Depositional Model and Controlling Factors of High-Quality Shales of the Wufeng and Longmaxi Formations in Western Chongqing, Sichuan Basin, China.

Abstract

The enrichment of organic matter is the foundation for a high-quality shale deposition. It is generally believed that high productivity and persistent anoxic conditions facilitate the preservation and enrichment of organic matter. However, there is a lack of investigation into how the dynamic combination of productivity and anoxia affects organic matter enrichment. Here, the black shales of the Wufeng Formation and Longmaxi Formation in the western Chongqing area were selected, where oceanic anoxia and high productivity evolved as a function of the water depth. The main findings were as follows: (1) the distribution of high-quality shales in the Upper Ordovician Wufeng Formation and the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation is closely related to the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), indicating that the physicochemical conditions within the OMZ zone facilitated the development of high-quality shale; (2) in the late period of the Wufeng Formation, intense ocean upwelling in the middle shelf and outer shelf regions caused high productivity where thick-bedded high-quality shales were deposited; and (3) in the early period of the Longmaxi Formation, ocean upwelling weakened, accompanied by the expansion of the OMZ to shallow water regions, and high-quality shales were widely distributed. Based on the above findings, two depositional models were proposed to account for the formation of high-quality shales, and it is suggested that intense ocean upwelling during the late period of the Wufeng Formation and OMZ expansion during the early period of the Longmaxi Formation played crucial roles in facilitating the formation of high-quality shales. These two models present the spatial and temporal variability of high-quality shale development for the first time and can guide shale gas exploration and development strategies.