Unconventional Petroleum Sedimentology:A Key to Understanding Unconventional Hydrocarbon Accumulation

The commercial exploitation of unconventional petroleum resources(e.g.,shale oil/gas and tight oil/gas)has drastically changed the global energy structure within the past two decades.Sweet-spot intervals(areas),the most prolific unconventional hydrocarbon resources,generally consist of extraordinarily high organic matter(EHOM)deposits or closely associated sandstones/carbonate rocks.The formation of sweet-spot intervals(areas)is fundamentally controlled by their depositional and subsequent diagenetic settings,which result from the coupled sedimentation of global or regional geological events,such as tectonic activity,sea level(lake level)fluctuations,climate change,bottom water anoxia,volcanic activity,biotic mass extinction or radiation,and gravity flows during a certain geological period.Black shales with EHOM content and their associated high-quality reservoir rocks deposited by the coupling of major geological events provide not only a prerequisite for massive hydrocarbon generation but also abundant hydrocarbon storage space.The Ordovician-Silurian Wufeng-Longmaxi shale of the Sichuan Basin,Devonian Marcellus shale of the Appalachian Basin,Devonian-Carboniferous Bakken Formation of the Williston Basin,and Triassic Yanchang Formation of the Ordos Basin are four typical unconventional hydrocarbon systems selected as case studies herein.In each case,the formation of sweet-spot intervals for unconventional hydrocarbon resources was controlled by the coupled sedimentation of different global or regional geological events,collectively resulting in a favorable environment for the production,preservation,and accumulation of organic matter,as well as for the generation,migration,accumulation,and exploitation of hydrocarbons.Unconventional petroleum sedimentology,which focuses on coupled sedimentation during dramatic environmental changes driven by major geological events,is key to improve the understanding of the formation and distribution of sweet-spot intervals(areas)in unconventional petroleum systems.

Challenges and countermeasures of log evaluation in unconventional petroleum exploration and development

To promote adaptation of logging evaluation technologies to the development trend of unconventional oil and gas exploration and development era in China,the current situation and challenges of logging evaluation technologies in China are analyzed systematically.Based on the concept of that demand drives technology development,and referring to the international leading technologies,development strategy of logging evaluation technology in China has been put forward.(1)Deepen petrophysics study:mobile 2 D NMR laboratory analysis technology for full diameter core should be developed,characteristic charts and evaluation standards of different fluid properties,different pore structures and different core exposure times should be established based on longitudinal and traverse relaxation spectra;in-depth digital rock experiment and mathematical and physical simulation research should be carried out to create innovative logging evaluation methods;acoustic and electrical anisotropy experimental analysis technology should be developed,and corresponding logging evaluation methods be innovated.(2)Strengthen target processing of logging data:precise inversion processing technology and sensitive information extraction technology of 2 D NMR logging should be developed to finely describe the micro-pore distribution in tight reservoir and accurately distinguish movable oil,bound oil,and bound water etc.The processing method of 3 D ultra-distance detection acoustic logging should be researched.(3)Develop special logging interpretation and evaluation methods:first,mathematical model for quantitatively describing the saturation distribution law of unconventional oil and gas near source and in source should be created;second,evaluation methods and standards of shale oil and deep shale gas"sweet-spots"with mobile oil content and gas content as key parameter separately should be researched vigorously;third,calculation methods of pore pressure under two high-pressure genetic mechanisms,under-compaction and hydrocarbon charging,should be improved;fourth,evaluation method of formation fracability considering the reservoir geologic and engineering quality,and optimization method of horizontal well fracturing stage and cluster based on comprehensive evaluation of stress barrier and lithologic barrier should be worked out.

Theory, Technology and Practice of Unconventional Petroleum Geology

0 INTRODUCTION The breakthroughs in unconventional petroleum have a great impact on world petroleum industry and innovation in petroleum geology(Dou et al,2022;Jia,2017;Zou et al.,2015b,2014a;Yerkin,2012;Pollastro,2007;Schmoker,1995).The exploration and development evolution from conventional petroleum to unconventional petroleum and more and more frequent industrial activities of exploring petroleum inside sources kitchen have deepened theoretical understanding of unconventional petroleum geology and promoted technical research and development(Jia et al.,2021,2017;Jin et al.,2021;Zhao W Z et al.,2020;Ma Y S et al.,2018,2012;Zou et al.,2018b,2016,2009;Dai et al.,2012).We have introduced and extended the theory of continuous hydrocarbon accumulation since 2008 and published several papers/books(in Chinese and English)with respect to unconventional petroleum geology since 2009,basically forming the theoretical framework for this discipline(Yang et al.,2022a,2021a,2019a,,2015a;Zou et al.,2019c,2017b,2014a,,2013a).In this paper,we present the background of unconventional petroleum geology,review the latest theoretical and technological progress in unconventional petroleum geology,introduce relevant thinking and practices in China,and explore the pathway of unconventional petroleum revolution and multi-energy coordinated development in super energy basins,hopefully to promote the unconventional petroleum geology and industry development.

Progress in China's Unconventional Oil & Gas Exploration and Development and Theoretical Technologies

The new century has witnessed a strategic breakthrough in unconventional oil ＆ gas.Hydrocarbon accumulated in micro-/nano-scale pore throat shale systems has become an important domain that could replace current oil ＆ gas resources.Unconventional oil ＆ gas plays an increasingly important role in our energy demand.Tight gas,CBM,heavy oil and asphaltic sand have served as a key domain of exploration ＆ development,with tight oil becoming a ＇bright spot＇ domain and shale gas becoming a ＇hotspot＇ domain.China has made great breakthroughs in unconventional oil ＆ gas resources,such as tight gas,shale gas,tight oil and CBM,and great progress in oil shale,gas hydrate,heavy oil and oil sand.China has an estimated（223-263）×10~8t of unconventional oil resources and（890-1260）×l0^（12）m^3 of gas resources.China has made a breakthrough for progress in unconventional oil ＆ gas study.New progress achieved in fine-grained sedimentary studies related to continental open lacustrine basin large-scale shallow-water delta sand bodies,lacustrine basin central sandy clastic flow sediments and marine-continental fine-grained sediments provide a theoretical basis for the formation and distribution of basin central reservoir bodies.Great breakthroughs have been made in unconventional reservoir geology in respect of research methodology ＆ technology,multi-scale data merging and physical simulation of formation conditions.Overall characterization of unconventional reservoirs via multi-method and multi-scale becomes increasingly popular and facilitates the rapid development of unconventional oil ＆ gas geological theory,method and technology.The formation of innovative,continuous hydrocarbon accumulation theory,the establishment of the framework of the unconventional oil ＆ gas geological theory system,and the determination of the implications,geological feature,formation mechanism,distribution rule and core technology of unconventional oil＆ gas geological study lays a theoretical foundation for extensive unconventional oil ＆ gas exploration and development.Theories and technologies of unconventional oil ＆ gas exploration and development developed rapidly,including some key evaluation techniques such as ＇sweet spot zone＇ integrated evaluation and a six-property evaluation technique that uses hydrocarbon source,lithology,physical property,brittleness,hydrocarbon potential and stress anisotropy,and some key development ＆engineering technologies including micro-seismic monitoring,horizontal drilling ＆ completion and ＂factory-like＂ operation pattern, ＂man-made reservoir＂ development,which have facilitated the innovative development of unconventional oil ＆ gas.These breakthroughs define a new understanding in four aspects：①theoretical innovation;② key technologies;③ complete market mechanism and national policy support;and ④ well-developed ground infrastructure,which are significant for prolonging the life cycle of petroleum industry,accelerating the upgrade and development of theories and technologies and altering the global traditional energy structure.

Development of Petroleum Geology in China:Discussion on Continuous Petroleum Accumulation

Petroleum exploration targets are extending gradually from the single conventional trap reservoirs to the large-scale unconventional continuous accumulations. Oil and gas reservoirs have been divided into two types based on the trapping mechanism and distribution of oil and gas： conven- tional single-trap reservoirs, such as the Daqing oil field in Songliao Basin and the Kela-2 gas field in Tarim Basin; and unconventional continuous petroleum accumulation, such as Upper Paleozoic tight gas and Mesozoic tight oil in Ordos Basin, and Upper Triassic tight gas in Sichuan Basin. Two typical geologic characteristics of continuous petroleum accumulation involve： （1） coexisting source and reser- voir, petroleum pervasive throughout a large area tight reservoirs, and no obvious traps or well-defined water-oil and gas contracts; （2） non-buoyancy accumulation, continuous petroleum charge, and no sig- nificant influence by buoyancy. Continuous petroleum accumulation generally have nm-scale pore throats, and the diameters range of 10-500 nm. The geometry and connectivity of these pore throats has significant impact on the migration and distribution of oil and gas in continuous petroleum accu- mulation. China has numerous continuous petroleum accumulation containing various petroleum de- posits, and the exploration of continuous resources is very promising. Unconventional petroleum geol- ogy will become an important new subject in petroleum geology in future, and the nano-technology will function greatly on research, exploration and development of the hydrocarbon accumulation in nano-pore-throats.

Fluid Mobility Evaluation of Tight Sandstones in Chang 7 Member of Yanchang Formation, Ordos Basin

Fluid mobility has been important topic for unconventional reservoir evaluation.The tight sandstones in Chang 7 Member of the Ordos Basin has been selected to investigate the fluid mobility based on the application of core flooding-NMR combined method and core centrifugation-NMR combined method,and the porous structure is studied using optical microscope,field emission scanning electron microscope(FE-SEM),CT and mercury injection.Our results include:(i)Feldsparrock fragments dissolution pores,calcite dissolution pores,clay mineral dissolution pores,intergranular dissolution expansion pores,inter-granular pores,intra-kaolinite pores,and intra-illite/smectite mixed layer pores are developed in Chang 7 tight sandstones;3D CT pore structure shows that the pore connectivity is positively related to physical properties,and the overall storage space is connected by the throat with diameter between 0.2 and 0.3μm.The percentage of storage space connected by throats with diameter less than 100 nm can reach more than 35%.(ii)Movable fluid saturation of Chang 7 tight sandstones is between 10%and 70%,and movable oil saturation is between 10%and 50%.Movable fluid saturation may cause misunderstanding when used to evaluate fluid mobility,so it is recommended to use movable fluid porosity in the evaluation of fluid mobility.The porosity ranging from 5%to 8%is the inflection point of the fluidity and pore structure.For samples with porosity less than 8%,the movable fluid porosity is generally less than 5%.Moreover,the movable fluid is mainly concentrated in the storage space with a throat diameter of 0.1 to 1μm.For samples with porosity greater than 8%,the porosity of the movable fluid is more than 5%,and the movable fluid is mainly concentrated in the storage space with a throat diameter of 0.2 to 2μm.(iii)The movable fluid saturation measured by core flooding-NMR combined method is generally higher than that measured by core centrifugation-NMR combined method.The former can evaluate the mobility of the oil-water two-phase fluid in samples,while the latter can better reflect the pore structure and directly evaluate the movable fluid in the pore system controlled by different throat diameters.All these results will provide valuable reference for fluid mobility evaluation in tight reservoirs.