Comprehensive insight of the Cambrian carbonate platform types as well as margin segmentation characteristics' exploration in Tarim Basin, China

Architecture and paleogeography of the Early Paleozoic carbonate systems in the east-central Tarim Basin (China): Constraints from seismic and well data

“…2). In detail, previous studies identified two major carbonate systems (Gu et al, 2005;Gu et al, 2009;Fan et al, 2007Fan et al, , 2008Ni et al, 2015;Gao et al, 2012;Chen et al, 2015;Gao and Fan, 2015;He et al, 2017): a) a carbonate ramp-basin system (Early Cambrian), characterized by a low relief carbonate unit observed in seismic profiles across the Tarim Basin. Seismic facies distribution and geometry (together with core data) suggest an interpretation of this unit as a carbonate ramp (Gao et al, 2006;He et al, 2017) composed of argillaceous dolostones and dolarenites containing algal-clasts; b) a set of overlying rimmed carbonate platform to basin systems (Middle Cambrian to Middle Ordovician) develops above the Lower Cambrian ramp.…”

“…From Cambrian to the end of the Ordovician (Zhang et al, 2015), the carbonate succession of the eastern Tarim Basin was characterized by a shelf domain to the west (Fig. 1C) (where algal limestone/dolostones and grainstones dominate) and by a major depression to the east, where pelagic carbonates are present (Gao and Fan, 2015;Ni et al, 2015). In the inner platform domain, major unconformities (Fig.…”

“…These platforms host numerous gas reservoirs (Jia, 1997), a fact that makes the understanding of the evolution of these carbonate systems critical for hydrocarbon exploration. Numerous previous studies about the overall Tarim carbonates focused on the stratigraphy and paleogeography (Zhao et al, 2010;Lin et al, 2011;Zhao et al, 2011;Chen et al, 2015), depositional architectures of platforms and platform evolution (Gao et al, 2006;Fan et al, 2007Fan et al, , 2008Gu et al, 2009;Wang et al, 2011a;Zhao et al, 2014;Gao and Fan, 2015;Ni et al, 2015;He et al, 2017), the growth mode and characteristics of reef buildups (Xiao et al, 1996;Liu et al, 2003;Gu et al, 2005;Bai et al, 2017aBai et al, , 2017b and controlling parameters, including tectonics, subsidence, eustasy, climate/temperature, salinity and nutrients supply (Zhang et al 2014;Zhao et al, 2014;Liu et al, 2016;He et al, 2017;Zhang, 2017). 20 seismic profiles and 13 selected wells were considered to further detail the evolution of the Cambrian and Ordovician carbonate successions in east-central Tarim Basin, in order to reconstruct the evolution of the depositional systems through time and facies distribution, as well as to identify the role of post-depositional tectonics on the present-day geometry recorded in the seismic profiles.…”

Geochemical Characteristics and Their Geological Significance of Lower Cambrian Xiaoerblak Formation in Northwestern Tarim Basin, China

“…Ni, X.F. believed that the ramp platform was developed during the deposition of Xiaoerblak Formation, with the platform margin in the north [7]. Li, B.H.…”

The nature, type, and origin of diagenetic fluids and their control on the evolving porosity of the Lower Cambrian Xiaoerbulak Formation dolostone, northwestern Tarim Basin, China

“…Dolostone reservoirs are important components of carbonate hydrocarbon reservoirs in many petroliferous basins worldwide (Ehrenberg et al 2006;Li et al 2011a, b;Sonnenberg and Pramudito 2009;Sun 1995;Warren 2000;Zhao et al 2005), but dolomite genesis and the mechanism for generating dolostone reservoirs remain intensely debated (Hardie 1987; Kirmaci and Akdag 2005;Machel 2004;Morrow 1998;Warren 2000;You et al 2015). Recent geophysical research found the Lower Cambrian platform margin facies dolostones in the subsurface of the Tabei Uplift (Ni et al 2015), which made the Lower Cambrian Xiaoerbulak Formation dolostones become potential exploration targets for hydrocarbon reservoirs (Du and Pan 2016;Liu et al 2017). Limited by scarce well samples, researches on the Lower Cambrian dolostones were mainly conducted in the Sugetbulak outcrop area of the northwestern Tarim Basin, where abundant pores, bitumen, and plentiful pore-filling dolomites were found (Li et al 2011a(Li et al , b, 2015Song et al 2014).…”