Publication Date:
2005-12-01
Description:
A two-dimensional basin-modeling study was employed to analyze the petroleum generation and migration history of the Qingshui sag in the western depression of the Liaohe basin, northeast China. The Eocene–Oligocene ES4 and ES3 members of the Shahejie Formation (ES) are the most important source rocks responsible for the major hydrocarbon accumulations. Two sandstone beds of fan-delta origin, the Dujiatai (DJT) and the Xinglongtai (XLT), are the primary reservoir rocks in the study area. The model indicates that two migration systems can be differentiated; they are separated by the thick shale beds of the middle ES3 and ES1, which acted as important regional seals for the lower and the upper systems, respectively. The DJT bed is the most important pathway for migrating hydrocarbons in the lower system, whereas the XLT bed is a significant factor in the upper system. Calibration of the model with thermal maturity data indicates that the geological evolution is consistent with typical heat-flow values for rift basins in the range between 85 and 48 mW/m 2. All source units reached maturity during the major burial phase, which extended from the Oligocene to the Eocene. Simulation results further indicate that after a cooling period, renewed heating occurred, and additional hydrocarbons were generated during the last 5 m.y., particularly in the southern part of the basin. Sensitivity tests indicated that the faults, particularly the two main faults, served as important conduits for petroleum throughout most of the geological history. The main phase of migration occurred between the Eocene and Oligocene and was responsible for major accumulations in the west slope, the central anticline, and the central rise. Additional migration between 5 Ma and the present is significant in the southwestern area and may have brought about petroleum accumulation in the central depression and central rise. Liguo Hu received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in petroleum geology from the Southwest Petroleum Institute of China. He is currently employed as a project manager at the Liaohe Hainan Petroleum Exploration Company, PetroChina. His research interests are petroliferous basin analysis, organic geochemistry, and basin modeling.Andreas Fuhrmann joined the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam as a geochemist in 2002. He holds a diploma in geology from Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen University, Germany, and, in 2003, received his Ph.D. from the Technical University of Berlin after conducting a dissertation on organic geochemistry and facies analysis in ancient and recent lake settings at the Research Center Jülich, Germany. His main research interests are the prediction of hydrocarbon composition and phase behavior, basin modeling, and the molecular geochemistry of petroleum and source rocks. Harald S. Poelchau obtained his M.S. degree in geology from the University of Colorado (1963) and his Ph.D. in earth sciences from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (1974). He worked as a research geologist for the Atlantic Richfield in Plano, Texas, and joined the Research Center Jülich, Germany, in 1988, where he was a project geologist in the basin-modeling group, and is now retired. His scientific interests include quantitative geology and computer application, sedimentology, geothermics, reservoir geology, and silicoflagellates. Brian Horsfield is a professor of organic geochemistry and hydrocarbon systems at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany, and leads the Organic Geochemistry Section at GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam. He has 27 years experience working with and for industry in upstream research and development. His research interests include predicting fluid compositions ahead of drilling in petroleum systems and unraveling the workings of the deep biosphere. Zhanwen Zhang is the vice president of the Exploration and Development Research Institute, Liaohe Oilfield Subcompany, PetroChina. He received his M.S. degree (geology) from China University of Geosciences, Beijing, in 2001 and has great interest in basin analysis as well as natural gas geology. Tiesheng Wu is a former chief geologist of the Exploration and Development Research Institute, Liaohe Oilfield Subcompany, PetroChina. He received his B.S. degree in tectonic geology in 1965 from Beijing University. His scientific interests are tectonics and organic geochemistry, as well as modeling petroleum generation, migration, and accumulation. Yixian Chen holds a B.S. degree in geochemistry from the University of Science and Technology of China. He is a former chief geologist of the Liaohe Oilfield Subcompany, PetroChina. His research interests include organic and inorganic geochemistry and basin analysis. Jinyou Li is the director of the South China Sea Research Section in the Exploration and Development Research Institute of PetroChina's Liaohe Oilfield Subcompany. He attained his B.S. degree in geochemistry from the China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, in 1990. His scientific interests are in organic geochemistry and basin modeling.
Print ISSN:
0149-1423
Electronic ISSN:
1943-2674
Topics:
Geosciences
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