Impact of Overpressure on the Preservation of Liquid Petroleum: Evidence from Fluid Inclusions in the Deep Reservoirs of the Tazhong Area, Tarim Basin, Western China

Peng Su, Jianyong Zhang (), Zhenzhu Zhou (), Xiaolan Chen and Chunrong Zhang
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Peng Su: Shandong Key Laboratory of Depositional Mineralization & Sedimentary Mineral, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
Jianyong Zhang: PetroChina Hangzhou Research Institute of Geology, Hangzhou 310023, China
Zhenzhu Zhou: Shandong Key Laboratory of Depositional Mineralization & Sedimentary Mineral, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
Xiaolan Chen: Shandong Key Laboratory of Depositional Mineralization & Sedimentary Mineral, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
Chunrong Zhang: Shandong Key Laboratory of Depositional Mineralization & Sedimentary Mineral, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: The complexity of petroleum phases in deep formations plays an important role in the evaluation of hydrocarbon resources. Pressure is considered to have a positive impact on the preservation of liquid oils, yet direct evidence for this phenomenon is lacking in the case of deep reservoirs due to late destruction. Here, we present fluid-inclusion assemblages from a deep reservoir in the Tazhong area of the Tarim Basin, northwestern China, which formed as a direct consequence of fluid pressure evolution. Based on thermodynamic measurements and simulations of the coexisting aqueous and petroleum inclusions in these assemblages, the history of petroleum activities was reconstructed. Our results show that all analyzed fluid-inclusion assemblages demonstrated variable pressure conditions in different charging stages, ranging from hydrostatic to overpressure (a pressure coefficient of up to 1.49). Sequential petroleum charging and partial oil cracking may have been the main contributors to overpressure. By comparing the phases of petroleum and fluid pressures in the two wells, ZS1 and ZS5, it can be inferred that overpressure inhibits oil cracking. Thus, overpressure exerts an important influence on the preservation of liquid hydrocarbon under high temperatures. Furthermore, our results reveal that the exploration potential for liquid petroleum is considerable in the deep reservoirs of the Tarim Basin.

Keywords: fluid-inclusion assemblage; fluid activity; pre-salt reservoir; deep exploration; Tarim Basin (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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