Pull-apart basins are faulting and folding zones with high intensity of fractures that strongly affect the production in unconventional shale gas. While most observations of pull-apart basins were from surface mapping...Pull-apart basins are faulting and folding zones with high intensity of fractures that strongly affect the production in unconventional shale gas. While most observations of pull-apart basins were from surface mapping or laboratory experiments, we investigated a nascent pull-apart basin in the subsurface. We characterized a nascent pull-apart basin along the strike-slip fault within the Woodford Shale by using seismic attributes analyses, including coherence, dip-azimuth, and curvature. The results indicate a 32 km long, N-S striking strike-slip fault that displays a distinct but young pull-apart basin, which is ~1.6 km by 3.2 km in size and is bounded by two quasi-circular faults. The curvature attribute map reveals two quasi-circular folds, which depart from the main strike-slip fault at ~25°, resulting in an elliptical basin. Inside the basin, a series of echelon quasi-circular normal faults step into the bottom of the basin with ~80 m of total subsidence. We propose that the controls of the shape of pull-apart basin are the brittleness of the shale, and we suggest proper seismic attributes as a useful tool for investigating high fracture intensity in the subsurface for hydrofracturing and horizontal drilling within the shale.展开更多
The petroleum geological features of hydrocarbon source rocks in the Oriente Basin in Ecuador are studied in detail to determine the potential of shale gas resources in the basin. The favorable shale gas layer in the ...The petroleum geological features of hydrocarbon source rocks in the Oriente Basin in Ecuador are studied in detail to determine the potential of shale gas resources in the basin. The favorable shale gas layer in the vertical direction is optimized by combining logging identification and comprehensive geological analysis. The thickness in this layer is obtained by logging interpretation in the basin. The favorable shale gas accumulation area is selected by referring to thickness and depth data. Furthermore, the shale gas resource amount of the layer in the favorable area is calculated using the analogy method. Results show that among the five potential hydrocarbon source rocks, the lower Napo Formation is the most likely shale gas layer. The west and northwest zones, which are in the deep-sea slope and shelf sedimentary environments, respectively, are the favorable areas for shale gas accumulation. The favorable sedimentary environment formed thick black shale that is rich in organic matter. The black shale generated hydrocarbon, which migrated laterally to the eastern shallow water shelf to form numerous oil fields. The result of the shale gas resource in the two favorable areas,as calculated by the analogy method, is 55,500×10;m;. This finding shows the high exploration and development potential of shale gas in the basin.展开更多
The onshore and offshore parts of the East Greenland Basin are important areas for petroleum exploration at the North Pole. Although assessments by the US Geological Survey suggest a substantial petroleum potential in...The onshore and offshore parts of the East Greenland Basin are important areas for petroleum exploration at the North Pole. Although assessments by the US Geological Survey suggest a substantial petroleum potential in this area, their estimates carry a high risk because of uncertainties in the exploration data. This paper compares the reservoir-forming conditions based on data from the East Greenland Basin and the North Sea Basin. The petroleum resources of the East Greenland Basin were assessed by geochemical and analogy methods. The East Greenland Basin was a rift basin in the late Paleozoic–Mesozoic. Its basement is metamorphic rock formed by the Caledonian Orogeny in the Archean to Late Ordovician. In the basin, Devonian–Paleogene strata were deposited on the basement. Lacustrine source rock formed in the late Paleozoic and marine source rocks in the Late Jurassic. Shallow-marine sandstone reservoirs formed in the Middle Jurassic and deep-marine turbiditic sandstone reservoirs formed in the Cretaceous.The trap types are structure traps, horst and fault-block traps, salt structure traps, and stratigraphic traps. The East Greenland Basin possesses superior reservoir-forming conditions, favorable petroleum potential and preferable exploration prospects. Because of the lack of exploration data, further evaluation of the favorable types of traps, essential amount of source rock, petroleum-generation conditions and appropriate burial histories in the East Greenland Basin are required.展开更多
文摘Pull-apart basins are faulting and folding zones with high intensity of fractures that strongly affect the production in unconventional shale gas. While most observations of pull-apart basins were from surface mapping or laboratory experiments, we investigated a nascent pull-apart basin in the subsurface. We characterized a nascent pull-apart basin along the strike-slip fault within the Woodford Shale by using seismic attributes analyses, including coherence, dip-azimuth, and curvature. The results indicate a 32 km long, N-S striking strike-slip fault that displays a distinct but young pull-apart basin, which is ~1.6 km by 3.2 km in size and is bounded by two quasi-circular faults. The curvature attribute map reveals two quasi-circular folds, which depart from the main strike-slip fault at ~25°, resulting in an elliptical basin. Inside the basin, a series of echelon quasi-circular normal faults step into the bottom of the basin with ~80 m of total subsidence. We propose that the controls of the shape of pull-apart basin are the brittleness of the shale, and we suggest proper seismic attributes as a useful tool for investigating high fracture intensity in the subsurface for hydrofracturing and horizontal drilling within the shale.
文摘The petroleum geological features of hydrocarbon source rocks in the Oriente Basin in Ecuador are studied in detail to determine the potential of shale gas resources in the basin. The favorable shale gas layer in the vertical direction is optimized by combining logging identification and comprehensive geological analysis. The thickness in this layer is obtained by logging interpretation in the basin. The favorable shale gas accumulation area is selected by referring to thickness and depth data. Furthermore, the shale gas resource amount of the layer in the favorable area is calculated using the analogy method. Results show that among the five potential hydrocarbon source rocks, the lower Napo Formation is the most likely shale gas layer. The west and northwest zones, which are in the deep-sea slope and shelf sedimentary environments, respectively, are the favorable areas for shale gas accumulation. The favorable sedimentary environment formed thick black shale that is rich in organic matter. The black shale generated hydrocarbon, which migrated laterally to the eastern shallow water shelf to form numerous oil fields. The result of the shale gas resource in the two favorable areas,as calculated by the analogy method, is 55,500×10;m;. This finding shows the high exploration and development potential of shale gas in the basin.
基金supported by the Chinese Polar Environment Comprehensive Investigation and Assessment Programs (Grant no.CHINARE2016-04-03)
文摘The onshore and offshore parts of the East Greenland Basin are important areas for petroleum exploration at the North Pole. Although assessments by the US Geological Survey suggest a substantial petroleum potential in this area, their estimates carry a high risk because of uncertainties in the exploration data. This paper compares the reservoir-forming conditions based on data from the East Greenland Basin and the North Sea Basin. The petroleum resources of the East Greenland Basin were assessed by geochemical and analogy methods. The East Greenland Basin was a rift basin in the late Paleozoic–Mesozoic. Its basement is metamorphic rock formed by the Caledonian Orogeny in the Archean to Late Ordovician. In the basin, Devonian–Paleogene strata were deposited on the basement. Lacustrine source rock formed in the late Paleozoic and marine source rocks in the Late Jurassic. Shallow-marine sandstone reservoirs formed in the Middle Jurassic and deep-marine turbiditic sandstone reservoirs formed in the Cretaceous.The trap types are structure traps, horst and fault-block traps, salt structure traps, and stratigraphic traps. The East Greenland Basin possesses superior reservoir-forming conditions, favorable petroleum potential and preferable exploration prospects. Because of the lack of exploration data, further evaluation of the favorable types of traps, essential amount of source rock, petroleum-generation conditions and appropriate burial histories in the East Greenland Basin are required.
