Abstract
Whether oil emplacement and diagenetic sequences provoke, deteriorate, or have no effect on pore network evolution, as implied by recent tests and theoretical analysis, are critical factors in forecasting hydrocarbon exploration and development potentials. Therefore, a systematic investigation on the effect of oil emplacement of tight sandstones is conducted to study the importance of this behavior on the pore evolution path. This study evaluated the role played by oil emplacement and diagenesis in the pore network evolution of Upper Triassic tight sandstones in the Ordos Basin. To help provide a comprehensive understanding, we have used a multidisciplinary method including physical properties, casting thin section, scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, fluorometric, and inclusion analysis. The results demonstrate that the sandstones could be divided into four groups based on new criteria: calcareous sandstone, high soft component sandstone, low soft component sandstone with continual oil emplacement, and low soft component sandstone with intermittent oil emplacement. The physical properties of those types of sandstones were gradually reduced. Quartz cement captured hydrocarbon, carbonate captured hydrocarbon, free hydrocarbon, and adsorbed hydrocarbon were the four main kinds of hydrocarbons. The maturity of those sandstones was decreased progressively, indicating that the formation time of those hydrocarbons was favorable to maturity. Four stages of oil emplacement happened, and large-scale emplacement mainly occurred in the late Jurassic and early Craterous. The evidence demonstrated that tight sandstones’ high porosity could be attributed to positive diagenetic contributions with a complex interplay of chemical compaction, early formed clays, and large-scale oil emplacement. This work would provide new sights for a better understanding of the tight oil accumulation modes, and the findings could be applied in the hydrocarbon exploration and development field.
Highlights
The exploration and development method in Ordos Basin, China, has varied many times over the past few years [1]
The research objects are from the Chang 8 (C8) sandstones of the Upper Triassic strata, and the samples are located in the southwestern of the Ordos Basin (Figure 2(b))
Establishing the link between oil emplacement with diagenetic sequences is crucial for understanding their controls on pore network evolution
Summary
The exploration and development method in Ordos Basin, China, has varied many times over the past few years [1]. That is because of the gradual shift of the targets from conventional reservoirs to unconventional reservoirs [2]. A tight sandstone reservoir, one of the typical unconventional reservoirs, contains pores and throats ranging from
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