The coupling of dynamics and permeability in the hydrocarbon accumulation period controls the oil-bearing potential of low permeability reservoirs:a case study of the low permeability turbidite reservoirs in the middle part of the third member of Shahejie

The relationships between permeability and dynamics in hydrocarbon accumulation determine oil- bearing potential （the potential oil charge） of low perme- ability reservoirs. The evolution of porosity and permeability of low permeability turbidite reservoirs of the middle part of the third member of the Shahejie Formation in the Dongying Sag has been investigated by detailed core descriptions, thin section analyses, fluid inclusion analyses, carbon and oxygen isotope analyses, mercury injection, porosity and permeability testing, and basin modeling. The cutoff values for the permeability of the reservoirs in the accumulation period were calculated after detailing the accumulation dynamics and reservoir pore structures, then the distribution pattern of the oil-bearing potential of reservoirs controlled by the matching relationship between dynamics and permeability during the accumulation period were summarized. On the basis of the observed diagenetic features and with regard to the paragenetic sequences, the reservoirs can be subdivided into four types of diagenetic facies. The reservoirs experienced two periods of hydro- carbon accumulation. In the early accumulation period, the reservoirs except for diagenetic facies A had middle to high permeability ranging from 10 × 10-3 gm2 to 4207 × 10-3 lain2. In the later accumulation period, the reservoirs except for diagenetic facies C had low permeability ranging from 0.015 × 10-3 gm2 to 62× 10-3 -3m2. In the early accumulation period, the fluid pressure increased by the hydrocarbon generation was 1.4-11.3 MPa with an average value of 5.1 MPa, and a surplus pressure of 1.8-12.6 MPa with an average value of 6.3 MPa. In the later accumulation period, the fluid pressure increased by the hydrocarbon generation process was 0.7-12.7 MPa with an average value of 5.36 MPa and a surplus pressure of 1.3-16.2 MPa with an average value of 6.5 MPa. Even though different types of reservoirs exist, all can form hydrocarbon accumulations in the early accumulation per- iod. Such types of reservoirs can form hydrocarbon accumulation with high accumulation dynamics; however, reservoirs with diagenetic facies A and diagenetic facies B do not develop accumulation conditions with low accumu- lation dynamics in the late accumulation period for very low permeability. At more than 3000 m burial depth, a larger proportion of turbidite reservoirs are oil charged due to the proximity to the source rock, Also at these depths, lenticular sand bodies can accumulate hydrocarbons. At shallower depths, only the reservoirs with oil-source fault development can accumulate hydrocarbons. For flat surfaces, hydrocarbons have always been accumulated in the reservoirs around the oil-source faults and areas near the center of subsags with high accumulation dynamics.

How important is carbonate dissolution in buried sandstones:evidences from petrography,porosity,experiments,and geochemical calculations

Burial dissolution of feldspar and carbonate minerals has been proposed to generate large volumes of secondary pores in subsurface reservoirs. Secondary porosity due to feldspar dissolution is ubiquitous in buried sandstones;however, extensive burial dissolution of carbonate minerals in subsurface sandstones is still debatable. In this paper, we first present four types of typical selective dissolution assemblages of feldspars and carbonate minerals developed in di erent sandstones. Under the constraints of porosity data, water–rock experiments, geochemical calculations of aggressive fluids, diagenetic mass transfer, and a review of publications on mineral dissolution in sandstone reservoirs, we argue that the hypothesis for the creation of significant volumes of secondary porosity by mesodiagenetic carbonate dissolution in subsurface sandstones is in conflict with the limited volume of aggressive fluids in rocks. In addition, no transfer mechanism supports removal of the dissolution products due to the small water volume in the subsurface reservoirs and the low mass concentration gradients in the pore water. Convincing petrographic evidence supports the view that the extensive dissolution of carbonate cements in sandstone rocks is usually associated with a high flux of deep hot fluids provided via fault systems or with meteoric freshwater during the eodiagenesis and telodiagenesis stages. The presumption of extensive mesogenetic dissolution of carbonate cements producing a significant net increase in secondary porosity should be used with careful consideration of the geological background in prediction of sandstone quality.

The application of machine learning under supervision in identification of shale lamina combination types——A case study of Chang 7_(3)sub-member organic-rich shales in the Triassic Yanchang Formation,Ordos Basin,NW China

Organic rich laminated shale is one type of favorable reservoirs for exploration and development of continental shale oil in China.However,with limited geological data,it is difficult to predict the spatial distribution of laminated shale with great vertical heterogeneity.To solve this problem,taking Chang 73 sub-member in Yanchang Formation of Ordos Basin as an example,an idea of predicting lamina combinations by combining'conventional log data-mineral composition prediction-lamina combination type identification'has been worked out based on machine learning under supervision on the premise of adequate knowledge of characteristics of lamina mineral components.First,the main mineral components of the work area were figured out by analyzing core data,and the log data sensitive to changes of the mineral components was extracted;then machine learning was used to construct the mapping relationship between the two;based on the variations in mineral composition,the lamina combination types in typical wells of the research area were identified to verify the method.The results show the approach of'conventional log data-mineral composition prediction-lamina combination type identification'works well in identifying the types of shale lamina combinations.The approach was applied to Chang 73 sub-member in Yanchang Formation of Ordos Basin to find out planar distribution characteristics of the laminae.

Factors influencing physical property evolution in sandstone mechanical compaction:the evidence from diagenetic simulation experiments

In order to analyze the factors influencing sandstone mechanical compaction and its physical property evolution during compaction processes, simulation exper- iments on sandstone mechanical compaction were carried out with a self-designed diagenetic simulation system. The experimental materials were modem sediments from dif- ferent sources, and the experiments were conducted under high temperature and high pressure. Results of the exper- iments show a binary function relation between primary porosity and mean size as well as sorting. With increasing overburden pressure during mechanical compaction, the evolution of porosity and permeability can be divided into rapid compaction at an early stage and slow compaction at a late stage, and the dividing pressure value of the two stages is about 12 MPa and the corresponding depth is about 600 m. In the slow compaction stage, there is a good exponential relationship between porosity and overburden pressure, while a good power function relationship exists between permeability and overburden pressure. There is also a good exponential relationship between porosity and permeability. The influence of particle size on sandstone mechanical compaction is mainly reflected in the slowcompaction stage, and the influence of sorting is mainly reflected in the rapid compaction stage. Abnormally high pressure effectively inhibits sandstone mechanical com- paction, and its control on sandstone mechanical com- paction is stronger than that of particle size and sorting. The influence of burial time on sandstone mechanical compaction is mainly in the slow compaction stage, and the porosity reduction caused by compaction is mainly con- trolled by average particle size.

Evolution of nC_(16)H_(34)-water-mineral systems in thermal capsules and geological implications for deeply-buried hydrocarbon reservoirs

Organic-inorganic interactions between hydrocarbons and most minerals in deeply buried reservoirs remain unclear.In this study,gold capsules and fused silica capillary capsules(FSCCs)with different com-binations of nC_(16)H_(34),water(distilled water,CaCl_(2) water)and minerals(quartz,feldspar,calcite,kaolinite,smectite,and illite)were heated at 340℃ for 3-10 d,to investigate the evolution and reaction pathways of the organic-inorganic interactions in different hot systems.After heating,minerals exhibited little alteration in the anhydrous systems.Mineral alterations,how-ever,occurred obviously in the hydrous systems.Different inorganic components affected nC_(16)H_(34) degra-dation differently.Overall,water promoted the free-radical thermal-cracking reaction and step oxidation reaction but suppressed the free-radical cross-linking reaction.The impact of CaCl_(2) water on the nC_(16)H_(34) degradation was weaker than the distilled water as high Ca^(2+)concentration suppressed the formation of free radicals.The presence of different waters also affects the impact of different minerals on nC_(16)H_(34) degradation,via its impact on mineral alterations.In the anhydrous nC_(16)H_(34)-mineral systems,calcite and clays catalyzed generation of low-molecular-weight(LMW)alkanes,particularly the clays.Quartz,feldspar,and calcite catalyzed generation of high-molecular-weight(HMW)alkanes and PAHs,whereas clays catalyzed the generation of LMW alkanes and mono-bicyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(M-BAHs).In the hydrous nC_(16)H_(34)-distilled water-mineral systems,all minerals but quartz promoted nC_(16)H_(34) degra-dation to generate more LMW alkanes,less HMW alkanes and PAHs.In the nC_(16)H_(34)-CaCl_(2) water-mineral systems,the promotion impact of minerals was weaker than that in the systems with distilled water.This study demonstrated the generation of different hydrocarbons with different fluorescence colors in the different nC_(16)H_(34)-water-mineral systems after heating for the same time,implying that fluorescence colors need to be interpreted carefully in investigation of hydrocarbon charging histories and oil origins in deeply buried reservoirs.Besides,the organic-inorganic interactions in different nC_(16)H_(34)-water-mineral systems proceeded in different pathways at different rates,which likely led to preservation of liquid hydrocarbons at different depth(temperature).Thus,quantitative investigations of the reaction kinetics in different hydrocarbon-water-rock systems are required to improve the prediction of hydrocar-bon evolution in deeply buried hydrocarbon reservoirs.