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AAPG Bulletin

Abstract

DOI: 10.1306/12212318282

Multiphase pools caused by gas invasion in deep Ordovician carbonates from the Tazhong area, Tarim Basin, China

Zhiyao Zhang,1 Yijie Zhang,2 Guangyou Zhu,3 Jianfa Han,4 and Linxian Chi5

1School of Earth Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China; Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina, Beijing, China; [email protected]
2Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina, Beijing, China; [email protected]
3Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina, Beijing, China; [email protected]
4Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, Tarim Oilfield Company, PetroChina, Korla, China; [email protected]
5Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, PetroChina, Beijing, China; [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Unraveling the charge histories of pools with complex petroleum fluid phases is crucial for effective exploration and fluid prediction. Previous HitOilNext Hit and gas samples from multiphase pools in the Tazhong area of the Tarim Basin, China, were analyzed using complementary geochemical (e.g., gas chromatography [GC], two-dimensional GC coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry, compound-specific carbon isotope Previous HitanalysisNext Hit, and pyrolysis simulations) and geological data to better understand their origins and spatial distribution. The integration of these data suggests that the petroleum in these multiphase pools was significantly impacted by various secondary geochemical processes, including Previous HitoilNext Hit cracking, thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR), and gas invasion. Previous HitOilNext Hit and gas in deep Cambrian pools were altered by Previous HitoilNext Hit cracking and TSR due to high temperatures of more than 170°C (320°F) at depths of more than 8500 m (27,900 ft), leading to the generation of secondary products, including diamondoids, organosulfur compounds (OSCs), and TSR-altered, H2S-rich cracking gases. This deep Cambrian gas, with diamondoids and OSCs, dissolved in the vapor phase, migrated upward through strike-slip faults, and invaded previously charged Previous HitoilNext Hit pools in Ordovician carbonates, changing the reservoir fluid characteristics and fluid phases. Thus, condensates were formed due to the introduction of excessive deep gas into the primary Previous HitoilNext Hit. The amount of gas invasion decreased with increasing distance from the strike-slip faults, thus forming multiphase pools with a spatial distribution pattern. Previous HitOilNext Hit pools near strike-slip faults are more affected by gas invasion than weakly altered volatile Previous HitoilNext Hit pools and unaltered Previous HitoilNext Hit pools with greater distances away. The Previous HitoilNext Hit pools near the faults form Previous HitcondensateTop pools that show enrichment of H2S and carbon isotopic fractionation in C2–C4 gas components. This study provides new insights into the causal mechanism and distribution of multiphase pools in superdeep strata and has great potential for petroleum exploration in deeply buried Ordovician carbonates in the Tarim Basin.

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