Pore Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Marine and Lacustrine Shale in the Eastern Sichuan Basin, China

Although almost all the shale gas in China is exploited from marine shale (Wufeng-Longmaxi Formation) in Sichuan Basin and several prolific wells, it has also been obtained in Jurassic lacustrine shale. However, the reservoir conditions of the lacustrine shale are not well understood, which has impeded a breakthrough regarding lacustrine shale gas in Sichuan Basin. To probe the reservoir conditions of the lacustrine shale in Sichuan Basin, we take the Wufeng-Longmaxi shale and Dongyuemiao shale sampled from wells and outcrops as examples. A series of experiments were conducted, including TOC, XRD, FE-SEM, N-2 adsorption, Micro-CT, vitrinite reflectance and bitumen reflectance. The results show that the pores in marine shale are mainly composed of organic-matter-hosted pores (OM pores). However, in the lacustrine shale, the pores are mainly composed of dissolution pores and intergranular pores. The marine shale is characterized by small-caliber and large-volume pores in which cluster pores are levitated in the shale as kites and connected by past channels. However, in the lacustrine shale, the cluster pores and the past channels are mainly arranged according to the flow channels in the vertical direction. The arrangement of the pores in the marine shale is obviously deformed by compaction. The lacustrine shale is characterized by under-compaction. It can be deduced that the sweet spots for lacustrine shale gas are likely located at the areas characterized by under-compaction resulting from fluid pressure conducted upward, such as the hinge zone of syncline or the core of anticline overlap on the gas reservoirs.

Automated summary

This study investigates the reservoir conditions of lacustrine shale in the Sichuan Basin through experiments on samples from wells and outcrops. The results show that lacustrine shale has different pore characteristics compared to marine shale. The arrangement of pores in marine shale is affected by compaction, while lacustrine shale is characterized by under-compaction. The findings suggest that high-quality areas for lacustrine shale gas may be located in under-compacted regions influenced by upward fluid pressure.