Discovery and inspiration of large-and medium-sized glutenite-rich oil and gas fields in the eastern South China Sea:An example from Paleogene Enping Formation in Huizhou 26 subsag,Pearl River Mouth Basin

Based on the practice of oil and gas exploration in the Huizhou Sag of the Pearl River Mouth Basin,the geochemical indexes of source rocks were measured,the reservoir development morphology was restored,the rocks and minerals were characterized microscopically,the measured trap sealing indexes were compared,the biomarker compounds of crude oil were extracted,the genesis of condensate gas was identified,and the reservoir-forming conditions were examined.On this basis,the Paleogene Enping Formation in the Huizhou 26 subsag was systematically analyzed for the potential of oil and gas resources,the development characteristics of large-scale high-quality conglomerate reservoirs,the trapping effectiveness of faults,the hydrocarbon migration and accumulation model,and the formation conditions and exploration targets of large-and medium-sized glutenite-rich oil and gas fields.The research results were obtained in four aspects.First,the Paleogene Wenchang Formation in the Huizhou 26 subsag develops extensive and thick high-quality source rocks of semi-deep to deep lacustrine subfacies,which have typical hydrocarbon expulsion characteristics of"great oil generation in the early stage and huge gas expulsion in the late stage",providing a sufficient material basis for hydrocarbon accumulation in the Enping Formation.Second,under the joint control of the steep slope zone and transition zone of the fault within the sag,the large-scale near-source glutenite reservoirs are highly heterogeneous,with the development scale dominated hierarchically by three factors(favorable facies zone,particle component,and microfracture).The(subaqueous)distributary channels near the fault system,with equal grains,a low mud content(<5%),and a high content of feldspar composition,are conducive to the development of sweet spot reservoirs.Third,the strike-slip pressurization trap covered by stable lake flooding mudstone is a necessary condition for oil and gas preservation,and the NE and nearly EW faults obliquely to the principal stress have the best control on traps.Fourth,the spatiotemporal configuration of high-quality source rocks,fault transport/sealing,and glutenite reservoirs controls the degree of hydrocarbon enrichment.From top to bottom,three hydrocarbon accumulation units,i.e.low-fill zone,transition zone,and high-fill zone,are recognized.The main area of the channel in the nearly pressurized source-connecting fault zone is favorable for large-scale hydrocarbon enrichment.The research results suggest a new direction for the exploration of large-scale glutenite-rich reservoirs in the Enping Formation of the Pearl River Mouth Basin,and present a major breakthrough in oil and gas exploration.

Geological constraints of giant and medium-sized gas fields in Kuqa Depression

There is a gas-rich and well-charged petroleumsystem in the Kuqa Depression where Triassic and Jurassicsource rocks play important roles. Distributed in an area ofmore than 10000 km and with a thickness of up to 1000 m,they are composed of dark mudstones, carbonaceous mud-stones and coal seams containing 6%, 40% and 90% of TOC,respectively, and are mainly the humic organic matter. Ashigh-quality regional cap rocks, the Neogene and Eogenegypsum rocks and gypseous mudstones matched well withthe underlying Neogene and Cretaceous-Eogene sandstones.They have formed the most favorable reservoir-seal assem-blages in the Kuqa Depression. Also the Jurassic sandstonesand mudstones formed another favorable reservoir-seal as-semblage. The traps are shaped late in the fold-thrust belt,mainly fixed in the Tertiary-Quaternary, where ten structurestyles have been distinguished. These traps spread as a zonein N-S, are scattered like a segmental line in W-E and showtier-styled vertically. The best traps are gypsum-salt coveredfault-bend anticlines related to the passive roof duplex. Thispetroleum system is characterized by late accumulation. Inthe early Himalayan Movement, mainly gas condensate andoil accumulated and were distributed in the outer circularregion of the kitchen; whereas in the middle and late Hima-layan the gas accumulations mainly formed and were dis-tributed in the inner circular region near the kitchen. Theoverpressure of gas pools is common and is formed by sealcapacity of thick gypsum layers, extensive tectonic compres-sion and large uplift. The well-preserved anticline traps un-derlying the high-quality regional cap rocks of the Tertiarygypsum rocks and gypseous mudstones are the main targetsfor the discovery of giant and medium-sized gas fields. Aboveconclusions are important for the petroleum geology theoryand the exploration of the fold-thrust belt in foreland basinsin central and western China.