GEOCHEMISTRY AND TECTONIC ENVIRONMENT AND RESERVOIR FORMATION OF MANTLE-DERIVED NATURAL GAS IN THE SONGLIAO BASIN, NORTHEASTERN CHINA

During several decades of exploration, a number of mantle-derived natural gas pools have been discovered in the vicinities of deep faults in the Songliao Basin, northeastern China. The natural gas in these pools has a δ 13C1 value of-16.5‰ to -24.2‰, a reversed arrangement in the amount of carbon isotopes in methane and its endogamous products (namely, Δ13c1 ＞Δ13c2 ＞Δ13c3 ＞Δ13c4 ), a 3He/4He value of 1.97 to 2.34× 10-6, and an 40Ar/36Ar value of 1063 to 1949. This indicates a mantle source for the natural gas. The trace elements Cd, In, Te and Re, never found in organic-sourced hydrocarbons, are highly enriched in certain crude oils from the Basin; respectively, concentrations of these elements were found to be 751, 28, 16 and 323 times the average crustal values in China, and this also supports a mantle-derived natural gas origin. The characteristics of mantled-derived magmatic rocks,hydrothermal fluids and gaseous fractions distributed in and near the deep Songliao Basin faults indicate that rifting tectonics is providing the mechanisms for this outgassing of the mantle. Deep extensional(normal) faults provide pathways for upward movement of these materials, and in the Songliao Basin,these deep riff fault zones are associated with reservoir occurrence and cap rock seals, forming good sites for accumulation of mantle-derived natural gas. Furthermore, a layer of low velocity, low density and high conductivity in the deep crust has been identified as a potential reservoir for mantle-derived natural gas.

GEOCHEMISTRY AND TECTONIC ENVIRONMENT AND RESERVOIR FORMATION OF MANTLE-DERIVED NATURAL GAS IN THE SONGLIAO BASIN, NORTHEASTERN CHINA

During several decades of exploration, a number of mantle-derived natural gas pools have been discovered in the vicinities of deep faults in the Songliao Basin, northeastern China. The natural gas in these pools has a δ 13C1 value of-16.5‰ to -24.2‰, a reversed arrangement in the amount of carbon isotopes in methane and its endogamous products (namely, Δ13c1 ＞Δ13c2 ＞Δ13c3 ＞Δ13c4 ), a 3He/4He value of 1.97 to 2.34× 10-6, and an 40Ar/36Ar value of 1063 to 1949. This indicates a mantle source for the natural gas. The trace elements Cd, In, Te and Re, never found in organic-sourced hydrocarbons, are highly enriched in certain crude oils from the Basin; respectively, concentrations of these elements were found to be 751, 28, 16 and 323 times the average crustal values in China, and this also supports a mantle-derived natural gas origin. The characteristics of mantled-derived magmatic rocks,hydrothermal fluids and gaseous fractions distributed in and near the deep Songliao Basin faults indicate that rifting tectonics is providing the mechanisms for this outgassing of the mantle. Deep extensional(normal) faults provide pathways for upward movement of these materials, and in the Songliao Basin,these deep riff fault zones are associated with reservoir occurrence and cap rock seals, forming good sites for accumulation of mantle-derived natural gas. Furthermore, a layer of low velocity, low density and high conductivity in the deep crust has been identified as a potential reservoir for mantle-derived natural gas.