Lithofacies types and assemblage features of continental shale strata and their implications for shale gas exploration: A case study of the Middle and Lower Jurassic strata in the Sichuan Basin

Liu, Zhongbao; Liu, Guangxiang; Hu, Zhao; Dong, Feng; Zhu, Tong; Bian, Ruikang; Jiang, Tao; Zhi-guang, Jin

doi:10.1016/j.ngib.2019.12.004

Cited by 30 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The third member primarily develops the coarse clastic materials in the delta front. Moreover, the upper submember of the first member and the lower submember of the second member are major strata, in which the dark argillaceous shale is developed [31][32][33][34].…”

Section: Sedimentology and Stratigraphy The Studied Area In Thementioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative Characterization of Pore Space for the Occurrence of Continental Shale Oil in Lithofacies of Different Types: Middle Jurassic Lianggaoshan Formation in Southeastern Sichuan Basin of the Upper Yangtze Area

Wei

Zhang

et al. 2021

Geofluids

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In addition to marine and marine-continental transitional strata, the continental ones are also widely distributed in various oil and gas-bearing basins in China. The continental shale generally provides favorable material bases for hydrocarbon generation, such as wide distribution, large thickness, multiple series of strata, high TOC content, nice organic matter type, and moderate thermal evolution. Part of such shale contains shale oil, but the pore space characteristics for the occurrence of this oil are not thoroughly studied. In order to accurately and quantitatively characterize the pore space where the continental shale oil in different types of lithofacies occurs, we sampled the rock cores from the Middle Jurassic Lianggaoshan Formation in the southeastern Sichuan Basin of the Upper Yangtze Area. The TOC content and mineral composition were analyzed, and we also carried out experiments on CO2 and N2 adsorptions, high-pressure mercury injection, and wash oil. Results show significant differences in pore space characteristics for the occurrence of shale oil in different types of lithofacies. In organic-rich mixed and clayey mudstones with the highest TOC content, the free shale oil, occupying the largest reservoir space, mainly occurs in macropores and mesopores, and the adsorbed shale oil, occupying the largest reservoir space, mainly occurs in mesopores. In the organic-bearing clayey mudstone, which has a higher TOC content, the free shale oil takes a larger reservoir space and mainly occurs in macropores, followed by mesopores, and the absorbed one, occupying a larger reservoir space, mostly occurs in micropores and then the mesopores. The organic-bearing mixed mudstone has a moderate TOC content, in which the free shale oil occupies a smaller reservoir space and primarily occurs in mesopores, followed by macropores, and the absorbed one, which takes a larger reservoir space, all occurs in mesopores. In the fine sandstone, the free shale oil occupies a smaller reservoir space and primarily occurs in mesopores, while the absorbed one occupies a smaller reservoir space and all occurs in mesopores.

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Section: Sedimentology and Stratigraphy The Studied Area In Thementioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative Characterization of Pore Space for the Occurrence of Continental Shale Oil in Lithofacies of Different Types: Middle Jurassic Lianggaoshan Formation in Southeastern Sichuan Basin of the Upper Yangtze Area

Wei

Zhang

et al. 2021

Geofluids

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“…The Jurassic formation in the Sichuan Basin is a set of important petroleum-bearing strata containing both oil and gas (Liu et al, 2019). During the early and middle Jurassic, most of the Sichuan Basin was composed of shore shallow lacustrine and semi-deep lacustrine sediments (Li and He, 2014).…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Total organic carbon (TOC) is usually the main indicator for evaluating the abundance of source rocks (Li et al, 2016;Liu et al, 2019;Feng et al, 2020). The TOC content of the shale in the Dongyuemiao shale of Well FY10 ranges from 0.77 to 3.13%, with an average value of 1.67% (Table 2).…”

Section: Organic Geochemical and Physical Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Organic rich shale is widely distributed in China, which not only provides abundant conventional oil and gas resources, but also contains plentiful shale oil and gas resources (Jin et al, 2019;Zou et al, 2019). Many breakthroughs have been achieved in the Permian Lucaogou Formation in the Junggar Basin, Triassic Yanchang Formation in the Ordos Basin, Cretaceous Qingshankou Formation in the Songliao Basin, middle-lower Jurassic formations in the Sichuan Basin, and Paleogene Shahejie Formation in the Bohai Bay Basin, and industrial production has been realized in some regions (Zhang et al, 2018;Liu et al, 2019;Fu et al, 2021;Zhang et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Heterogeneity Characteristics of Lacustrine Shale Oil Reservoir Under the Control of Lithofacies: A Case Study of the Dongyuemiao Member of Jurassic Ziliujing Formation, Sichuan Basin

et al. 2021

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The lacustrine shale in the Dongyuemiao Member of the Fuling area, Sichuan Basin, is widely distributed and has huge shale oil resource potential. It is one of the important replacement areas for shale oil exploration in China. To investigate the key shale oil evaluation well, Well FY10, in the Fuling area, X-ray diffraction (XRD) mineral analysis, Rock-Eval, argon ion polishing-scanning electron microscope (SEM), Mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP), and low pressure nitrogen adsorption were launched to determine the heterogeneity of the pore system in the lacustrine shale of the Dongyuemiao Member. The mineral composition exhibits a high degree of heterogeneity, and the shale can be divided into two main lithofacies: argillaceous shale and mixed shale. The porosity ranges from 2.95 to 8.43%, and the permeability ranges from 0.05 to 1.07 × 10−3 μm2. The physical properties of mixed shale are obviously better than those of argillaceous shale. Inorganic mineral pores, such as linear pores between clay minerals and calcite dissolution pores, are mainly developed, while a small amount of organic pores can be observed. The average total pore volume (Vp) is 0.038 ml/g with an average specific surface area of 5.38 m2/g. Mesopores provide the main Vp (average 61.72%), and micropores provide mostly specific surface area. TOC imposes a strong controlling effect on the development of micropores. Clay minerals are the main contributors to mesopores and macropores. The organic-inorganic interaction during the process of diagenesis and hydrocarbon generation controls the formation of shale pore systems.

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“…[17]. Based on core observations, whole-rock mineral X-ray diffraction analysis, thin section analysis, TOC measurements, and helium porosity measurements, Liu et al [17,18] classified shale sedimentary facies and studied the characteristics of lithofacies at different scales and their significance for shale gas exploration. Radwa et al [19] analyzed the sedimentary facies of the upper Bahariya sandstone reservoir in the East Bahariya area of the Northwest Desert of Egypt based on the analysis of core photos, microresistivity imaging logging, mud logging, and conventional wireline logging data.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentary Facies of the Longmaxi Formation Shale Gas Reservoir in the Weiyuan Area Based on Elemental Characteristics

Tang

Wang

et al. 2021

Geofluids

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The Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation in the southern Sichuan Basin is composed of a series of dark carbonaceous shales deposited in a hydrostatic shelf reduction environment. In this study, the ratio of uranium to thorium (U/Th), the total organic carbon (TOC), and the biological silicon content (SiBio) were selected as the characteristic parameters to precisely analyze the sedimentary environment and its impact on reservoir quality. The results show that the Weiyuan area in the Early Silurian Longmaxi period experienced two transgression-regression cycles, forming two third-class sequences, SSQ1 and SSQ2, which can be divided into six sedimentary microfacies: organic-rich siliceous argillaceous shelf, organic-rich silicon-containing argillaceous shelf, organic-rich silty argillaceous shelf, deep-water silty argillaceous shelf, shallow-water silty argillaceous shelf, and shallow-water argillaceous silty shelf microfacies. The organic-rich siliceous argillaceous shelf and organic-rich silicon-containing argillaceous shelf microfacies developed in the deepest transgressive system tract (TST1), with high U/Th, high TOC, and high SiBio, which are identified as the main control facies for reservoir development. These two microfacies are located in the middle of the study area, while a transition occurs in the east affected by the Neijiang Uplift. According to the classification criteria proposed in this article, the favourable shale gas reservoirs in Weiyuan area are characterized with high U/Th (>1.25), high TOC (>3%), and high SiBio (>15%). This paper proposed an evaluation method for shale sedimentary facies based on elemental and electrical logging characteristics, avoiding the limitations of core samples, which makes the quantitative division of shale sediments and the efficient recognition of high-quality reservoirs available. It is of great significance for delineating the potential production areas in the study area and beneficial for the scaled development of shale gas reservoirs.

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Lithofacies types and assemblage features of continental shale strata and their implications for shale gas exploration: A case study of the Middle and Lower Jurassic strata in the Sichuan Basin

Cited by 30 publications

References 2 publications

Quantitative Characterization of Pore Space for the Occurrence of Continental Shale Oil in Lithofacies of Different Types: Middle Jurassic Lianggaoshan Formation in Southeastern Sichuan Basin of the Upper Yangtze Area

Quantitative Characterization of Pore Space for the Occurrence of Continental Shale Oil in Lithofacies of Different Types: Middle Jurassic Lianggaoshan Formation in Southeastern Sichuan Basin of the Upper Yangtze Area

Heterogeneity Characteristics of Lacustrine Shale Oil Reservoir Under the Control of Lithofacies: A Case Study of the Dongyuemiao Member of Jurassic Ziliujing Formation, Sichuan Basin

Sedimentary Facies of the Longmaxi Formation Shale Gas Reservoir in the Weiyuan Area Based on Elemental Characteristics

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