Introduction of geomechanical restoration method and its implications for reservoir assessment of unconventional oil-gas resource in China

New technologies are in urgent need of unconventional hydrocarbon exploration and development in China.This paper provides a brief introduction and analysis of a new three-dimensional(3D)geomechanical restoration method developed in recent years.After an in-depth discussion on the technical principle and specific characteristics of the fields,we designed a feasible workflow for two oil-gas fields with great unconventional oil-gas resource potentials in China(Weiyuan and Jiulongshan oil-gas fields of Sichuan).After discussing the major challenges and limitations of the new technology,we also suggest its research efforts and future application prospect It is shown that the new technology will be an effective method to facilitate the exploration and development of unconventional oil and gas resources in China.

Coexistence of antiferromagnetism and unconventional superconductivity in a quasi-one-dimensional flat-band system:Creutz lattice

We study the coexistence of antiferromagnetism and unconventional superconductivity on the Creutz lattice which shows strictly flat bands in the noninteracting regime.The famous renormalized mean-field theory is used to deal with strong electron-electron repulsive Hubbard interaction in the effective low-energy t-J model,the superfluid weight of the unconventional superconducting state has been calculated via the linear response theory.An unconventional superconducting state with both spin-singlet and staggered spin-triplet pairs emerges beyond a critical antiferromagnetic coupling interaction,while antiferromagnetism accompanies this state.The superconducting state with only spin-singlet pairs is dominant with paramagnetic phase.The A phase is analogous to the pseudogap phase,which shows that electrons go to form pairs but do not cause a supercurrent.We also show the superfluid behavior of the unconventional superconducting state and its critical temperature.It is proven directly that the flat band can effectively raise the critical temperature of superconductivity.It is implementable to simulate and control strongly-correlated electrons'behavior on the Creutz lattice in the ultracold atoms experiment or other artificial structures.Our results may help the understanding of the interplay between unconventional superconductivity and magnetism.

An approximate analytical model for unconventional reservoir considering variable matrix blocks and simultaneous matrix depletion

In regard to unconventional oil reservoirs,the transient dual-porosity and triple-porosity models have been adopted to describe the fluid flow in the complex fracture network.It has been proven to cause inaccurate production evaluations because of the absence of matrix-macrofracture communication.In addition,most of the existing models are solved analytically based on Laplace transform and numerical inversion.Hence,an approximate analytical solution is derived directly in real-time space considering variable matrix blocks and simultaneous matrix depletion.To simplify the derivation,the simultaneous matrix depletion is divided into two parts:one part feeding the macrofractures and the other part feeding the microfractures.Then,a series of partial differential equations(PDEs)describing the transient flow and boundary conditions are constructed and solved analytically by integration.Finally,a relationship between oil rate and production time in real-time space is obtained.The new model is verified against classical analytical models.When the microfracture system and matrix-macrofracture communication is neglected,the result of the new model agrees with those obtained with the dual-porosity and triple-porosity model,respectively.Certainly,the new model also has an excellent agreement with the numerical model.The model is then applied to two actual tight oil wells completed in western Canada sedimentary basin.After identifying the flow regime,the solution suitably matches the field production data,and the model parameters are determined.Through these output parameters,we can accurately forecast the production and even estimate the petrophysical properties.

Conventional Geothermal Systems and Unconventional Geothermal Developments: An Overview

This paper provides an overview of conventional geothermal systems and unconventional geothermal developments as a common reference is needed for discussions between energy professionals. Conventional geothermal systems have the heat, permeability and fluid, requiring only drilling down to °C, normal heat flow or decaying radiogenic granite as heat sources, and used in district heating. Medium-temperature (MT) 100°C - 190°C, and high-temperature (HT) 190°C - 374°C resources are mostly at plate boundaries, with volcanic intrusive heat source, used mostly for electricity generation. Single well capacities are °C - 500°C) and a range of depths (1 m to 20 Km), but lack permeability or fluid, thus requiring stimulations for heat extraction by conduction. HVAC is 1 - 2 m deep and shallow geothermal down to 500 m in wells, both capturing °C, with °C are either advanced by geothermal developers at <7 Km depth (Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), drilling below brittle-ductile transition zones and under geothermal fields), or by the Oil & Gas industry (Advanced Geothermal Systems, heat recovery from hydrocarbon wells or reservoirs, Superhot Rock Geothermal, and millimeter-wave drilling down to 20 Km). Their primary aim is electricity generation, relying on closed-loops, but EGS uses fractures for heat exchange with earthquake risks during fracking. Unconventional approaches could be everywhere, with shallow geothermal already functional. The deeper and hotter unconventional alternatives are still experimental, overcoming costs and technological challenges to become fully commercial. Meanwhile, the conventional geothermal resources remain the most proven opportunities for investments and development.

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.

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.

Flowback and early-time production modeling of unconventional gas wells using an improved semi-analytical method

Multiple fractured horizontal wells (MFHWs) currently are the only possible means of commercial production from the low and ultra-low permeability unconventional gas reservoirs. In early production time, flowback fluid, which constitutes of hydraulic water and gas flow within fractures, is collected and analyzed. Flowback analysis has been shown to be a useful tool to estimate key properties of the hydraulic fracture such as conductivity and pore volume. Until date, most tools of flowback analysis rely on empirical and approximate methods. This study presents an improved Green-function-based semi-analytical solution for performance analysis of horizontal gas wells during flowback and early production periods. The proposed solution is derived based on coupling the solutions of two domains: a rigorously derived Green’s function-based integral solution for single-phase gas flow in matrix, and a finite-difference, multiphase solution for gas–water two-phase flow in the fracture. The validity of proposed semi-analytical solution is verified by finely gridded numerical models built in a commercial simulator for a series of synthetic cases considering a variety of fluid and reservoir property combinations, as well as various different production constraints. Comparisons against available empirical and approximate methods are also provided for these cases.

Unconventional Designs for Functional Sodium-Sulfur Batteries

Sodium-sulfur(Na–S)batteries that utilize earth-abundant materials of Na and S have been one of the hottest topics in battery research.The low cost and high energy density make them promising candidates for next-generation storage technologies as required in the grid and renewable energy.In recent years,extensive efforts have been devoted to the diversity and functionalities of Na–S batteries,aiming to extend their potential applications across multiple temporal and spatial dimensions.Here,we summarize the unconventional designs for the functionalities of Na–S batteries such as flexible batteries,solid-state cells,flame resistance,and operation at extreme temperatures.By highlighting these design strategies that help to realize the functionalities,we hope this review offers a pathway to foster the bright future of Na–S batteries in diverse applications.

The role of natural fracture activation in hydraulic fracturing for deep unconventional geo-energy reservoir stimulation

The presence of sealed or semi-sealed,multiscale natural fracture systems appears to be crucial for the successful stimulation of deep reservoirs.To explore the reaction of such systems to reservoir stimulation,a new numerical simulation approach for hydraulic stimulation has been developed,trying to establish a realistic model of the physics involved.Our new model successfully reproduces dynamic fracture activation,network generation,and overall reservoir permeability enhancement.Its outputs indicate that natural fractures facilitate stimulation far beyond the near-wellbore area,and can significantly improve the hydraulic conductivity of unconventional geo-energy reservoirs.According to our model,the fracture activation patterns are jointly determined by the occurrence of natural fractures and the in situ stress.High-density natural fractures,high-fluid pressure,and low effective stress environments promote the formation of complex fracture networks during stimulation.Multistage or multicluster fracturing treatments with an appropriate spacing also increase the stimulated reservoir area(SRA).The simulation scheme demonstrated in this work offers the possibility to elucidate the complex multiphysical couplings seen in the field through detailed site-specific modeling.

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.

Progress in China's Unconventional Oil & Gas Exploration and Development and Theoretical Technologies

The new century has witnessed a strategic breakthrough in unconventional oil ＆ gas.Hydrocarbon accumulated in micro-/nano-scale pore throat shale systems has become an important domain that could replace current oil ＆ gas resources.Unconventional oil ＆ gas plays an increasingly important role in our energy demand.Tight gas,CBM,heavy oil and asphaltic sand have served as a key domain of exploration ＆ development,with tight oil becoming a ＇bright spot＇ domain and shale gas becoming a ＇hotspot＇ domain.China has made great breakthroughs in unconventional oil ＆ gas resources,such as tight gas,shale gas,tight oil and CBM,and great progress in oil shale,gas hydrate,heavy oil and oil sand.China has an estimated（223-263）×10~8t of unconventional oil resources and（890-1260）×l0^（12）m^3 of gas resources.China has made a breakthrough for progress in unconventional oil ＆ gas study.New progress achieved in fine-grained sedimentary studies related to continental open lacustrine basin large-scale shallow-water delta sand bodies,lacustrine basin central sandy clastic flow sediments and marine-continental fine-grained sediments provide a theoretical basis for the formation and distribution of basin central reservoir bodies.Great breakthroughs have been made in unconventional reservoir geology in respect of research methodology ＆ technology,multi-scale data merging and physical simulation of formation conditions.Overall characterization of unconventional reservoirs via multi-method and multi-scale becomes increasingly popular and facilitates the rapid development of unconventional oil ＆ gas geological theory,method and technology.The formation of innovative,continuous hydrocarbon accumulation theory,the establishment of the framework of the unconventional oil ＆ gas geological theory system,and the determination of the implications,geological feature,formation mechanism,distribution rule and core technology of unconventional oil＆ gas geological study lays a theoretical foundation for extensive unconventional oil ＆ gas exploration and development.Theories and technologies of unconventional oil ＆ gas exploration and development developed rapidly,including some key evaluation techniques such as ＇sweet spot zone＇ integrated evaluation and a six-property evaluation technique that uses hydrocarbon source,lithology,physical property,brittleness,hydrocarbon potential and stress anisotropy,and some key development ＆engineering technologies including micro-seismic monitoring,horizontal drilling ＆ completion and ＂factory-like＂ operation pattern, ＂man-made reservoir＂ development,which have facilitated the innovative development of unconventional oil ＆ gas.These breakthroughs define a new understanding in four aspects：①theoretical innovation;② key technologies;③ complete market mechanism and national policy support;and ④ well-developed ground infrastructure,which are significant for prolonging the life cycle of petroleum industry,accelerating the upgrade and development of theories and technologies and altering the global traditional energy structure.

A Review on Shale Reservoirs as an Unconventional Play--The History,Technology Revolution,Importance to Oil and Gas Industry,and the Development Future

As a milestone of the entire energy industry,unconventional resources have inevitably swept the world in the last decade,and will certainly dominate the global oil and gas industry in the near future.Eventually,the ＂unconventional＂ will become ＂conventional＂.Along with the rapid development,however,some issues have emerged,which are closely related to the viability of unconventional resources development.Under the current circumstances of low crude oil and gas price,coupled with the prominent environmental concerns,the arguments about the development and production of unconventional resources have been recently heated up.This work introduced the fullblown aspects of unconventional resources especially shale reservoirs,by discussing their concepts and definitions,reviewing the shale gas and shale oil development history and necessity,analyzing the shale plays＇ geology and petroleum systems with respects to key hydrocarbon accumulation elements and mechanisms,and summarizing the technology resolution.This study also discussed the relevant key issues,including significant estimation uncertainty of technically recoverable resources,the equivocal understanding of complex geology preventing the production and technologies implementation optimization,the difficulties of experiences and technologies global expanding,and the corresponding risks and uncertainties.In addition,based on the latest production and exploration data,the future perspective of the unconventional resources was depicted from global unconventional resources assessments,technology development,and limitations constraining the development.

Formation and destruction processes of upper Sinian oil-gas pools in the Dingshan-Lintanchang structural belt, southeast Sichuan Basin, China

The lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation hydrocarbon source rocks at the Dingshan- Lintanchang structure in the southeast Sichuan Basin were of medium-good quality with two excellent hydrocarbon-generating centers developed in the periphery areas, with a possibility of forming a medium to large-sized oil-gas field. Good reservoir rocks were the upper Sinian （Dengying Formation） dolomites. The mudstone in the lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation with a good sealing capacity was the cap rock. The widely occurring bitumen in the Dengying Formation indicates that a paleo oil pool was once formed in the study area. The first stage of paleo oil pool formation was maturation of the lower Cambrian source rocks during the late Ordovician. Hydrocarbon generation from the lower Cambrian source rocks stopped due to the Devonian-Carboniferous uplifting. The lower Cambrian source rocks then restarted generation of large quantities of hydrocarbons after deposition of the middle Permian sediments. This was the second stage of the paleo oil pool formation. The oil in the paleo oil pool began to crack during the late Triassic and a paleo gas pool was formed. This paleo gas pool was destroyed during the Yanshan-Himalayan folding, uplifting and denudation. Bitumen can be widely seen in the Dengying Formation in wells and outcrops in the Sichuan Basin and its periphery areas. This provides strong evidence that the Dengying Formation in the Sichuan Basin and its periphery areas was once an ultra-large structural-lithologic oil-gas field, which was damaged during the Yanshan-Himalayan period.

Unconventional phase field simulations of transforming materials with evolving microstructures

Transforming materials with evolving microstructures is one of the most important classes of smart materials that have many potential technological applications, and an unconventional phase field approach based on the characteristic functions of transforming variants has been developed to simulate the formation and evolution of their microstructures. This approach is advantageous in its explicit material symmetry and energy well structure, minimal number of ma- terial coefficients, and easiness in coupling multiple physical processes and order parameters, and has been applied successfully to study the microstructures and macroscopic prop- erties of shape memory alloys, ferroelectrics, ferromagnetic shape memory alloys, and multiferroic magnetoelectric crys- tals and films with increased complexity. In this topical re- view, the formulation of this unconventional phase field approach will be introduced in details, and its applications to various transforming materials will be discussed. Some ex- amples of specific microstructures will also be presented.

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.

Mesozoic-Cenozoic Tectonics of the Yellow Sea and Oil-Gas Exploration

The purpose of the present study was to study the tectonics of the Yellow Sea. Although oilgas exploration has been undertaken for more than 30 years in the southern Yellow Sea, the exploration progress has achieved little. There are three tectonic periods with near N-S trending shortening and compression （260-200 Ma, 135-52 Ma and 23-0.78 Ma） and three tectonic periods with near E-W trending shortening and compression （200-135 Ma, 52--23 Ma and 0.78 Ma） at the Yellow Sea and adjacent areas during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. The lndosinian tectonic period is the collision period between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze Plates, which formed the basic tectonic framework for the Yellow Sea area. There were strong intraplate deformations during the Yanshanian （200-135 Ma） and Sichuanian （135-52 Ma） periods with different tectonic models, which are also the main formation periods for endogenic metallic mineral deposits around the Yellow Sea. The three tectonic periods during the Cenozoic affect important influences for forming oil-gas reservoirs. The Eocene-Oligocene （52-23 Ma） is the main forming period for oil-gas sources. The Miocene-Early Pleistocene （23-0.78 Ma） was a period of favorable passage for oil-gas migration along NNE trending faults. Since the Middle Pleistocene （0.78 Ma） the NNE trending faults are closed and make good conditions for the reservation of oil-gas. The authors suggest that we pay more attention to the oil-gas exploration at the intersections between the NNE trending existing faults and Paleogene- Neogene systems in the southern Yellow Sea area.

Novel Water-Based Drilling and Completion Fluid Technology to Improve Wellbore Quality During Drilling and Protect Unconventional Reservoirs

The efficient exploration and development of unconventional oil and gas are critical for increasing the self-sufficiency of oil and gas supplies in China.However,such operations continue to face serious problems(e.g.,borehole collapse,loss,and high friction),and associated formation damage can severely impact well completion rates,increase costs,and reduce efficiencies.Water-based drilling fluids possess certain advantages over oil-based drilling fluids(OBDFs)and may offer lasting solutions to resolve the aforementioned issues.However,a significant breakthrough with this material has not yet been made,and major technical problems continue to hinder the economic and large-scale development of unconventional oil and gas.Here,the international frontier external method,which only improves drilling fluid inhibition and lubricity,is expanded into an internal-external technique that improves the overall wellbore quality during drilling.Bionic technologies are introduced into the chemical material synthesis process to imitate the activity of life.A novel drilling and completion fluid technique was developed to improve wellbore quality during drilling and safeguard formation integrity.Macroscopic and microscopic analyses indicated that in terms of wellbore stability,lubricity,and formation protection,this approach could outperform methods that use typical OBDFs.The proposed method also achieves a classification upgrade from environmentally protective drilling fluid to an ecologically friendly drilling fluid.The developed technology was verified in more than 1000 unconventional oil and gas wells in China,and the results indicate significant alleviation of the formation damage attributed to borehole collapse,loss,and high friction.It has been recognized as an effective core technology for exploiting unconventional oil and gas resources.This study introduces a novel research direction for formation protection technology and demonstrates that observations and learning from the natural world can provide an inexhaustible source of ideas and inspire the creation of original materials,technologies,and theories for petroleum engineering.

Buoyance-driven hydrocarbon accumulation depth and its implication for unconventional resource prediction

The discovery of unconventional hydrocarbon resources since the late 20th century changed geologists’understanding of hydrocarbon migration and accumulations and provides a solution to energy shortage.In 2016,unconventional oil production in the USA accounted for 41%of the total oil production;and unconventional natural gas production in China accounted for 35%of total gas production,showing strong growth momentum of unconventional hydrocarbons explorations.Unconventional hydrocarbons generally coexist with conventional petroleum resources;they sometimes distribute in a separate system,not coexisting with a conventional system.Identification and prediction of unconventional resources and their potentials are prominent challenges for geologists.This study analyzed the results of 12,237 drilling wells in six representative petroliferous basins in China and studied the correlations and differences between conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons by comparing their geological features.Migration and accumulation of conventional hydrocarbon are caused dominantly by buoyance.Wepropose a concept of buoyance-driven hydrocarbon accumulation depth to describe the deepest hydrocarbon accumulation depth driven dominantly by buoyance;beyond this depth the buoyance becomes unimportant for hydrocarbon accumulation.We found that the buoyance-driven hydrocarbon accumulation depth in petroliferous basins controls the different oil/gas reservoirs distribution and resource potentials.Hydrocarbon migration and accumulations above this depth is dominated by buoyancy,forming conventional reservoirs in traps with high porosity and permeability,while hydrocarbon migration and accumulation below this depth is dominated by non-buoyancy forces(mainly refers to capillary force,hydrocarbon volumeexpansion force,etc.),forming unconventional reservoirs in tight layers.The buoyance-driven hydrocarbon accumulation depths in six basins in China range from 1200mto 4200 m,which become shallowerwith increasing geothermal gradient,decreasing particle size of sandstone reservoir layers,or an uplift in the whole petroliferous basin.The predicted unconventional resource potential belowthe buoyance-driven hydrocarbon accumulation depth in six basins in China is more than 15.71×10^(9) t oil equivalent,among them 4.71×10^(9) t reserves have been proved.Worldwide,94%of 52,926 oil and gas reservoirs in 1186 basins are conventional reservoirs and only 6%of them are unconventional reservoirs.These 94%conventional reservoirs show promising exploration prospects in the deep area below buoyance-driven hydrocarbon accumulation depth.

The concept and the accumulation characteristics of unconventional hydrocarbon resources

Unconventional hydrocarbon resources, which are only marginally economically explored and developed by traditional methods and techniques, are different from conventional hydrocarbon resources in their accumulation mechanisms, occurrence states, distribution models, and exploration and development manners. The types of unconventional hydrocarbon are controlled by the evolu- tion of the source rocks and the combinations of different types of unconventional reservoirs. The fundamental dis- tinction between unconventional hydrocarbon resources and conventional hydrocarbon resources is their non- buoyancy-driven migration. The development of the micro- to nano-scale pores results in rather high capillary resis- tance. The accumulation mechanisms of the unconven- tional and the conventional hydrocarbon resources are also greatly different. In conventional hydrocarbon resources, oil and gas entrapment is controlled by reservoir-forming factors and geological events, which is a dynamic balance process; while for unconventional hydrocarbon resources, the gas content is affected by the temperature and pressure fields, and their preservation is crucial. Unconventional and conventional hydrocarbons are distributed in an orderly manner in subsurface space, having three distribution models of intra-source rock, basin-centered, and source rock interlayer. These results will be of great significance to unconventional hydrocarbon exploration.

Large-scale Tazhong Ordovician Reef-flat Oil-Gas Field in the Tarim Basin of China

The Tazhong reef-fiat oil-gas field is the first large-scale Ordovician organic reef type oil-gas field found in China. Its organic reefs were developed in the early Late Ordovician Lianglitag Formation, and are the first large reefs of the coral-stromatoporoid hermatypic community found in China. The organic reefs and platform-margin grain banks constitute a reef-flat complex, mainly consisting of biolithites and grainstones. The biolithites can be classified into the framestone, baffiestone, bindstone etc. The main body of the complex lies around the wells from Tazhong-24 to Tazhong-82, trending northwest, with the thickness from 100 to 300 m, length about 220 km and width 5-10 km. It is a reef-flat lithologic hydrocarbon reservoir, with a very complex hydrocarbon distribution： being a gas condensate reservoir as a whole with local oil reservoirs. The hydrocarbon distribution is controlled by the reef complex, generally located in the upper 100-200 m part of the complex, and largely in a banded shape along the complex. On the profile, the reservoir shows a stratified feature, with an altitude difference of almost 2200 m from southeast to northwest. The petroleum accumulation is controlled by karst reservoir beds and the northeast strike-slip fault belt. The total geologic reserves had reached 297.667 Mt by 2007.