Mineralogy and fracture development characteristics of marine shale-gas reservoirs: A case study of Lower Silurian strata in southeastern margin of Sichuan Basin, China

Abstract

Mineral contents and fractures of shale from well Yuye-1 and outcrops were examined mainly based on systematic description of the cores and outcrops, and data from experimental analyses. The data enabled us to thoroughly explore the mineralogy and developmental features of shale of the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation in the study area. The results show that, the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Shale (SLS) in the southeastern margin of Sichuan Basin, China, is primarily characterized by a high content of brittle minerals and a relatively low content of clay minerals. The total content of brittle minerals is approximately 57%, including 27% quartz, 12.2% feldspar, 11.2% carbonate and 2.4% pyrite. The total content of clay minerals reaches 41.6%, composed of illite (23.8%), mixed-layer of illite and smectite (I/S) (10.8%) and chlorite (7.0%). The SLS accommodates the widespread development of various types of fractures, including tectonic fractures, diagenetic fractures, inter-layer fractures and slip fractures. The developmental level of the fracture in the SLS is mainly influenced by faults, lithology, mineral contents and total organic carbon content (TOC) in study area.