Unconventional Natural Gas Accumulations in Stacked Deposits:A Discussion of Upper Paleozoic Coal-Bearing Strata in the East Margin of the Ordos Basin, China

The Upper Paleozoic(Carboniferous to Permian) succession in the east margin of the Ordos Basin in the North China Craton has a potential to contain significant hydrocarbon resources, though attention have been mainly attracted for its successful development of coalbed methane(CBM). To improve the previous resource estimates and evaluate the hydrocarbon play possibilities, this study incorporated new discoveries of hydrocarbon units and their stratigraphic relation with source rocks, hydrocarbon migration and trapping configurations. Continuous hydrocarbon accumulation units were identified within the Upper Paleozoic, including the Taiyuan, Shanxi and Xiashihezi formations with great tight gas potential, and the Taiyuan and Shanxi formations also containing shale gas and CBM. Different strata combinations are identified with coal deposition and favour for continuous gas accumulations, including the tidal flat, deltaic and fluvial systems distributed in most of the study areas. Methane was not only generated from the thick coal seams in the Taiyuan and Shanxi formations, but also from shale and dark mudstones. The coal, shale and tight sandstones are proved of remarkable gas content and hydrocarbon indications, and the gas saturation of tight sandstones decreases upward. The stacked deposit combinations vary isochronally in different areas, while the coal seams were developed stably showing good gas sources. Two key stages control the hydrocarbon enrichment, the continuous subsidence from coal forming to Late Triassic and the anomalous paleo-geothermal event happened in Early Cretaceous, as indicated by the fluid inclusions evidence. Extensive areas show good hydrocarbon development potential presently, and more works should be focused on the evaluation and selection of good reservoir combinations.

Factors Influencing Proppant Transportation and Hydraulic Fracture Conductivity in Deep Coal Methane Reservoirs

The gas production of deep coalbed methane wells in Linxing-Shenfu block decreases rapidly,the water output is high,the supporting effect is poor,the effective supporting fracture size is limited,and the migration mechanism of proppant in deep coal reservoir is not clear at present.To investigate the migration behavior of proppants in complex fractures during the volume reconstruction of deep coal and rock reservoirs,an optimization test on the conductivity of low-density proppants and simulations of proppant migration in complex fractures of deep coal reservoirs were conducted.The study systematically analyzed the impact of various fracture geometries,proppant types and fracturingfluid viscosities on proppant distribution.Furthermore,the study compared the outcomes of dynamic proppant transport experiments with simulation results.The results show that the numerical simulation is consistent with the results of the proppant dynamic sand-carrying experiment.Under the conditions of low viscosity and large pumping-rate,a high ratio of 40/70 mesh proppant can facilitate the movement of the proppant to the depths of fractures at all levels.The technical goal is to create comprehensive fracture support within intricate trapezoidal fractures in deep coal and rock reservoirs without inducing sand plugging.The sand ratio is controlled at 15%–20%,with a proppant combination ratio of 40/70:30/50:20/40=6:3:1.Proppant pumping operations can effectively address the issue of poor support in complex fractures in deep coal formations.The research results have been successfully applied to the development of deep coalbed methane in the Linxing-Shenfu block,Ordos Basin.