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A quantitative method for characterizing transport capability of compound hydrocarbon carrier system

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Abstract

The occurrence of hydrocarbon migration in petroliferous basins depends on the balance of driving force and resistance of carriers, which restricts mostly the quantity and positions of hydrocarbon accumulation. The driving forces of hydrocarbon migration have been quantitatively studied, whereas the migration pathways and carriers were only qualitatively discussed up to now. Establishing a compound hydrocarbon carrier system and quantitatively characterizing its transport capability are significant for understanding the dynamic process of hydrocarbon migration and revealing the hydrocarbon accumulation characteristics. It has become an innovatory trend and also a difficult topic in study of hydrocarbon migration. In this article, a method is described for using displacement pressure to quantitatively characterize the transport capability of the compound carrier system, which composed of sandstone carriers, unconformities and faults. When the weathered and leached zone rarely developed, the basal conglomerate or transgressive sandstone of unconformities can be treated as part of sandstone carriers. An empirical relationship among core porosity, air permeability, and the pore aperture radius corresponding to a mercury saturation of 10% (r 10) can be obtained by multiple regression. Using porosity and permeability inversed by seismic data, the displacement pressure of sandstone carriers can be calculated by the empirical relationship and Washburn Equation. Displacement pressure of fault plane can be estimated by the regression formula between fault opening index (FOI) and hydrocarbon column height it can support. This method is applied in the eastern part of south slope in Dongying (东营) depression, Bohai (渤海) Bay Basin, China, to quantitatively characterize the transport capability of the compound carrier system of Shahejie (沙河街) Formation. The results have good agreement with data from drilling wells. This method may be a step further in study of compound hydrocarbon carrier system in petroliferous basins. It may provide the basis of coupling expulsion quantity, migration driving force and hydrocarbon carrier system to simulate hydrocarbon migration and accumulation. Therefore this will help predict hydrocarbon migration pathways and the locations of hydrocarbon accumulation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources Research, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Yuhong Lei  (雷裕红), Xiaorong Luo  (罗晓容), Likuan Zhang  (张立宽) & Ming Cheng  (程明)

  2. Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, PetroChina, Beijing, 100083, China

    Chengpeng Song  (宋成鹏)

Authors
  1. Yuhong Lei  (雷裕红)
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  2. Xiaorong Luo  (罗晓容)
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  3. Likuan Zhang  (张立宽)
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  4. Ming Cheng  (程明)
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  5. Chengpeng Song  (宋成鹏)
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Correspondence to Yuhong Lei  (雷裕红).

Additional information

This study was supported by the Chinese National Major Fundamental Research Developing Project (No. 2011ZX08005-004) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41102078).

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Lei, Y., Luo, X., Zhang, L. et al. A quantitative method for characterizing transport capability of compound hydrocarbon carrier system. J. Earth Sci. 24, 328–342 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-013-0337-y

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