Fluid Inclusions Record Hydrocarbon Charge History in the Shunbei Area, Tarim Basin, NW China

Abstract

The exploration of deeply buried hydrocarbon is still a challenge for the petroleum geology. The Shunbei area is a newly discovered oil fields, located in the center of the Tarim Basin. The oil is mainly yielded from the Middle-Lower Ordovician carbonate reservoirs with depth>7000 m in the Shunbei No. 1 and No. 5 fault zones. Calcite cements filled in vugs (v-calcite) and fractures (f-calcite) are identified in limestones and dolostones of the carbonate reservoirs. F-calcites in the Shunbei No. 1 fault zone trap secondary inclusions in trails, which comprise liquid-dominated biphase aqueous inclusions, liquid-dominated biphase oil inclusions, and/or oil-bearing triphase inclusions. F-calcite and v-calcite in the No. 5 fault zone trap secondary inclusions in trails, which consist of liquid-only monophase aqueous inclusions, liquid-dominated biphase aqueous inclusions, liquid-dominated biphase oil inclusions, liquid-only monophase oil inclusions, and/or oil-bearing triphase inclusions. The ranges of the homogenization temperature (Th) and ice-melting temperature (Tm-ice) in the Shunbei No. 1 fault zone are, respectively, 130-150°C and -2.1 - 1.5°C. The coexistence of liquid-only and liquid-dominated aqueous inclusions in the Shunbei No. 5 fault zone indicates that the aqueous inclusions are trapped at low temperatures. The aqueous inclusions in the Shunbei No. 5 fault zone show a range from -0.4 to -0.2°C in Tm-ice which is very close to the meteoric fluid. In the context of the burial-thermal history and the Cambrian source rock evolution, the charging process of hydrocarbon in the Shunbei No. 1 and No. 5 fault zones corresponds to the Silurian and Middle Ordovician, respectively. Results of fluid inclusions indicate a tightly coupling relationship between the hydrocarbon charging process and fault system evolution in the Shunbei area. This study reveals the application of fluid inclusion under the systemically petrographic constraints to decipher the charging history of hydrocarbon, especially for the deeply buried reservoirs.