Geological conditions of natural gas accumulation and new exploration areas in the Mesoproterozoic to Lower Paleozoic of Ordos Basin, NW China

Abstract Based on field outcrop investigation, interpretation and analysis of drilling and seismic data, and consulting on a large number of previous research results, the characteristics of ancient marine hydrocarbon source rocks, favorable reservoir facies belts, hydrocarbon migration direction and reservoir-forming law in the Ordos Basin have been studied from the viewpoints of North China Craton breakup and Qilian-Qinling oceanic basin opening and closing. Four main results are obtained: (1) Controlled by deep-water shelf-rift, there are three suites of source rocks in the Ordos Basin and its periphery: Mesoproterozoic, Lower Cambrian and Middle-Upper Ordovician. (2) Controlled by littoral environment, paleo-uplift and platform margin, four types of reservoirs are developed in the area: Mesoproterozoic– Lower Cambrian littoral shallow sea quartz sandstone, Middle-Upper Cambrian–Ordovician weathering crust and dolomitized reservoir, and Ordovician L-shape platform margin reef and beach bodies. (3) Reservoir-forming assemblages vary greatly in the study area, with “upper generation and lower storage” as the main pattern in the platform, followed by “self-generation and self-storage”. There are both “upper generation and lower storage” and “self-generation and self-storage” in the platform margin zone. In addition, in the case of communication between deep-large faults and the Changchengian system paleo-rift trough, there may also exist a “lower generation and upper reservoir” combination between the platform and the margin. (4) There are four new exploration fields including Qingyang paleo-uplift pre-Carboniferous weathering crust, L-shape platform margin zone in southwestern margin of the basin, Ordovician subsalt assemblage in central and eastern parts of the basin, and Mesoproterozoic–Cambrian. Among them, pre-Carboniferous weathering crust and L-shape platform margin facies zone are more realistic replacement areas, and Ordovician subsalt assemblage and the Proterozoic-Cambrian have certain potential and are worth exploring.