Whole petroleum system and ordered distribution pattern of conventional and unconventional oil and gas reservoirs

The classical source-to-trap petroleum system concept only considers the migration and accumulation of conventional oil and gas in traps driven dominantly by buoyance in a basin,although revised and improved,even some new concepts as composite petroleum system,total petroleum system,total composite petroleum system,were proposed,but they do not account for the vast unconventional oil and gas reservoirs within the system,which is not formed and distributed in traps dominantly by buoyancedriven.Therefore,the petroleum system concept is no longer adequate in dealing with all the oil and gas accumulations in a basin where significant amount of the unconventional oil and gas resources are present in addition to the conventional oil and gas accumulations.This paper looked into and analyzed the distribution characteristics of conventional and unconventional oil/gas reservoirs and their differences and correlations in petroliferous basins in China and North America,and then proposed whole petroleum system(WPS)concept,the WPS is defined as a natural system that encompasses all the conventional and unconventional oil and gas,reservoirs and resources originated from organic matter in source rocks,the geological elements and processes involving the formation,evolution,and distribution of these oil and gas,reservoirs and resources.It is found in the WPS that there are three kinds of hydrocarbons dynamic fields,three kinds of original hydrocarbons,three kinds of reservoir rocks,and the coupling of these three essential elements lead to the basic ordered distribution model of shale oil/gas reservoirs contacting or interbeded with tight oil/gas reservoirs and separated conventional oil/gas reservoirs from source rocks upward,which is expressed as“S\T-C”.Abnormal conditions lead to other three special ordered distribution models:The first is that with shale oil/gas reservoirs separated from tight oil/gas reservoirs.The second is that with two direction ordered distributions from source upward and downward.The third is with lateral distribution from source outside.

Proppant transport in rough fractures of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs

A method to generate fractures with rough surfaces was proposed according to the fractal interpolation theory.Considering the particle-particle,particle-wall and particle-fluid interactions,a proppant-fracturing fluid two-phase flow model based on computational fluid dynamics(CFD)-discrete element method(DEM)coupling was established.The simulation results were verified with relevant experimental data.It was proved that the model can match transport and accumulation of proppants in rough fractures well.Several cases of numerical simulations were carried out.Compared with proppant transport in smooth flat fractures,bulge on the rough fracture wall affects transport and settlement of proppants significantly in proppant transportation in rough fractures.The higher the roughness of fracture,the faster the settlement of proppant particles near the fracture inlet,the shorter the horizontal transport distance,and the more likely to accumulate near the fracture inlet to form a sand plugging in a short time.Fracture wall roughness could control the migration path of fracturing fluid to a certain degree and change the path of proppant filling in the fracture.On the one hand,the rough wall bulge raises the proppant transport path and the proppants flow out of the fracture,reducing the proppant sweep area.On the other hand,the sand-carrying fluid is prone to change flow direction near the contact point of bulge,thus expanding the proppant sweep area.

Geological characteristics of unconventional tight oil reservoir (10^(9) t): A case study of Upper Cretaceous Qingshankou Formation, northern Songliao Basin, NE China

The Daqing exploration area in the northern Songliao Basin has great potential for unconventional oil and gas resources,among which the total resources of tight oil alone exceed 109 t and is regarded as an important resource base of Daqing oilfield.After years of exploration in the Qijia area,Songliao Basin,NE China,tight oil has been found in the Upper Cretaceous Qingshankou Formation.To work out tight oil’s geological characteristics,taking tight oil in Gaotaizi oil layers of the Upper Cretaceous Qingshankou Formation in northern Songliao Basin as an example,this paper systematically analyzed the geological characteristics of unconventional tight oil in Gao3 and Gao4 layers of the Qijia area,based on the data of the geological survey,well drilling journey,well logging,and test.It is that three sets of hydrocarbon source rocks(K2qn1,K2qn2+3,and K2n1)develop in the examined area,and exhibit excellent type I and II kerogens,high organic matter abundance,and moderate maturity.The reservoir is generally composed of thin-bedded mudstone,siltstone,and sandstone,and presents poor porosity(average 8.5 vol.%)and air permeability(average 4 mD).The main reservoir space primarily includes intergranular pores,secondary soluble pores,and intergranular soluble pores.Three types of orifice throats were identified,namely fine throat,extra-fine throat,and micro-fine throat.The siltstone is generally oil-bearing,the reservoirs with slime and calcium become worse oil-bearing,and the mudstone has no obvious oil-bearing characteristics.The brittleness indices of the sandstone in the tight oil reservoir range from 40%to 60%,and those of the mudstone range from 40%to 45%,indicating a better brittleness of the tight oil reservoir.Based on the study of typical core hole data,this paper gives a comprehensive evaluation of the properties of the tight oil and establishes a tight oil single well composite bar chart as well as the initial evaluation system with the core of properties in the tight oil reservoir.This study has theoretical guiding significance and practical application value for tight oil exploration and evaluation in the Qijia area.

Crude oil cracking in deep reservoirs:A review of the controlling factors and estimation methods

The natural cracking of crude oils in deep reservoirs has gained great interest due to continuously increasing depth of petroleum exploration and exploitation.Complex oil compositions and surroundings as well as complicated geological evolutions make oil cracking in nature much more complex than industrial pyrolysis.So far,numerous studies,focused on this topic,have made considerable progress although there still exist some drawbacks.However,a comprehensive review on crude oil cracking is yet to be conducted.This article systematically reviews the controlling factors of oil cracking from six aspects,namely,oil compositions,temperature and time,pressure,water,minerals and solid organic matter.We compare previous experimental and modelling results and present new field cases.In the following,we evaluate the prevailing estimation methods for the extent of oil cracking,and elucidate other factors that may interfere with the application of these estimation methods.This review will be helpful for further investigations of crude oil cracking and provides a guide for estimation of the cracking extent of crude oils.

Optimization of operational strategies for rich gas enhanced oil recovery based on a pilot test in the Bakken tight oil reservoir

Horizontal well drilling and multistage hydraulic fracturing have been demonstrated as effective approaches for stimulating oil production in the Bakken tight oil reservoir.However,after multiple years of production,primary oil recovery in the Bakken is generally less than 10%of the estimated original oil in place.Gas huff‘n’puff(HnP)has been tested in the Bakken Formation as an enhanced oil recovery(EOR)method;however,most field pilot test results showed no significant incremental oil production.One of the factors affecting HnP EOR performance is premature gas breakthrough,which is one of the most critical issues observed in the field because of the presence of interwell fractures.Consequently,injected gas rapidly reaches adjacent production wells without contacting reservoir rock and increasing oil recovery.Proper conformance control is therefore needed to avoid early gas breakthrough and improve EOR performance.In this study,a rich gas EOR pilot in the Bakken was carefully analyzed to collect the essential reservoir and operational data.A simulation model with 16 wells was then developed to reproduce the production history and predict the EOR performance with and without conformance control.EOR operational strategies,including single-and multiple-well HnP,with different gas injection constraints were investigated.The simulation results of single-well HnP without conformance control showed that a rich gas injection rate of at least 10 MMscfd was needed to yield meaningful incremental oil production.The strategy of conformance control via water injection could significantly improve oil production in the HnP well,but injecting an excessive amount of water also leads to water breakthrough and loss of oil production in the offset wells.By analyzing the production performance of the wells individually,the arrangement of wells was optimized for multiple-well HnP EOR.The multiwell results showed that rich gas EOR could improve oil production up to 7.4%by employing conformance control strategies.Furthermore,replacing rich gas with propane as the injection gas could result in 14%of incremental oil production.

Genesis Types and Diagenesis Compaction Mechanisms of Sandstone Rreservoirs in Dynamic Environments in Oil/Gas Basins in China

The diversity of sandstone diagenesis mechanisms caused by the complex geological conditions of oil/gas basins in China could hardly be reasonably explained by the traditional concept of burial diagenesis. Three genesis types of thermal diagenesis, tectonic diagenesis and fluid diagenesis are presented on the basis of the dynamic environment of the oil/gas basins and.the controlling factors and mechanisms of sandstone diagenesis. Thermal diagenesis of sandstone reservoirs is related not only to the effect of formation temperature on diagenesis, but also to the significant changes in diagenesis caused by geothermal gradients. The concept of thermal compaction is presented. Thermal compaction becomes weaker with increasing depth and becomes stronger at a higher geothermal gradient. At the same formation temperature, the sandstone porosity in the region with a lower geothermal gradient is e^0.077＋0.0042T times higher than that in the region with a higher geothermal gradient. Both sudden and gradual changes are observed in diagenetic evolution caused by structural deformation. Average sandstone compaction increased by 0.1051% for every 1.0MPa increase of lateral tectonic compressional stress, while late tectonic napping helped to preserve a higher porosity of underlying sandstone reservoir. Fluid diagenesis is a general phenomenon. The compaction caused by fluid properties is significant. The coarser the grain size, the stronger the fluid effect on compaction. The greater the burial depth, the weaker the fluid effect on compaction for the specific reservoir lithology and the greater the difference in the fluid effects on compaction between different grain sizes.

BTEX anomalies used as indicators of submarine oil and gas reservoirs

It is a conventional method for petroleum prospecting to generally use paraffin hydrocarbon as basic indexes of oil and gas. This conventional geochemical technology, however, shows some limits in the prospecting as paraffin is vulnerable to influences from human and biologic activities. Consequently, BTEX （short for benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylem, which are direct biomarkers） among aromatic hydrocarbon series has been taken into account for the oil and gas prediction. Domestic and foreign study results demonstrate that BTEX is hardly disturbed and can well indicate oil and gas reservoirs. Based on measured data from a South China Sea area, the present authors have used self-developed visual assessment software for petroleum prospecting has been used to process data, strip background anomalies, and outline significant BTEX anomalies. By comparison with stratigraphic profiles of the target area, it is confirmed that BTEX is a good indication of marine oil and gas during the petroleum prospecting.

Progress and development directions of stimulation techniques for ultra-deep oil and gas reservoirs

By reviewing the development history of stimulation techniques for deep/ultra-deep oil and gas reservoirs,the new progress in this field in China and abroad has been summed up,including deeper understanding on formation mechanisms of fracture network in deep/ultra-deep oil and gas reservoir,performance improvement of fracturing fluid materials,fine stratification of ultra-deep vertical wells,and mature staged multi-cluster fracturing technique for ultra-deep and highly deviated wells/horizontal wells.In light of the exploration and development trend of ultra-deep oil and gas reservoirs in China,the requirements and technical difficulties in ultra-deep oil and gas reservoir stimulation are discussed:(1)The research and application of integrated geological engineering technology is difficult.(2)The requirements on fracturing materials for stimulation are high.(3)It is difficult to further improve the production in vertical profile of the ultra-deep and hugely thick reservoirs.(4)The requirements on tools and supporting high-pressure equipment on the ground for stimulation are high.(5)It is difficult to achieve efficient stimulation of ultra-deep,high-temperature and high-pressure wells.(6)It is difficult to monitor directly the reservoir stimulation and evaluate the stimulation effect accurately after stimulation.In line with the complex geological characteristics of ultra-deep oil and gas reservoirs in China,seven technical development directions are proposed:(1)To establish systematic new techniques for basic research and evaluation experiments;(2)to strengthen geological research and improve the operational mechanism of integrating geological research and engineering operation;(3)to develop high-efficiency fracturing materials for ultra-deep reservoirs;(4)to research separated layer fracturing technology for ultra-deep and hugely thick reservoirs;(5)to explore fracture-control stimulation technology for ultra-deep horizontal well;(6)to develop direct monitoring technology for hydraulic fractures in ultra-deep oil and gas reservoirs;(7)to develop downhole fracturing tools with high temperature and high pressure tolerance and supporting wellhead equipment able to withstand high pressure.

Formation conditions and exploration direction of large natural gas reservoirs in the oil-prone Bohai Bay Basin, East China

The Bohai Bay Basin is a typical oil-prone basin, in which natural gas geological reserves have a small proportion. In this basin, the gas source rock is largely medium-deep lake mudstone with oil-prone type Ⅱ2-Ⅱ1 kerogens, and natural gas preservation conditions are poor due to active late tectonic movements. The formation conditions of large natural gas fields in the Bohai Bay Basin have been elusive. Based on the exploration results of Bohai Bay Basin and comparison with large gas fields in China and abroad, the formation conditions of conventional large-scale natural gas reservoirs in the Bohai Bay Basin were examined from accumulation dynamics, structure and sedimentation. The results show that the formation conditions of conventional large natural gas reservoirs in Bohai Bay Basin mainly include one core element and two key elements. The core factor is the strong sealing of Paleogene "quilt-like" overpressure mudstone. The two key factors include the rapid maturation and high-intensity gas generation of source rock in the late stage and large scale reservoir. On this basis, large-scale nature gas accumulation models in the Bohai Bay Basin have been worked out, including regional overpressure mudstone enriching model, local overpressure mudstone depleting model, sand-rich sedimentary subsag depleting model and late strongly-developed fault depleting model. It is found that Bozhong sag, northern Liaozhong sag and Banqiao sag have favorable conditions for the formation of large-scale natural gas reservoirs, and are worth exploring. The study results have important guidance for exploration of large scale natural gas reservoirs in the Bohai Bay Basin.

Terahertz-dependent identification of simulated hole shapes in oil gas reservoirs

Detecting holes in oil–gas reservoirs is vital to the evaluation of reservoir potential. The main objective of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of identifying general micro-hole shapes, including triangular, circular, and square shapes, in oil–gas reservoirs by adopting terahertz time-domain spectroscopy(THz-TDS). We evaluate the THz absorption responses of punched silicon(Si) wafers having micro-holes with sizes of 20 μm–500 μm. Principal component analysis(PCA) is used to establish a model between THz absorbance and hole shapes. The positions of samples in three-dimensional spaces for three principal components are used to determine the differences among diverse hole shapes and the homogeneity of similar shapes. In addition, a new Si wafer with the unknown hole shapes, including triangular, circular, and square, can be qualitatively identified by combining THz-TDS and PCA. Therefore, the combination of THz-TDS with mathematical statistical methods can serve as an effective approach to the rapid identification of micro-hole shapes in oil–gas reservoirs.

Prolific Oil and Gas Reservoirs Discovered in Extremely Shallow Sea in Dagang

ProlificoilandgasflowswereobtainedfromWellGangshen78intheextremelyshallowseaareaonNovember22.Adailyoilproductionof542.58m3andadailygasproductionof90500m3wererecordedona12.7mmchoke.ItisreportedthattheproducingformationinWellGangshen78doesnotbelongtoth...

Types of Karst-fractured and Porous Reservoirs in China's Carbonates and the Nature of the Tahe Oilfield in the Tarim Basin

Almost all the oil and gas reservoirs developed in marine sedimentary strata of China have undergone processes of multi-phase reservoir formation and later modification. The irregular reservoirs are classified into three types as the Naxi, Tahe and Renqiu ones, increasing successively in the development degree of karstificated pores and fissures and the connection degree of independent reservoirs. In these reservoirs, the unity in the fluid feature, pressure and oil-gas-water interface also increases successively from the Naxi to the Renqiu type. The main body of Ordovician reservoirs of the Tahe Oilfield in the Tarim Basin is a network pool rather than a stratified, massive, stratigraphically-unconformed or weathering-crust one. The fluid nature of oil, gas and water, the interface positions and the pressures, as well as the dynamic conditions of fluids within the reservoirs during the production are all different from those in stratified or massive oil and gas reservoirs. Carbonates in the Akekule uplift and the Tahe Oilfield are assemblages of various types of reservoirs, which have an overall oil-bearing potential and obvious uneven distribution. Testing and producing tests are the major means to evaluate this type of reservoirs and acid fracturing improvement is a key link in petroleum exploration and development.

Laboratory to field scale assessment for EOR applicability in tight oil reservoirs

Tight oil reservoirs are contributing a major role to fulfill the overall crude oil needs,especially in the US.However,the dilemma is their ultra-tight permeability and an uneconomically short-lived primary recovery factor.Therefore,the application of EOR in the early reservoir development phase is considered effective for fast-paced and economical tight oil recovery.To achieve these objectives,it is imperative to determine the optimum EOR potential and the best-suited EOR application for every individual tight oil reservoir to maximize its ultimate recovery factor.Since most of the tight oil reservoirs are found in wide spatial source rock with complex and compacted pores and poor geophysical properties yet they hold high saturation of good quality oil and therefore,every single percent increase in oil recovery from such huge reservoirs potentially provide an additional million barrels of oil.Hence,the EOR application in such reservoirs is quite essential.However,the physical understanding of EOR applications in different circumstances from laboratory to field scale is the key to success and similarly,the fundamental physical concepts of fluid flow-dynamics under confinement conditions play an important role.This paper presents a detailed discussion on laboratory-based experimental achievements at micro-scale including fundamental concepts under confinement environment,physics-based numerical studies,and recent actual field piloting experiences based on the U.S.unconventional plays.The objective of this paper is to discuss all the critical reservoir rock and fluid properties and their contribution to reservoir development through massive multi-staged hydraulic fracture networks and the EOR applications.Especially the CO_(2)and produced hydrocarbon gas injection through single well-based huff-n-puff operational constraints are discussed in detail both at micro and macro scale.

Advances in enhanced oil recovery technologies for low permeability reservoirs

Low permeability oil and gas resources are rich and have great potential all over the world, which has gradually become the main goal of oil and gas development. However, after traditional primary and secondary exploitation, there is still a large amount of remaining oil that has not been recovered.Therefore, in recent years, enhanced oil recovery(EOR) technologies for low permeability reservoirs have been greatly developed to further improve crude oil production. This study presents a comprehensive review of EOR technologies in low permeability reservoirs with an emphasis on gas flooding, surfactant flooding, nanofluid flooding and imbibition EOR technologies. In addition, two kinds of gel systems are introduced for conformance control in low permeability reservoirs with channeling problems. Finally,the technical challenges, directions and outlooks of EOR in low permeability reservoirs are addressed.

Shale oil and gas exploitation in China:Technical comparison with US and development suggestions

The shale oil and gas exploitation in China is technically benchmarked with the United States in terms of development philosophy,reservoir stimulation treatment,fracturing parameters,fracturing equipment and materials,oil/gas production technology,and data/achievements sharing.It is recognized that the shale oil and gas exploitation in China is weak in seven aspects:understanding of flow regimes,producing of oil/gas reserves,monitoring of complex fractures,repeated stimulation technology,oil/gas production technology,casing deformation prevention technology,and wellbore maintenance technology.Combined with the geological and engineering factors of shale oil and gas in China,the development suggestions of four projects are proposed from the macro-and micro-perspective,namely,basic innovation project,exploitation technology project,oil/gas production stabilization project,and supporting efficiency-improvement project,so as to promote the rapid,efficient,stable,green and extensive development of shale oil and gas industry chain and innovation chain and ultimately achieve the goal of“oil volume stabilizing and gas volume increasing”.

Evaluation of reservoir environment by chemical properties of reservoir water‒A case study of Chang 6 reservoir in Ansai oilfield,Ordos Basin,China

The Ordos Basin is the largest continental multi-energy mineral basin in China,which is rich in coal,oil and gas,and uranium resources.The exploitation of mineral resources is closely related to reservoir water.The chemical properties of reservoir water are very important for reservoir evaluation and are significant indicators of the sealing of reservoir oil and gas resources.Therefore,the caprock of the Chang 6 reservoir in the Yanchang Formation was evaluated.The authors tested and analyzed the chemical characteristics of water samples selected from 30 wells in the Chang 6 reservoir of Ansai Oilfield in the Ordos Basin.The results show that the Chang 6 reservoir water in Ansai Oilfield is dominated by calcium-chloride water type with a sodium chloride coefficient of generally less than 0.5.The chloride magnesium coefficients are between 33.7 and 925.5,most of which are greater than 200.The desulfurization coefficients range from 0.21 to 13.4,with an average of 2.227.The carbonate balance coefficients are mainly concentrated below 0.01,with an average of 0.008.The calcium and magnesium coefficients are between 0.08 and 0.003,with an average of 0.01.Combined with the characteristics of the four-corner layout of the reservoir water,the above results show that the graphics are basically consistent.The study indicates that the Chang 6 reservoir in Ansai Oilfield in the Ordos Basin is a favorable block for oil and gas storage with good sealing properties,great preservation conditions of oil and gas,and high pore connectivity.

Downhole Microseismic Source Location Based on a Multi-Dimensional DIRECT Algorithm for Unconventional Oil and Gas Reservoir Exploration

Downhole microseismic data has the significant advantages of high signal-to-noise ratio and well-developed P and S waves and the core component of microseismic monitoring is microseismic event location associated with hydraulic fracturing in a relatively high confidence level and accuracy.In this study,we present a multidimensional DIRECT inversion method for microseismic locations and applicability tests over modeling data based on a downhole microseismic monitoring system.Synthetic tests inidcate that the objective function of locations can be defined as a multi-dimensional matrix space by employing the global optimization DIRECT algorithm,because it can be run without the initial value and objective function derivation,and the discretely scattered objective points lead to an expeditious contraction of objective functions in each dimension.This study shows that the DIRECT algorithm can be extensively applied in real downhole microseismic monitoring data from hydraulic fracturing completions.Therefore,the methodology,based on a multidimensional DIRECT algorithm,can provide significant high accuracy and convergent efficiency as well as robust computation for interpretable spatiotemporal microseismic evolution,which is more suitable for real-time processing of a large amount of downhole microseismic monitoring data.

Prediction of Sedimentary Microfacies Distribution by Coupling Stochastic Modeling Method in Oil and Gas Energy Resource Exploitation

In view of the problem that a single modeling method cannot predict the distribution of microfacies, a new idea of coupling modeling method to comprehensively predict the distribution of sedimentary microfacies was proposed, breaking the tradition that different sedimentary microfacies used the same modeling method in the past. Because different sedimentary microfacies have different distribution characteristics and geometric shapes, it is more accurate to select different simulation methods for prediction. In this paper, the coupling modeling method was to establish the distribution of sedimentary microfacies with simple geometry through the point indicating process simulation, and then predict the microfacies with complex spatial distribution through the sequential indicator simulation method. Taking the DC block of Bohai basin as an example, a high-precision reservoir sedimentary microfacies model was established by the above coupling modeling method, and the model verification results showed that the sedimentary microfacies model had a high consistency with the underground. The coupling microfacies modeling method had higher accuracy and reliability than the traditional modeling method, which provided a new idea for the prediction of sedimentary microfacies.

Geochemical Characteristics and Migration Pathways of Ordovician Carbonate Oil Reservoirs in the Tuoputai Area,Tarim Basin,Northwestern China

Exploration potential is huge and the oil resources are rich in the Ordovician reservoirs of the Tarim Basin.However,the mechanism of hydrocarbon accumulation is complex and not yet fully understood.In the Tuoputai area,the hydrocarbon migration pathways and characteristics of deep hydrocarbon accumulation are revealed through analyses of the physical data of rich oil and gas,the geochemical parameters of oil,and fluid inclusions.The results show that the Ordovician oils in the Tuoputai area have the same geochemical characteristics as the mixed oil from the Lower Cambrian source rock and the Middle–Upper Ordovician source rock.The Ordovician reservoirs have been charged three times:in the late Caledonian,late Hercynian,and Himalayan stages.Oil charging occurred in the Hercynian stage,in particular,as it is the main filling period of hydrocarbon.The north-northeast(NNE)-trending TP12 CX major fault,active in in these times and is dominant migration channel of hydrocarbon,but there is segmentation affected by the difference of activities.Oil maturity is higher in the south than in the north and is abnormally high near the major fault.Parameters related to migration indicate that oil migrated northeastward along the NNE-trending TP12 CX major fault and adjusted laterally along the secondary faults and weathering crust,forming the present characteristics of oil and gas distribution.

Paleo-oil reservoir pyrolysis and gas release in the Yangtze Block imply an alternative mechanism for the Late Permian Crisis

The causes of the global mass extinction that occurred around the Permian-Triassic boundary have been widely studied through the geological record and in various locations.The results show that volcanic activity was a key factor in initiating the crisis during the Late Permian.Compared to other thermal events triggered by volcanic activity,pyrolysis of petroleum in Pre-Permian reservoirs has rarely been suggested as a significant source of the greenhouse gases that caused the mass extinction.In this study,geochemical analysis is carried out of a huge paleo-oil reservoir in the Yangtze Block(YB),South China.The detection of mineral inclusions and pyrobitumens is evidence of rapid pyrolysis of accumulated oil in the Ediacaran reservoir.New evidence from hydrothermal minerals and the presence of domain mesophase in the pyrobitumen suggest that the pyrolysis process occurred abruptly and that greenhouse gases were rapidly released through venting pipes.The dating of such a complex geological event in this old and deeply buried reservoir is inevitably difficult and potentially unreliable.However,cross-validation of the multiple evidence sources,including hydrothermal minerals and domain mesophase,indicates that the rapid oil pyrolysis must have been driven by a major thermal event.Reconstruction of burial and thermal histories suggests that the thermal event was most likely to have been triggered by the Emeishan Large Igneous Province(ELIP),which was in a period of significant volcanic activity during the Late Permian.Massive volumes of gases,including methane,carbon dioxide,and possibly hydrogen sulfide,were released,causing a significant increase in greenhouse gases that may have contributed to global warming and the resulting mass extinction during the Late Permian Crisis(LPC).