Effects of fault activities on hydrocarbon migration and accumulation in the Zhu I Depression, Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea

Abstract

Faults can act as either conduits or barriers for hydrocarbon migration, because they have complicated anisotropic flow properties owing to their complicated three-dimensional structures. This study focuses on the Zhu I Depression, Pearl River Mouth Basin (PRMB), China. In this area, hydrocarbon migration and accumulation occurred over a relatively short period of time and were contemporaneous with fault activation, so the characteristics of hydrocarbon accumulations can be used to deduce the effect of active faults on hydrocarbon migration and accumulation. This study addresses the effect of fault activity on flow properties during hydrocarbon migration through a quantitative and comparative analysis of fault activity vs hydrocarbon accumulation. The fault slip rate and shale smear factor parameters were used to characterise faulting and elucidate its effect on hydrocarbon migration and accumulation. Active faults are generally excellent vertical conduits with strong fault activation resulting in vertical migration of most hydrocarbons and little preservation; traps near faults with fault slip rates greater than 20 m/Ma rarely contain commercial oil and gas accumulations. Faulting can form shale smear, which, if continuous, can act as a barrier to hydrocarbon migration. An active fault can allow hydrocarbon transport from deeper formations and to be trapped by continuous shale smear in shallower strata. Most of the oil and gas in the Zhu I Depression have accumulated near faults with a moderate fault slip rate (<20 m/Ma) and development of continuous shale smear (SSF<4–6).