Identification and evaluation of fault-fracture reservoirs in buried hills of the Lower Paleozoic, Chengdao area, China

The Bohai Bay Basin is a Meso-Cenozoic rifted basin where the Paleozoic buried hills with great hydrocarbon potentials are well developed. The reservoir space types are complex and diverse due to tectonic activities, making fracture distribution highly heterogeneous. Reservoir identification and mapping is challenging due to their large burial depth and poor resolution of seismic data. An integration of well-logging, seismic data interpretation and core observation is applied to identify three structural unit types in the study area, that is, fault breccia zone, fault cataclastic zone, and fault massive rock zone. A comprehensive well-logging identification template and a comprehensive discriminant function M for the reservoir are established based on the well-logging response characteristics. A M value greater than 0.12 indicates a fault breccia zone, that between 0.04 and 0.12 marks a fault cataclastic zone, and that in the range from 0.02 to 0.04 represents a fault massive rock zone. A seismic prediction method with multi-parameter fusion is proposed in the study. The large-scale fractures are mapped by coherence-clutter parameters, while small fractures are predicted via waveform indication inversion. The spatial distribution of “fault-fracture reservoirs” is precisely mapped by frequency fusion technology. It is found that the fault breccia zones usually occur close to the fault planes, while the fault cataclastic zones are slightly away from the fault planes. The hydrocarbon abundance of the breccia zones is greater than that of the fault cataclastic and fault massive rock zones.

Sedimentary characteristics and depositional evolution of carbonate platform during the Cambrian and Ordovician in eastern Tarim Basin,NW China

The eastern Tarim Basin(Tadong Area)has gained wide attentions on large-scale marine carbonate reservoirs in Cambrian-Ordovician due to significant hydrocarbon discoveries.A systematic analysis combining thin sections,cores,wireline logs,and seismic data is conducted on Cambrian-Ordovician carbonate platform in the whole eastern Tarim Basin,including Gucheng area,Majiaer area,and western Luobopo rise(Luoxi area).The results show that 8 sub-facies and more than 10 microfacies are developed including open platform,restricted/semi-restricted platform,reef-shoal around platform margin,drowned platform,foreslope,neritic platform,and deep-water basin.As both key areas for hosting petroleum reserves during the Cambrian and Ordovician,the Luoxi area is dominated by deep-water basin facies,while the Gucheng area is dominated by neritic platform facies and deep-water basin facies during the Lower Cambrian.The deposition evolution during the whole Cambrian is dominated by slope facies and deep-water facies,platform margin facies,and platform facies.In contrast,it is dominated by open platform facies during the whole Ordovician.The depositional evolution of carbonate platform is mainly controlled by paleo-geomorphology and sea-level changes.The distribution of paleo-geomorphologic units plays an important role in controlling types and distributions of carbonate platform facies.The transgression assists in growth of reef-shoal complex and lime mud mound in the Early Ordovician.However,with neritic platform and slope being to disappeared,in the Middle Ordovician,platform margin facies are well developed in Gucheng Area.Platform facies and deepwater basin facies are widely distributed.Finally,carbonate platform is drowned due to sea level rising in the Late Ordovician.The depositional evolution of carbonate platform coinciding falling and rising of sea-level changes can be beneficial for appropriate carbonate reservoirs identification and petroleum exploration.