Gas Exploration (gas + exploration)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Accelerating Oil and Gas Exploration in Western China by Studies of Formations of Hydrocarbon Accumulations in Superimposed Basins , A Preface

ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 5 2010
PANG Xiongqi
No abstract is available for this article. [source]


Geothermometry and geobarometry of overpressured environments in Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea,

GEOFLUIDS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 3 2003
Honghan Chen
Abstract We demonstrate the use of PVT fluid inclusion modelling in the calculation of palaeofluid formation pressures, using samples from the YC21-1-1 and YC21-1-4 wells in the YC21-1 structural closure, Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea. Homogenisation temperatures and gas/liquid ratios were measured in aqueous fluid inclusions, and associated light hydrocarbon/CO2 -bearing inclusions, and their compositions were determined using a crushing technique. The vtflinc software was used to construct P,T phase diagrams that enabled derivation of the minimum trapping pressure for each order of fluid inclusion. Through the projection of average homogenisation temperatures (155, 185.5 and 204.5°C) for three orders of fluid inclusion on the thermal-burial history diagram of the Oligocene Yacheng and Lingshui formations, their trapping times were constrained at 4.3, 2.1 and 1.8 Ma, respectively. The formation pressure coefficient, the ratio of fluid pressure/hydrostatic pressure established by PVT modelling coupled with DST data, demonstrates that one and a half cycles of pressure increase,discharge developed in the Yacheng and Lingshui formations for about 4.3 Ma. In comparison, the residual formation pressure determined by 2D numerical modelling in the centre of LeDong depression shows two and a half pressure increase,discharge cycles for about 28 Ma. The two different methods suggest that a high fluid potential in the Oligocene reservoir of the YC21-1 structure developed at two critical stages for regional oil and natural gas migration and accumulation (5.8 and 2.0 Ma, respectively). Natural gas exploration in this area is therefore not advisable. [source]


Borehole-guided AVO analysis of P-P and P-S reflections: Quantifying uncertainty on density estimates

GEOPHYSICAL PROSPECTING, Issue 5 2006
Hugues A. Djikpesse
ABSTRACT Seismic properties of isotropic elastic formations are characterized by the three parameters: acoustic impedance, Poisson's ratio and density. Whilst the first two are usually well estimated by analysing the amplitude variation with angle (AVA) of reflected P-P waves, density is known to be poorly resolved. However, density estimates would be useful in many situations encountered in oil and gas exploration, in particular, for minimizing risks in looking ahead while drilling. We design a borehole seismic experiment to investigate the reliability of AVA extracted density. Receivers are located downhole near the targeted reflectors and record reflected P-P and converted P-S waves. A non-linear, wide-angle-based Bayesian inversion is then used to access the a posteriori probability distributions associated with the estimation of the three isotropic elastic parameters. The analysis of these distributions suggests that the angular variation of reflected P-S amplitudes provides additional substantial information for estimating density, thus reducing the estimate uncertainty variance by more than one order of magnitude, compared to using only reflected P-waves. [source]


Incident Command Skills in the Management of an Oil Industry Drilling Incident: a Case Study

JOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2005
M.T. Crichton
The successful management of a complex, hazardous event in many domains demands a high level of incident command skills. In the oil and gas exploration and production industry, these skills were required by members of an Incident Management Team (IMT) established to respond the failure of a drilling riser in the Gulf of Mexico. When an incident occurs, members of an industrial IMT form an interdisciplinary, interdependent, but ad-hoc team. As actual experience of dealing with major incidents of this nature is relatively rare, IMT members have to rely on emergency exercises in training, along with existing domain-specific knowledge. Following a serious incident on an offshore drilling rig, semi-structured interviews with the on-shore strategic and tactical level IMT members (n=7) were conducted. These interviews have resulted in the identification and definition of incident command skills for members of an industrial IMT, namely decision making, situation awareness, communication, leadership, and teamwork, all of which can be affected by stress, as well as organisational factors that influenced the outcome of the incident. Limitations in current incident management training were identified, namely the need for specific incident command skills training. A framework is suggested around which specific incident command skills training can be structured. Key learnings from this case study are also presented which can provide guidance for the training and preparation of industrial incident management teams. [source]


KINETICS OF HYDROCARBON GAS GENERATION FROM MARINE KEROGEN AND OIL: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ORIGIN OF NATURAL GASES IN THE HETIANHE GASFIELD, TARIM BASIN, NW CHINA

JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY, Issue 4 2007
Yunpeng Wang
In this paper we derive kinetic parameters for the generation of gaseous hydrocarbons (C1-5) and methane (C1) from closed-system laboratory pyrolysis of selected samples of marine kerogen and oil from the SW Tarim Basin. The activation energy distributions for the generation of both C1-5 (Ea = 59-72kcal, A = 1.0×1014 s,1) and C1 (Ea = 61-78kcal, A = 6.06×1014 s,1) hydrocarbons from the marine oil are narrower than those for the generation of these hydrocarbons from marine kerogen (Ea = 50-74kcal, A = 1.0×1014 s,1 for C1-5; and Ea = 48-72kcal, A=3.9×1013 s,1 for C1, respectively). Using these kinetic parameters, both the yields and timings of C1-5 and C1 hydrocarbons generated from Cambrian source rocks and from in-reservoir cracking of oil in Ordovician strata were predicted for selected wells along a north-south profile in the SW of the basin. Thermodynamic conditions for the cracking of oil and kerogen were modelled within the context of the geological framework. It is suggested that marine kerogen began to crack at temperatures of around 120°C (or 0.8 %Ro) and entered the gas window at 138°C (or 1.05 %Ro); whereas the marine oil began to crack at about 140 °C (or 1.1 %Ro) and entered the gas window at 158 °C (or 1.6%Ro). The main geological controls identified for gas accumulations in the Bachu Arch (Southwest Depression, SW Tarim Basin) include the remaining gas potential following Caledonian uplift; oil trapping and preservation in basal Ordovician strata; the extent of breaching of Ordovician reservoirs; and whether reservoir burial depths are sufficiently deep for oil cracking to have occurred. In the Maigaiti Slope and Southwest Depression, the timing of gas generation was later than that in the Bachu Arch, with much higher yields and generation rates, and hence better prospects for gas exploration. It appears from the gas generation kinetics that the primary source for the gases in the Hetianhe gasfield was the Southwest Depression. [source]


Logging Evaluation of the Ordovician Carbonate Reservoir Beds in the Lungudong Region, Tarim Basin

ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 5 2010
YANG Wenjing
Abstract: In recent years, great progress has been made constantly in oil and gas exploration in the Lungudong region of the Tarim Basin. However, progress has been slow in the evaluation of its main oil-producing horizons , the Ordovician carbonate reservoir beds. Based on previous researches and on the various data such as drilling, geology and oil test, in combination with the interpretation of each single-well imaging and conventional logging data, and through analysis and comparison, the identification methods in imaging and conventional logging for four types of carbonate reservoir beds in this region are summarized in this paper. Calculation formulas for four reservoir bed parameters, i. e. shale content, porosity, permeability and oil saturation in this region are proposed; and reservoir beds in this region are divided into three levels (I, II and III) by combining oil test data and logging data, The lower limits of the effective porosity of reservoir beds and the fracture porosity of effective reservoir beds are determined as 1.8% and 0.04%, respectively. The physical property parameters are calculated by conventional logging curves, and the most advantageous areas for reservoir development are predicted comprehensively. On the plane, the high-value zones of reservoir bed parameters are mainly concentrated in the N-S-trending strike-slip fault, the Sangtamu fault horst zone and near the LG38 well area; vertically, the reservoir bed parameters of the Yijianfang Formation are better than those of the Yingshan and Lianglitage formations. [source]


Origin of Paleofluids in Dabashan Foreland Thrust Belt: Geochemical Evidence of 13C, 18O and 87Sr/86Sr in Veins and Host Rocks

ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 5 2010
ZENG Jianhui
Abstract: In the last ten years, with important discoveries from oil and gas exploration in the Dabashan foreland depression belt in the borderland between Shanxi and Sichuan provinces, the relationship between the formation and evolution of, and hydrocarbon accumulation in, this foreland thrust belt from the viewpoint of basin and oil and gas exploration has been studied. At the same time, there has been little research on the origin of fluids within the belt. Based on geochemical system analysis including Z values denoting salinity and research on ,13C, ,18O and 87Sr/86Sr isotopes in the host rocks and veins, the origin of paleofluids in the foreland thrust belt is considered. There are four principal kinds of paleofluid, including deep mantle-derived, sedimentary, mixed and meteoric. For the deep mantle-derived fluid, the ,13C is generally less than ,5.0,PDB, ,18O less than ,10.0,PDB, Z value less than 110 and 87Sr/86Sr less than 0.70600; the sedimentary fluid is mainly marine carbonate-derived, with the ,13C generally more than ,2.0,PDB, ,18O less than ,10.0,PDB, Z value more than 120 and 87Sr/86Sr ranging from 0.70800 to 0.71000; the mixed fluid consists mainly of marine carbonate fluid (including possibly a little mantle-derived fluid or meteoric water), with the ,13C generally ranging from ,2.0, to ,8.0,PDB, ,18O from ,10.0, to ,18.0, PDB, Z value from 105 to 120 and 87Sr/86Sr from 0.70800 to 0.71000; the atmospheric fluid consists mainly of meteoric water, with the ,13C generally ranging from 0.0, to ,10.0,PDB, ,18O less than ,8.0%cPDB, Z value less than 110 and 87Sr/86Sr more than 0.71000. The Chengkou fault belt encompasses the most complex origins, including all four types of paleofluid; the Zhenba and Pingba fault belts and stable areas contain a simple paleofluid mainly of sedimentary type; the Jimingsi fault belt contains mainly sedimentary and mixed fluids, both consisting of sedimentary fluid and meteoric water. Jurassic rocks of the foreland depression belt contain mainly meteoric fluid. [source]


Geologic Characteristics of Volcanic Hydrocarbon Reservoirs and Exploration Directions in China

ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 1 2010
Caineng ZOU
Abstract: Volcanic rocks are distributed widely in China, which are important exploration targets. By analyzing many discovered volcanic hydrocarbon reservoirs all over the world, the authors summarized the geologic characteristics of the formation of volcanic hydrocarbon reservoirs in China, and gave further exploration directions and advices. (1) There are mainly Carboniferous-Permian, Jurassic-Cretaceous, Paleogene-Neogene volcanic rocks in oil- and gas-bearing basins in China, which are mainly distributed in the Junggar Basin, Songliao Basin, Bohai Bay Basin, etc. There are mainly intermediate rocks and acidic rocks in east China, and intermediate rocks and basic rocks in west China. They primarily develop in intracontinental rift settings and island are environments. (2) Porefissure reservoirs are distributed widely in basins, which are volcanic rocks mainly in explosive and effusive facies. (3) Volcanic hydrocarbon reservoirs are chiefly near-source lithostratigraphic hydrocarbon reservoirs, and the oil and gas accumulation is predominantly controlled by lithotypes, faults and structural positions. (4) Deep-seated oil and gas reservoirs in the Songliao Basin and Carboniferous volcanic hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Junggar Basin are potential giant volcanic gas provinces, the volcanic hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Bohai Bay Basin and Santanghu Basin are favorable for oil and gas reserves increase, and volcanic rocks in the Turpan Basin, Sichuan Basin, Tarim Basin have exploration potentiality. (5) The technology series of oil and gas exploration in volcanic rocks have been preliminarily formed. [source]


Basic Types and Structural Characteristics of Uplifts: An Overview of Sedimentary Basins in China

ACTA GEOLOGICA SINICA (ENGLISH EDITION), Issue 2 2009
Dengfa HE
Abstract: The uplift is a positive structural unit of the crust It is an important window for continental dynamics owing to its abundant structural phenomena, such as fault, fold, unconformity and denudation of strata. Meanwhile, it is the very place to store important minerals like oil, natural gas, coal and uranium. Giant and large-scale oil and gas fields in China, such as the Daqing Oilfield, Lunnan-Tahe Oilfield, Penglai 19,3 Oilfield, Puguang Gas Field and Jingbian Gas Field, are developed mainly on uplifts. Therefore, it is the main target both for oil and gas exploration and for geological study. The uplift can be either a basement uplift, or one developed only in the sedimentary cover. Extension, compression and wrench or their combined forces may give rise to uplifts. The development process of uplifting, such as formation, development, dwindling and destruction, can be taken as the uplifting cycle. The uplifts on the giant Precambrian cratons are large in scale with less extensive structural deformation. The uplifts on the medium- and small-sized cratons or neo-cratons are formed in various shapes with strong structural deformation and complicated geological structure. Owing to changes in the geodynamic environment, uplift experiences a multi-stage or multi-cycle development process. Its geological structure is characterized in superposition of multi-structural layers. Based on the basement properties, mechanical stratigraphy and development sequence, uplifts can be divided into three basic types , the succession, superposition and destruction ones. The succession type is subdivided into the maintaining type and the lasting type. The superposition type can be subdivided into the composite anticlinal type, the buried-hill draped type, the faulted uplift type and the migration type according to the different scales and superimposed styles of uplifts in different cycles. The destruction type is subdivided into the tilting type and the negative inverted type. The development history of uplifts and their controlling effects on sedimentation and fluids are quite different from one another, although the uplifts with different structural types store important minerals. Uplifts and their slopes are the main areas for oil and gas accumulation. They usually become the composite oil and gas accumulation zones (belts) with multiple productive formations and various types of oil and gas reservoirs. [source]