Abstract
Jingmen block is an essential location for the development and exploration of shale gas. The regional structure, the tectonic characteristics, and their influence on shale gas preservation in the Jingmen block were summarized based on observations from drilled cores, seismic data interpretation, FMI imaging logging results, and other methods of subsequent analysis. The study results show that: 1) the overall structure of the study area is simple. The shale corresponding to the Wufeng and Longmaxi formations of the Upper Ordovician and Lower Silurian periods were subjected to compression deformation in Indosinian and early Yanshanianand, following extension and strike-slip transformation in the late Yanshanian period. Structures, including back-thrust, echelon, parallel, inversion structures, and rifts, could also be observed 2) Fractures with different tectonic stages and scales have different effects on the preservation degree of shale gas in the study area, resulting in differences in the nature, scale and zone of influence of faults in different regions and 3) The crack associated with fault structure include interlayer low-angle detachment fracture, conjugate shear fracture, reticular fracture, high-angle shear fracture, high-angle strike-slip shear fracture, and high-angle fracture zone. The location and type of fracture development in different stages vary, which affect the shale gas preservation and migration 4) Based on the influence of structures on shale gas preservation, the study area is divided into four categories viz. two favorable areas and two more favorable areas.
Highlights
Southern China is endowed with the vast resource potential of marine shale gas
This paper examines the fracture development types, angles, connectivity, and other factors using core observations and FMI imaging logging results to study the characteristics of fracture development in different regions and their influence on shale gas preservation
The structure is more favorable to the preservation of shale gas since it happened before the primary hydrocarbon producing phase
Summary
Southern China is endowed with the vast resource potential of marine shale gas. The development of black shale, a deep-water shelf facies in the western part of the Middle Yangtze region during early Cambrian Qiongzhusi and the Late Ordovician Wufeng to early Silurian Longmaxi periods based on their exploration practices and basic research in the Middle and Lower Paleozoic formations of Hubei. The structural differences among the various phases greatly influence the preservation conditions of shale gas (An et al, 2016; Deng and He, 2018; Guo et al, 2021), resulting in an inconsistency in the enrichment of marine shale gas in the area. Research on the influence of the structure of phases on the preservation conditions of shale gas is relatively limited, which restricts the exploration and development of shale gas in Central Hubei. Establishing the influence of the structure of Jingmen block in central Hubei on the preservation conditions of shale gas is critical for the exploration and subsequent development of well positions. The present study investigates the conditions and favorable areas for the preservation of shale gas to guide the prospective exploration and development in the area
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