Pore characteristics and formation mechanism of high-maturity organic-rich shale in Lower Cambrian Jiumenchong Formation,southern Guizhou

In order to investigate pore characteristics and formation mechanism in the high-maturity organic-rich shale of Lower Cambrian Jiumenchong Formation in southern Guizhou,the pore structure,pore type and storage properties are well studied through the rock thin section,total rock X-ray diffraction,lowtemperature nitrogen adsorption,high pressure mercury injection-adsorption test,helium porosity test,argon ion polishing-scanning electron microscope,thermal evolution and pore evolution history reconstruction,and based on the diagenesis and compaction as well as thermal evolution process,a microscopic pore formation and evolution model of high-maturity organic-rich shale are established.The result shows that the high-maturity organic-rich shale of Jiumenchong Formation has the average total specific surface area of 12.66m^(2)/g and the total pore volume of 11.54×10^(-3)cm^(3)/g,and the total specific surface area have a positive correlation with total pore volume;the total specific surface area and the total pore volume are slightly lower compared with the Lower Silurian shale.The pores are dominated by micropores and mesopores,while macropores are very rare.The pores of the organic-rich shale mainly are organic pores with small diameter usually less than 30 nm,and the pore boundary form is irregular,the inorganic mineral pores are not developed.Compared with the Silurian shale,the shale has poorer reservoir property,the average porosity is only 2.80%;the horizontal permeability is 1e3 times of the vertical permeability,indicating the horizontal lamellations are not developed.The formation and evolution of pores in high-maturity organic-rich shale is jointly influenced by the evolutionary process of intergranular pores of inorganic mineral under the control of the diagenesis and compaction,the organic pore formation process in the hydrocarbon generation-oil formation-oil and gas transformation sequence under the control of thermal evolution,and the natural gas loss-supply equilibration process under the condition of later pore preservation.

Pore evolution characteristic of shale in the Longmaxi Formation,Sichuan Basin

Through the field emission scanning electronic microscope(FESEM)and the nitrogen adsorption test,pore type and structure of shale reservoir in the Longmaxi Formation in the Sichuan Basin were well studied.Result showed that the pore type includes organic pore,intercrystalline pore,dissolution intracrystalline pore and interparticle pore,and the organic pore was one of major pore types;among the organic pore,the micropore had large pore volume and specific surface area,and was the main storage space of shale gas.Through study on effect of total organic carbon(TOC),organic matter maturity(Ro),diagenesis and tectonism on shale porosity,influence of TOC on porosity could be divided into four stages:the rapid increasing stage(TOC from 0 to 2%),the slow decreasing stage(TOC from 2 to 3%),the rapid increasing stage(TOC from 3 to 4%or 6%)and the rapid decreasing stage(TOC>4%or 6%);influence of the maturity on porosity of shale could be divided into three stages:the rapid decreasing stage(Ro from 1.5 to 2.2%),the rapid increasing stage(Ro from 2.2 to 2.7%)and the rapid decreasing stage(Ro>2.7%);during the high thermal evolution stage,the organic diagenesis was stronger than the inorganic diagenesis;the tectonism had a great impact on porosity,and the more intense the tectonism was,the smaller the porosity would be.The evolution of shale porosity of the Longmaxi Formation underwent five stages:the immature rapid compaction stage(Ro<0.7%),the mature hydrocarbon generation and dissolution stage(Ro from 0.7 to 1.3%),the high mature pore closed stage(Ro from 1.3 to 2.2%),the overmature secondary pyrolysis stage(Ro from 2.2 to 2.7%)and the overmature slow compaction stage(Ro>2.7%);among which the mature hydrocarbon generation and dissolution stage and the overmature secondary pyrolysis stage were the most favorable shale pore development stages。

Gas-in-place and its influence factors of the upper Paleozoic coal-bearing shale in the Qinshui Basin, China

Coal-bearing shale shows great potential for unconventional gas resources in China, while its exploration and development have been challenging for a long time. Gas-in-place (GIP) is critical to shale gas evaluation, but the major factors controlling the GIP content of coal-bearing shale remain unclear. To address this issue, the coal-bearing shales of the upper Carboniferous-lower Permian Taiyuan and Shanxi formations in the Zuoquan Block, Qinshui Basin, China, were collected for GIP measurements and an integrated investigation, including organic geochemistry, inorganic mineral compositions, and pore characterizations, was carried out. Our results show that the GIP content of the studied shales displays relatively low values and wide variations, which range from 0.30 to 2.28 m^(3)/t. The GIP is dominated by desorbed gas and residual gas. Total organic carbon (TOC) contents of the studied shales vary from 0.92% to 16.91%, and inorganic minerals are dominated by clays that mainly consist of illite/smectite mixed layer (I/S) and kaolinite. Inorganic pores have been widely observed in the studied shales, while the organic matter-hosted pores are rarely found using SEM observations. Total porosity of the studied shales is primarily contributed by clay minerals, followed by organic matter and quartz. Weak positive relationships between the GIP content and pore structure parameters imply that the adsorption of methane to nanopores is relatively weak, which may be attributed to the hydrophilicity of clay-hosted pores. Moreover, hydrophobic organic pores are not well developed. Positive correlations between the GIP contents and contents of TOC, clays, and the I/S indicate that major factors influencing the GIP contents of the coal-bearing shales are clays (especially I/S) and TOC content. In summary, these findings would be very helpful to reveal the enrichment mechanism of coal-bearing shale gas and provide a scientific basis for the exploration and development of coal-bearing shale gas.