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.

Oil filling history of the Bashituo Oilfield in the Markit Slope,SW Tarim Basin,China

The Markit Slope is an important area for the petroleum exploration in the Tarim Basin. Elucidation of the oil filling history of discovered oilfields has great significance for recognizing the accumulation processes of the whole region. Using molecular geochemistry, fluid inclusion techniques and basin modeling, we studied the oil filling process of the Bashituo Oilfield that is located in the west of the Markit Slope. The molecular migration indexes, such as the methyldibenzothiophene ratio （4-/1-MDBT）, trimethylnaphthalene ratio （TMNr） and pyrrolic nitrogen compounds content, decrease from west to east, indicating that the charging direction and migration pathways are from west to east. Lithological analysis and homogenization temperatures of saline fluid inclusions accompanied with oil fluid inclusions suggest that two charging periods occurred in the Devonian oil reservoir. Combining the burial history and heating history of well BT4, Basinmod 1D software modeling shows the two oil filling periods are from 290 Ma to 285 Ma and from l0 Ma to 4 Ma, respectively, and later oil filling dominates. This study may be helpful to understand the accumulation process and provide useful references for oil and gas exploration in the Markit Slope.

Determination of Hydrocarbon Charging History by Diagenetic Sequence and Fluid Inclusions:A Case Study of the Kongquehe Area in the Tarim Basin

Petrographic analysis of hydrocarbon inclusions in reservoirs is the basis and prerequisite for study of hydrocarbon charge history using fluid inclusion analysis.Samples from Silurian reservoirs in the Kongquehe area were studied with microscopy,cathode luminescence and scanning electron microscopy,and the paragenetic sequence of diagenetic events was established.Aqueous and oil inclusions were found in four different occurrences,i.e.,① in healed cracks in detrital quartz grains,② in quartz overgrowths that were formed relatively early in diagenesis,③ in healed cracks crosscutting quartz overgrowths and detrital quartz,and ④ in paragenetically late calcite cements.Solid bitumens were found in intergranular pores and in late fractures,whereas gas inclusions occur in healed cracks crosscutting quartz overgrowths and detrital quartz.The homogenization temperatures of aqueous（Th_（aq）） and oil incluisons（Th_0） within individual fluid inclusion assemblages are very consistent,suggesting that the microthermometric data are reliable.The Th_（aq） values are generally larger than Th_0,indicating the oil charging events took place at significant depths.The results suggest that there were at least two episodes of hydrocarbon charging in the Kongquehe area：the early hydrocarbon charging occurred in late Caledonian,dominated by oil,and the late hydrocarbon charging occurred in the Yanshan-Himalayan,first by oil and then gases.In addition,two episodes of hydrocarbon reservoir adjustment and destruction occurred in the Hercynian and Himalayan,respectively,forming solid bitumen.

Forming mechanism of hydrocarbon reservoirs in Yingshan Formation of Yuqi block in Akekule arch,Tarim Basin

The reservoir conditions,oil and gas charge history and accumulation phases were studied for Yingshan Formation of Yuqi block,and an oil and gas accumulation model was established by using the techniques of reservoir prediction,fluorescence thin section and fluid inclusion analysis under the guidance of the theories of oil and gas accumulation.The results indicate that the main rock types in Yingshan Formation are micrite and calcarenite.The carbonate reservoirs are of cave,fracture-pore and fracture types,and their physical properties are intermediate;there are at least four oil/gas charges,i.e.late Hercynian,Yanshanian,early Himalayan and middle Himalayan(Cenozoic).The most important charge periods are late Hercynian,early Himalayan and middle Himalayan;the oil and gas accumulation model is self source-lateral expulsion of hydrocarbon-multistage accumulation,or hydrocarbon sourced from and preserved in the same old rocks-long term expulsion of hydrocarbon-multistage accumulation.

Spatial Characteristics and Controlling Factors of the Strikeslip Fault Zones in the Northern Slope of Tazhong Uplift, Tarim Basin: Insight from 3D Seismic Data

The detailed characteristics of the Paleozoic strike-slip fault zones developed in the northern slope of Tazhong uplift are closely related to hydrocarbon explorations. In this study, five major strike-slip fault zones that cut through the Cambrian-Middle Devonian units are identified, by using 3D seismic data. Each of the strike-slip fault zones is characterized by two styles of deformation, namely deeper strike-slip faults and shallower en-echelon faults. By counting the reverse separation of the horizon along the deeper faults, activity intensity on the deeper strike-slip faults in the south is stronger than that on the northern ones. The angle between the strike of the shallower en-echelon normal faults and the principal displacement zone(PDZ) below them is likely to have a tendency to decrease slightly from the south to the north, which may indicate that activity intensity on the shallower southern en-echelon faults is stronger than that on the northern ones. Comparing the reverse separation along the deeper faults and the fault throw of the shallower faults, activity intensity of the Fault zone S1 is similar across different layers, while the activity intensity of the southern faults is larger than that of the northern ones. It is obvious that both the activity intensity of the same layer in different fault zones and different layers in the same fault zone have a macro characteristic in that the southern faults show stronger activity intensity than the northern ones. The Late Ordovician décollement layer developed in the Tazhong area and the peripheral tectonic events of the Tarim Basin have been considered two main factors in the differential deformation characteristics of the strike-slip fault zones in the northern slope of Tazhong uplift. They controlled the differences in the multi-level and multi-stage deformations of the strike-slip faults, respectively. In particular, peripheral tectonic events of the Tarim Basin were the dynamic source of the formatting and evolution of the strike-slip fault zones, and good candidates to accommodate the differential activity intensity of these faults.