Oil & Gas Geology ›› 2024, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (5): 1417-1430.doi: 10.11743/ogg20240515

• Methods and Technologies • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Medium-to-low maturity shales in the faulted lacustrine basin in Jiyang Depression,Bohai Bay Basin: Theoretical understanding of their hydrocarbon generation, reservoir formation, and shale oil enrichment and high-yield nature and exploitation practices

Liangtian NI1,2(), Yushan DU1,2, Long JIANG1,2, Hongxia SUN1,2, Ziyan CHENG1,2, Zupeng LIU1,2, Jianhua ZHONG3,4, Zenghui CAO1,2, Cunfei MA4   

  1. 1.Exploration and Development Research Institute,Shengli Oilfield Branch Company,SINOPEC,Dongying,Shandong 257015,China
    2.State Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development,Beijing 102206,China
    3.School of Resources and Materials,Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao,Qinhuangdao,Hebei 066004,China
    4.School of Geosciences,China University of Petroleum (East China),Qingdao,Shandong 266580,China
  • Received:2024-05-23 Revised:2024-09-06 Online:2024-10-30 Published:2024-11-06

Abstract:

The Jiyang Depression in the Bohai Bay Basin boasts abundant shale oil resources, with a preliminary estimate of over 10 billion t. Analyzing, investigating, and summarizing theories on the formation, enrichment, and high-yield nature of shale oil are significant for guiding shale oil exploration and production efforts in this region. We systematically examine the formation and evolutionary characteristics of organic matter, as well as the enrichment and mobility of shale oil, in two major shale oil-bearing sequences in the Jiyang Depression: the upper submember of the 4th member of the Paleogene Shahejie Formation (also referred to as the Sha 4 Member) and the lower submember of the 3rd member of the Formation (also referred to as the Sha 3 Member). Accordingly, the theoretical understanding of the hydrocarbon generation, reservoir formation, and shale oil enrichment and high-yield nature of middle- to-low maturity shales is proposed for the faulted lacustrine basin in the depression. The results indicate that shales in this basin exhibit a high abundance of organic matter and medium-to-low maturity during deposition. These characteristics establish the shales as high-quality source rocks with high hydrocarbon-generating potential and low activation energy for hydrocarbon generation. During the deposition of shales in the Shahejie Formation within the Jiyang Depression, lipoid compounds such as halophilic bacteria and algae were present in saline water bodies, resulting in the high paleoproductivity of organic matter, low activation energy for hydrocarbon generation in sulfur-rich organic facies, and high hydrocarbon conversion rate. Additionally, the depositional period of the shales was marked by early hydrocarbon generation and expulsion, with the free oil content peaking at a vitrinite reflectance (Ro) value of approximately 0.65 %. The organic-rich layers and porous laminae, frequently interbedded, display regular distributions and a favorable source-reservoir configuration. The thick shale sequences generally exhibit high pressure as their self-sealing performance remains undestroyed by low-order faults in the sub-sag zone. The shale oil-bearing sequences largely consist of laminated carbonate-rich shales and laminated mixed shales. Both types of lithofacies exhibit the characteristics of high-quality shale oil sweet spots, as evidenced by shale oil enrichment governed by laminae and shale oil flow influenced by fracture networks, with the lamina assemblages determining the distribution of reservoir spaces. The spatial coupling of multi-scale and multi-type matrix microfractures with induced fracture networks forms an efficient seepage system with superimposed natural and artificial multi-scale fracture networks in shales. Consequently, the shales demonstrate oil enrichment throughout all shale sequences of the laminated framework.

Key words: hydrocarbon generation-accumulation-flow characteristics, laminated lithofacies assemblage, shale oil development, medium-to-low maturity shale, Shahejie Formation, Jiyang Depression, Bohai Bay Basin

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