Oil & Gas Geology ›› 2020, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (6): 1212-1221.doi: 10.11743/ogg20200609

• Petroleum Geology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Characterization and effectiveness of natural fractures in deep tight sandstones at the south margin of the Junggar Basin, northwestern China

Zhe Mao1,2(), Lianbo Zeng1,2, Guoping Liu1,2, Zhiyong Gao3, He Tian1,2, Qing Liao1, Yunzhao Zhang1,2   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum(Beijing), Beijing 102249, China
    2. College of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum(Beijing), Beijing 102249, China
    3. RIPED Petroleum Geology Research and Laboratory Center, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, China
  • Received:2018-11-20 Online:2020-12-28 Published:2020-12-09

Abstract:

The Jurassic tight sandstones at the south margin of the Junggar Basin are characterized by great burial depth (more than 4 500 m), poor physical properties and natural fractures that serve as the dominant storage space and percolation channels for hydrocarbon.A study on the characteristics, controlling factors and effectiveness of the fractures is carried out with field outcrop observation, core and thin section data analyses as well as experimental results.The result shows that high-angle structural fractures dominate the sandstones, followed by diagenetic fractures and fractures related to overpressure.The fractures are mostly NNE-SSW-, NNW-SSE-, NEE-SWW- and NE-SW-trending, but NNW-SSE-trending fractures are rarely seen in the middle of the margin and density goes down from east to west.The distribution and formation of the fractures are controlled by stress field, tectonic movement, lithology, layer thickness and reservoir heterogeneity, while the permeability of the fractures is related to fluid activities, overpressure and present in-situ stress.The results also indicate that more than 85% of the fractures in the study area are effective.The high-pressure percolation experiment demonstrates a negative power exponent decrease of the fracture effectiveness with increasing confining pressure.However, the fracture permeability decreases differently under different confining pressure ranges.It decreases rapidly with the increase of the confining pressure less than 15 MPa (at a burial depth of over 1 000 m).The reduction slows down when the pressure exceeds 15 MPa.And at a confining pressure of 65 MPa (equal to the maximum experimental axial pressure of 115 MPa or a burial depth of more than 8 000 m), the permeability stays at 22.5×10-3 μm2.Therefore, natural fractures are still the effective storage space and seepage channels even in deep formations, where they serve to improve physical properties and indicate high-quality deep reservoirs.

Key words: effectiveness of fracture, natural fracture, tight sandstone reservoir, deep formation, Jurassic, south margin of the Junggar Basin, foreland basin

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