Characteristics of organic pores and composition of bio-precursors in the Wufeng and Longmaxi Formation shales, Southern Sichuan Basin, China. Issue 4 (July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pang, Qian; Hu, Guang; Jiao, Kun; Tan, Xiucheng; Liu, Hong; Ye, Yuehao; Yan, Shun; Zhao, Dongfang
• Other Names: Cao Jian guest-editor.; Hu Wenxuan guest-editor.; Wang Xiaolin guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Energy exploration & exploitation. Volume 36:Issue 4(2018)
• Page Start: 645
• Page End: 664
• Publication Date: 2018-07
• Subjects: Organic pores -- bio-precursors -- kerogen -- the Wufeng and Longmaxi Formation -- Sichuan Basin; Power resources -- Periodicals; 333.79
• DOI: 10.1177/0144598717753166
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0144-5987

Abstract

Bio-precursors of organic matter, referring to formerly living precursors, can influence content and distribution of organic pores significantly. However, insufficient attention has been paid in previous studies. To research the impact of bio-precursors of organic matter on shale organic pores, we conducted palynology and thin section analysis, total organic carbon analysis, and N2 gas absorption experiments on the Wufeng and Longmaxi Formations shales and kerogen samples from the Shuanghe outcrop section in southern Sichuan Basin, China. Generally, there are three bio-precursor assemblages being developed from bottom to top in the Wufeng and Longmaxi Formation, namely benthic algae, benthic–planktonic algae, and planktonic algae assemblages. Porosity in kerogen contributes greatly to shale porosity, accounting for 13 − 53% of total porosity. The total porosity and mesopore volume of samples (kerogen and shale) dominated by benthic algae are higher than those by planktonic algae. Pore size distributions of kerogen samples containing mainly benthic algae and planktonic algae are unimodal and multimodal type, respectively, when the pore diameter is larger than 5 nm. The different features between benthic and planktonic algae assemblages could be attributed to their different hydrocarbon generation potential and biological structure. Smaller fractal dimension of pores in kerogen samples mainly containing planktonic algae suggested that the planktonic algae are responsible for smoother pores in shales.