Source Rock and Cap Rock Controls on the Upper Ordovician Wufeng Formation–Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation Shale Gas Accumulation in the Sichuan Basin and its Peripheral Areas

Objective The Upper Ordovician Wufeng Formation-Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation is one of the priority interval for shale gas exploration in the Sichuan Basin and its peripheral areas, and commercial shale gas has been discovered from this interval in Jiaoshiba, Changning and Weiyuan shale gas fields in Sichuan Province. However, there is no significant discovery in other parts of the basin due to the different quality of black shale and the differences of tectonic evolution. Based on the progress of shale gas geological theory and exploration discoveries, as well as the theory of ＂source rock and cap rock controls on hydrocarbon accumulation＂, of the Upper Ordovician the main controlling factors Wufeng Formation-Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation shale gas enrichment in the Sichuan Basin and its peripheral areas were analyzed, and the source rock and cap rock controls on the shale gas were also discussed. The results can provide new insights for the next shale gas exploration in this area.

The relationship between dolomite textures and their formation temperature: a case study from the Permian-Triassic of the Sichuan Basin and the Lower Paleozoic of the Tarim Basin

Study of dolomite texture can contribute to understanding the process of dolomitization.This research reports textures and homogenization temperatures of dolomites from the Permian-Triassic strata in the Sichuan Basin and the Lower Paleozoic strata in the Tarim Basin,which provided insights into relationships between dolomite textures and their formation temperatures.Our results are summarized as follows：1） dolomites with well-preserved texture indicate low dolomitization temperature.However,in certain diagenetic environments,the hydrothermal dolomitization may completely or partially preserve the original texture of dolomites.2） The formation temperatures of non-planar dolomites are always higher than those of planar dolomites.3） The formation temperatures of dolomite cements are generally higher than those of replacive dolomites.4） Although the formation temperatures of saddle dolomite cements have a wide range,they show higher values than those of the planar subhedral to euhedral dolomite cements.Thus,saddle dolomites could generally be an indicator of high precipitation temperature.5） The fluid Mg/Ca ratio is another element controlling dolomite morphology.Micritic dolomites,which precipitate from hypersaline fluids with a high Mg/Ca ratio in a subaerial environment could also have features of non-planar anhedral crystal shape because of rapid nucleation and crystallization during dolomitization.

Carbon isotopic composition and genetic types of natural gas in the Sichuan Basin, China

The origin and genetic types of natural gas in the Sichuan Basin are still disputed.To classify the origin and genetic types in different areas,the paper analyzes the carbon isotopic composition of gases and geologic features in the Sichuan Basin.The results showed that the gas sourced from terrestrial layers is typically characterized by terrestrial origin and was mainly accumulated nearby to form reservoir.The carbon isotopic composition of gas showed a normal combination sequence distribution,suggesting that natural gas in continental strata is not affected by secondary alteration or that this deformation is very weak.The gas source is singular,and only gas from the southern and northern Sichuan Basin shows the characteristic of mixed sources.However,marine gas presents the characteristics of an oil-formed gas.The carbon isotopic composition of natural gas in the western and central part of the basin mostly distributes in a normal combination sequence,and few of them showed an inversion,indicating that the gas perhaps had not experienced secondary alteration.The carbon isotopic composition of marine-origin gas in the southern,northern and eastern Sichuan Basin displays a completely different distribution pattern,which is probably caused by different mixing ratio of gas with multi-source and multi-period.

Genesis of the Sinian Solid Bitumen and its Significance for Hydrocarbon Accumulation in the Anyue Gas Field of the Sichuan Basin

Objective Bitumen is generally associated with oil and gas, which was originally used as an indicator of hydrocarbon reservoirs. With the progress of organic geochemical measuring and testing techniques, bitumen, especially solid bitumen sampled from reservoirs, has been proved to be closely related to the evolution of hydrocarbon reservoirs. The Sinian cores collected from the Anyue gas field contain abundant pores, vugs and fractures, which are filled with a mass of solid bitumen of two epochs and dolomite in between. This work focused on the characteristics of different generations of bitumen and the genesis, in an effort to better understand the process of the Sinian gas accumulation in the Anyue gas field.

Intracontinental lithospheric delamination:Constraints from imaging the mantle transition zone beneath the southwestern part of the Sichuan Basin

The southwestern part of the Sichuan Basin(SW-SCB)is adjacent to the eastern Himalayan syntaxis.Affected by the Indo-Eurasian collision and subsequent intrusion of the Indian plate into the Eurasian plate during the Cenozoic,this region is ideal for the study of the tectonic evolution of the intracontinental lithosphere and the dynamic processes of deep and shallow structures.In this study,we applied the receiver function technique to the data obtained from a recently deployed high-density broadband seismic array across the Sichuan Basin and Sichuan-Yunnan block(SCB-SYB).We conducted a multi-frequency and multi-model correction analysis to image the structure of the mantle transition zone beneath this region.The results showed the660-km discontinuity gradually increasing in depth by 10-30 km beneath the western side of the Anninghe-Xiaojiang Fault,suggesting the presence of thermal anomalies caused by the subducted Indian plate from west to east.At the junction of the SCBSYB,the 410-km discontinuity exhibited a slight uplift of 5-10 km,while the 660-km discontinuity showed a significant depression of~30 km over a lateral range of~150 km.Based on previous surface GPS observation and dynamic numerical simulation studies,we suggest that the sharp lateral small-scale topography of this 660-km discontinuity beneath the SW-SCB may have resulted from dripping delamination of the lithosphere within the strain localization area.Furthermore,the aggregation of delaminated lithospheric material at the base of the 660-km discontinuity determines the regional topography of mantle transition zone discontinuities.In this study,we provided seismological evidence for the challenging detection of small-scale intracontinental lithosphere dripping delamination.Moreover,it provides a new view for studying deep and shallow dynamic processes in intracontinental regions with stress concentration resulting from plate/continental subduction and collision.

Soil Erosion Spatial Distribution Character of Sloping Field in the Sichuan Hilly Basin:Taking a Cultivated Slope in Neijiang as Example

^137Cs nuclear tracing technique was used to estimate rates of soil redistribution on a sloping field with traditional erosion control measures located near Shangqiao Village, Neijiang City, in the Sichuan Hilly Basin of China. The downslope changes of ^137 Cs inventory and its corresponding soil erosion rates in the sloping field show a rolling trend and have two peak values in two inflexions of the sloping field, these result reflects that the changes of microphysiognomy play a key role on the spatial soil redistribution of the sloping field.

Gas-in-Place(GIP) Variation and Main Controlling Factors for the Deep Wufeng-Longmaxi Shales in the Luzhou Area of the Southern Sichuan Basin,China

The Wufeng-Longmaxi Formation shales with burial depths > 3 500 m in the southern Sichuan Basin are believed to have large shale gas potentials.However,the reservoir properties and gasin-place(GIP) contents of these shales exhibit variations across different sublayers.In this study,a set of Wufeng-Longmaxi shales with burial depths of 4 000–4 200 m was derived from the Well Y101H2 in the Luzhou area,and the differences in geological and geochemical characteristics,porosity,water saturation and GIP content of various sublayer shales were investigated.The results indicate that the TOC content and effective porosity of the upper(LMX1-4) and lower(LMX1-3) sublayer shales of the first member of the Longmaxi Formation are better than those of the Wufeng Formation(WF) shales,which results in the LMX1-4 and LMX1-3 shales having higher GIP contents than the WF shales.The GIP contents of the LMX1-3 shales are higher than those of the LMX1-4 shales,and this is likely because the organic matter of the LMX1-3 shales had more aquatic organisms and was preserved in a stronger reductive environment,which leads to a stronger gas generation potential.In contrast to the middle-shallow LMX1-4 shales in the Sichuan Basin,the deep LMX1-4 shales in the Luzhou area have advantageous reservoir properties and GIP contents,and thus it is promising to synchronously exploit the deep LMX1-4 and LMX1-3 shales in some regions of the southern Sichuan Basin.