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Diagenesis and its controls on reservoir properties and hydrocarbon potential in tight sandstone: a case study from the Upper Triassic Chang 7 oil group of Yanchang Formation, Ordos Basin, China

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Abstract

The sandstones in the Chang 7 oil group are typically recognized as unconventional tight clastic rock reservoirs. These sandstones are fine-grained and have low permeability and porosity and low textural and compositional maturity. In the present study, optical microscopy, SEM, cathodoluminescence, and wireline log, core analysis permeability and porosity, and production test data are applied to analyze the diagenesis and its controls on hydrocarbon potential in these tight sandstones. The results indicate that the sedimentary environment and diagenesis controlled the physical properties of the reservoir. Three different diagenesis processes were likely occurred in these sandstones. Early strong carbonate cementation is a key factor for other subsequent alterations and the final reservoir properties. The sandstones dominated by dissolution and compaction have more capacity for hydrocarbon preservation.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS) for the Student Grant for a part of experiments of this work. And the other materials and data were supported by a research project of PCOC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, No. 18 Fuxue Road, Changping, Beijing, 102249, China

    Yunlong Zhang, Zhidong Bao & Li Jiang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resource and Prospecting, Beijing, 102249, China

    Yunlong Zhang, Zhidong Bao & Li Jiang

  3. Department of Exploration and Development, Oil and Gas Company, China Huadian Engineering Co. Ltd, Beijing, 100035, China

    Yan Zhao

  4. Shenyang Center of China Geological Survey, Shenyang, 110034, China

    Fanhao Gong

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  1. Yunlong Zhang
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  2. Zhidong Bao
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  3. Yan Zhao
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  4. Li Jiang
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Correspondence to Yunlong Zhang or Zhidong Bao.

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Zhang, Y., Bao, Z., Zhao, Y. et al. Diagenesis and its controls on reservoir properties and hydrocarbon potential in tight sandstone: a case study from the Upper Triassic Chang 7 oil group of Yanchang Formation, Ordos Basin, China. Arab J Geosci 10, 234 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-017-3023-z

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