Late-Stage Reservoir Formation Effect and Its Dynamic Mechanisms in Complex Superimposed Basins

Complex superimposed basins exhibit multi-stage tectonic events and multi-stage reservoir formation; hydrocarbon reservoirs formed in the early stage have generally late-stage genesis characteristics after undergoing adjustment, reconstruction and destruction of later-stage multiple tectonic events. In this paper, this phenomenon is called the late-stage reservoir formation effect. The late-stage reservoir formation effect is a basic feature of oil and gas-forming reservoirs in complex superimposed basins, revealing not only multi-stage character, relevance and complexity of oil and gas- forming reservoirs in superimposed basins but also the importance of late-stage reservoir formation. Late-stage reservoir formation is not a basic feature of oil and gas forming reservoir in superimposed basins. Multi-stage reservoir formation only characterizes one aspect of oil and gas-forming reservoir in superimposed basins and does not represent fully the complexity of oil and gas-forming reservoir in superimposed basins. We suggest using ＂late-stage reservoir formation effect＂ to replace the ＂late-stage reservoir formation＂ concept to guide the exploration of complex reservoirs in superimposed basins. Under current geologic conditions, the late-stage reservoir formation effect is represented mainly by four basic forms： phase transformation, scale reconstruction, component variation and trap adjustment. The late-stage reservoir formation effect is produced by two kinds of geologic processes： first, the oil and gas retention function of various geologic thresholds （hydrocarbon expulsion threshold, hydrocarbon migration threshold, and hydrocarbon accumulating threshold） causes the actual time of oil and gas reservoir formation to be later than the time of generation of large amounts of hydrocarbon in a conventional sense, producing the late-stage reservoir formation effect; second, multiple types of tectonic events （continuously strong reconstruction, early-stage strong reconstruction, middle-stage strong reconstruction, late-stage strong reconstruction and long-term stable sedimentation） after oil and gas reservoir formation lead to adjustment, reconstruction and destruction of reservoirs formed earlier, and form new secondary hydrocarbon reservoirs due to the late-stage reservoir formation effect.

Genetic mechanism and development of the unsteady Sarvak play of the Azadegan oil field,southwest of Iran

The upper Cretaceous Sarvak reservoir in the Azadegan oil field of southwest Iran has its oil–water contact nearly horizontal from the north to the center and dips steeply from the center to the south.The purpose of this paper is to interpret this abnormal reservoir feature by examining the accumulation elements,characteristics,and evolution based on the 3D seismic,coring,and well logging data.Generally,in the field,the Sarvak reservoir is massive and vertically heterogeneous,and impermeable interlayers are rare.The distribution of petrophysical properties is mainly dominated by the depositional paleogeomorphology and degrades from north to south laterally.The source is the lower Cretaceous Kazhdumi Formation of the eastern Dezful sag,and the seal is the muddy dense limestone of the Cenozoic Gurpi and Pebdeh Formations.Combined with the trap evolution,the accumulation evolution can be summarized as follows： the Sarvak play became a paleo-anticlinal trap in the Alpine tectonic activity after the late Cretaceous（96 Ma） and then was relatively peaceful in the later long geologic period.The Kazhdumi Formation entered in the oil window at the early Miocene（12–10 Ma） and charged the Sarvak bed,thus forming the paleo-reservoir.Impacted by the ZagrosOrogeny,the paleo-reservoir trap experienced a strong secondary deformation in the late Pliocene（4 Ma）,which shows as the paleo-trap shrank dramatically and the prelow southern area uplifted and formed a new secondary anticline trap,hence evolving to the current two structural highs with the south point（secondary trap） higher than the north（paleo-trap）.The trap deformation broke the paleoreservoir kinetic equilibrium and caused the secondary reservoir adjustment.The upper seal prevented vertical oil dissipation,and thus,the migration is mainly in interior Sarvak bed from northern paleo-reservoir to the southern secondary trap.The strong reservoir heterogeneity and the degradation trend of reservoir properties along migration path（north to south） made the reservoir readjustment extremely slow,plus the short and insufficient re-balance time,making the Sarvak form an ‘‘unsteady reservoir＇＇which is still in the readjustment process and has not reached a new balance state.The current abnormal oil–water contact versus the trap evolutionary trend indicates the secondary readjustment is still in its early stage and has only impacted part of paleo-reservoir.Consequently,not all of the reservoir is dominated by the current structure,and some parts still stay at the paleo-reservoir form.From the overview above,we suggest the following for the future development： In the northern structural high,the field development should be focused on the original paleoreservoir zone.In the southern structural high,compared with the secondary reservoir of the Sarvak with the tilted oil–water contact and huge geologic uncertainty,the lower sandstone reservoirs are more reliable and could be developed first,and then the deployment optimized of the upper Sarvak after obtaining sufficient geological data.By the hints of the similar reservoir characteristics and tectonic inheritance with Sarvak,the lower Cretaceous Fahliyancarbonate reservoir is also proved to be an unsteady reservoir with a tilted oil–water contact.