It has been proven that thermochemical sulfate reduction(TSR) took place extensively in the Lower Triassic carbonate reservoirs in Northeast(NE) Sichuan(四川) basin.We have carried out analyses on bulk rock compositions and isotope ratios together with petrography and fluid inclusions to assess the impact of TSR on diagenetic process of Triassic dolomites.In this article,TSR-related burial diagenesis is characterized by precipitation of calcite cement with negative δ13C values and high ho-mogenization temperature.The light carbon isotopic compositions of this phase indicate that carbon incorporated in this cement was partly derived from oxidation of hydrocarbon.The high homogeniza-tion temperatures indicate that the thermochemical reduction of sulfates has been taking place in the deep part of NE Sichuan basin.Additional evidence supporting this interpretation is the high Sr values of this calcite cement.Moreover,the calcites have a δ18O of-8.51‰ to-2.79‰ PDB and are interpreted to have precipitated from high salinity fluids with δ18O of +5‰ to +13‰ SMOW.Under cathodolumi-nescence,these calcite cements appear dark brown or black,and both Mg concentrations and Mn/Sr ratios are low.It is therefore indicated that seawater was the principal agent of precipitation fluids.Fi-nally,it should be noted that although H2S and CO2 increased as TSR continued,porosity has been ul-timately destroyed by calcite cementation.
The discovery of natural gas reservoirs from the Triassic Feixianguan Formation in the Northeastern Sichuan Basin is an important breakthrough in the field of marine carbonate rocks for Chinese oil and gas exploration in recent years.Because of the dolomite-hosted reservoirs in the Feixianguan Formation,these dolomites and their formation mechanisms have been a research focus for sedimentary geologists and petroleum geologists.Based on the homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions,oxygen isotopic composition and their calculated temperatures,and the burial and thermal history of the typical well,it is considered that the majority of dolomites are formed by low-temperature dolomitizing fluids in the Triassic Feixianguan Formation,Northeastern Sichuan Basin.Only a minority of dolomites are formed by high-temperature dolomitizing fluids.The ending depth interval of low-temperature dolomitizing fluids was about 1000-2500 m,of which the correspondingly ending timing interval was approximately from early-middle Middle Triassic to early-middle Late Triassic.The main depth interval of high-temperature dolomitizing fluids was about 3200-4500 m,of which the correspondingly main timing interval was approximately early-middle Middle Jurassic.The low-temperature and high-temperature dolomitizing fluids have different meanings to the formation and evolution of the pore volumes of dolomite reservoirs in the Feixianguan Formation,Northeastern Sichuan Basin.
HU ZuoWeiHUANG SiJingLI ZhiMingQING HaiRuoFAN MingLAN YeFang
As the interval following the biggest Phanerozoic mass extinction at the end of Permian, the Early Triassic is characterized by an immature, poorly functioned ecosystem.The effects of these extreme environmental conditions can be mirrored by the changes in the δ13C record of marine carbonates.However, the details about the carbon isotopic composition and evolution of the Early Triassic seawater remain poorly understood.A dataset of new δ13C and δ18O values as well as selected major and trace element data (including concentrations of CaO, MgO, Mn, and Sr) was obtained from 113 marine carbonate samples collected in Eastern Sichuan Basin.The isotopic and elemental data are used to evaluate effects of thermochemical sulfate reduction on δ13C.The δ13C values of a few samples affected by thermochemical sulfate reduction were corrected.By combining carbonate δ13C results in our investigated sections, we constructed a composite curve of the Lower Triassic.The results reveal a δ13C anomaly of carbonate rocks throughout the Early Triassic, accompanied by some rapid jumps and falls, such as those from approximately -2‰ to the extremely high value of 8‰ within a period of about 5 Ma.The Early Triassic δ13C profile derived from Eastern Sichuan Basin shows a close correspondence with Guandao section in Guizhou Province, whereas it yields an excursion pattern differing from Chaohu section in Anhui Province of the Lower Yangtze region (with the δ13C value from the minimum around -6‰ to the maximum near 4‰).The higher δ13C values and the positive carbon isotope excursions in the Lower Triassic from Eastern Sichuan Basin were most likely a consequence of the principal environmental change that may include: (1) the barren land surface due to the absence of vegetation, (2) the loss of diverse marine invertebrate groups and marine carbonates, (3) the thriving of bacteria, algae and methanogenus in ocean ecosystems, and (4) the local effect of the repositories of isotopically light carbon occurred in the form of meth
The natural gas from the Triassic Feixianguan Formation of Northeast Sichuan Basin contains high H2S whereas relatively low CO2 concentrations and the CO2 display high δ13C values (ranging from -5.81‰ to 3.3‰ (PDB)). This seems to contradict the conventional wisdom that TSR should be a primary source of CO2 in natural gas from the Feixianguan Formation. In contrast, many authigenic calcite samples from these sites display very low δ13C values (ranging from -18.4‰ to -10.3‰ (PDB)). This suggests that the carbon from TSR source dominated the formation of calcite whereas the carbon from inorganic source came into CO2 in natural gas. In order to assess the origin of CO2 from these H2S-rich sites, we have calculated the relative contributions of organic and inorganic carbon sources to the CO2 and authigenic calcite. The organic carbon source possibly originated from TSR, whereas the inorganic one might be generated from marine carbonates dissolution. This calculation is based on the carbon isotopic compositions of CO2 and authigenic calcite as well as an isotopic mass balance. The results show that the contribution of organic carbon source to the CO2 is only 2%, whereas that to authigenic calcite is as high as 43% on average. Such results combined with thermodynamic evidence indicate that the isotopically light CO2 produced by TSR process may contribute to authigenic calcite precipitation during burial diagenesis. Distinguishable from Ordovician reservoir of Tarim Basin, Feixianguan reservoir of Northeast Sichuan Basin experienced rapid tectonic uplift due to Yanshanian movement after TSR occurred. Such tectonic event could induce temperature decrease and further promote carbonates dissolution. During these processes, secondary porosity has developed in Feixianguan carbonate reservoirs. Therefore, much attention should be paid to the structural highs in search of high quality carbonate reservoirs.
HUANG SiJing, HUANG KeKe, TONG HongPeng, LIU LiHong, SUN Wei & ZHONG QianQian State Key Lab of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Institute of Sedimentary Geology, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China
