Properties and shale oil potential of saline lacustrine shales in the Qianjiang Depression,Jianghan Basin,China

The geochemical and petrographic characteristics of saline lacustrine shales from the Qianjiang Formation, Jianghan Basin were investigated by organic geochemical analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and low pressure nitrogen adsorption analysis. The results indicate that: the saline lacustrine shales of Eq3 member with high oil content are characterized by type I and type II oil-prone kerogen, variable TOC contents (1.0–10.0 wt%) and an early-maturity stage (R_o ranges between 0.41 and 0.76%). The mineral compositions of Eq3 saline shale show strong heterogeneity: brittle intervals with high contents of quartz and carbonate are frequently alternated with ductile intervals with high glauberite and clay contents. This combination might be beneficial for oil accumulation, but may cause significant challenges for the hydraulic stimulation strategy and long-term production of shale oil. The interparticle pores and intraparticle pores dominate the pore system of Eq3 shale, and organic matter hosted pores are absent. Widely distributed fractures, especially tectonic fractures, might play a key role in hydrocarbon migration and accumulation. The pore network is contributed to by both large size inorganic pores and abundant micro-factures, leading to a relatively high porosity (2.8–30.6%) and permeability (0.045–6.27 md) within the saline shale reservoir, which could enhance the flow ability and storage capacity of oil. The oil content (S₁ × 100/TOC, mg HC/g TOC and S₁, mg HC/g rock) and brittleness data demonstrate that the Eq3^3x section has both great potential for being a producible oil resource and hydraulic fracturing. Considering the hydrocarbon generation efficiency and properties of oil, the mature shale of Eq3 in the subsidence center of the Qianjiang Depression would be the most favorable zone for shale oil exploitation.     

Mineral types and organic matters of the Ordovician-Silurian Wufeng and Longmaxi Shale in the Sichuan Basin,China: Implications for pore systems,diagenetic pathways,and reservoir quality in fine-grained sedimentary rocks

Mineral types (detrital and authigenic) and organic-matter components of the Ordovician-Silurian Wufeng and Longmaxi Shale (siliceous, silty, argillaceous, and calcareous/dolomitic shales) in the Sichuan Basin, China are used as a case study to understand the control of grain assemblages and organic matter on pores systems, diagenetic pathway, and reservoir quality in fine-grained sedimentary rocks. This study has been achieved using a combination of petrographic, geochemical, and mercury intrusion methods. The results reveal that siliceous shale comprises an abundant amount of diagenetic quartz (40–60% by volume), and authigenic microcrystalline quartz aggregates inhibit compaction and preserve internal primary pores as rigid framework for oil filling during oil window. Although silty shale contains a large number of detrital silt-size grains (30–50% by volume), which is beneficial to preserve interparticle pores, the volumetric contribution of interparticle pores (mainly macropores) is small. Argillaceous shale with abundant extrabasinal clay minerals (>50% by volume) undergoes mechanical and chemical compactions during burial, leading to a near-absence of primary interparticle pores, while pores preserved between clay platelets are dominant with more than 10 nm in pore size. Pore-filling calcite and dolomite precipitated during early diagenesis inhibit later compaction in calcareous/dolomitic shale, but the cementation significantly reduces the primary interparticle pores. Pore-throat size distributions of dolomitic shale show a similar trend with silty shale. Besides argillaceous shale, all of the other lithofacies are dominated by OM pores, which contribute more micropores and mesopores and is positively related to TOC and quartz contents. The relationship between pore-throat size and pore volume shows that most pore volumes are provided by pore throats with diameters <50 nm, with a proportion in the order of siliceous (80.3%) > calcareous/dolomitic (78.4%) > silty (74.9%) > argillaceous (61.3%) shales. In addition, development degree and pore size of OM pores in different diagenetic pathway with the same OM type and maturity show an obvious difference. Therefore, we suggest that the development of OM pores should take OM occurrence into account, which is related to physical interaction between OM and inorganic minerals during burial diagenesis. Migrated OM in siliceous shale with its large connected networks is beneficial for forming more and larger pores during gas window. The result of the present work implies that the study of mineral types (detrital and authigenic) and organic matter-pores are better understanding the reservoir quality in fine-grained sedimentary rocks.     

Pore characteristic analysis of a lacustrine shale: A case study in the Ordos Basin,NW China

Organic shales deposited in a continental environment are well developed in the Ordos Basin, NW China, which is rich in hydrocarbons. However, previous research concerning shales has predominantly focused on marine shales and barely on continental shales. In this study, geochemical and mineralogical analyses, high-pressure mercury intrusion and low-pressure adsorption were performed on 18 continental shale samples obtained from a currently active shale gas play, the Chang 7 member of Yanchang Formation in the Ordos Basin. A comparison of all these techniques is provided for characterizing the complex pore structure of continental shales.Geochemical analysis reveals total organic carbon (TOC) values ranging from 0.47% to 11.44%, indicating that there is abundant organic matter (OM) in the study area. Kerogen analysis shows vitrinite reflectance (Ro) of 0.68%–1.02%, indicating that kerogen is at a mature oil generation stage. X-ray diffraction mineralogy (XRD) analysis indicates that the dominant mineral constituents of shale samples are clay minerals (which mainly consist of illite, chlorite, kaolinite, and negligible amounts of montmorillonite), quartz and feldspar, followed by low carbonate content. All-scale pore size analysis indicates that the pore size distribution (PSD) of shale pores is mainly from 0.3 to 60 nm. Note that accuracy of all-scale PSD analysis decreases for pores less than 0.3 nm and more than 10 μm. Experimental analysis indicates that mesopores (2–50 nm) are dominant in continental shales, followed by micropores (<2 nm) and macropores (50 nm–10 μm). Mesopores have the largest contribution to pore volume (PV) and specific surface area (SSA). In addition, plate- and sheet-shaped pores are dominant with poor connectivity, followed by hybrid pores. Results of research on factors controlling pore structure development show that it is principally controlled by clay mineral contents and Ro, and this is different from marine systems. This study has important significance in gaining a comprehensive understanding of continental shale pore structure and the shale gas storage–seepage mechanism.     

Organic geochemistry and reservoir characterization of the organic matter-rich calcilutite in the Shulu Sag,Bohai Bay Basin,North China

Although extensive studies have been conducted on unconventional mudstone (shales) reservoirs in recent years, little work has been performed on unconventional tight organic matter-rich, fine-grained carbonate reservoirs. The Shulu Sag is located in the southwestern corner of the Jizhong Depression in the Bohai Bay Basin and filled with 400–1000 m of Eocene lacustrine organic matter-rich carbonates. The study of the organic matter-rich calcilutite in the Shulu Sag will provide a good opportunity to improve our knowledge of unconventional tight oil in North China. The dominant minerals of calcilutite rocks in the Shulu Sag are carbonates (including calcite and dolomite), with an average of 61.5 wt.%. The carbonate particles are predominantly in the clay to silt size range. Three lithofacies were identified: laminated calcilutite, massive calcilutite, and calcisiltite–calcilutite. The calcilutite rocks (including all the three lithofacies) in the third unit of the Shahejie Formation in the Eocene (Es₃) have total organic carbon (TOC) values ranging from 0.12 to 7.97 wt.%, with an average of 1.66 wt.%. Most of the analyzed samples have good, very good or excellent hydrocarbon potential. The organic matter in the Shulu samples is predominantly of Type I to Type II kerogen, with minor amounts of Type III kerogen. The temperature of maximum yield of pyrolysate (T_max) values range from 424 to 452 °C (with an average of 444 °C) indicating most of samples are thermally mature with respect to oil generation. The calcilutite samples have the free hydrocarbons (S₁) values from 0.03 to 2.32 mg HC/g rock, with an average of 0.5 mg HC/g rock, the hydrocarbons cracked from kerogen (S₂) yield values in the range of 0.08–57.08 mg HC/g rock, with an average of 9.06 mg HC/g rock, and hydrogen index (HI) values in the range of 55–749 mg HC/g TOC, with an average of 464 mg HC/g TOC. The organic-rich calcilutite of the Shulu Sag has very good source rock generative potential and have obtained thermal maturity levels equivalent to the oil window. The pores in the Shulu calcilutite are of various types and sizes and were divided into three types: (1) pores within organic matter, (2) interparticle pores between detrital or authigenic particles, and (3) intraparticle pores within detrital grains or crystals. Fractures in the Shulu calcilutite are parallel to bedding, high angle, and vertical, having a significant effect on hydrocarbon migration and production. The organic matter and dolomite contents are the main factors that control calcilutite reservoir quality in the Shulu Sag.     

Nano-scale pore structure and fractal dimension of organic-rich Wufeng-Longmaxi shale from Jiaoshiba area,Sichuan Basin: Investigations using FE-SEM,gas adsorption and helium pycnometry

Much attention have been recently paid to the upper Ordovician Wufeng shale (O₃w) and lower Silurian Longmaxi shale (S₁l) in the Jiaoshiba area of Sichuan Basin, which is now the largest producing shale gas field in China. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), low pressure gas (N₂ and CO₂) adsorption, helium pycnometry, X-ray diffraction and geochemical analyses were performed to investigate the pore structure and fractal dimension of the pores in O₃w-S₁l shale formation in the Jiaoshiba area. FE-SEM images show that organic matter (OM) pores are dominant in the organic-rich samples and these pores are often irregular, bubble-like, elliptical and faveolate in shape, while in organic-poor samples, limited and isolated interparticle (interP), intraparticle (intraP) and OM pores are observed. Reversed S-shaped isotherms obtained from nitrogen adsorption are type Ⅱ, and hysteresis loops indicate that the shape of micropore in the samples is slit-or plate-like. BET surface areas and total pore volume vary from 12.2 to 27.1 m²/g and from 1.8 × 10⁻² to 2.9 × 10⁻² cm³/g, with an average of 19.5 m²/g and 2.3 × 10⁻² cm³/g, respectively. Adsorption volume from both N₂ and CO₂ adsorption increases with respect to TOC contents. Porosities obtained from helium porosimetry are comparable with these from gas (CO₂ and N₂) adsorption in O₃w-S₁l shale. However, porosity determined by quantitative FE-SEM analysis is much smaller, which is mainly related to limited resolution and the small areas of investigation.Based on the Frenkel-Halsey-Hill (FHH) model of low-pressure N₂ adsorption, fractal dimensions of the pores varied from 2.737 to 2.823. Relationships between pore structure parameters and TOC content, mineral composition and fractal dimension reveal that the fractal dimension is mainly associated with micropores. Samples with higher TOC content, higher quartz content and lower clay content tend to contain more heterogeneous micropores, resulting in higher fractal dimensions and more complicated pore structure in shales. Therefore, fractal dimension is an effective parameter to reflect the complexity of pore structure and the degree of micropore development in O₃w-S₁l shale.     

An enhanced understanding of the Basinal Bowland shale in Lancashire (UK), through microtextural and mineralogical observations

Variability in the Lower Bowland shale microstructure is investigated here, for the first time, from the centimetre to the micrometre scale using optical and scanning electron microscopy (OM, SEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Total Organic Carbon content (TOC) measurements. A significant range of microtextures, organic-matter particles and fracture styles was observed in rocks of the Lower Bowland shale, together with the underlying Pendleside Limestone and Worston Shale formations encountered the Preese Hall-1 Borehole, Lancashire, UK. Four micro-texture types were identified: unlaminated quartz-rich mudstone; interlaminated quartz- and pyrite-rich mudstone; laminated quartz and pyrite-rich mudstone; and weakly-interlaminated calcite-rich mudstone. Organic matter particles are classified into four types depending on their size, shape and location: multi-micrometre particles with and without macropores: micrometre-size particles in cement and between clay minerals; multi-micrometre layers; and organic matter in large pores. Fractures are categorized into carbonate-sealed fractures; bitumen-bearing fractures; resin-filled fractures; and empty fractures. We propose that during thermal maturation, horizontal bitumen-fractures were formed by overpressuring, stress relaxation, compaction and erosional offloading, whereas vertical bitumen-bearing, resin-filled and empty fractures may have been influenced by weak vertical joints generated during the previous period of veining. For the majority of samples, the high TOC (>2 wt%), low clay content (<20 wt%), high proportion of quartz (>50 wt%) and the presence of a multi-scale fracture network support the increasing interest in the Bowland Shale as a potentially exploitable oil and gas source. The microtextural observations made in this study highlight preliminary evidence of fluid passage or circulation in the Bowland Shale sequence during burial.     

Controls on reservoir heterogeneity of tight sand oil reservoirs in Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation in Longdong Area,southwest Ordos Basin,China: Implications for reservoir quality prediction and oil accumulation

Compared to conventional reservoirs, pore structure and diagenetic alterations of unconventional tight sand oil reservoirs are highly heterogeneous. The Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation is a major tight-oil-bearing formation in the Ordos Basin, providing an opportunity to study the factors that control reservoir heterogeneity and the heterogeneity of oil accumulation in tight oil sandstones.The Chang 8 tight oil sandstone in the study area is comprised of fine-to medium-grained, moderately to well-sorted lithic arkose and feldspathic litharenite. The reservoir quality is extremely heterogeneous due to large heterogeneities in the depositional facies, pore structures and diagenetic alterations. Small throat size is believed to be responsible for the ultra-low permeability in tight oil reservoirs. Most reservoirs with good reservoir quality, larger pore-throat size, lower pore-throat radius ratio and well pore connectivity were deposited in high-energy environments, such as distributary channels and mouth bars. For a given depositional facies, reservoir quality varies with the bedding structures. Massive- or parallel-bedded sandstones are more favorable for the development of porosity and permeability sweet zones for oil charging and accumulation than cross-bedded sandstones.Authigenic chlorite rim cementation and dissolution of unstable detrital grains are two major diagenetic processes that preserve porosity and permeability sweet zones in oil-bearing intervals. Nevertheless, chlorite rims cannot effectively preserve porosity-permeability when the chlorite content is greater than a threshold value of 7%, and compaction played a minor role in porosity destruction in the situation. Intensive cementation of pore-lining chlorites significantly reduces reservoir permeability by obstructing the pore-throats and reducing their connectivity. Stratigraphically, sandstones within 1 m from adjacent sandstone-mudstone contacts are usually tightly cemented (carbonate cement > 10%) with low porosity and permeability (lower than 10% and 0.1 mD, respectively). The carbonate cement most likely originates from external sources, probably derived from the surrounding mudstone. Most late carbonate cements filled the previously dissolved intra-feldspar pores and the residual intergranular pores, and finally formed the tight reservoirs.The petrophysical properties significantly control the fluid flow capability and the oil charging/accumulation capability of the Chang 8 tight sandstones. Oil layers usually have oil saturation greater than 40%. A pore-throat radius of less than 0.4 μm is not effective for producible oil to flow, and the cut off of porosity and permeability for the net pay are 7% and 0.1 mD, respectively.     

Heterogeneous nanoporosity of the Silurian Longmaxi Formation shale gas reservoir in the Sichuan Basin using the QEMSCAN,FIB-SEM,and nano-CT methods

Nanoporosity of a shale gas reservoir provides essential information on the gas accumulation space and controls the gas reserves. The characteristics of heterogeneous nanoporosity of four shale samples are analyzed by combining quantitative evaluation of minerals by scanning electronic microscopy (QEMSCAN), focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM), and nano-CT. The representative elementary area (REA) is proposed by QEMSCAN to detect the imaging area that can represent the overall contents of minerals and organic matter. Combined with the statistics of pores in minerals and organic matter by FIB-SEM, the quantitative nanoporosity is obtained. The nano-CT is used to compare the total nanoporosity that was obtained by FIB-SEM. The results show that shale has distinct characteristics in nanoporosities due to the variation in organic matter and mineral content. The major pore sizes of the organic matter and clay minerals are smaller than 400 nanometers (nm), and the pore sizes of feldspar and pyrite are mainly 200–600 nm. The pore sizes for pores developed in quartz and carbonate minerals range from a few nanometers to 1000 nm. Furthermore, pores smaller than 400 nm mainly provide the total nanoporosity. The nanoporosities in the organic matter are approximately 17%–21%. Since the organic matter content (0.54%–6.98%) is low, the organic matter contributes approximately 5%–33% of the total nanoporosity in shale. Conversely, the nanoporosities in quartz and clay are generally lower than 3%. Since the mineral content (93.02%–99.46%) is obviously higher than the organic matter content, the minerals contribute approximately 67%–95% of the total nanoporosity in shale.     

A comparative study of representative 2D microstructures in Shaly and Sandy facies of Opalinus Clay (Mont Terri,Switzerland) inferred form BIB-SEM and MIP methods

A combination of Broad-Ion-Beam (BIB) polishing and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) has been used to study qualitatively and quantitatively the microstructure of Opalinus Clay in 2D. High quality 2D cross-sections (ca. 1 mm²), belonging to the Shaly and Sandy facies of Opalinus Clay, were investigated down to the nanometre scale. In addition Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP) and X-Ray powder Diffraction experiments have been used to extend characterization of the microstructure to the mm–cm scale on bulk volume sample material. Interestingly, both end-member samples of the Opalinus Clay show qualitatively similar mineralogy and pore characteristics as well as a comparable pore size distribution and pore morphology within the different mineral phases and mineral aggregates. Differences between the facies are mainly due to variations in mineral size and mineral amount present in the alternating layers of the different facies. Six different porous mineral phases have been identified and the pores have been subdivided into ten different pore types. Pores visible in the SEM images are most abundant in the clay matrix and these seem to follow a power law distribution with a power law exponent of ca. 2.25 independent of the sample location. Furthermore, all common mineral grains show characteristic porosity, pore shape and pore size distribution in 2D and are proposed to be considered as elementary building blocks for Opalinus Clay. Combined these homogeneous elementary building blocks make up the heterogeneous fabric of the different facies of Opalinus Clay. Based on extrapolation of the power law size distribution in the clay matrix below SEM resolution results in a porosity of 10–25% for clay rich layers (60–90% of clay matrix), whereas sand and carbonate layers show an extrapolated porosity of 6–14%. These extrapolated porosities are in agreement with water-loss and physical porosity measurements performed on bulk material of comparable samples.     

Comprehensive polynomial simulation and prediction for Langmuir volume and Langmuir pressure of shale gas adsorption using multiple factors

In this study, 32 experimental measurements on the isothermal adsorption of methane for 18 shale samples from China's three largest continental oil basins—Songliao, Bohai Bay, and Ordos basins—were used to construct comprehensive polynomial simulation and prediction models for Langmuir volume and Langmuir pressure. The models were based on shale properties (total organic carbon (TOC) content, amount of residual hydrocarbon S₁, and mineral composition of rocks) and adsorption condition (temperature) using a weighted sum of multiple variables. The influences of various factors were quantitatively characterized, and the prediction accuracy was verified. Langmuir volume is mainly affected by temperature, shale TOC content, amount of residual hydrocarbon, and clay mineral content; Langmuir pressure is mainly affected by clay, carbonate, feldspar and illite content (because shale pore size can be affected by shale mineral composition). Based on the resource potential and the producibility of shale gas, the area suitable for shale gas exploration and development should have high abundance of organic matter (TOC and residual hydrocarbon S₁), low clay mineral content and feldspar content, high conversion rate of montmorillonite to illite (strong diagenesis), and high carbonate content. The comprehensive polynomial prediction model can effectively simulate and predict Langmuir volume and Langmuir pressure, thereby reducing the amount of work necessary for evaluation of shale gas resource potential and economic feasibility.     

BIB-SEM characterization of pore space morphology and distribution in postmature to overmature samples from the Haynesville and Bossier Shales

Four Haynesville Shale and four Bossier Shale samples were investigated using a combination of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Broad Ion Beam (BIB) polishing. This approach enables the microstructure and porosity to be studied down to the mesopore size (<50 nm) in representative areas at the scale of the BIB cross-sections. The samples vary in mineralogy, grain size and TOC and the maturity ranges from 2.42 to 2.58 VR_r in the Haynesville Shale to 1.79–2.26 VR_r in the Bossier Shale. This variety within the samples enabled us to study controls on the porosity distribution in these shales. Visible pores exist as intraparticle pores mainly in carbonate grains and pyrite framboids and as interparticle pores, mainly in the clay-rich matrix. Pores in organic matter show a characteristic porosity with respect to the type of organic matter, which mainly consists of mixtures of amorphous organic matter and minerals, organic laminae and discrete macerals. A clear positive trend of organic-matter porosity with maturity was found. Pore sizes are power law distributed in the range of 4.4 μm to at least 36 nm in equivalent diameter. The differences in power law exponents suggest that a more grain supported, coarse-grained matrix may prevent pores from mechanical compaction. Porosities measured in the BIB cross-sections were significantly lower in comparison to porosities obtained by Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP). This difference is mainly attributed to the different resolution achieved with BIB-SEM and MIP and type of pore network. Extrapolation of pore size distributions (PSDs) enables the BIB-SEM porosity to be estimated down to the resolution of the MIP and thus to upscale microstructural observation at the confined space of the BIB-SEM method to bulk porosity measurement. These inferred porosities are in good agreement with the MIP determined porosities, which underpins the assumption that pores segmented in BIB-SEM mosaics are representative of the MIP methodology.     

Experimental investigations on the geometry and connectivity of pore space in organic-rich Wufeng and Longmaxi shales

The nano-scale pore systems of organic-rich shale reservoirs were investigated from Upper Ordovician Wufeng and Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formations in southeast Sichuan Basin. These two formations are the most important target plays of shale gas development in China. The purpose of this article is to assess the geometry and connectivity of multi-scale pore systems, and to reveal the nature and complexity of pore structure for these over-mature gas shales. To achieve these objective, total organic carbon, mineralogy, image analyses by focused ion beam-SEM, low pressure nitrogen adsorption, mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) and spontaneous fluid [deionized (DI) water and n-decane] imbibition were performed.Most of the visible pores from SEM work in Wufeng and Longmaxi shales are within nm- and μm-size regimes and belong to organic matter (OM) pores. The shapes of OM pore in Longmaxi samples are elliptical, bubble-like, irregular or rounded. Wufeng pores are mainly irregular, linear and faveolated, even though two shales have small depth difference, as well as similar thermal maturity, kerogen type and TOC content. Nano-scale pores in Longmaxi are mainly associated with narrow platelike or slitlike pores with pore size of 3–50 nm; while inkbottle pores are dominant in Wufeng samples and over 88% of the pore volume is contributed by pores with diameter <20 nm. Overall, porosity, pore volume and surface area values from Wufeng samples are much higher than those in Longmaxi, which is mainly correlated with the different TOC contents and mineral compositions. MICP tests show that a total of 5 inflection points (indicative of different connected pore networks) are identified in all pressure regions for Longmaxi, while only 2 for Wufeng in high pressure region with the associated permeability at nano-darcy range. Imbibition curves of n-decane are divided into three stages: the initial stage (Stage Ⅰ), linear imbibition stage (Stage Ⅱ) and late imbibition stage (Stage Ⅲ), and the slopes of linear imbibition stage are around 0.5, suggesting well-connected pore spaces for n-decane. In contrast, imbibition curves for DI water are divided in two stages with linear slopes of between 0.25 and 0.5, indicating moderately-connected pore networks for the movement of DI water. This is consistent with the mixed-wet nature of these shales, with observed weak wettability for hydrophilic, while complete wetting for hydrophobic fluids.     

Pore structure and fractal characteristics of organic-rich shales: A case study of the lower Silurian Longmaxi shales in the Sichuan Basin,SW China

Shales from the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation in the Sichuan Basin are among the most important shale gas reservoirs in China, and have been investigated because of their great shale gas potential. To understand the pore structure and fractal characteristics of the shales, a series of experiments was conducted on core samples from the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation in the Sichuan Basin of China, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), total organic carbon (TOC) content and vitrinite reflectance (Ro) analysis, field emission-environmental scanning electron microscope (FE-ESEM) observation, and low-pressure N₂ adsorption-desorption experiments. Frenkel-Halsey-Hill (FHH) method was applied to calculate fractal dimensions. In addition, the pore genesis, the relationships between composition and thermal maturity, the pore structure parameters, and the fractal dimensions are discussed. FE-ESEM observation results show that the Longmaxi Formation shales are dominated by organic-matter (OM) pores along with interparticle (interP) pores, intraparticle (intraP) pores and fracture pores. This study identified the fractal dimensions at relative pressures of 0–0.45 and 0.45–1 as D₁ and D₂ respectively. D₁ ranged from 2.60 to 2.71 and D₂ ranged from 2.71 to 2.82. D₁ was typically smaller than D₂, indicating that the smaller pores in shales were more homogeneous than the larger ones. The formation of these OM pores is owing to kerogen deformation during the thermal maturation, which results in a large number of nanopores. The pore structure of the Longmaxi Formation shales is primarily controlled by TOC content and thermal maturity. TOC content is a controlling factor on the fractal dimensions as it exhibited positive correlations with D₁ and D₂. Fractal dimensions are useful for the characterization of the pore structures complexity of the Longmaxi Formation shales because D₁ and D₂ correlate well with pore structure parameters as they both increase with the increase of surface area and the decrease of average pore diameter.     

Qualitative and quantitative characterization of a transitional shale reservoir: A case study from the Upper Carboniferous Taiyuan shale in the eastern uplift of Liaohe Depression,China

The paper takes the Upper Carboniferous Taiyuan shale in eastern uplift of Liaohe depression as an example to qualitatively and quantitatively characterize the transitional (coal-associated coastal swamp) shale reservoir. Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscope (FIB-SEM), nano-CT, helium pycnometry, high-pressure mercury intrusion and low-pressure gas (N₂ & CO₂) adsorption for eight shale samples were taken to investigate the pore structures. Four types of pores, i.e., organic matter (OM) pores, interparticle (InterP) pores, intraparticle (IntraP) pores and micro-fractures are identified in the shale reservoir. Among them, intraP pores and micro-fractures are the major pore types. Slit-shaped pores are the major shape in the pore system, and the connectivity of the pore-throat system is interpreted to be moderate, which is subordinate to marine shale. The porosity from three dimension (3D) reconstruction of SEM images is lower than the porosity of helium pycnometry, while the porosity trend of the above two methods is the same. Combination of mercury intrusion and gas absorption reveals that nanometer-scale pores provide the main storage space, accounting for 87.16% of the pore volume and 99.85% of the surface area. Micropores contribute 34.74% of the total pore volume and 74.92% of the total pore surface area; and mesopores account for 48.27% of the total pore volume and 24.93% of the total pore surface area; and macropores contribute 16.99% of the total pore volume and 0.15% of the total pore surface area. Pores with a diameter of less than 10 nm contribute the most to the pore volume and the surface area, accounting for 70.29% and 97.70%, respectively. Based on single factor analysis, clay minerals are positively related to the volume and surface area of micropores, mesopores and macropores, which finally control the free gas in pores and adsorbed gas content on surface area. Unlike marine shale, TOC contributes little to the development of micropores. Brittle minerals inhibit pore development of Taiyuan shale, which proves the influence of clay minerals in the pore system.     

东海陆架盆地N气田花港组储层特征及分类评价

东海陆架盆地西湖凹陷古近系花港组储层为典型的低孔、低渗储层.基于大量岩心物性、粒度、薄片、压汞等资料,对N气田目的层储层岩性、物性和孔隙结构特征进行精细评价.结果表明:N气田花港组储层岩性以细砂岩为主,矿物成分构成稳定,以石英为主,黏土含量低,岩性较纯;随着埋藏变深,孔隙变差,粒间孔减少,溶蚀孔增加,孔喉半径减小,连通...     

Pore characterization of organic-rich Lower Cambrian shales in Qiannan Depression of Guizhou Province,Southwestern China

Nine organic-rich shale samples of Lower Cambrian black shales were collected from a recently drilled well in the Qiannan Depression, Guizhou Province where they are widely distributed with shallower burial depth than in Sichuan Basin, and their geochemistry and pore characterization were investigated. The results show that the Lower Cambrian shales in Qiannan Depression are organic rich with TOC content ranging from 2.81% to 12.9%, thermally overmature with equivalent vitrinite reflectance values in the range of 2.92–3.25%, and clay contents are high and range from 32.4% to 53.2%. The samples have a total helium porosity ranging from 2.46% to 4.13% and total surface area in the range of 9.08–37.19 m²/g. The estimated porosity in organic matters (defined as the ratio of organic pores to the volume of total organic matters) based on the plot of TOC vs helium porosity is about 10% for the Lower Cambrian shales in Qiannan Depression and is far lower than that of the Lower Silurian shales (36%) in and around Sichan Basin. This indicates that either the organic pores in the Lower Cambrian shale samples have been more severely compacted than or they did not develop organic pores as abundantly as the Lower Silurian shales. Our studies also reveal that the micropore volumes determined by Dubinin–Radushkevich (DR) equation is usually overestimated and this overestimation is closely related to the non-micropore surface area of shales (i.e. the surface area of meso- and macro-pores). However, the modified BET equation can remove this overestimation and be conveniently used to evaluate the micropore volumes/surface area and the non-micropore surface areas of micropore-rich shales.     

Pore characterization and methane sorption capacity of over-mature organic-rich Wufeng and Longmaxi shales in the southeast Sichuan Basin,China

Currently, the Upper Ordovician Wufeng (O₃w) and Lower Silurian Longmaxi (S₁l) Formations in southeast Sichuan Basin have been regarded as one of the most important target plays of shale gas in China. In this work, using a combination of low-pressure gas adsorption (N₂ and CO₂), mercury injection porosimetry (MIP) and high-pressure CH₄ adsorption, we investigate the pore characteristics and methane sorption capacity of the over-mature shales, and discuss the main controlling factors for methane sorption capacity and distribution of methane gas in pore spaces.Low pressure CO₂ gas adsorption shows that micropore volumes are characterized by three volumetric maxima (at about 0.35, 0.5 and 0.85 nm). The reversed S-shaped N₂ adsorption isotherms are type Ⅱ with hysteresis being noticeable in all the samples. The shapes of hysteresis loop are similar to the H3 type, indicating the pores are slit- or plate-like. Mesopore size distributions are unimodal and pores with diameters of 2–16 nm account for the majority of mesopore volume, which is generally consistent with MIP results. The methane sorption capacities of O₃w-S₁l shales are in a range of 1.63–3.66 m³/t at 30 °C and 10 MPa. Methane sorption capacity increase with the TOC content, surface area and micropore volume, suggesting organic matter might provide abundant adsorption site and enhance the strong methane sorption capacity. Samples with higher quartz content and lower clay content have larger sorption capacity. Our data confirmed that the effects of temperature and pressure on methane sorption capacity of shale formation are opposite to some extent, suggesting that, during the burial or uplift stage, the gas sorption capacity of hydrocarbon reservoirs can be expressed as a function of burial depth. Based on the adsorption energy theory, when the pore diameter is larger than 2 nm, much methane molecular will be adsorbed in pores space with distance to pore wall less than 2 nm; while free gas is mainly stored in the pore space with distance to pore wall larger than 2 nm. Distributions of adsorption space decrease with the increasing pore size, while free gas volume increase gradually, assuming the pore are cylindrical or sphere. Particularly, when the pore size is larger than 30 nm, the content of adsorbed gas space volume is very low and its contribution to the all gas content is negligible.     

渤中凹陷A2—1构造东营组储层物性控制因素分析

根据岩石薄片、扫描电镜、物性和测井等资料,分析了渤中凹陷A2—1构造东营组砂岩储层品质控制因素,探讨了测试段产能差异的原因。通过分析认为：渤中凹陷古近系东营组储层物性主要受压实作用、沉积条件、碳酸盐胶结、溶蚀作用和黏土转化阶段控制。在负胶结物投点图上,犬部分砂岩都落在压实作用区间,显示了压实作用是减少孔隙的主要因素;沉积条件对储层物性的影响突出体现在粒度和泥质含量方面的影响,随着粒度变细、泥质含量增加,渗透率明显降低。储层中普遍含碳酸盐胶结物且含量较高,是DST2测试段渗透率低、产能差的重要原因之一。两测试段储层中溶蚀作用普遍存在,主要体现在对长石的溶蚀,DST2测试段是强超压的半封闭系统,溶出物不能有效带出系统而沉淀在孔隙和喉道中,对储层物性破坏较大。黏土转化阶段与渗透率的快速降低段有较好的对应关系,渗透率变差段主要出现在伊蒙混层有序混层带以下。     

西湖凹陷KX构造平湖组储层特征及主控因素研究

西湖凹陷KX构造始新统平湖组是重要产气层系.利用大量薄片、岩心和分析化验资料,对该平湖组储集层进行了详细的岩石学特征、储层物性分析以及影响储层发育的主控因素的研究.结果表明,该套储层的岩石类型以长石岩屑质石英砂岩主,填隙物丰富、分选中等—好、成分成熟度低、磨圆程度高;孔隙类型以次生孔隙为主;喉道类型以片状、弯曲片状喉道为主;孔喉组合类型为中孔小喉、小孔小喉组合;储层物性较差,为低孔低渗储层;平湖组储层主要受潮汐改造的分流河道微相控制,压实作用、胶结作用、溶蚀作用和破裂作用等成岩作用是研究区储集层物性的主要控制因素.