Risk assessment of fault reactivation considering the heterogeneity of friction strength in the BZ34-2 Oilfield,Huanghekou Sag,Bohai Bay Basin,China

The hazards of fault reactivation caused by fluid injection are a growing concern.However,traditional evaluation methods of fault stability are likely to underestimate the risk in fault segments with a high clay content.Therefore,an extended evaluation method of fault stability(ECPP)incorporating the heterogeneity in friction strength caused by variation in the clay content within the fault zone is established in this study.After characterizing the current stress field of the BZ34-2 Oilfield in the Huanghekou Sag,Bohai Bay Basin,the reactivation potential of faults is evaluated using both traditional and ECPP methods.Traditional evaluation of fault stability shows that all faults are stable in the present stress field.Faults oriented ENE have a relatively high risk.The maximum sustainable fluid pressure Δp is approximately 8.8-8.9 MPa and 9.3-9.9 MPa.When considering the heterogeneity in fault friction strength,the fault stability is clearly controlled by the clay content of the faults.The high-risk fault segments assessed using traditional methods are no longer obvious,which reflects the importance of incorporating friction strength heterogeneity in the process of fault evaluation.Moreover,the results also show that most fault segments are activated when the fault zone is dominated by montmorillonite,reflecting the strong influence of clay mineral types on fault stability.The factors influencing the heterogeneity of fault friction strength are very complicated in actual situations.Therefore,future work should focus on establishing a database through a large number of experiments and investigating the relationship between the friction coefficient and the main controlling factors.

Sediment supply mechanism and its influence on hydrocarbon accumulation in the Paleogene of the northern Huanghekou Sag,Bohai Bay Basin,China

Tectonic activity and sediment supply have significantly affected the rifted basin fillings and hydrocarbon accumulations.The Huanghekou Sag in the southeastern Bohai Bay Basin is a hydrocarbon rich sag and was bounded by the Bonan Uplift to the north in the Paleogene,which strongly affected sediment disribution and hydrocarbon accumulation in this region.The sediment supply mechanism of the Paleogene parent rocks in this area has not been revealed yet.Therefore,the Huanghekou Sag is a natural laboratory to reveal the relationship between the tectonic activties and hydrcoarbon accumulations in a rifted basin.In this study,the tectonic evolution characteristics of the Bonan Uplift in different geological periods are revealed during the main fault depression periods.Then,the direction of the provenance and distribution of the depositional system of the Bonan Uplift are analyzed based on the sedimentary system and mineralogy analysis.Finally,the sediment supply in the Bonan Uplift in different geological periods has been systematically studied.The results indicated that sediment supply is the dominant factor of hydrocarbon accumulation in the Paleogene in the Huanghekou Sag.During the Paleocene-Middle Eocene,extensive denudation occurred in the Bonan Uplift,sediments were mainly sourced from the Bonan Uplift in the northern margin of the Huanghekou Sag.During the Late Eocene to Early Oligocene,the Bonan Uplift had a large angle rotation and subsidence due to the strong rifting of the Bozhong Sag in the north,and the sand supply capacity was seriously reduced.Due to the different sediment supply in different geological periods,high quality reservoir and cap conditions were formed in the Paleogene in the central and northern parts of the Huanghekou Sag,which is conducive to the accumulation and preservation of oil and gas.

Geologic-seismic models,prediction of shallow-water lacustrine delta sandbody and hydrocarbon potential in the Late Miocene,Huanghekou Sag,Bohai Bay Basin,northern China

The Huanghekou Sag is located at the southeast part of the Bohai Bay Basin, northern China. Large-scale shallow lake delta developed in the Neogene provided suitable geological conditions for the formation of a subtle oil-gas reservoir in this area. The key for analyzing sandstone reservoir and sedimentary facies is by using seismic attributes(amplitude) to establish the relationship between lithology combination and seismic attributes. The lower unit of Late Miocene Minghuazhen Formation at the BZ34 block in the Huanghekou Sag was subdivided into 10 parasequence sets(PSS). Thicker sandstones mainly occurred in PSS1 and PSS10, whereas thin sandstones are mostly observed within other parasequence sets. This study presents statistics and analyses of lithology, i.e., statistics of root-meansquare(RMS) amplitude and lithology of well locations in different parasequence sets of the study area,as well as 1-D forward seismic models of 7 types of lithology combinations, the establishment of a spatial distribution of 2-D sandbody, forward seismic models etc. Our study indicates that high amplitude peaks correspond to thicker sandbodies, while low amplitude indicates non-development of sandbodies(generally less than 2 m), and medium amplitude agrees well with large sets of mudstones interbedded with medium and thinner sandstones. Different sand-mudstone combinations genetically reflect a combination of multiple micro-facies, therefore, amplitude features can predict sandbodies as well as facies characteristics.

The geochemical evidences of sulphur oil sources in the BZ35/36 structures of the Huanghekou Sag, Bohai Bay Basin, China

Crude oils in the BZ35/BZ36 fields found within the Paleogene Dongying and Shahejie formations in the Huanghekou Sag of the Bohai Bay Basin,China have generally high density,viscosity,and sulfur content.Their physical properties and geochemical features have obvious differences when compared with crude oils from other structures within the Huanghekou Sag.The comparison and analysis of biomarkers(e.g.,pristine/phytane,gammacerane,C24Te/C26TT,C2920S/(20Sþ20R),C29bb/(bbþaa),etc.)show that sour crude oil from the BZ35/BZ36 fields is similar to the sour oil in the Miaoxi Sag adjacent to the eastern of Huanghekou Sag.Sour,low maturity oils in the Miaoxi Sag have likely migrated southwest,while the sweet,higher maturity oils in the Huanghekou Sag have migrated northeast.Crude oils generated from these two sags have focused in the BZ35/BZ36 structures.The source rock of the sour crude oil was most likely formed in a dry climate and strong reducing saline lake.

Evolution regularity of the Neogene shallow water delta in the Laibei area, Bohai Bay Basin, northern China

According to the characteristics of sedimentary microfacies, unique vertical depositional sequences and well logging response, the authors propose that a shallow water delta was widely developed in the Neogene of the Laibei area, Bohai Bay Basin of northern China. Based on seismic minimum amplitude slices, well logging data, test analytical data and so forth, detailed research on the evolution of the shallow water delta of the Neogene Lower Member of Minghuazhen Formation was conducted. The results indicate that the third-order sequence base level controls sandbody types. During a period of low base level, a distribu- tary channel sandbody of shallow water deltaic plain was developed. With base level rising, the sandbody type gradually changed into a subaqueous distributary channel sandbody and a sheet sand can be found as well. The fourth-order sequence base level controls mediumshort term evolution of the sandbody. Within a sequence, due to the rising and falling of base level, the sandbody assemblages are identified as an upward-coarsening type, an upwardfining and a compound type respectively. Regionally, from the Laibei Low Uplift to the Huang- hekou Sag, the shallow water delta evoluted from a dendritic shape, to a cuspate shape and finally to a sheet shape.