; (ii) The highest values of excess pressure nearly twice hydrostatic fluid pressure are in Jurassic and Cretaceous formations in the west part of the section, which has now subsided to a depth of about 20–27 km; (iii) Major oil and gas generation began in the last 10-5 MYBP, the migration in free-phase and in water solution occurring dominantly in the last few million years; (iv) Trapping of hydrocarbons took place mainly, but not exclusively, in the 3–9 km depth interval in the sands of the Productive Series of the Pilocene, embedded in a shale sequence; (v) Oil and gas filling of the shallow reservoirs by oil and gas is on-going today, indicating an extremely high productivity for any reservoir found in the offshore area; (vi) There is overlap with depth of oil and gas reservoirs, and the total amount of hydrocarbons estimated to be trapped is considerable; (vii) The high overpressure expected makes for a drilling hazard, but one which it is worthwhile to overcome if the anticipated oil and gas accumulations are encountered.     

Evaluation method and application of the relative contribution of marine hydrocarbon source rocks in the Tarim basin: A case study from the Tazhong area

In total, 2.37 million tons of marine crude oil originating from mixed source rocks has been discovered in the Tarim basin. Geological and geochemical analyses have confirmed that these mixed hydrocarbons are mainly from two sets of source rocks, including the Cambrian – Lower Ordovician and Middle-Upper Ordovician hydrocarbon source rocks. In this study, we determined the set of source rocks primarily responsible for the mixed hydrocarbons and the next location to be explored. Differences in n-alkane carbon isotopes in end-member oils from Cambrian–Lower Ordovician and Middle-Upper Ordovician source rocks were examined. A material balance model and simulation methods were used to evaluate the relative amounts contributed by each source. The results from known reserves in the Tazhong area show that the mixing ratio or contribution is up to 65% from Cambrian–Lower Ordovician source rocks and is generally higher than that from Middle-Upper Ordovician source rocks. The discovery of deep hydrocarbons has caused the total oil contribution from the Cambrian–Lower Ordovician to increase. The mixing ratio of Cambrian–Lower Ordovician oil varies depending on the well, formation, and block. It increases from west to east horizontally and from top to bottom vertically. Hydrocarbons from Cambrian–Lower Ordovician source rocks migrate upward along faults, and the mixing ratio decreases as the distance from the oil source fault increases. Favorable areas for Cambrian–Lower Ordovician hydrocarbon exploration are deep layers and areas near the fault zone that are connected to deep layers. The material balance model for carbon isotopes and evaluation methods for relative contributions considered differences in relative concentration and carbon isotope structure of n-alkanes. Herein, new methods for the identification and evaluation of hydrocarbons in the petroleum system of this superimposed basin are presented.     

Factors controlling reservoir properties and hydrocarbon accumulation of lacustrine deep-water turbidites in the Huimin Depression,Bohai Bay Basin,East China

Lacustrine deep-water turbidite plays are a novel area for exploration in the Huimin Depression, Bohai Bay Basin. Turbidites in the Shang 847 block, a typical turbidite play in the Huimin Depression, provide an opportunity to study the factors controlling the reservoir properties and hydrocarbon accumulation in lacustrine turbidite sandstones. The reservoir quality of turbidite sandstones (very fine-grained, moderately to well sorted, mainly lithic arkose) in this study area are mainly controlled by the distribution patterns of carbonate cements and pseudomatrix. Significant inverse relationships exist between the volume of carbonate cement and both porosity and permeability of the turbidite sandstones. Carbonate cement is located preferentially near the margins of the sandstone bodies. Sandstones with distance from the sandstone–mudstone contact surface less than 0.7 m or with thickness less than 1.2 m are commonly tightly cemented (carbonate cement >15%) with low porosity and permeability (lower than 10% and 0.1 mD, respectively). The source of carbonate cement was most likely external, probably derived from the surrounding mudstone. Most pore-filling carbonate cements occurred during late diagenesis at burial depths greater than 2200 m. The petrophysical properties of turbidites have a positive relationship with the content of kaolinite and chlorite, but have a negative relationship with the content of illite. 2-D and 3-D reconstructions of non-oil bearing and oil-bearing layers indicate that dissolution of carbonate cement, feldspars and unstable rock fragments was more developed in oil-bearing layers than in non-oil bearing layers and hance oil-bearing layers have higher porosity and larger pore sizes. Petrophysical property appears to have a significant effect on the hydrocarbon accumulation in the turbidite sandstones. Sandstones with porosities lower than 9% and/or permeabilities lower than 0.78 mD are not prone to contain oil.