Characteristics of fault zones and their control on remaining oil distribution at the fault edge: a case study from the northern Xingshugang Anticline in the Daqing Oilfield, China

Most major oil zones in the Daqing Oilfield have reached a later,high water cut stage,but oil recovery is still only approximately 35%,and 50%of reserves remain to be recovered.The remaining oil is primarily distributed at the edge of faults,in poor sand bodies,and in insufficiently injected and produced areas.Therefore,the edge of faults is a major target for remaining oil enrichment and potential tapping.Based on the dynamic change of production from development wells determined by the injection-recovery relationship at the edge of faults,we analyzed the control of structural features of faults on remaining oil enrichment at the edge.Our results show that the macroscopic structural features and their geometric relationship with sand bodies controlled remaining oil enrichment zones like the edges of NNE-striking faults,the footwalls of antithetic faults,the hard linkage segments（two faults had linked together with each other to form a bigger through-going fault）,the tips of faults,and the oblique anticlines of soft linkages.Fault edges formed two types of forward microamplitude structures：（1） the tilted uplift of footwalls controlled by inverse fault sections and（2） the hanging-wall horizontal anticlines controlled by synthetic fault points.The remaining oil distribution was controlled by microamplitude structures.Consequently,such zones as the tilted uplift of the footwall of the NNW-striking antithetic faults with a fault throw larger than 40 m,the hard linkage segments,the tips of faults,and the oblique anticlines of soft linkage were favorable for tapping the remaining oil potential.Multi-target directional drilling was used for remaining oil development at fault edges.Reasonable fault spacing was determined on the basis of fault combinations and width of the shattered zone.Well core and log data revealed that the width of the shattered zone on the side of the fault core was less than 15 m in general;therefore,the distance from a fault to the development target should be larger than 15 m.Vertically segmented growth faults should take the separation of the lateral overlap of faults into account.Therefore,the safe distance of remaining oil well deployment at the fault edge should be larger than the sum of the width of shattered zone in faults and the separation of growth faults by vertical segmentation.

Comprehensive evaluation on hydrocarbon-bearing availability of fault traps in a rift basin: A case study of the Qikou sag in the Bohai Bay Basin, China

An evaluation system of hydrocarbon-bearing availability of fault traps was established based on the comprehensive analysis of fault segment growth history,fine reservoir anatomy and geochemistry tracing,with the Qikou sag in the Bohai Bay Basin as target area.The displacement/separation transform and displacement gradient method were used to prove the interpretation reliability of fault traps.The method of maximum throw subtraction was used to recover the history of fault growth and determine the availability of the forming period of fault traps.Based on the quantitative relationship between shale gouge ratio and cross-fault pressure difference of known reservoirs in southern Qikou sag,the critical shale gouge ratio of fault lateral sealing was calculated at 20%,and the quantitative evaluation chart based on the relationship of"fault throw–sand-formation ratio and hydrocarbon column height"was constructed.Based on the results of reservoir fine anatomy and quantitative fluorescence tracing test shale smear factor method is suitable for evaluating the vertical sealing of faults in the caprock of the middle submember of first member of Paleogene Shahejie Formation,and the shale smear factor critical value is 3.5.The juxtaposition thickness method is suitable for evaluating vertical sealing of faults in the caprock of the second member of Paleogene Dongying Formation,and the critical juxtaposition thickness of fault is 70–80 m.By combining four factors,the availability of fault trap interpretation,the availability of the forming period of fault trap,the availability of fault lateral sealing and the availability of fault vertical sealing,the comprehensive evaluation chart on hydrocarbon-bearing availability of fault traps in Qikou sag has been established,which provides a reasonable basis for risk assessment of fault traps.