Exploring petroleum inside source kitchen: Shale oil and gas in Sichuan Basin

The Sichuan Basin is rich in shale oil and gas resources, with favorable geological conditions that the other shale reservoirs in China cannot match. Thus, the basin is an ideal option for fully exploring petroleum inside source kitchen with respect to onshore shale oil and gas in China. This paper analyzes the characteristics of shale oil and gas resources in the United States and China, and points out that maturity plays an important role in controlling shale oil and gas composition. US shale oil and gas exhibit high proportions of light hydrocarbon and wet gas, whereas Chinese marine and transitional shale gas is mainly dry gas and continental shale oil is generally heavy. A comprehensive geological study of shale oil and gas in the Sichuan Basin reveals findings with respect to the following three aspects. First, there are multiple sets of organic-rich shale reservoirs of three types in the basin, such as the Cambrian Qiongzhusi Formation and Ordovician Wufeng Formation-Silurian Longmaxi Formation marine shale, Permian Longtan Formation transitional shale, Triassic Xujiahe Formation lake-swamp shale, and Jurassic lacustrine shale. Marine shale gas enrichment is mainly controlled by four elements: Deep-water shelf facies, moderate thermal evolution, calcium-rich and silicon-rich rock association, and closed roof/floor. Second, the sweet section is generally characterized by high total organic carbon, high gas content, large porosity, high brittle minerals content, high formation pressure, and the presence of lamellation/bedding and natural microfractures. Moreover, the sweet area is generally characterized by very thick organic-rich shale, moderate thermal evolution, good preservation conditions, and shallow burial depth, which are exemplified by the shale oil and gas in the Wufeng-Longmaxi Formation, Longtan Formation, and Daanzhai Member of the Ziliujing Formation. Third, the marine, transitional, and continental shale oil and gas resources in the Sichuan Basin account for 50%, 25%, and 30% of the respective types of shale oil and gas geological resources in China, with great potential to become the cradle of the shale oil and gas industrial revolution in China. Following the Conventional Daqing-Oil (i.e., the Daqing oilfield in the Songliao Basin) and the Western Daqing-Oil & Gas (i.e., the Changqing oilfield in the Ordos Basin), the Southwest oil and gas field in the Sichuan Basin is expected to be built into a Sichuan-Chongqing Daqing-Gas in China.