Distribution characteristics, exploration and development, geological theories research progress and exploration directions of shale gas in China

The shale gas resources in China have great potential and the geological resources of shale gas is over 100×10^(12)m^(3),which includes about 20×10^(12)m^(3) of recoverable resources.Organic-rich shales can be divided into three types according to their sedimentary environments,namely marine,marine-continental transitional,and continental shales,which are distributed in 13 stratigraphic systems from the Mesoproterozoic to the Cenozoic.The Sichuan Basin and its surrounding areas have the highest geological resources of shale gas,and the commercial development of shale gas has been achieved in the Upper Ordovician Wufeng Formation-Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation in these areas,with a shale gas production of up to 20×10^(9)m^(3) in 2020.China has seen rapid shale gas exploration and development over the last five years,successively achieving breakthroughs and important findings in many areas and strata.The details are as follows.(1)Large-scale development of middle-shallow shale gas(burial depth:less than 3500 m)has been realized,with the productivity having rapidly increased;(2)breakthroughs have been constantly made in the development of deep shale gas(burial depth:3500-4500 m),and the ultradeep shale gas(burial depth:greater than 4500 m)is under testing;(3)breakthroughs have been made in the development of normal-pressure shale gas,and the assessment of the shale gas in complex tectonic areas is being accelerated;(4)shale gas has been frequently discovered in new areas and new strata,exhibiting a great prospect.Based on the exploration and development practice,three aspects of consensus have been gradually reached on the research progress in the geological theories of shale gas achieved in China.(1)in terms of deep-water fine-grained sediments,organic-rich shales are the base for the formation of shale gas;(2)in terms of high-quality reservoirs,the development of micro-nano organic matter-hosted pores serves as the core of shale gas accumulation;(3)in terms of preservation conditions,weak structural transformation,a moderate degree of thermal evolution,and a high pressure coefficient are the key to shale gas enrichment.As a type of important low-carbon fossil energy,shale gas will play an increasingly important role in achieving the strategic goals of peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality.Based on the in-depth study of shale gas geological conditions and current exploration progress,three important directions for shale gas exploration in China in the next five years are put forward.

Origin,discovery,exploration and development status and prospect of global natural hydrogen under the background of“carbon neutrality”

Global energy structure is experiencing the third transition from fossil energy to non-fossil energy,to solve future energy problems,cope with climate change,and achieve net-zero emissions targets by 2050.Hydrogen is considered to be the most potential clean energy in this century under the background of carbon neutrality.At present,the industrial methods for producing hydrogen are mainly by steam-hydrocarbon(such as coal and natural gas)reforming and by electrolysis of water,while the exploration and development of natural hydrogen had just started.According to this literature review:(1)Natural hydrogen can be divided into three categories,including free hydrogen,hydrogen in inclusions and dissolved hydrogen;(2)natural hydrogen could be mainly from abiotic origins such as by deep-seated hydrogen generation,water-rock reaction or water radiolysis;(3)natural hydrogen is widely distributed and presents great potential,and the potential natural hydrogen sources excluding deep source of hydrogen is about(254±91)×10^(9) m^(3)/a according to a latest estimate;(4)at present,natural hydrogen has been mined in Mali,and the exploration and development of natural hydrogen has also been carried out in Australia,Brazil,the United States and some European countries,to find many favorable areas and test some technical methods for natural hydrogen exploration.Natural hydrogen is expected to be an important part of hydrogen energy production in the future energy pattern.Based on a thorough literature review,this study introduced the origin,classification,and global discovery of natural hydrogen,as well as summarized the current global status and discussed the possibility of natural hydrogen exploration and development,aiming to provide reference for the future natural hydrogen exploration and development.

Research on Integrated Planning Method of Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration and Development

Under the requirement of high-quality development, the research method of integrated model planning for offshore oil and gas exploration and development suitable for the western South China Sea is put forward. Based on the new round of resource evaluation and exploration and development research in the western South China Sea, the in-depth research on underground oil and gas resources, surface development facilities, external factors and economic indexes are carried out to clarify the industrial layout of oil and gas development. The potential and prospect of oil and gas exploration and development were implemented, and the main external factors and corresponding measures affecting the planning were clarified in this paper. The economic evaluation model suitable for the region is established based on the analysis of internal rate of return, comprehensive barrel oil cost, critical price, financial net present value and other important indicators, and a set of planning and research methods suitable for the integration of exploration and development in the western South China Sea is finally formed. This method has been applied to the replacement reserve study of Weizhou X and Weizhou Y oil fields. It is found that the planned reserves and production are consistent with the actual ones, and good practical results have been achieved.

Present Situation of China's Shale Gas Exploration and Development

In recent years,with China＇s continuous investment in shale gas exploration and the continuous efforts of scientific workers,China’s shale gas exploration and development has achieved leap-forward development.In2011,China＇s State Council approved shale gas as a new mineral resource.In 2014,shale gas was first proved at geological reserves of 106.8 billion m^3.

Aggressive Exploration and Sustainable Development——ZTE Puts Emphasis on R&D to Forge Competitive Edge

ZTE Corporation released its 2002 annualreport on March 12, 2003, proclaimingthat its main business line revenue andnet profit reached 11 billion RMB and0.57 billion RMB respectively.As a major manufacturer of telecommunica-tion equipment in China, ZTE constantly putsemphasis on R&D so as to forge competitiveedge.Establishing Scientific Management

Prospect for strategic minerals exploration and development,investment environment and cooperation in Mozambique

Mozambique is an essential country in the Belt and Road Initiative,and it is also to cooperation between China and with Africa in energy resources.It is located in the critical node of the“East Africa Channel”and close to the“African Twin Ocean Railway”,which is an important strategic position.Mozambique has abundant mineral resources and vast reserves of advantageous minerals.The natural gas reserves of Mozambique ranked second in Africa.It also has world--class scale graphite and rich iron,gold,copper,niobium-tantalum and other resources.In recent years,the mining industry in this country has been rising and attracting many foreign companies to invest,including international mining giants such as Vale,Rio Tinto and large mining enterprises of China.This paper systematically studies the mineral resources endowment,exploration and development situations of natural gas,graphite,titanium-zircon placer deposits,niobium-tantalum,gold,iron and other strategic minerals in Mozambique,comprehensively analyzes the mining investment environment and the current situation of exploration and development of Chinese enterprises in Mozambique,and replans four safeguard areas of strategic mineral resources in critical short supply.Mozambique generally has good prospects of mining investment and a stable foundation for cooperation with China.Chinese enterprises can focus on oil and natural gas,graphite,titanium,zirconium,niobium,tantalum,and iron,which complement the needs of China,expand the mining capacity cooperation,and improve the ability to secure strategic mineral resources supply.

A Step to Speed up Petroleum Exploration and Development in Tarim Basin

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Study on the Environmental Impact of Oil and Gas Field Development on the Ecological Red Line Area

To cooperate with the five ministries and commissions of the state to carry out joint investigation on the environmentally sensitive areas involved in oil and gas exploration and development,for the problems found in survey,containing complex type and numerous amount of ecologically sensitive space and ecological red line involved in oil and gas field enterprises,scientific nature of delimitation,lack of strong support of laws and regulations for forced withdrawal of oil and gas production facilities in these areas,some countermeasures and suggestions were proposed,such as further evaluating and combing scope and functional zoning of existing environmentally sensitive areas and ecological red lines,treating differently,enhancing pertinence of prohibition in ecologically sensitive regions,declining blindness of the withdrawal of oil and gas facilities in environmentally sensitive areas,strengthening seriousness of approval of exploration and mining rights of oil and gas resources,and establishing strategic reserve exploration and hierarchical development mechanism. Moreover,oil and gas field enterprises should integrate more efforts to ① accelerate to find out the current situation of environmental quality,② adhere to developing in protection,and protecting in development,③ increase attention and participation strengthen of providing technical support for national oil and gas exploration and development strategy evaluation,④ accelerate communication and docking with local governments on the ecological red line,⑤ actively strive to be included in the positive list management of local governments,⑥ accelerate to establish and perfect primary database of oil and gas production and facilities construction,and ⑦ document management information system of the ecological red line.

An Effective Thin Reservoir Identification Method for Fine Oilfield Development

Thin reservoirs prediction method such as spectral inversion has drawn considerable attention in recent years. In order to avoid extracting wavelets within the whole field area purposeless and to make the filtered data has preferable fidelity as well as signal-to-noise ratio, an effective structural constrained thin reservoir description method which combines spectral inversion and wide-band Ricker wavelet filtering technology has been proposed in this paper. The method given here is more credible and is suitable for the prediction of middle-deep thin reservoirs. We take LD-A structure within Bohai Bay Basin as an example to show the implement of our method. Several sets of thin sand layers which are hardly to recognize originally have been finally identified. Also, with the application of this method, a high-production thin reservoir of LD-B structure has been identified accurately, which provides credible information for subsequent fine oil exploration and development.

Construction and application of an ontology-based domain-specific knowledge graph for petroleum exploration and development

The massive amount and multi-sourced,multi-structured data in the upstream petroleum industry impose great challenge on data integration and smart application.Knowledge graph,as an emerging technology,can potentially provide a way to tackle the challenges associated with oil and gas big data.This paper proposes an engineering-based method that can improve upon traditional natural language processing to construct the domain knowledge graph based on a petroleum exploration and development ontology.The exploration and development knowledge graph is constructed by assembling Sinopec’s multi-sourced heterogeneous database,and millions of nodes.The two applications based on the constructed knowledge graph are developed and validated for effectiveness and advantages in providing better knowledge services for the oil and gas industry.

The mechanism of unconventional hydrocarbon formation: Hydrocarbon self-sealing and intermolecular forces

The successful development of unconventional hydrocarbons has significantly increased global hydrocarbon resources, promoted the growth of global hydrocarbon production and made a great breakthrough in classical oil and gas geology. The core mechanism of conventional hydrocarbon accumulation is the preservation of hydrocarbons by trap enrichment and buoyancy, while unconventional hydrocarbons are characterized by continuous accumulation and non-buoyancy accumulation. It is revealed that the key of formation mechanism of the unconventional reservoirs is the self-sealing of hydrocarbons driven by intermolecular forces. Based on the behavior of intermolecular forces and the corresponding self-sealing, the formation mechanisms of unconventional oil and gas can be classified into three categories:(1) thick oil and bitumen, which are dominated by large molecular viscous force and condensation force;(2) tight oil and gas, shale oil and gas and coal-bed methane, which are dominated by capillary forces and molecular adsorption;and(3) gas hydrate, which is dominated by intermolecular clathration. This study discusses in detail the characteristics, boundary conditions and geological examples of self-sealing of the five types of unconventional resources, and the basic principles and mathematical characterization of intermolecular forces. This research will deepen the understanding of formation mechanisms of unconventional hydrocarbons, improve the ability to predict and evaluate unconventional oil and gas resources, and promote the development and production techniques and potential production capacity of unconventional oil and gas.

Accumulation conditions and key exploration&development technologies of heavy oil in Huanxiling oilfield in Liaohe depression,Bohai Bay Basin

The Huanxiling oilfield is located in the southern part of the western slope of the western sag in Liaohe depression.The west side of this oilfield is connected with two sets of high-quality source rocks of Member 3 and Member 4 of Shahejie Formation in Qingshui sub-sag.The oilfield has fan delta,turbidite fan and other types of reservoirs,it also has cap rock of thick mudstone in Member 3 and Member 4 of Shahejie Formation.Under background of the warped basement,the warped fault-block draped compound trap zone are developed,which includes nine types of trap.From perspective of hydrocarbon accumulation,the slope of this area has always been the target area for hydrocarbon migration and accumulation.Inclusion analysis shows that there are multiple stages of hydrocarbon charging in this area,and the main reservoir forming period is the sedimentary period of Member 3 of Shahejie Formation and the sedimentary period of Dongying Formation.High-quality source-reservoir-cap conditions ensure large-scale hydrocarbon accumulation in this area.Based on the theory of compound hydrocarbon accumulation,many types of oil and gas reservoirs,including light oil reservoir and heavy oil reservoir,have been found in this area,with total reserves of 500 million tons.In view of the oilfield characterized by large reservoir burial span,multiple oil-bearing strata,strong heterogeneity and various types of oils,multi-batch seismic data processing&interpretation technology and thin reservoir inversion technology based on geological model are established in the preliminary exploration period,steam-flooding physical simulation technology of heavy oil,oil-reservoir fine description technology of thermal recovery heavy oil,steam huff and puff technology of ordinary heavy oil and steam-flooding technology of mid-deep buried heavy oil are developed in the development period,and technologies such as separate-layer injection,selective injection,sand control and lifting of heavy oil are matched and improved.These technology series provides technical guarantee for efficient exploration and development of Huanxiling oilfield.

Hydrocarbon accumulation conditions and key exploration and development technologies for PL 19-3 oilfield

The PL 19e3 Oilfield is the only super-large monolithic oilfield with oil and gas reserves up to 1×10^(9) t in the Bohai Bay Basin,and it has been successfully developed.Exploration and development practices have provided abundant data for analyzing formation conditions of this super-large oilfield.On the basis of the exploration and development history,fundamental reservoir features,and with available geological,geophysical and test data,the hydrocarbon accumulation conditions and key exploration&development technologies of the PL 19e3 Oilfield were discussed.The key conditions for forming the super-large Neogene oilfield include four aspects.Firstly,the oilfield is located at the high position of the uplift that contacts the brachy-axis of the multi-ridge slope in the biggest hydrocarbon-rich sag in the Bohai Bay Basin,thus it has sufficient hydrocarbon source and extremely superior hydrocarbon migration condition.Secondly,the large-scale torsional anticlines which formed in the Neogene under the control of the Tanlu strike-slipping movement provide sufficient storage spaces for oil and gas preservation.Thirdly,the“multiple sets of composite reservoir-caprock assemblages”developing in the special shallow-water delta further contributes greatly to the effective storage space for oil and gas preservation.Fourthly,due to the coupling of the uplift and strike slip in the neotectonic period,extensive faulting activities constantly released the pressure while the late period massive hydrocarbon expulsion of the Bozhong took place at the same time,which assures the constant and intense charging of oil and gas.The super-large PL 19e3 Oilfield was controlled by the coupling effects of all those special geologic factors.In view of this oilfield's features(e.g.violently reformation caused by strike slip,and the special sedimentary environment of shallow-water delta),some key practical technologies for exploration and development have been developed.Such technologies include:the special prestack depth migration processing for gas cloud zones,the prediction of thin interbed reservoirs based on high-precision inversion of geologic model,the reservoir description for the shallow-water braided river delta,the quantitative description for remaining oil in the commingled oil reservoirs with wide well spacing and long well interval,and the well pattern adjustment for formations during high water cut period in the complex fluvial-facies oilfields.

Hydrocarbon accumulation and key exploration & development technologies of Changning-Weiyuan marine shale gas field, southern Sichuan

China is rich in shale gas resources and has broad prospects for development. However, the quality ofshale gas resources in China is different from that in the United States, so independent unique technologies are urgently required in China. In this regard, PetroChina has carried out theoretical andtechnical researches systematically on shale gas in Longmaxi Formation in southern Sichuan according toits geology-engineering characteristics. Guided by the “three-control” theory for marine shale gasenrichment and high yield (i.e. sedimentary diagenesis controls reservoir, preservation conditions control accumulation, and continuous thickness of Type I reservoir controls production), six key explorationand development technologies in southern China have been innovatively developed for marine shale gaswhich experienced multi-stage tectonic evolution. The technologies include comprehensive geologicalevaluation technology, development optimization technology, optimal and fast drilling technology forhorizontal well, volume fracturing technology for horizontal well, factory-like operation technology, andefficient clean production technology. These technologies have enabled the large-scale commercial recovery of shale gas. By the end of 2019, PetroChina had obtained proved geological reserves of1.06
1012 m3, had built production capacity of 10
109 m3, and had cumulative gas production of20
109 m3 in southern Sichuan. The remarkable results of application are of great significance forvigorously developing shale gas industry to reduce external dependence, ensure national energy security,and realize the strategy of "ecological priority and green development".