Natural fractures in deep tight gas sandstone reservoirs in the thrust belt of the southern Junggar Basin, northwestern China

Abstract

The development of natural fractures is a significant characteristic of the Jurassic deep tight sandstone reservoirs in the thrust belt of the southern Junggar Basin, and these reservoirs have a great potential for natural gas resources. Based on the analyses of outcrops, cores, thin sections, and other laboratory data, natural fractures in these reservoirs are mainly tectonic ones, which appear in groups and vary in scale, dip angle, and density. We have classified fractures in thin sections into intragranular, grain boundary, and transgranular ones depending on their relationship with minerals grains. Almost 58% of the whole fracture population is opening-mode fractures, and calcite is the main filling mineral for the remaining ones. Fracture apertures vary based on their types, where transgranular fractures are the widest, followed by grain boundary and intragranular ones. Lithology, rock mechanical mechanics layers, and structures control the development of natural fractures. Fractures are more frequent in siltstone and fine sandstone. Sandstones with larger mineral grains are more likely to develop grain boundary and intragranular fractures. Intralayer fractures are the dominant ones, which intersect the rock mechanics interface at high angles or perpendicularly. The linear density of these fractures decreases when the thickness of the rock-mechanics layer increases. Furthermore, fractures have a higher degree of development in the hanging wall of the faults, with the degree decreasing when the distance from the fault plane increases. Additionally, the development degree of fractures in the damage zone is better than the adjacent rocks, and the width of damage zones is a function of the amount of fault displacement.