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Evolution of Clay-Gouge Volume and Sealing Capacity during Fault Growth Insight from Present and Paleo Oil-Column
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, Fifth International Conference on Fault and Top Seals, Sep 2019, Volume 2019, p.1 - 5
Abstract
It has been demonstrated that increased clay-gouge volume within a fault zone increases a fault’s ability to inhibit hydrocarbons migration across or along it. And Yielding et al. (1997) compared clay-gouge volume (such as shale gouge ratio) vs. the across-fault pressure difference in various fields around the world, calibrated of fault sealing capacity, the quantitative evaluation of fault sealing capacity was realized, and this method is currently widely used in petroleum exploration. However, the result of calibrating fault sealing capacity only reflect the sealing capacity of fault during the stable period, less attention is given to the errors of evaluating fault sealing capacity due to fault activation in field scale. In this paper, we calibrate of fault sealing capacity based on present oil-reservoir analysis from Qinan area, Bohai Bay Basin, China, and analyze the effect of fault reactivation on fault sealing capacity by means of identification of paleo-oil columns. Then we confirm the evolution of clay-gouge volume during fault growth and analyze the effect of fault reactivation on the nominal sealing capacity and the true sealing capacity. At last, we establish an evolution mode to illustrate the relationship between clay-gouge volume and sealing capacity during fault growth.