Reservoir characteristics and their effects on hydrocarbon accumulation in lacustrine turbidites in the Jiyang Super-depression, Bohai Bay Basin, China

Abstract

A great difference exists between the hydrocarbon charging characteristics of different Tertiary lacustrine turbidites in the Jiyang Super-depression of the Bohai Bay Basin, east China. Based on wireline log data, core observation and thin-section analyses, this study presents detailed reservoir property data and their controlling effects from several case studies and discusses the geological factors that govern the hydrocarbon accumulation in turbidite reservoirs. The lacustrine fluxoturbidite bodies investigated are typically distributed in an area of 0.5–10 km 2, with a thickness of 5–20 m. The sandstones of the Tertiary turbidites in the Jiyang Super-depression have been strongly altered diagenetically by mechanical compaction, cementation and mineral dissolution. The effect of compaction caused the porosity to decrease drastically with the burial depths, especially during the early diagenesis when the porosity was reduced by over 15%. The effect of cementation and mineral dissolution during the late-stage diagenesis is dominated by carbonate cementation in sandstones. High carbonate cement content is usually associated with low porosity and permeability. Carbonate dissolution (secondary porosity zone) and primary calcite dissolution is believed to be related to thermal maturation of organic matter and clay mineral reactions in the surrounding shales and mudstone. Two stages of carbonate cementation were identified: the precipitation from pore-water during sedimentation and secondary precipitation in sandstones from the organic acid-dissolved carbonate minerals from source rocks. Petrophysical properties have controlled hydrocarbon accumulation in turbidite sandstones: high porosity and permeability sandstones have high oil saturation and are excellent producing reservoirs. It is also noticed that interstitial matter content affects the oil-bearing property to some degree. There are three essential elements for high oil-bearing turbidite reservoirs: excellent pore types, low carbonate cement (<5%) and good petrophysical properties with average porosity >15% and average permeability >10 mD.