Mesogenetic dissolution of the middle Ordovician limestone in the Tahe oilfield of Tarim basin, NW China

Abstract

The mesogenetic dissolution is well developed in the middle Ordovician Yijianfang formation (O 2yj) limestone, and the dissolution pores are very important for petroleum accumulation in the south slope area of the Tahe oilfield which lies in the north of the Tarim basin, northwestern China. Mottled, dotted or laminar dissolution can be observed in the O 2yj limestone. Under microscope, the grains, lime matrix and all stages of calcite cements (including oil-inclusion-bearing blocky calcite cements) can all be found dissolved ubiquitously. The stylolites in the limestone were enlarged and rounded because of dissolution. Some dolomite rhombs, precipitated along stylolites in burial environment, were found dissolved as well. The dissolution of the blocky calcite cements and dolomite rhombs and the enlarging of stylolites demonstrate that the dissolution took place in the mesogenetic environment. Concentration of trace elements, including REEs, of the eroded part of the O 2yj limestone is intermediate between that of the uneroded part and that of the underlying lower Ordovician limestone hydrocarbon source rocks. Both δ 13C PDB and δ 18O PDB values of the eroded part are less than those of the uneroded part, respectively. The geochemical characteristics indicate that the eroding fluids are hydrocarbon-bearing fluids coming from the underlying hydrocarbon source rocks.