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.

Development potential and technical strategy of continental shale oil in China

Continental shale oil is a general term for liquid hydrocarbons and many kinds of organic matter in continental organic-rich shale series with vitrinite reflectance of more than 0.5%at buried depth of more than 300 m,and is an important type of source-rock oil and gas.Based on the evolution model of oil generation and expulsion in organic-rich shale series controlled by maturity,continental shale oil is divided into two types:medium-high maturity and medium-low maturity.(1)The continental shale series in China develop high-quality source rocks of freshwater and saltwater lacustrine facies,as well as multiple types of reservoirs,including clastic rocks,carbonate rocks,diamictite,tuff and shale,forming a number of"sweet sections"and"sweet areas"of continuous distribution inside or near source rocks,which have large scale resources.(2)Experimental analysis of organic rich shale samples shows that the shale samples with wavy and horizontal beddings have good storage conditions,and the horizontal permeability of shale is tens to hundreds of times of its vertical permeability,which is conducive to the lateral migration and accumulation of shale oil in the source rocks.(3)After evaluation,the geological resources of medium-high maturity shale oil are about 10 billion tons,which can be effectively developed by horizontal drilling and volumetric fracturing,and will be a practical field of oil exploration in recent years.Shale oil with medium and low maturity has huge resource potential,and technological recoverable resources of(70?90)billion tons,making it a strategic alternative resource of oil industry.However,economic development of this type of shale oil needs in-situ conversion technology breakthroughs.Continental shale oil is an inevitable choice in the process of Chinese continental petroleum exploration from"outside source"to"inside source".Making breakthroughs in the core technologies such as"sweet area"evaluation and optimization,horizontal well volume fracturing and in-situ conversion technology and equipment is the key to realizing scale development of continental shale oil economically.