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Quantitative reconstruction of formation paleo-pressure in sedimentary basins and case studies

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Abstract

Paleo-pressure reconstruction in sedimentary basins is one of the most important aspects of hydrocarbon accumulation research. In view of the advantages and disadvantages of the current methods for paleo-pressure research, a new method to reconstruct the paleo-pressure is presented in this paper. According to the geological background, quantitative analyses of the factors that might control overpressure were first conducted to clarify the contributions of each mechanism during different geological periods. Pressure evolution was reconstructed by fluid-compaction modelling with constraints imposed by the paleo-pressures obtained from fluid inclusions or differential stress methods. Determining the mechanisms responsible for overpressures during geological history is the basic prerequisite for paleo-pressure research. Thus, quantitative studies were conducted of the contributions of disequilibrium compaction, gas charging, oil cracking, temperature reduction, and tectonic uplift and subsidence to overpressures. Three case studies of paleo-pressure reconstruction were performed for the Sinian strata in the Sichuan Basin, Ordovician strata in the north uplift in the Tarim Basin and the Permian strata in the Sulige Gas Field in the Ordos Basin, where these three study sites are normally pressured, weakly over-pressured and abnormally low pressured at present, respectively. The new method developed in this paper is very important for the practical reconstruction of the paleo-pressure in marine strata and ancient strata in deep basins.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the help and inspiration from Dr. Li jian, Dr. Xie Zengye and Dr. Li Huili. Many thanks to the Sinopec Northwest Oil Company, PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gas Field Company, and Petrochina Changqing Oilfield Company for providing samples and geologic data. Thank the reviewers for their constructive comments on this article. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41830424, 41125010), the National Science and Technology Major Project (Grant No. 2016ZX05007003-005) and Beijing Science and Technology New Star and Leading Talent Training Program (Grant No. Z171100001117163).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing, 102249, China

    Nansheng Qiu, Yifeng Liu, Wen Liu & Jingkun Jia

  2. College of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing, 102249, China

    Nansheng Qiu & Jingkun Jia

  3. College of Ocean, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan, 316021, China

    Yifeng Liu

  4. Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Science, Beijing, 100081, China

    Wen Liu

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  1. Nansheng Qiu
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Correspondence to Nansheng Qiu or Yifeng Liu.

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Qiu, N., Liu, Y., Liu, W. et al. Quantitative reconstruction of formation paleo-pressure in sedimentary basins and case studies. Sci. China Earth Sci. 63, 808–821 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-019-9556-8

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