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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability in Geographic Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2024 | Viewed by 4664

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Wei Ju

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Guest Editor

School of Resources and Geosciences, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Interests: reservoir geomechanics; unconventional oil and gas geology; basin analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Lei Gong

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Guest Editor

Bohai-Rim Energy Research Institute, Northeast Petroleum University, Qinhuangdao 066004, China
Interests: unconventional oil & gas; subseismic faults and fractures; mechanical stratigraphy
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Dr. Jingshou Liu

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Guest Editor

Department of Petroleum Geology, School of Earth Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Interests: petroleum geology; structural geology; reservoir fracture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The exploration and sustainable utilization of geoenergy (e.g., oil and gas resources) in basins have significant implications for the world. Recently, breakthroughs have been obtained in deep and ultradeep tight reservoirs, shale gas development, and geothermal resource exploration. New ideas and methods have also been proposed for basin research and geoenergy exploration. Studies on the above fields are still at the initial stage, with many questions unsolved. Tectonic analysis is a basic geological process to determine basin origin and evolution, oil and gas accumulation, and hydrocarbon/geothermal resource exploration and development. This Special Issue aims to present and discuss findings and technologies related to basin tectonic analysis and geoenergy exploration.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

Basin tectonic analysis using kinematics or geodynamics.
In situ stress prediction.
Structural interpretation and styles.
Natural fracture formation mechanisms and predictions.
Oil and gas reservoir analysis.
Basin–orogen coupling.
Numerical modelling for hydrocarbon development.
Geothermal resource exploration.
Other advanced research on basin tectonics and geoenergy exploration.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Wei Ju
Prof. Dr. Lei Gong
Dr. Jingshou Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

basin tectonics
in situ stress
natural fracture
structural interpretation
basin geodynamics
oil and gas exploration
geothermal resource
numerical modelling
unconventional geology
basin–orogen coupling

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

32 pages, 41386 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Simulation of Hydraulic Fractures Breaking through Barriers in Shale Gas Reservoir in Well YS108-H3 in the Zhaotong Shale Gas Demonstration Area

by Shasha Sun, Xinyu Yang, Yun Rui, Zhensheng Shi, Feng Cheng, Shangbin Chen, Tianqi Zhou, Yan Chang and Jian Sun

Sustainability 2023, 15(24), 16567; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416567 - 5 Dec 2023

Viewed by 754

Abstract

Estimating the effectiveness of hydraulic fracturing in the context of the incrfease in the shale gas demand is of great significance for enhancing shale gas production, which aims to substantially reduce fossil energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. The Zhaotong national shale gas demonstration zone has complex stress structures and well-developed fracture zones, and thus it is challenging to achieve targeted reservoir segment transformation. In this paper, we construct and optimize the geometry of hydraulic fractures at different pressures considering the upper and lower barriers in hydraulic fracturing simulation experiments and numerical modeling. The numerical simulation results show that the pore pressure exhibits a stepped pattern around the fracture and an elliptical pattern near the fracture tip. During the first time of injection, the pore pressure rapidly increases to 76 MPa, dropping sharply afterward, indicating that the fracture initiation pressure is 76 MPa. During the fracture propagation, the fracture length is much greater than the fracture height and width. The fracture width is larger in the middle than on the two sides, whereas the fracture height gradually decreases at the fracture tip in the longitudinal direction until it closes and is smaller near the wellbore than at the far end. The results revealed that the fracture width at the injection point reached the maximum value of 9.05 mm, and then it gradually decreased until the fracture width at the injection point dropped to 6.33 mm at the final simulation time. The fracture broke through the upper and lower barriers due to the dominance of the effect of the interlayer principal stress difference on the fracture propagation shape, causing the hydraulic fracture to break through the upper and lower barriers. The results of the physical simulation experiment revealed that after hydraulic fracturing, multiple primary fractures were generated on the side surface of the specimen. The primary fractures extended, inducing the generation of secondary fractures. After hydraulic fracturing, the width of the primary fractures on the surface of the specimen was 0.382–0.802 mm, with maximum fracture widths of 0.802 mm and 0.239 mm, representing a decrease of 70.19% in the maximum fracture width. This work yielded an important finding, i.e., the urgent need for hydraulic fracturing adaptation promotes the three-dimensional development of a gas shale play. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Basin Tectonic Analysis and Geoenergy Exploration)

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17 pages, 12790 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Natural Fractures and Their Contribution to Natural Gas Migration and Accumulation in Marine Carbonate Reservoirs: Lower Triassic Feixianguan Formation, Northeast Sichuan Basin, China

by Cong Guan, Lianbo Zeng, Yingtao Yao, Hang Zhang, Jiewei Zhang and Dong Liang

Sustainability 2023, 15(23), 16155; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316155 - 21 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 595

Abstract

The Lower Triassic carbonate succession of the Feixianguan Formation represents a primary focus for gas exploration in the northwestern Sichuan Basin. This study area includes the massive Puguang gas field and other nearby gas fields of considerable size. These carbonate reservoirs display significant heterogeneity, which is primarily influenced by the presence of natural fractures. Extensive documentation of fracture types, characteristics, effectiveness, and their role in enhancing reservoir properties was conducted by examining and analyzing various data sources, including cores, thin sections, image logs, and experimental measurements. Shear fractures primarily characterize the Feixianguan Formation carbonate reservoir, although tensile and diagenetic fractures are also present, albeit in fewer numbers. Tectonic fractures are the dominant type, particularly unfilled ones with dip angles greater than 60° in the NEE–SWW direction. These fractures are mainly filled with calcite. The tectonic fractures were formed in three stages: Late Indosinian-Early Yanshanian, Late Yanshanian-Early Himalayan, and Late Himalayan. These fractures intersect with the in situ stress direction at a small angle in the NE–SW, NEE–SWW, and near E–W directions, contributing to their effectiveness. Compared with the total fracture density, the effective fracture density is the factor in controlling gas production. An increase in the proportion of effective fractures tends to result in a rise in gas productivity. Additionally, the orientation of effective fractures also influences natural gas production. Fractures striking in the E–W and NE–SW directions, which are particularly effective, are associated with high natural gas production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Basin Tectonic Analysis and Geoenergy Exploration)

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18 pages, 5100 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reacquainting the Structural Characteristics of Pull-Apart Basins Based on Simulations with Wet Clay

by Hongyuan Xu, Haigang Lao, Chao Peng, Hao Xu, Chuncheng Liu, Wei Sun, Yongtao Ju and Guiyu Dong

Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14143; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914143 - 25 Sep 2023

Viewed by 877

Abstract

A pull-apart basin (PAB) is a releasing zone constrained by strike–slip faults. A PAB partly appears as a unique basin type typically dominated by the basin sidewall and cross-basin faults. However, the structural characteristics of different subsidiary faults derived from strike–slip motions are currently poorly understood in PABs. Under the control of different bend strike–slip faults, this study examines the formation and evolution of PABs reconstructed from wet clay with high water content (68%) as the experimental material. It was reported that (1) a PAB shows the single asymmetric half-graben architecture in the profile and rhombus in the plane, regardless of the bend type of the strike–slip fault; (2) the subsidiary fault area density increases with increasing fault displacement in PABs and might be impacted by the nature of the wet clay; (3) as the strike–slip fault displacement increases, the subsidiary fault number initially increases and then begins to decrease with large fault formation; and (4) T-faults are the most numerous faults in PABs, followed by Riedel shear faults. R′- and P-shear faults account for a small proportion and are unstable. The proportion of Riedel shear faults gradually decreases from the underlapping strike–slip faults to the overlapping strike–slip faults, accompanied by an increase in the corresponding R′-shear faults. The primary control factor affecting the proportion of subsidiary faults is the stress component. Re-recognition of subsidiary faults in the PABs is significant for interpreting strike–slip faults and the study of hydrocarbon migration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Basin Tectonic Analysis and Geoenergy Exploration)

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17 pages, 9044 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Organic Matter of the Wufeng–Longmaxi Formation Shales Using Scanning Electron Microscopy

by Jing Wang, Fawang Ye, Gary G. Lash and Zhaodong Xi

Sustainability 2023, 15(18), 13438; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813438 - 7 Sep 2023

Viewed by 695

Abstract

Fine-grained organic matter (OM) particles are commonly widely dispersed in shale deposits. However, carrying out investigations of pores hosted by OM particles and the nature of grain interactions in OM particles and associated detrital grains using optical microscopy is difficult at best. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is much better suited for characterizing the microstructure of dispersed OM particles and has found wide application in the study of unconventional oil and gas systems. Scanning electron microscopy was used to define the types of OM contained in marine shale deposits of the Wufeng and Longmaxi Formations spanning the Ordovician–Silurian transition in South China. Of particular interest was the development of OM-hosted pores and the identification of the factors that controlled their formation. The dominant OM type contained in the studied deposits is pyrobitumen, with subordinate graptolitic OM and sparse OM of unknown origin. Pyrobitumen is present in four forms, including pore fillings among authigenic quartz grains, within framboidal pyrite, and between authigenic clay grains and massive material. Diagenetic alteration has given rise to OM pores of differing morphology, size, and time of formation. Common small, equisized circular or oval OM pores are most developed and appear to have formed in association with the generation of hydrocarbons. Shale deposits containing abundant pyrobitumen filling interparticle pores among authigenic quartz crystals display robust reservoir and fracturing capacity. A sedimentary environment appears to have been the main factor affecting the type of OM and the nature of its association with detrital and authigenic minerals. Results of this study demonstrate that a sedimentary environment is a primary requisite for the formation of highly prospective/high-yielding hydrocarbon shale reservoir deposits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Basin Tectonic Analysis and Geoenergy Exploration)

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13 pages, 5131 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quantifying the Widths of Fault Damage Zones Based on the Fault Likelihood: A Case Study of Faults in the Fuji Syncline of the Luzhou Block, Sichuan Basin, China

by Lu Zeng, Jinxi Li, Shihu Wu, Kailin Tong and Zhiwu Li

Sustainability 2023, 15(15), 11771; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151511771 - 31 Jul 2023

Viewed by 760

Abstract

Faults are critical to the preservation or destruction of shale gas concentration. The Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation in the southern Sichuan Basin hosts relatively developed faults, which pose a huge challenge to the exploration and exploitation of shale gas. An urgent need to quickly determine the widths of fault damage zones (FDZs) arises in locating horizontal shale gas wells. In this study, FDZs were estimated using the fault likelihood. The results are as follows: (1) It is rational to constrain the FDZ width using a fault likelihood greater than 0.2. The six major NEE-trending faults in the Fuji syncline of the Luzhou block have complex structures and varying FDZ widths from about 240–1220 m. (2) The degree of influence of FDZs is negatively correlated with their distance from the faults. In other words, a greater distance from a fault is associated with a weaker influence and a smaller fault likelihood. (3) Based on the ratio of the fault throw to the FDZ width, we propose that the width of seismic-scale fault damages can be directly constrained using a ratio value of 3.5. This method is fast and accurate and can provide support for the evaluation of the shale gas preservation conditions and well placement in the Longmaxi Formation of the southern Sichuan Basin. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Basin Tectonic Analysis and Geoenergy Exploration)

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