Oil & Gas Geology ›› 2025, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (4): 1281-1298.doi: 10.11743/ogg20250417

• Petroleum Geology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Hydrocarbon migration and accumulation dynamics and model of distal tight hydrocarbon reservoirs: A case study of sandy conglomerate oil reservoirs in the Triassic Baikouquan Formation, Mahu Sag, Junggar Basin

Yao HU1,2,3(), Chengzao JIA1,4, Xiongqi PANG1,2(), Yong SONG3, Wenjun HE1,2,5, Hongfei CHEN1,2,6, Liyin BAO1,2, Weiyan CHEN3, Wen ZHAO3, Huiyi XIAO1,2, Caijun LI1,2, Zhi XU1,2   

  1. 1.State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Engineering,China University of Petroleum (Beijing),Beijing 102249,China
    2.College of Geosciences,China University of Petroleum (Beijing),Beijing 102249,China
    3.Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development,PetroChina,Beijing 100083,China
    4.China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC),Beijing 100724,China
    5.Exploration and Development Research Institute,Xinjiang Oilfield Company,PetroChina,Karamay,Xinjiang 834000,China
    6.Heavy Oil Development Company,Xinjiang Oilfield Company,PetroChina,Karamay,Xinjiang 834000,China
  • Received:2025-05-08 Revised:2025-07-23 Online:2025-08-30 Published:2025-09-06
  • Contact: Xiongqi PANG E-mail:hy_geology0626@163.com;pangxq@cup.edu.cn

Abstract:

The whole petroleum system (WPS) theory serves to introduce a new perspective for hydrocarbon exploration, contributing to significant achievements in exploration practices across multiple basins. Under actual geological conditions, hydrocarbon reservoirs tend to exhibit complex formation processes due to the interplay of multiple dynamic forces. Identifying the dynamic types that drive the formation of complex hydrocarbon reservoirs within a WPS and quantifying their respective contributions have become a key challenge in current research on hydrocarbon accumulation. As a distinct category of distal tight hydrocarbon reservoirs in the WPS, the tight sandy conglomerate reservoirs of the Triassic Baikouquan Formation in the Mahu Sag, Junggar Basin represent a globally rare sandy conglomerate oil play with abundant reserves. A new technique for identifying the buoyancy-driven hydrocarbon accumulation depth (BHAD) in a WPS reveals that the BHAD of the Baikouquan Formation corresponds to a critical porosity of 12% and a critical permeability of 1 × 10-3 μm2. Accordingly, four driving forces of hydrocarbon migration and accumulation in the formation’s sandy conglomerate oil reservoirs are identified, namely, the buoyancy (Ⅰ) and non-buoyancy forces (Ⅱ), tectonic stress (Ⅲ1), and the geofluid activity (Ⅲ2), which contribute 13.10%, 45.32%, 37.44%, and 4.14%, respectively to the proven reserves of these reservoirs. The contributions of major driving forces indicate that the sandy conglomerate oil reservoirs represent a joint-dynamic accumulation type dominated by non-buoyancy and tectonic stress reformation. Petrographic and fluid inclusion analyses reveal that oil reservoirs in the Baikouquan Formation underwent two key hydrocarbon charging events during the Early Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. During the first accumulation stage, tight and conventional oil reservoirs are formed under the action of capillary pressure and buoyancy, respectively. In contrast, during the second accumulation stage, tight oil reservoirs are primarily formed through capillary pressure. Currently, these oil reservoirs have evolved into two distinct types: low-porosity, low-permeability tight reservoirs formed by capillary pressure and tectonic stress-reformed low-porosity, high-permeability fractured oil reservoirs. Analysis of the coupling relationships between geological factors during key accumulation stages reveals that the sandy conglomerate oil reservoirs in the Baikouquan Formation exhibit a composite accumulation model characterized by multiple driving forces, multiple stages, and multi-lithofacies. Determining the dynamic mechanisms behind hydrocarbon accumulation in distal tight hydrocarbon reservoirs will provide a new philosophy for the efficient exploration and exploitation of these reservoirs while also offering an important practical basis for improving the WPS theory.

Key words: accumulation dynamics, whole petroleum system (WPS), tight sandy conglomerate, complex hydrocarbon reservoir, Baikouquan Formation, Mahu Sag, Junggar Basin

CLC Number: