Differential Reservoir-Forming Mechanisms of the Lower Paleozoic Wufeng-Longmaxi and Niutitang Marine Gas Shales in Northern Guizhou Province, SW China: Theories and Models

Abstract

Fine dissection of microscopic pore structure variations between the Niutitang Formation and the Wufeng-Longmaxi Formation will help to improve the understanding of the underlying geological theory of shale gas in northern Guizhou Province. The stratigraphic, geochemical, physical, and tectonic properties of the two formations vary greatly, resulting in differential development of the microscopic pore structure among reservoirs and, as a result, major variances in gas concentration. To explore the mechanism of differential pore evolution, experimental techniques and instruments such as gas adsorption, liquid intrusion, SEM, XRD, and organic geochemical tests were utilized. The results indicate that the Wufeng-Longmaxi Formation is in a high-maturity stage, while the Niutitang Formation is in an over-mature stage. The latter has a higher TOC content. Both petrographic phases are siliceous shale petrographic phases, and the former has more developed dissolution pores with better pore volume, throat radius, and macropore pore diameters than the latter, as well as organic matter pores, intergranular pores, and microfracture structural parameters, whereas the specific surface area is the opposite. The differences in reservoir pore formation between the two formations were analyzed, and the results showed that the petrographic type, thermal evolution, and tectonic preservation conditions were the primary controlling elements of differential shale gas reservoir formation. A differential reservoir-forming model of the Wufeng-Longmaxi Formation and the Niutitang Formation was constructed, providing a geological and theoretical basis for shale gas geological exploration in northern Guizhou Province.