Variation in the brittle-ductile transition of Longmaxi shale in the Sichuan Basin, China: The significance for shale gas exploration

Abstract The Longmaxi Formation has abundant shale gas resources. High-yield wells have been obtained in medium-shallow and deep areas in the Sichuan Basin. Quantitative research on the brittle-ductile change in rocks is a basic geological component for caprock evaluation, and it can also be applied to shale gas exploration. This paper fully considers the difference between the lower shale (N1) and upper shale (N2) of the Longmaxi gas-bearing shale. Through total organic carbon (TOC), mineral components, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and triaxial mechanics experiments, the two groups of shale samples, N1 and N2, were compared and analyzed, and the brittle-ductile transition was quantitatively studied. Based on previous work, a method for the fast calculation of the key over consolidation ratio (OCR) was proposed. The results show that N1 is mainly organic-rich siliceous shale, N2 is primarily organic-poor clay shale and mixed shale, and N1 is generally more brittle than N2. The key OCRs of N1 and N2 are 2.16 and 2.60, respectively. The key confining pressures at which N1 and N2 become fully ductile are 87.87 MPa and 70.28 MPa, respectively. Therefore, the key depths of the brittle zones of N1 and N2 (Hb1 and Hb2) and the key depths of the ductile zones of N1 and N2 (Hd1 and Hd2) are obtained. On this basis, a comprehensive model for the Longmaxi shale gas' brittle-ductile transition exploration zone in the Sichuan Basin and Hb1 and Hb2 maps of the Longmaxi gas-bearing shale have been established. Through comprehensive vertical and horizontal analysis, Longmaxi shale gas exploration risks in different blocks of the Sichuan Basin have been clarified. Therefore, this study of the variation in the brittle-ductile transition has an important guiding role in refining the exploration of Longmaxi shale gas in the Sichuan Basin.