Condensates and light oils are generally characterized by high maturity, low concentration of sterane and terpane biomarkers and low content of non-hydrocarbon fraction. As a result, some commonly-used sterane, terpane and carbazole migration parameters in conventional oil reservoirs may have a certain limitation in condensate and light oil reservoirs for their poor signal-noise ratios in the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Naphthalene, phenanthrene and their methylated substituents, however, are present in significant concentrations in condensates and light oils. Taking the Fushan depression (in the Beibuwan Basin, Northern South China Sea) as an example, this paper attempts for the first time to use polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-related parameters to trace migration directions and filling pathways for condensate and light oil reservoirs. The result shows that TMNr (i.e. 1, 3, 7-TMN/(1, 3, 7-TMN + 1, 2, 5-TMN), TMN: trimethylnaphthalene)), MPI-1 (i.e. 1.5×(2-MP + 3-MP)/(P + 1-MP + 9-MP), P: phenanthrene MP: methyiphenanthrene), MN/DMN (∑methylnaphthalene/∑dimethylnaphthalene, %) and MN/TMN (∑nethylnaphthalene/∑trimethylna- phthalene, %) can be used to trace the filling pathways of condensate and light oil reservoirs. These parameters, together with geological consideration and other bulk oil properties (e.g. the gas to oil ratio and density), suggest that the condensates and light oils in the Huachang oil and gas field are mainly sourced from the Bailian sag that is located to the northeast of the Huachang uplift in the Fushan depression.
LI MeijunWANG TieguanLIU JuZHANG MeizhuLU HongMA QinglinGAO Lihui
Some Ordovician and Triassic oils in Block 9 are characterized by light oils,which have distinctly differentiated from heavy oils in other blocks in the Tahe Oilfield,Tarim Basin.Based on the whole oil gas chroma- tograms,this paper estimates the effect of oil migration and fractionation and the amount of depletion(Q)in terms of the n-alkanes depletion model.The results showed that the amount of depletion in the Ordovician reservoir is highest in the east of this block,e.g.the depletion is 97% in Well T904.The amount of Q gets lower to the west,e.g.the depletion is 53.4%in Well T115 and there is no sign of depletion in Well S69.It is suggested that the direction of gas washing is from the east to the west.The compositions and isotopic characteristics of associated gas in Ordovician oils indicated that the gas might be derived from Cambrian source rocks of the Caohu Depression which lies to the east of Block 9.In contrast,no obvious depletion of n-alkanes in Triassic oils was found,suggesting that the migration pathway of natural gas has been limited to the Ordovician karst fracture system formed in the Early Hercynian Orogeny.Different depletions of the Ordovician and Triassic oils can reveal fault activities in this region.