Shale gas enrichment pattern and exploration significance of Well WuXi-2 in northeast Chongqing, NE Sichuan Basin

Abstract

Abstract The shale gas enrichment pattern of Well Wuxi-2 in northeast Chongqing was studied, based on the data of the drilling, graptolite biostratigraphy, geochemistry, rock minerals, microscopic characteristics of reservoir beds and tectonic conditions, etc. The organic-rich shale of Upper Ordovician Wufeng Formation—Lower Silurian Lungmachi Formation is 89.8 m thick in Well WX-2. The graptolite biozonations are completely developed in this well, and the organic-rich shale intervals extend upward from the late Katian of the Ordovician to the early Telychian of the Lower Silurian. The deposition time of the organic-rich shale is far longer and the thickness is larger than those in other areas of the Sichuan Basin. The highest measured gas content exceeded 8 m 3 /t in Well WX-2, and the gas content is mainly controlled by TOC. The organic nano-pores are the main storage space, and the minerals contribute less to the storage space. The organic pores larger than 50 nm are well-developed and those less than 10 nm are the main reservoir space of adsorbed gas. The target intervals of Well WX-2 are located under the neutral surface of compressional Tianba anticline. Two vertical fracture (cleavage) development zones, which are beneficial for shale gas storage and complex fracture network formation during later fracturing, were formed in brittle layers of this organic-rich shale. Compressional faults existed in two limbs of the Tianba anticline, with non-permeable shale developing on both sides of fault planes and development of clay smear, which shows that the faults have good sealing properties, and are favorable for shale gas preservation. Thus the good match between the above various accumulation conditions forms the “tectonic sweet-spot” of shale gas in this study area.