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Unconventional Petroleum Sedimentology: A Key to Understanding Unconventional Hydrocarbon Accumulation

Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: The commercial exploitation of unconventional petroleum resources (e.g., shale oil/gas and tight oil/gas) has drastically changed the global energy structure within the past two decades. Sweet-spot intervals (areas), the most prolific unconventional hydrocarbon resources, generally consist of extraordinarily high organic matter (EHOM) deposits or closely associated sandstones/carbonate rocks. The formation of sweet-spot intervals (areas) is fundamentally controlled by their depositional and subsequent diagenetic settings, which result from the coupled sedimentation of global or regional geological events, such as tectonic activity, sea level (lake level) fluctuations, climate change, bottom water anoxia, volcanic activity, biotic mass extinction or radiation, and gravity flows during a certain geological period. Black shales with EHOM content and their associated high-quality reservoir rocks deposited by the coupling of major geological events provide not only a prerequisite for massive hydrocarbon generation but also abundant hydrocarbon storage space. The Ordovician–Silurian Wufeng–Longmaxi shale of the Sichuan Basin, Devonian Marcellus shale of the Appalachian Basin, Devonian–Carboniferous Bakken Formation of the Williston Basin, and Triassic Yanchang Formation of the Ordos Basin are four typical unconventional hydrocarbon systems selected as case studies herein. In each case, the formation of sweet-spot intervals for unconventional hydrocarbon resources was controlled by the coupled sedimentation of different global or regional geological events, collectively resulting in a favorable environment for the production, preservation, and accumulation of organic matter, as well as for the generation, migration, accumulation, and exploitation of hydrocarbons. Unconventional petroleum sedimentology, which focuses on coupled sedimentation during dramatic environmental changes driven by major geological events, is key to improve the understanding of the formation and distribution of sweet-spot intervals (areas) in unconventional petroleum systems.
Source: Engineering
DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2022.06.016
Authors: Caineng Zou, Zhen Qiu, Jiaqiang Zhang, Zhiyang Li, Hengye Wei, Bei Liu, Jianhua Zhao, Tian Yang, Shifa Zhu, Huifei Tao, Fengyuan Zhang, Yuman Wang, Qin Zhang, Wen Liu, Hanlin Liu, Ziqing Feng, Dan Liu, Jinliang Gao, Rong Liu, Yifan Li
Institutions: Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, China National Petroleum Corporation (China), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Colorado College, Southwest Petroleum University, China University of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum, East China, Chengdu University of Technology, State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Jilin University, China University of Geosciences (Beijing)
Language: English
Subfield: Geology
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,000
OpenAlex ID: W4292255245
FWCI: 10.6
Cites: 125
Cited by: 114
Related to: 10