Geochemical prerequisites for the formation of oil and gas accumulation zones in the South Turgay basin,Kazakhstan

This study predicts favorable oil and gas source-rock formation conditions in the Aryskum Depression of the South Turgay Basin,Kazakhstan.This study assesses the thermal maturity and characteristics of organic matter by determining its environmental conditions using data from geochemical analysis of core(pyrolysis)and oil(biomarkers and carbon isotopic compositions)samples.According to the geochemical parameters obtained by pyrolysis,the oil generation potential of the original rocks of most studied samples varies from poor to rich.The facies–genetic organic matter is predominantly humic and less frequently humus–sapropel,indicating organic matter accumulation in the studied samples were under moderately reducing conditions(kerogenⅢand Ⅱ types)and coastal–marine environments(kerogen typeⅠ).The carbon isotopic compositions of oils derived from the Jurassic deposits of the Aryskum Depression also indicate the sapropelic and mixed humic–sapropelic type of organic matter(kerogenⅡandⅠ).Biomarker analysis of oils indicates original organic matter formation in an anoxic environment.

Miscibility of light oil and flue gas under thermal action

The miscibility of flue gas and different types of light oils is investigated through slender-tube miscible displacement experiment at high temperature and high pressure.Under the conditions of high temperature and high pressure,the miscible displacement of flue gas and light oil is possible.At the same temperature,there is a linear relationship between oil displacement efficiency and pressure.At the same pressure,the oil displacement efficiency increases gently and then rapidly to more than 90% to achieve miscible displacement with the increase of temperature.The rapid increase of oil displacement efficiency is closely related to the process that the light components of oil transit in phase state due to distillation with the rise of temperature.Moreover,at the same pressure,the lighter the oil,the lower the minimum miscibility temperature between flue gas and oil,which allows easier miscibility and ultimately better performance of thermal miscible flooding by air injection.The miscibility between flue gas and light oil at high temperature and high pressure is more typically characterized by phase transition at high temperature in supercritical state,and it is different from the contact extraction miscibility of CO_(2) under conventional high pressure conditions.

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.

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.

Evaluation of the oil and gas preservation conditions, source rocks, and hydrocarbongenerating potential of the Qiangtang Basin: New evidence from the scientific drilling project

The Qiangtang Basin of the Tibetan Plateau,located in the eastern Tethys tectonic domain,is the largest new marine petroliferous region for exploration in China.The scientific drilling project consisting primarily of well QK-1 and its supporting shallow boreholes for geological surveys(also referred to as the Project)completed in recent years contributes to a series of new discoveries and insights into the oil and gas preservation conditions and source rock evaluation of the Qiangtang Basin.These findings differ from previous views that the Qiangtang Basin has poor oil and gas preservation conditions and lacks high-quality source rocks.As revealed by well QK-1 and its supporting shallow boreholes in the Project,the Qiangtang Basin hosts two sets of high-quality regional seals,namely an anhydrite layer in the Quemo Co Formation and the gypsum-bearing mudstones in the Xiali Formation.Moreover,the Qiangtang Basin has favorable oil and gas preservation conditions,as verified by the comprehensive study of the sealing capacity of seals,basin structure,tectonic uplift,magmatic activity,and groundwater motion.Furthermore,the shallow boreholes have also revealed that the Qiangtang Basin has high-quality hydrocarbon source rocks in the Upper Triassic Bagong Formation,which are thick and widely distributed according to the geological and geophysical data.In addition,the petroleum geological conditions,such as the type,abundance,and thermal evolution of organic matter,indicate that the Qiangtang Basin has great hydrocarbon-generating potential.

Influence of the Moho surface distribution on the oil and gas basins in China seas and adjacent areas

Owing to the strategic significance of national oil and gas resources,their exploration and production must be prioritized in China.Oil and gas resources are closely related to deep crustal structures,and Moho characteristics influence oil and gas distribution.Therefore,it is important to study the relationship between the variation of the Moho surface depth undulation and hydrocarbon basins for the future prediction of their locations.The Moho depth in the study area can be inverted using the Moho depth control information,the Moho gravity anomaly,and the variable density distribution calculated by the infinite plate.Based on these results,the influences of Moho characteristics on petroleum basins were studied.We found that the Moho surface depth undulation deviation and crustal thickness undulation deviation in the hydrocarbon-rich basins are large,and the horizontal gradient deviation of the Moho surface shows a positive linear relationship with oil and gas resources in the basin.The oil-bearing mechanism of the Moho basin is further discussed herein.The Moho uplift area and the slope zone correspond to the distribution of oil and gas fields.The tensile stress produced by the Moho uplift can form tensile fractures or cause tensile fractures on the surface,further developing into a fault or depression basin that receives deposits.The organic matter can become oil and natural gas under suitable chemical and structural conditions.Under the action of groundwater or other dynamic forces,oil and natural gas are gradually transported to the uplift or the buried hill in the depression zone,and oil and gas fields are formed under the condition of good caprock.The research results can provide new insights into the relationship between deep structures and oil and gas basins as well as assist in the strategic planning of oil and gas exploration activities.

The gradual subduction-collision evolution model of Proto-South China Sea and its control on oil and gas

This study involved outcrop,drilling,seismic,gravity,and magnetic data to systematically document the geological records of the subduction process of Proto-South China Sea(PSCS)and establish its evolution model.The results indicate that a series of arc-shaped ophiolite belts and calcalkaline magmatic rocks are developed in northern Borneo,both of which have the characteristics of gradually changing younger from west to east,and are direct signs of subduction and collision of PSCS.At the same time,the subduction of PSCS led to the formation of three accretion zones from the south to the north in Borneo,the Kuching belt,Sibu belt,and Miri belt.The sedimentary formation of northern Borneo is characterized by a three-layer structure,with the oceanic basement at the bottom,overlying the deep-sea flysch deposits of the Rajang–Crocker group,and the molasse sedimentary sequence that is dominated by river-delta and shallow marine facies at the top,recording the whole subduction–collision–orogeny process of PSCS.Further,seismic reflection and tomography also confirmed the subduction and collision of PSCS.Based on the geological records of the subduction and collision of PSCS,combined with the comprehensive analysis of segmented expansion and key tectonic events in the South China Sea,we establish the“gradual”subduction-collision evolution model of PSCS.During the late Eocene to middle Miocene,the Zengmu,Nansha,and Liyue–Palawan blocks were separated by West Baram Line and Balabac Fault,which collided with the Borneo block and Kagayan Ridge successively from the west to the east,forming several foreland basin systems,and PSCS subducted and closed from the west to the east.The subduction and extinction of PSCS controlled the oil and gas distribution pattern of southern South China Sea(SSCS)mainly in three aspects.First,the“gradual”closure process of PSCS led to the continuous development of many large deltas in SSCS.Second,the deltas formed during the subduction–collision of PSCS controlled the development of source rocks in the basins of SSCS.Macroscopically,the distribution and scale of deltas controlled the distribution and scale of source rocks,forming two types of source rocks,namely,coal measures and terrestrial marine facies.Microscopically,the difference of terrestrial higher plants carried by the delta controlled the proportion of macerals of source rocks.Third,the difference of source rocks mainly controlled the distribution pattern of oil and gas in SSCS.Meanwhile,the difference in the scale of source rocks mainly controlled the difference in the amount of oil and gas discoveries,resulting in a huge amount of oil and gas discoveries in the basin of SSCS.Meanwhile,the difference of macerals of source rocks mainly controlled the difference of oil and gas generation,forming the oil and gas distribution pattern of“nearshore oil and far-shore gas”.

Research progress and key issues of ultra-deep oil and gas exploration in China

Based on the recent oil and gas discoveries and geological understandings on the ultra-deep strata of sedimentary basins, the formation and occurrence of hydrocarbons in the ultra-deep strata were investigated with respect to the processes of basin formation, hydrocarbon generation, reservoir formation and hydrocarbon accumulation, and key issues in ultra-deep oil and gas exploration were discussed. The ultra-deep strata in China underwent two extensional-convergent cycles in the Meso-Neoproterozoic Era and the Early Paleozoic Era respectively, with the tectonic-sedimentary differentiation producing the spatially adjacent source-reservoir assemblages. There are diverse large-scale carbonate reservoirs such as mound-beach, dolomite, karst fracture-vug, fractured karst and faulted zone, as well as over-pressured clastic rock and fractured bedrock reservoirs. Hydrocarbons were accumulated in multiple stages, accompanied by adjusting and finalizing in the late stage. The distribution of hydrocarbons is controlled by high-energy beach zone, regional unconformity, paleo-high and large-scale fault zone. The ultra-deep strata endow oil and gas resources as 33% of the remaining total resources, suggesting an important successive domain for hydrocarbon development in China. The large-scale pool-forming geologic units and giant hydrocarbon enrichment zones in ultra-deep strata are key and promising prospects for delivering successive discoveries. The geological conditions and enrichment zone prediction of ultra-deep oil and gas are key issues of petroleum geology.

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”.

Global oil and gas development in 2022:Situation,trends and enlightenment

Through analysis of four aspects,including the distribution and production of global oil and gas fields,the distribution and changes of remaining recoverable reserves,the differences in oil and gas production between regions/countries,and the development potential of oil and gas fields with production capacity not built and to be built,this paper presents the situation and trends of global oil and gas development in 2022.It is found that,in 2022,oil and gas fields are widely distributed worldwide,and upstream production activities continue to recover;the oil and gas reserves decrease slightly year on year,and the oil and gas reserves in sea areas increase significantly;the oil and gas production increases continuously,and the key resource countries make a significant contribution in oil and gas production growth;the oil and gas fields with production capacity not built and to be built hold abundant reserves,and their development potential will be gradually released with the economic benefits increase.Further analysis is conducted from the perspectives of global oil and gas resources continuity,geopolitical risks,potential of international cooperation,and upgrade of unconventional oil and gas technology.Finally,in view of core business domains and strategies under the new situation,the Chinese oil companies are recommended to:(1)keep a foothold in onshore conventional oil and gas development by virtue of their comparative advantages and learning from other’s experience in cooperation;(2)carry out pilot tests on development adjustment,and deepen the international cooperation in enhanced oil/gas recovery;(3)improve the oil and gas operation capabilities in sea areas to transform from follower as minority shareholder to joint venture and then to independent operations;and(4)seek appropriate ways for shale oil/gas development to reduce the dependence on foreign oil and gas.

Growth rate of CO_(2) hydrate film on water-oil and water-gaseous CO_(2) interface

It is known that injection of carbon dioxide into the petroleum reservoir(CO_(2) flooding) is one of the effective methods for enhanced oil recovery. CO_(2) flooding may be complicated by formation of CO_(2) hydrate plugs. It makes topical investigation of CO_(2) hydrate formation in the system gaseous CO_(2)-oil-water. In this work, the growth rates of carbon dioxide hydrate films at the water-oil as well as the water-gas interface are studied in the pressure range of 2.30-3.04 MPa and at temperatures between -5.4 and 5.0℃. It is found that the growth rate for the water-oil interface is 3.5 times lower than that for the water-gas interface with carbon dioxide. It is hypothesised that the observed decrease in the growth rate is related to the mechanical resistance of the oil components adsorbed on the interface to the growth of the hydrate film. The growth rate of the film has been shown to depend on the experimental procedure,most likely due to the different initial concentrations of carbon dioxide in the aqueous solutions.

Origin of gas condensate reservoir in Fuman Oilfield, Tarim Basin, NW China

To understand the reservoir property and hydrocarbon accumulation conditions of the Middle and Upper Ordovician intraplatform shoal between ultra-deep main strike-slip faults in Fuman Oilfield of the Tarim Basin, China, the main strike-slip faults in and around well FD1 in the basin were analyzed in terms of sedimentary facies, sequence stratigraphy, intraplatform shoal reservoir property, and oil and gas origins, based on drilling data. The Yingshan Formation intraplatform shoal between the main strike-slip faults is superimposed with low-order faults to form a new type of hydrocarbon play. Firstly, hydrocarbons generated from the Lower Cambrian Yuertusi Formation source rocks vertically migrated into the second member of Yingshan Formation through the main strike-slip faults, and then migrated laterally until they were accumulated. A small amount of oil from Well FD1 came from the Yuertusi Formation source rocks in the mature stage, and a large amount of gas originated from oil cracking in the ultra-deep reservoirs. Therefore, the secondary gas condensate reservoir in Well FD1 is characterized by high gas to oil ratio, dry gas (dryness coefficient being 0.970) and hybrid origin. This new type of hydrocarbon play characterized by intraplatform shoal and low-order fault suggests a prospect of continuous hydrocarbon-bearing area in Fuman Oilfield, which will expand the ultrap-deep oil and gas exploration in the oilfield.

Analysis of the world deepwater oil and gas exploration situation

The global trends in deepwater oil and gas exploration,characteristics of deepwater oil and gas discovery,and layout of deepwater oil and gas exploration business by seven major international oil companies are systematically analyzed using commercial databases(e.g.S&P Global and Rystad)and public information of oil companies.The deepwater area is currently the most important domain for global oil and gas exploration and discovery,with the most discoveries and reserves in passive continental margin basins.The deepwater discoveries have the greatest contribution to the total newly discovered oil and gas reserves in the sea areas,with an increasing number of lithological reservoirs discovered,and oil and gas discoveries mainly distributed in the Mesozoic–Cenozoic.The seven major international oil companies are widely active in various aspects of deepwater oil and gas exploration and development,and play a leading role.Based on years of theoretical understanding of global oil and gas geology and resource evaluation,it is proposed that favorable deepwater exploration areas in the future will mainly focus on three major areas:the Atlantic coast,the Indian Ocean periphery,and the Arctic Ocean periphery.Six suggestions are put forward for expanding overseas deepwater oil and gas exploration business:first,expand the sources for obtaining multi-user seismic data and improve the scientific selection of deepwater exploration areas;second,increase efforts to obtain deepwater exploration projects in key areas;third,adopt various methods to access into/exit from resource licenses flexibly;fourth,acquire licenses with large equity and operate in“dual-exploration”model;fifth,strengthen cooperation with leading international oil companies in deepwater technology;and sixth,improve business operation capabilities and gradually transform from“non-operators”to“operators”.

Review on the challenges and strategies in oil and gas industry's transition towards carbon neutrality in China

In light of carbon-neutral pledge, the oil and gas industry has been facing several critical new challenges in China. The current status and new challenges in terms of market mechanism reform, supply-consumption balance and key technology innovation in China's oil and gas industry are reviewed in the present study, and new strategies and roadmaps are proposed to cope with the challenges. The study found that (i) the oil and gas market faces challenges such as incomplete pricing mechanisms, unclear subject rights, and the lack of recognition and trading of carbon assets. (ii) the trade-off between short-term supply security and long-term low-carbon supply is the most critical issue. (iii) in addition to typical challenges such as immature technology and lack of funding support, the unclear multiple technology coupling development mode also poses problems for the low-carbon transformation of the oil and gas industry. To address these new challenges, comprehensive strategies and roadmaps for China's oil and gas industry towards carbon neutrality are proposed and discussed in the aspects of participating in market transactions, restructuring production and consumption, deploying key technology innovations, and planning enterprise strategies. The present study is expected to provide a blueprint for the future development of China's oil and gas industry towards carbon neutrality.

Gas channeling control with an in-situ smart surfactant gel during water-alternating-CO_(2) enhanced oil recovery

Undesirable gas channeling always occurs along the high-permeability layers in heterogeneous oil reservoirs during water-alternating-CO_(2)(WAG)flooding,and conventional polymer gels used for blocking the“channeling”paths usually suffer from either low injectivity or poor gelation control.Herein,we for the first time developed an in-situ high-pressure CO_(2)-triggered gel system based on a smart surfactant,N-erucamidopropyl-N,N-dimethylamine(UC22AMPM),which was introduced into the aqueous slugs to control gas channeling inWAG processes.The water-like,low-viscosity UC22AMPM brine solution can be thickened by high-pressure CO_(2) owing to the formation of wormlike micelles(WLMs),as well as their growth and shear-induced structure buildup under shear flow.The thickening power can be further potentiated by the generation of denser WLMs resulting from either surfactant concentration augmentation or a certain range of heating,and can be impaired via pressurization above the critical pressure of CO_(2) because of its soaring solvent power.Core flooding tests using heterogeneous cores demonstrated that gas channeling was alleviated by plugging of high-capacity channels due to the in-situ gelation of UC22AMPM slugs upon their reaction with the pre-or post-injected CO_(2) slugs under shear flow,thereupon driving chase fluids into unrecovered low-permeability areas and producing an 8.0% higher oil recovery factor than the conventional WAG mode.This smart surfactant enabled high injectivity and satisfactory gelation control,attributable to low initial viscosity and the combined properties of one component and CO_(2)-triggered gelation,respectively.This work could provide a guide towards designing gels for reducing CO_(2) spillover and reinforcing the CO_(2) sequestration effect during CO_(2) enhanced oil recovery processes.

Quantitative research of the liquid film characteristics in upward vertical gas, oil and water flows

The study of liquid film characteristics in multiphase flow is a very important research topic, however,the characteristics of the liquid film around Taylor bubble structure in gas, oil and water three-phase flow are not clear. In the present study, a novel liquid film sensor is applied to measure the distributed signals of the liquid film in three-phase flow. Based on the liquid film signals, the liquid film characteristics including the structural characteristics and the nonlinear dynamics characteristics in three-phase flows are investigated for the first time. The structural characteristics including the proportion, the appearance frequency and the thickness of the liquid film are obtained and the influences of the liquid and gas superficial velocities and the oil content on them are investigated. To investigate the nonlinear dynamics characteristics of the liquid film with the changing flow conditions, the entropy analysis is introduced to successfully uncover and quantify the dynamic complexity of the liquid film behavior.

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.

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.

The accumulation characteristics and exploration potential of oil and gas in the back-arc basin of Japan under the background of high heat flow

The Sea of Japan is located in the southeast margin of Eurasia, in the triangle area of the western Pacific Ocean. Due to the interaction of the Pacific plate, Eurasian plate and Philippine plate, its tectonic environment is complex, forming a typical trench-arc-basin system. At present, 148 oil and gas fields have been discovered in Japan, with an oil and gas resource of 255.78×10^(6) t, showing a good prospect for oil and gas exploration. Based on the previous research and the recently collected geological and geophysical data, the characteristics of tectonic-sedimentary evolution and geothermal field in the basins around the Sea of Japan are analyzed. The results show that the tectonic evolution of the basin is mainly controlled by plate subduction and back-arc oceanic crust expansion, and it mainly undergone four tectonic-sedimentary evolution stages: Subduction period, basin development period, subsidence period and compression deformation period. The overall heat flow value of Japan Sea is high, and it is distributed annularly along Yamato Ridge. The geothermal heat flow value is about 50–130 MW/m^(2), and the average heat flow is75.9±19.8 MW/m^(2), which has a typical “hot basin ”. The high heat flow background provides unique thermal evolution conditions for hydrocarbon generation, which leads to the high temperature and rapid evolution. The authors summarized as “early hydrocarbon generation, rapid maturity and shallow and narrow hydrocarbon generation window”. The type of oil and gas is mainly natural gas, and it mainly distributed in Neogene oil and gas reservoirs. The trap types are mainly structural traps, lithologic traps and composite traps. In addition, the pre-Neogene bedrock oil and gas reservoirs also show a good exploration prospect. The resource prospecting indicates that Niigata Basin, Ulleung Basin and kitakami Basin are the main target areas for future exploration and development.

The influence factors of gas-bearing and geological characteristics of Niutitang Formation shale in the southern margin of Xuefeng Mountain ancient uplift: A case of Well Huangdi 1

In order to evaluate the geological characteristics and gas-bearing factors of Niutitang Formation within the Lower Cambrian of northern Guizhou,the Huangping area located at the southern edge of the ancient uplift belt of Xuefeng Mountain was selected as the target area,and Well Huangdi 1 was drilled for the geological survey of shale gas.Through geological background analysis and well logging and laboratory analysis such as organic geochemical test,gas content analysis,isothermal adsorption,and specific surface area experiments on Well Huangdi 1,the results show that the Niutitang Formation is a deep-water shelf,trough-like folds and thrust fault.The thickness of black shale is 119.95 m,of which carbonaceous shale is 89.6 m.The average value of organic carbon content is 3.55%,kerogen vitrinite reflectance value is 2.37% and kerogen type is sapropel-type.The brittle mineral content is 51%(quartz 38%),clay mineral content is 38.3%.The value of porosity and permeability are 0.5%and 0.0014 mD,which the reservoir of the Niutitang Formation belongs to low permeability with characteristics of ultra-low porosity.The gas content is 0.09‒1.31 m^3/t with a high-value area and a second high-value area.By comparing with the geological parameters of adjacent wells in the adjacent area,the accumulation model of“sediment control zone,Ro control zone,structure controlling reservoir”in the study area is proposed.Therefore,deep-water shelf-slope facies,Ro is between high maturity-early stage of overmaturity and well-preserved zones in the Niutitang Formation in this area are favorable direction for the next step of shale gas exploration.