Physical-property cutoffs of tight reservoirs by field and laboratory experiments: a case study from Chang 6, 8-9 in Ordos Basin

Tight sandstone reservoirs are generally characterized by complex reservoir quality, non-Darcy flow, and strong heterogeneity. Approaches utilized for evaluating physical property cutoffs of conventional reservoirs maybe inapplicable. Thus, a comprehensive investigation on physical property cutoffs of tight sandstone reservoirs is crucial for the reserve evaluation and successful exploration. In this study, a set of evaluation approaches take advantage of field operations (i.e., core drilling, oil testing, and wireline well logging data), and simulation experiments (i.e., high-pressure mercury injection-capillary pressure (MICP) experiment, oil-water relative permeability experiment, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment, and biaxial pressure simulation experiment) were comparatively optimized to determine the physical property cutoffs of effective reservoirs in the Upper Triassic Chang 6, Chang 8 and Chang 9 oil layers of the Zhenjing Block. The results show that the porosity cutoffs of the Chang 6, Chang 8, and Chang 9 oil layers are 7.9%, 6.4%, and 8.6%, and the corresponding permeability are 0.08 mD, 0.05 mD, and 0.09 mD, respectively. Coupled with wireline well logging, mud logging, and oil testing, the cut-off of the thickness of single-layer effective reservoirs are approximately 3.0 m, 3.0 m, and 2.0 m, respectively. Depending on the cutoffs of critical properties, a superimposed map showing the planar distribution of the prospective targets can be mapped, which may delineate the effective boundary of prospective targets for petroleum exploration of tight sandstone reservoirs.

Automated summary

Tight sandstone reservoirs are characterized by complex reservoir quality, non-Darcy flow, and strong heterogeneity. This study utilized field operations and simulation experiments to determine the physical property cutoffs of effective reservoirs in the Upper Triassic Chang 6, Chang 8, and Chang 9 oil layers of the Zhenjing Block. The results provide important information for the reserve assessment and exploration of tight sandstone reservoirs.