Origin and charging histories of diagenetic traps in the Junggar Basin

Abstract

Oil and gas accumulations in the sandy conglomerate diagenetic traps that developed in the fan delta of the Triassic Baikouquan Formation of the Mahu sag, Junggar Basin, differ from stratigraphic accumulations controlled by sedimentary facies. This study uses conventional gas chromatography–mass spectrometry measurements, mineralogical and petrological data, fluid inclusion analyses, and geophysical inversion to confirm the trap type and accumulation processes. The results indicate that accumulations in the sandy conglomerate formed in distributary channels of the fan-delta front, with the boundary controlled by reservoir quality. In turn, reservoir quality was controlled by differential diagenesis caused by detrital-feldspar content, paleotemperature, and formation fluids, suggesting that the trap is a diagenetic trap. The diagenetic trap formed from secondary pores developed in the fan-delta front facies with seals forming through a combination of altered sandy beds and mudstone. The critical physical property of the reservoir, based on the ratio of its average capillary radius to the ratio of its seal, is a crucial parameter for describing diagenetic trap boundaries. Here, it effectively distinguishes between reservoirs at different burial depths. A good correlation exists between the formation of the diagenetic traps and hydrocarbon filling. Three hydrocarbon charging and two accumulation stages are identified. The diagenetic traps primarily formed in the Jurassic, and the last charging stage of highly mature oil charge occurred in the Early Cretaceous. Few studies have investigated the conglomerate diagenetic trap studied herein, so this study should improve the understanding of oil and gas traps.