Basic Geological Characteristics and Resource Potential of Tight Sandstone Gas in China

Guo, Bincheng; Li, Jianzhong; Li, Xin; Yan, Weipeng
RIPED, CNPC, Beijing, China.

Tight sandstone gas is the exploration potential areas in the future, although petroleum exploration level is relatively high in many continental basins of China. Presently, tight sandstone gas have been got breakthrough in several basins. Especially in Ordos and Sichuan basins, scale production has been come into being. Tight sandstone gas reservoirs in China are characterized by following geological features: the main source rocks are coal-bearing measures with high hydrocarbon generation intensity and successive gas expulsion; the tight sandstones are in close and large scale contact to source rock, and the natural gas enriches in some areas after short migration.

The geological recoverable resource volume is first systematically evaluated by analogy to be 9-13 TCM, a promising potential for faster E&D. The result of geological conditions, resource potential and exploration practices analysis shows that, the most realistic exploration areas at present are the upper Paleozoic in Ordos basin, Xujiahe Formation in Sichuan basin and Kuqa deep formation in Tarim basin. The future potential areas are deep formation in Songliao basin, Jurassic in Junggar basin Jurassic in Turpan-Hami basin and deep formation in Bohai Bay basin.

Tight sandstone gas resources in China is economically poor overall, which require the state policy supporting as well as the technology innovation. The total amount of tight sandstone gas resources in China is roughly equal to that in the United States and Canada, while lower in grade. Comparing with North America, tight sandstone gas in China has smaller thickness of both total and effective, smaller area of gas charged and deeper burial depth. Limited to the current level of technology, technical recoverable reserve of tight gas is low. We can believe that with the support of state policy, tight sandstone gas will be developed and utilized in large scale as the technology advances, and becomes the most important objects of reserves and production increasing by 2020.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90155©2012 AAPG International Conference & Exhibition, Singapore, 16-19 September 2012