The effect of chlorite rims on reservoir quality in Chang 7 sandstone reservoirs in the Ordos Basin, China

Chlorite rims have been of interest to petroleum geologists over the past several decades, as a significant number of abnormal high-porosity sandstone reservoirs at great depths have been related to chlorite rims. To clarify the contribution of chlorite rims to porosity preservation in sandstones, the relationship between chlorite rims and porosity evolution in Chang 7 sandstones of the Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation in the Ordos Basin in northcentral China was investigated using thin sections, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analyses. Based on the detrital composition and diagenetic evolution pathway analyses, it was concluded that chlorite rims inhibited the formation of quartz cementation. However, in addition to quartz cementation, compaction and other cements (commonly carbonates and clays) also control the porosity evolution of sandstones. In sandstones in which porosity reduction is largely controlled by compaction or other cements, chlorite rims may have a limited effect on porosity preservation. Thus, chlorite rims can play an important role in porosity preservation only in sandstones in which quartz cementation is the main process of porosity destruction. The results of this study indicate that the development of high-porosity sandstones is often controlled by many factors, and the effects of chlorite rims on porosity preservation are not always significant.

Automated summary

This study investigated the relationship between chlorite rims and porosity evolution in the Chang 7 sandstones of the Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation in the Ordos Basin in northcentral China. The results showed that chlorite rims inhibited the formation of quartz cementation, but other factors such as compaction and other cements also controlled the porosity evolution of sandstones. Chlorite rims only played an important role in porosity preservation when quartz cementation was the main process of porosity destruction.