Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 39 (2017) 203e215

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Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jngse

Reservoir quality, gas accumulation and completion quality

assessment of Silurian Longmaxi marine shale gas play in the Sichuan
Basin, China
Shu Jiang a, b, *, Xianglu Tang a, c, Shengxiang Long b, John McLennan a, Zhenglong Jiang d,
Zhiqiang Jiang e, Zhengyu Xu f, Lei Chen g, Gang Xue h, Xian Shi i, Zhiliang He b
a
Energy & Geoscience Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA
b
Sinopec Key Laboratory of Shale Oil/Gas Exploration and Production Technology, China
c
State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resources and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, China
d
School of Ocean Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, China
e
CNOOC Shanghai Branch, Shanghai, China
f
PetroChina Hangzhou Institute of Geology, Hangzhou, China
g
Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, China
h
Sinopec East China Research Institute, Nanjing, China
i
School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The Sichuan Basin in Southwest China holds the most potential for shale gas exploration and develop-
Received 31 May 2015 ment in China. The assessment of reservoir quality, gas accumulation and completion quality of Silurian
Received in revised form Longmaxi marine shale gas is conducted based on detailed mapping of depositional systems and shale
30 August 2016
properties, analyses of geochemical, mineralgical and petrophysical data, investigation on interactions
Accepted 31 August 2016
Available online 2 September 2016
between tectonics, reservoir quality, shale gas accumulation, completion quality, and production. The
results show that the Lower Section of the Lower Silurian Longmaxi marine shale in the southern,
southeastern, and eastern parts of the Sichuan Basin is good shale reservoir in terms of high TOC, high
Keywords:
Shale gas
maturity, high brittle mineral content, and development of inter-particle and intra-organic matter pores
Marine shale and natural fractures. Petroleum system modeling calibrated by production data reveals shale gas tends
Reservoir quality to accumulate in broad syncline and anticline in tectonically stable area. Tectonic setting and stress field
Gas accumulation analyses and hydraulic fracturing simulation and practice imply that the siliceous Longmaxi shale in-
Completion quality terval in the areas with small far-field horizontal stress are more favorable for hydraulic fracturing to
Sichuan Basin form complex fracture network. The best prospects are likely located in broad syncline and anticline in
tectonically stable areas with good reservoir quality, shale gas accumulation and completion quality in
the southern and southeastern areas inside the Sichuan Basin.
© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
China is estimated to have the largest amount of shale gas po-
tential in the world and the Lower Silurian Longmaxi marine shale
* Corresponding author. Energy & Geoscience Institute, University of Utah, Salt
Lake City, UT 84108, USA.
E-mail addresses: sjiang@egi.utah.edu (S. Jiang), xianglu.tang@outlook.com
(X. Tang), lsx.syky@sinopec.com (S. Long), jmclennan@egi.utah.edu (J. McLennan),
jiangzhq2@cnooc.com.cn (Z. Jiang), jiangzl@cugb.edu.cn (Z. Jiang), xuzy_hz@
petrochina.com.cn (Z. Xu), cl211@126.com (L. Chen), Xuegang_nju@yahoo.com.cn
(G. Xue), torresup@gmail.com (X. Shi), hezl.syky@sinopec.com (Z. He).
in the Sichuan Basin alone has 131 TCF technically recoverable shale
gas resource (EIA, 2013; Jiang et al., 2015), which offers China's
most shale gas potential. Most offered blocks for shale gas explo-
ration are located in the Sichuan Basin and its neighboring areas
and nearly 400 shale gas wells have been drilled targeting the
Silurian Longmaxi shale in the last 5 years (Fig. 1).
The historical well records and recent exploration and produc-
tion (E&P) activities indicate the Silurian Longmaxi marine shale
represents the most producing potential shale gas plays in China in
terms of rock properties, resource potentials and productivity (Li
et al., 2007; Pu, 2008; Zhang et al., 2008; Cheng et al., 2009;
Wang et al., 2009; Zou et al., 2010, 2011; Huang et al., 2012; Jiang,

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2016.08.079
1875-5100/© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
204 S. Jiang et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 39 (2017) 203e215
Fig. 1. Geologic map of the Sichuan Basin and locations of shale gas blocks and key shale gas wells (modified from Ryder et al., 1991; Ma et al., 2007, 2008).
2014; Jiang et al., 2015, 2016). Historically, there were some gas
shows from Silurian marine shale source rock intervals. In 1981,
Yang-63 well reported a low-yield gas flow during a formation test
in the Silurian Longmaxi marine shale. Historical records report gas
shows in 32 intervals from 15 wells in the Longmaxi shale (Li et al.,
2007; Hackbarth et al., 2011). In 2014, Sinopec announced the
discovery of Fuling Shale Gas Field with geological resources of
approximate 2
1012 m3 (74 TCF) after the successful commercial
rate production was tested from Silurian Longmaxi marine shale,
making China the first country outside of North America
commercially produce shale gas (Jiang et al., 2015, 2016; Zou et al.,
2016). The Argentina was reported to produce commercial tight/
shale oil from the Vaca Muerta shale and the shale gas exploration
and production in other countries are still in early stage and have
not reached commercial production (EIA, 2013). To date, many
shale gas blocks in the Sichuan Basin have been reported to have
good production test results from the Silurian Longmaxi shale after
hydraulic fracturing, e.g. the Silurian marine shales in Changning,
Weiyuan, Fushun and Yongchuan blocks in the southern Sichuan
Basin and Fuling block in the southwestern Sichuan Basin (Jiang
et al., 2015, 2016).
So far, the Longmaxi shale in the Sichuan Basin has been less
explored. Both the academics and industry lack the level of
understanding the stratigraphical and structural occurrence and
detailed properties determining producibility of this emerging
shale resource play. The purpose of this paper is to assess the
Silurian Longmaxi marine shale in the Sichuan Basin through
characterizing the reservoir quality, gas accumulation and
completion quality based on regional geological review, detailed
shale property mapping, regional to nano-scale shale reservoir
characterization, petroleum system modeling, analysis of sample
tests, analysis of production tests of representative wells, hydraulic
fracturing study, and integrated characterization and comparison of
the shale between the first commercial shale gas production area in
China-Fuling Shale Gas Field and other areas. The objective is to
identify the prospects and best fracable shale gas zone.
2. Geological setting
The Sichuan Basin is a typical large basin in the Upper Yangtze
Platform's “shale corridor” in southwestern China. This basin covers
an area of approximate 230,000 km2 (142,915 mi2) and contains up
to 6e12 km of Pre-Cambrian Sinian to Cenozoic sediments (Ma
et al., 2007, 2008) (Fig. 2). The basement of the basin is a united
craton (Wang et al., 2002). During its tectonic evolution, the
Sichuan Basin experienced a transition from a relatively stable
 S. Jiang et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 39 (2017) 203e215
Fig. 2. The integrated stratigraphic column, tectonic evolution and shale source rock intervals of for Sichuan Basin (modified after Zou et al., 2010).
craton dominated by marine deposits between the Sinian to
Ordovician, to foreland marine sediments from the Silurian to
Carboniferous, to passive margin environments and coastal swamp
settings from the Permian to Middle Triassic, and then to foreland
continental settings beginning in the Late Triassic (Ma et al., 2008).
Along with the basin development, many organic-rich Pre-
Cambrian to Cenozoic shales are widely distributed in the Sichuan
Basin. The Pre-Cambrian to Mesozoic organic-rich shales in Sichuan
Basin are proven source rocks. The conventional gas production in
Sichuan Basin was sourced from seven shale source rock intervals:
1) Pre-Cambrian Sinian; 2) Lower Cambrian; 3) Upper Ordovician;
4) Lower Silurian; 5) Permian; 6) Upper Triassic and 7) Lower
Jurassic (Ma et al., 2007, 2008). These shale intervals are generally
organic-rich with total in-situ organic content (TOC) > 2%. The low
S2 (remaining hydrocarbon generating potential) (<3 mg/g) and
high Tmax (temperature at S2 peak, mostly > 500  C) indicate the
Paleozoic shales are generally overmature and in the dry gas win-
dow (Fig. 2). Even though the huge shale gas potential exists in
marine, transitional to lacustrine shales in the Sichuan Basin, E&P
activities and shale reservoir assessment have been primarily
focused on Lower Silurian Longmaxi marine shale due to its high
gas content and good reservoir quality comparing to other shale
intervals (Zou et al., 2011).
3. Materials and methods
Regional geologic data, well completion reports, well logs,
seismic data, outcrop data, cores, cuttings, recent geological survey
results, previous reports, literatures, etc. were collected from Sino-
pec, PetroChina, CNOOC, China Geological Survey, China University
of Geosciences at both Beijing and Wuhan, China Ministry of Land
and Resources, and Chongqing Institute of Geology and Mineral
Resoruces. 136 samples of Silurian Longmaxi marine shale from 11
205
wells and 4 outcrops in the Southern and Southeastern Sichuan
Basin and margins to its south and southeast in key shale gas blocks
were collected, described and analyzed (Fig. 1 and Fig. 3). The shale
samples were tested for geochemistry, petrology, mineralogy, rock
fabrics, petrophysics, pore characterization, gas content, etc.
Total organic carbon (TOC) contents of 33 samples were
measured using Leco infrared carbon/sulphur analyser by com-
bustion elemental analysis (EA) following carbonate removal using
the HCl fumigation method (Brodie et al., 2011). The vitrinite
reflectance/maturity measurement of 13 samples was made on
pyrobitumen since there was no vitrinite during early Paleozoic
time and the measured values were converted to vitrinite-
equivalent reflectance values (%RO) using the equation of Jacob
(1989). The petrographic characteristics of 72 samples were
observed by using Zeiss Axio Scope A1 microscope. The mineral
composition of 33 samples was obtained by XRD analysis with a D8
Advance Bruker. The rock fabrics of 72 samples were obtained by
FEI QEMSCAN EVO 50 (Ruessink and Harville, 1992). The nano-scale
pores, fractures and detailed petrographic features of 32 samples
were observed by focused ion beam milling scanning electron
microscope (FIB-SEM) using Dual Beam FIB, FEI Helios NanoLab
650. The porosity and permeability of 38 crushed samples were
acquired via Tight Rock Analysis (TRA) method (Handwerger et al.,
2011). The gas content was measured by direct method according to
a procedure similar to the USBM method (Diamond and Schatzel,
1998) and by indirect methods following the sorption-isotherm
procedure described in the literature (Gasparik et al., 2012). The
gas content is the value of in situ gas content consisting of gas
content measured from the drilling site, residual gas content ob-
tained from the laboratory test and lost gas content from the
calculate using the USBM method.
This study employs a systematic and multidisciplinary shale
reservoir evaluation from regional- to nano-scale integrating
206 S. Jiang et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 39 (2017) 203e215

Fig. 3. Depositional setting for the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation in the Sichuan Basin. The Fuling area in southeastern Sichuan Basin is in the northwest portion of the boxed
area inside the Sichuan Basin. The Pengshui area is in the southeast of the outlined area. The dashed blue outline is the boundary of the Sichuan Basin. Depositional setting modified
from Ma et al., 2007, 2008 and Chen et al., 2015. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

geological, geophysical, geochemical, petrophysical, tectonic,
structural and engineering data to characterize and relate reservoir
quality, hydrocarbon accumulation, hydraulic fracturing and pro-
duction and predict the most prospective areas for the tight Silurian
Longmaxi marine shale reservoir. Below is the detailed procedure
to assess the resource potential of the Silurian Longmaxi shale play,
identify the prospect with good shale gas accumulation and spec-
ulate the sweet spot with good reservoir quality and completion
quality based on the collected data. The interaction between tec-
tonic setting and structural activities and shale gas accumulation
and hydraulic fracturing will be emphasized since the complex
tectonics differentiate the Silurian Longmaxi marine shale in the
Sichuan Basin from the successful shale plays in the North America
in terms of shale reservoir assessment (Jiang et al., 2015, 2016).
Below is the workflow of this study.
(1) The collected data (Table 1) are screened through calibration
by our shale sample tests and reliable data were compiled
into a database to map the Silurian Longmaxi shale proper-
ties (depositional environments, geochemistry, thickness,
etc.) and to identify favorable shale play fairways;
(2) Representative shale rock samples from various locations of
different depositional settings are selected for geochemical,
mineralgical, petrophysical and petrographical tests and
analyses of reservoir quality;
(3) Shale reservoir are characterized and best reservoir interval
and potential areas are identified;
(4) Petroleum system modeling is conducted to predict the shale
gas accumulation and identify prospects integrating the
tectonic setting, gas production rate, gas content and for-
mation pressure;
(5) Tectonic setting, stress field and hydraulic fracturing simu-
lation are investigated to identify the fracable interval with
favorable mechanical property and areas with favorable
tectonic and stress settings;
(6) Relationship between the reservoir quality, shale gas accu-
mulation, tectonic setting, and completion quality is dis-
cussed and best prospects of the Silurian Longmaxi shale
with fracable high quality reservoir and good shale gas
accumulation are predicted.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Depositional setting and distribution of the potential Lower
Silurian Longmaxi marine shale play fairway areas
The Silurian Longmaxi Formation is generally divided into two
members: the Lower Member and the Upper Member. The Lower
Member of the Longmaxi Formation is our study interval charac-
terized by organic-rich shale with abundant graptolite developed.
The Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation was deposited in the shelf
and intra-shelf low foreland setting due to Caledonian age orogeny
(Fig. 3). The play fairway analysis by overlay maps of shale interval
 S. Jiang et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 39 (2017) 203e215
Table 1
Data information.
Item Quantity Source
Regional geologic data (tectonics, 35 Sinopec, PetroChina, CNOOC, China Geological Survey, China University Shale geology, tectonics, stratigraphy, property
stratigraphy,depositional reports of Geosciences at both Beijing and Wuhan, China Ministry of Land and mapping
evolution, petroleum geology) and data Resources, Chongqing Institute of Geology and Mineral Resoruces,
Well data (Formation top, completion 11 wells World Stress Map, and field work
report, well logs)
Seismic data 10 2D
lines
Shale samples from 4 outcrop, cores 136
and cuttings from 11 wells samples
thickness with TOC > 2%, maturity (RO, vitrinite-equivalent reflec-
tance) > 1.3%, thickness >20 m and hydrocarbon generation in-
tensity per area points to the southern Sichuan Basin, eastern
Sichuan Basin and southeastern Sichuan Basin to be the most po-
tential shale play fairway areas with Longmaxi shale deposited in
intra-shelf low facies for Silurian shale gas exploration and devel-
opment at low risk (Fig. 4).
4.2. Mineralogy of shales in the Sichuan Basin
X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a common and standard method used
to determine the mineral composition of shales. Data gathered
from these analyses allows an estimate to be made regarding the
brittle response (or fracability) for specific formation intervals. Our
XRD analysis of Silurian marine shale in the Sichuan Basin indicates
the main minerals consist of quartz, feldspar, plagioclase, calcite,
dolomite, pyrite, and clay minerals of illite and chlorite. XRD pat-
terns of test result from air dried and glycolated preparations
indicate there is almost no presence of water-sensitive smectite and
mixed-layer illite-smectite, which indicates the kaolinite, smectite
and illite-smectite have been transformed to illute during diagen-
esis process. The mineral composition of the Silurian Longmaxi
marine shale in the Sichuan Basin places them in the brittle quartz
and feldspar rich zones in the ternary diagram (Fig. 5a). The brit-
tleness of the shale can also be evidenced by the presence of natural
fractures filled with calcite. The natural fractures will help form the
complex hydraulic fracture network and may contribute to reser-
voir storage if the natural fractures are open (Fig. 5b). The brittle
minerals of reservoir interval rich in TOC are mainly composed of
dominant biogenic quartz (>40%) and minor feldspar (Jiang et al.,
2015, 2016; Zhao et al., 2016). The trend of TOC increase with the
increase of brittle mineral indicates the biogenic quartz origin since
the non-reservoir shale with rich siltstone (detrital quartz) in-
dicates the organic-lean shale due to clastic dilution, which is also
proven by the presence of abundant biogenic quartz in the organic-
rich Silurian Longmaxi shale reservoir interval (Fig. 5aec). The
mineralogical composition of the Silurian Longmaxi marine shale is
similar to the biogenic quartz-rich Barnett shale in the U.S. From
this point of view, we expect the Silurian Longmaxi marine shale in
Sichuan Basin to have higher brittleness index and respond favor-
ably to hydraulic fracturing.
4.3. Petrophysics of shales in the Sichuan Basin
Most of the Silurian Longmaxi shale rocks in the Sichuan Basin
have undergone mechanical and chemical compaction and were
deeply buried (>4000 m); they generally have very low porosity
and permeability due to complex diagenesis history caused by
multiple uplifts and subsidences since Silurian. Tested petrophys-
ical data for Longmaxi marine shale samples from the Sichuan
207
Purpose
lithofacies, gas shows, test results, sequence
stratigraphy, reservoir characterization,
hydraulic fracturing simulation
Structural and stratigraphic interpretation
Tests of TOC, maturity (RO), petrography,
mineralogy, rock fabrics, petrophysics, gas
content
Basin and neighboring area outside the Sichuan Basin indicate the
effective matrix porosity is less than 9% and the pressure-decay
permeability ranges from 106 to 0.1 mD (millidarcy), most tested
permeability fall in nanodarcy range from 1 to 1000 nD (106 to
103 mD). Generally, the porosity of typical blocks in the Sichuan
Basin are generally less than North American shales even though its
permeability is generally similar to North American shales (Fig. 6).
For organic-rich shales, gas can be stored as free phase within the
fractures, matrix pores and intraorganic pores and can also be
stored as adsorbed phase on organic matter and clays (Curtis, 2002;
Zhang et al., 2012; Clarkson et al., 2013). The current exploration
focus e Silurian Longmaxi shale, it is characterized by abundant
interparticle micron- to nano-pores and intraorganic nano-pores
for gas storage based on FIB/SEM analyses (Fig. 7). When
compared to the successful Barnett shale with average porosity of
6% and average permeability of 0.25 uD (Roth, 2010), it is still good
even though Silurian Longmaxi marine shale in the Sichuan Basin
has lower porosity than most U.S. shales.
4.4. Integrated tectonic setting, reservoir quality, gas content
assessment and petroleum system modeling for representative
Lower Silurian Longmaxi shale in the southeastern Sichuan Basin
4.4.1. Tectonic and structural settings of shale play
Most shale gas plays in the North America have relatively stable
basement, relatively weak tectonic deformation, flat formation
occurrence, and less active faults (Pollastro et al., 2007; Lash and
Engelder, 2009), that is why the tectonic and structural settings
of North American shale plays were not considered for shale
reservoir assessment. However, it is already found that the pro-
duction is very low in the area closing to the faults, and the high
yield wells are generally located far away from major faults for the
Barnett shale play (Curtis, 2002; Bowker, 2007), this indicates the
tectonic and structural effect on the production can not be ignored.
The Sichuan Basin has experienced several stages of intensive tec-
tonic movements and the shale gas accumulation and preservation
condition is very different from the North America shale play (Hao
et al., 2013; Guo and Zhang, 2014). The regional tectonic setting and
structural settings of shale plays in the Sichuan Basin need to be
analyzed first for shale reservoir and shale gas accumulation
assessment.
The first commercial shale gas field in China is in Jiaoshiba in the
Fuling area/block located in the southeastern portion of the Sichuan
Basin (see Figs. 1 and 3 for location). Regionally, this area is located
in tectonic setting dominated by folding. Due to the combined ef-
fect of three folding zones (Huayingshan, Qiyueshan and Loushan),
the southeastern Sichuan basin is dominated by ejective folds with
broad synclines to dejective folds with tight synclines (Fig. 8, terms
defined by Stille (1917)), consisting of several northeast or north-
northeast oriented high-dip anticlines and rolling synclines and
208 S. Jiang et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 39 (2017) 203e215

Fig. 4. Overlay map of thickness of hot shale interval with TOC > 2%, hydrocarbon generation intensity and %RO of Silurian Longmaxi shale, showing southern Sichuan Basin,
southeastern Sichuan Basin and eastern Sichuan Basin are potential shale play fairway areas for Silurian shale gas exploration and development at low risk. Shale thickness, hy-
drocarbon generation intensity and maturity (RO) are modified from Pu (2008) and Wang et al. (2009) with calibration of our collected well data (Table 1), seismic interpretation and
measured data of TOC and RO in southern and southeastern Sichuan Basin.

Fig. 5. Ternary diagram of mineralogy, core photograph and SEM images of the Silurian Longmaxi shale in the Sichuan Basin. (a) showing the Longmaxi shale has high brittle
mineral (quartz and feldspar) content and the TOC increases as the brittle minerals (quartz and feldspar) content increases. The data from 33 core samples from wells in the
Southeastern Sichuan Basin and its margin. See Fig. 3 for the well locations; (b) showing the abundant natural fractures in cores. The clay-rich and organic-lean non-reservoir shale
with rich detrital quartz or silestone interbeds in the core photo to the left is deposited during sea level fall stage. The organic-rich shale core from the reservoir interval to the right
is quartz rich; (c) Abundant biogenic quartz showing by the silica replacement of the chamber of foraminifera in the organic-rich shale.

fault zones (Fig. 8). The Fuling area inside the southeastern Sichuan
Basin is in a tectonic setting of ejective folds with regionally broad
synclines, even though the Jiaoye1 (Jiaoye-1) well is located at a
local flat-topped anticline. The Pengshui outside the southeastern
Sichuan Basin is in a tectonic setting with battlement or trough-like
folds (dejective or Congruent style with tight syncline) and faults
development, where the Pengye1 well is located (Fig. 8). The shales
of the Pengshui area outside the Sichuan Basin and the Fuling area
inside the Sichuan Basin are both deposited in intra-shelf low
setting (Fig. 3). Several wells have been drilled in the Fuling and
Pengshui areas by Sinopec. The type well- Jiaoye1 well in the
Jiaoshiba of Fuling area at local flat-topped ancline within region-
ally broad syncline inside the Sichuan Basin was tested to produce
at a rate of 200,000 m3/d (7203 Mcf/d). The representative Pengye1
 S. Jiang et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 39 (2017) 203e215
Fig. 6. Porosity and permeability plot of Silurian Longmaxi marine shale in representative blocks/areas in the Sichuan Basin (multi-colored) and comparison with that of North
American shales (grey). The data of Weiyuan, Changning, Fushun & Yongchuan and Zhaotong areas courtesy of H. Liu's presentation to China CBM Society (2013). Data of Fuling area
using TerraTek-Schulumberger's TRA method was tested by EGI through TerraTek-Schulumberger in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Fig. 7. FIB-SEM image of the Silurian marine Longmaxi shale sample in Pengshui,
Chongqing, in the southeastern Sichuan Basin, showing interparticle micron- to nano-
pores (e.g., micron scale pore in the upper left and intraorganic nanopores within black
kerogen in the center).
well in the Pengshui area within tight syncline outside the Sichuan
Basin was tested to produce at a rate of 15,000 m3/day. Production
of both wells is from the Lower Silurian Longmaxi shale (Fig. 8). The
variation of shale gas production between Fuling and Pengshui
areas may indicate the tectonically stable areas with broad syncline
and anticline have higher shale gas production rate than tectoni-
cally active area with tight syncline and faults, which will be further
discussed later in the petroleum system modeling of shale gas
accumulation section.
4.4.2. Gas shale reservoir characterization
The sequence stratigraphy, heterogeneity and reservoir charac-
teristics of Silurian Longmaxi marine shale in the Sichuan Basin
with respect to lithology, facies, geochemistry, mineralogy, rock
fabric and gas content can be illustrated within detailed strati-
graphic framework changes of the Lower Silurian Longmaxi marine
shale from type well Jiaoye1 in Jiaoshiba Gas Field in Fuling located
in the tectonically stable area inside the Sichuan Basin (Figs. 1, 3 and
8). The current exploration target e the Lower Silurian Longmaxi
shale was deposited in a 3rd order depositional sequence. The
209
definition and identification criteria for 3rd order depositional
sequence and systems tract for the longmaxi shale in the Sichuan
Basin are consistent to our previous publication (Chen et al., 2015).
The maximum flooding surface (MFS) is recognized based on the
highest gamma ray (GR) value, the highest TOC and high quartz
content values. During a transgressive systems tract (TST), the
siliceous organic-rich shale with TOC of 3e5% and high gamma ray
log was deposited in an intra-shelf low setting. Followed by a
highstand systems tract (HST), the early HST (EHST) is dominated
by organic-rich, black to grey shale with TOC of 2e4% and the late
HST (LHST) is characterized by grey shale interbedded with silty
shale and siltstone with low TOC content (<2%) and low gamma ray.
The TOC, gamma ray value, quartz content and gas content corre-
spondingly decease upward in this Longmaxi shale interval (Fig. 9).
The stratigraphic variations in lithology, gamma ray, TOC, gas
content, quartz content, lithofacies, and rock fabric indicated by
core images and QEMSCAN® images all clearly show the large de-
gree of heterogeneity of the this marine shale. Based on test results,
the shale gas production of Jiaoye1well (at a rate of 200,000 m3/
day) is primarily from the TST and EHST intervals containing high
quality of reservoir with high content of brittle quartz minerals,
natural fractures, and organic matter. The organic-lean non-reser-
voir shale of LHST contains high content of clay minerals and low
content of quartz (mainly detrital quartz of siltstone) due to clastic
dilution (Fig. 9).
4.4.3. Petroleum system modeling of shale gas accumulation
For marine shales with similar organic matter content and same
facies, the hydrocarbon generation, accumulation history, and
overpressure preservation are definitely influenced by tectonic
activities (Jiang et al., 2016). Petroleum system modeling is an
effective way to simulate the basin evolution and hydrocarbon
charge, accumulation and loss through time and predict the
prospect.
Fuling Shale Gas Field (greater Jiaoshiba area) is located in the
structurally stable area and the Pengshui area is located in the
structurally more active area (see previous discussion in section
of 4.3.1). In order to understand the shale gas accumulation in
different structural settings, the BasinMod software is used to
simulate the basin evolution, thermal history and hydrocarbon
generation, migration and accumulation in time and space. The
key difference between this modeling and traditional petroleum
system modeling is the Silurian Longmaxi shale source rock is
210 S. Jiang et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 39 (2017) 203e215

Fig. 8. A northwest to southeast tectono-stratigraphic cross section with the Jiaoye1 (Jiaoye-1) well in Fuling to the Pengy1 well in Pengshui, southern Sichuan Basin. The ejective
fold is defined by broad and flat-bottomed synclines with narrow anticline and the dejective fold is defined by narrow or tight synclines and broad, flat-topped anticlines (Stille,
1917).

also reservoir for the shale gas play. For the modeling procedure,
a geologic section across the Jiaoye1 well in structurally stable
area and Pengye1 well in structurally active area is firstly chosen
to build the model. Input data for the shale gas accumulation
simulation include the topography, formation tops and ages,
deposition and erosion events, lithofacies, geochemical and pet-
rophysical properties of the shale source rock, heat flow, and
temperature. These input data were calibrated by measured
temperature, maturity (vitrinite reflectance), pressure, and
porosity data of Longmaxi shale from Jiaoye1 and Pengye1 wells
targeting the Silurian Longmaxi marine shale reservoir and from
neighbor wells targeting conventional reservoirs. For example,
the simulated results of maturity of 2.8%, porosity of 3.5% and
pressure coefficient (formation pressure divided by hydrostatic
pressure) of 1.47 at 2408 m of the Jiaoye1 well are very close to
the measured maturity of 2.7%, porosity of 3.7% and pressure
coefficient of 1.55, which validates the model and modeling re-
sults are reliable.
The petroleum system modeling results indicate that the shale
gas accumulation vary in different structures and the broad
syncline and anticline have more accumulated shale gas volume
indicated by warm color than the tight syncline and antline with
less accumulated shale gas volume indicated by cold color,
clearly, the Fuling area with broad anticline has more shale gas
resource than Pengshui area with tight syncline (Fig. 10).
Generally, the prospects with good shale gas accumulation are
located in broad synclines and anticlines; the slope areas are fair
in terms of accumulated shale gas amount; the tight structures
and the areas close to outcrops, faults and unconformity are
expected to be poor for shale gas accumulation. This result can be
explained relating gas accumulation to tectonic activities. His-
torical active tectonic events may have disrupted the hydrocar-
bon accumulation and caused the leaking of hydrocarbon, which
resulted in releasing the overpressure that may have existed at
one time. The initial shale gas production rate and the formation
pressure at different structure settings validates the modeling
results and explanations, e.g., the Jiaoye1/JY1 vertical well in the
tectonically stable Fuling Shale Gas Field was tested to initially
produce at 200,000 m3/day from the overpressured Longmaxi
shale with a pressure coefficient (formation pressure/hydrostatic
pressure) of 1.55 and good accumlation indicated by high gas
content of 3e5 m3/ton, while the Pengye1 vertical well in the
tectonically active Pengshui area was initially tested at only
15,000 m3/day from the underpressured Longmaxi shale with a
pressure coefficient of 0.95 and poor shale gas accumulation
indicated by low gas content of 1e2 m3/ton. The petroleum
 S. Jiang et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 39 (2017) 203e215 211

Fig. 9. Jiaoye1 (Jiaoye-1) marine shale gas well in Sichuan Basin, showing the heterogeneity and reservoir quality of the Silurian Longmaxi shale reservoir Production data was
gathered from various public news reports in China. QEMSCAN® analysis was used to determine rock fabric and was run in EGI at the University of Utah. TST ¼ Transgressive
systems tract, EHST ¼ Early highstand systems tract, LHST ¼ Late highstand systems tract. See Fig. 1 and 8 for the well location.

Fig. 10. Petroleum system modeling across the Jiaoye1 (JY1) well in the Jiaoshiba area of Fuling block and Pengye1 well in the Pengshui area. The modeling result shows the areas
with broad syncline and anticline have accumulated more shale gas than areas with tight syncline and anticlines (warmer color ¼ more gas accumulation, colder color ¼ less gas
accumulation). Jiaoshiba area/Fuling block at local flat-topped broad anticline within the regional broad syncline has better shale gas accumulation than Pengshui area with tight
syncline. The northwest-southeast oriented cross section is simplified from Fig. 8 for the simulation purpose. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the
reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

system modeling results validated by production tests indicate
the favorable prospects are located in the areas with broad
anticline and syncline with less tectonic disruptions in the
Sichuan Basin have the good shale gas accumulation, higher
formation pressure, and higher production rate.
4.5. Completion quality assessment of the Silurian Longmaxi
marine shale in southwestern Sichuan Basin
Successful development of unconventional shale reservoir re-
quires identifying engineering sweet spots besides geological sweet
212 S. Jiang et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 39 (2017) 203e215

spots. The engineering sweet spots depend largely on the rock can be contained within the shale gas reservoir interval to avoid the
mechanics and stress field. The mechanical stratigraphy can have fractures propogate into the water bearing interval below. Hy-
control on the growth of hydraulic fractures. Sichuan Basin is draulic fracturing simulator StimPlan™ provided by NSI Technol-
located in a tectonically complex area and basin formation and ogies is employed to investigate the completion quality of the shale
current stress field is mainly influenced by the collision between gas pay zone suggested by geology. Table 2 lists the key geo-
India and Eurasia Plates (Ma et al., 2008). In order to assess the mechanics parameters for mechanical stratigraphy characterization
completion quality of the Silurian Longmaxi marine shale. Hy- and hydraulic fracturing simulation. Stress and Poisson's Ration in
draulic fracturing simulation technique and stress field analysis the pay zone is less than that in intervals above and below the pay
were conducted to illustrate the fracability, hydraulic fracture zone. These geomechanical parameters together with geologic,
propogation and network complexity of induced fractures of Silu- geochemical, petrophysics, engineering treatment data, etc. were
rian Longmaxi marine shale. input to StimPlan™ to simulate the hydraulic fracture propogation.
Based on the available data and the current exploration focus in The simulation result indicates the Longmaxi shale is susceptible to
the Sichuan Basin, we choose a key well, W202 well, in the stimulation and fracture propagation can be well contained within
southwestern Sichuan Basin to simulate hydraulic fracturing pro- the high quality reservoir intervals (Fig. 11). This helps confirm that
pogation of the Silurian Longmaxi shale. Geologic study and pre- this organic-rich siliceous interval is the fracable target for stimu-
vious exploration results indicate the pay zone (2534e2574 m) of lation. 9 wells from Wei202 H1 and H2 pads now produce at rate of
the well is an organic-rich siliceous shale reservoir deposited in 870,000 m3/day from the stimulated organic-rich siliceous interval,
intra-slope marine setting. The key question remains if this interval which validates our modeling that the organic-rich siliceous in-
can be hydraulic fractured and whether the fracture propogation terval in the low section is fracable effective reservoir and the other
intervals within the thick Longmaxi shale were not susceptible to
hydraulic fracturing and did not produce (Wang, 2013a).
Table 2
Measured key geomechanics parameters as input data for hydraulic fracturing Our rose diagram mapping for stress field in different regions in
simulation in Fig. 11. Data courtesy of PetroChina southwest oil and gas field China based on world stress data from GFZ German Research Center
company. for Geosciences indicates the maximum principal horizontal stress
Silurian Longmaxi Minimum Poisson's ratio Young's vary a lot in different regions. The stress rose diagram clearly shows
shale horizontal modulus (Gpa) the maximum stress in basins close to the Himalayan ranges espe-
principal cially areas close to the north of the Himalayan ranges is much larger
stress (Mpa) than the minimum stress, which reveals that the maximum principal
Interval above 61.2 0.23 28.3 stress has very narrow distribution and therefore implies the hy-
(2460e2534 m) draulic fractures tend to grow in a single direction along the
Gas showing zone 50.6 0.17 23.3
maximum stress orientation perpendicular to the minimum prin-
(2534e2574 m)
Interval below 65.6 0.26 46.2 cipal stress (Fig. 12). However, For the prospects in the eastern,
(>2574 m) southeastern and southern areas of Sichuan Basin with good

Fig. 11. Hydraulic fracturing simulation using StimPlan™ for Silurian Longmaxi marine shale of Wei202 well in Weiyuan Block in Southwest Sichuan Basin. The well logging
interpretation of geomechanical property on the left was performed by Schlumberger China. The right graph showing the simulation result. The simulation result shows that the
hydraulic fractures can propogate both vertically and horizontally and the fracture growth can be contained within the perforated pay zone interval suggested by geology.
 S. Jiang et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 39 (2017) 203e215 213

Fig. 12. Upper: the stress field orientation indicated by rose diagram and predicted fracture propogation directions. Rose diagram of stress field generated from data of World Stress
Map (www.world-Stress-Map.org); Lower: Microseismic monitoring results of fractured Ning201-H1 well in Changning Block in the southern Sichuan Basin with less influence
from the collision between India and Eurasia (microseismic data from Wang et al., 2013b).

reservoir quality, the east of the Sichuan Basin close to Dabashan fold
belt has complex tectonic setting intensively influenced by the
collision between North China and Yangtze Platform, the south and
southeast areas of the Sichuan Basin are far away from Tibet Plateau
and are less influenced by the tectonic collisions, the stress distri-
bution is much less complex with small stress anisotropy indicated
by broad distribution of maximum horizontal stress field in the rose
diagram. Therefore, the hydraulic fractures will propagate into
multiple directions due to the broad distribution of maximum hor-
izontal stress and form the complex fracture networks (Fig. 12). The
successful multi-stage hydraulic fracturing of the Silurian Longmaxi
marine shale and complex stimulated fracture networks indicated by
microseismic events in the southern and southeastern Sichuan Basin
prove that the Silurian Longmaxi marine shale gas reservoir interval
located in the southern and southeastern Basin is fractable and the
complex fracture network can form large stimulated reservoir vol-
ume indicated by the cloudy distribution of microseismic events in
space and complex fracture deduced from stress fields (Fig. 12).
While the industry drilling and hydraulic fracturing practices tar-
geting tight reservoirs in areas of the western Sichuan Basin with
narrow distribution of maximum horizontal stress or strong stress
contrast caused by strong horizontal stress from collision between
India and Eurasia Plates have been challenged by high treatment
pressure, casing deformation, limited vertical hydraulic fracturing
propagation, and no complex fracture networks formed even though
Silurian shale is also brittle indicated by high quartz content (Wang
and Carr, 2012; Wang, 2013a; Wang et al., 2013b; Liu et al., 2015;
Zou et al., 2016), which also proves that the hydraulic fractures
mainly propogate along the bedding and could not form complex
fracture network in the western Sichuan Basin with large stress
contrast. The numerical simulation and laboratory triaxial tests for
the Silurian Longmaxi shale show the similar results that the small
stress contrast between maximum horizontal stress and minimum
horizontal stress will be favorable for hydraulic fracturing to form
complex fracture network while the large stress contrast can only
form simple long fractures (Pan et al., 2015).
Based on the reservoir characterization and completion quality
assessment, CNPC announced it added more than 160 billion cubic
meters (Bcm) of shale gas reserves in the Southern Sichuan Basin,
and Sinopec added more than 273.8 Bcm of shale gas reserves in the
southerneastern Sichuan Basin. These E&P results prove our pre-
dictions of southern and southeastern Sichuan Basin as the pro-
spective areas.
4.6. Challenges of the Silurian Longmaxi marine shale in Sichuan
Basin
Despite the rich shale gas reserves in Silurian marine shale in
Sichuan Basin with similar mineralogy to US Barnett marine shale,
the shales in the Sichuan Basin have more complex depositional and
214 S. Jiang et al. / Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 39 (2017) 203e215
tectonic settings than US shales. The Sichuan Basin on the Upper
Yangtze Platform is located in a relatively stable tectonic area and the
shale gas reservoir has been relatively well preserved in this area
comparing to other regions on the Yangtze Platform. But most of
marine shales in the Sichuan Basin are either buried deeper than
4000 m or faulted and folded or outcropped. They have much more
complex geologic history resulting disruptions of shale gas accu-
mulation, high maturity level, complex geomechanics setting and
karst and cave occurrence, which makes simple copy of US shale gas
technologies does not work well for marine shales in China (Jiang,
2014). For example, the Pengye1 in SE Sichuan Basin margin and
Zhao104 well and Zhao103 well in the Southern Sichuan Basin
margin only got 15,000 m3/day, 10,400 m3/day and no production
tested from Silurian Longmaxi shale, respectively, these reduced
production test results comparing the Sichuan Basin inside reflects
shale gas leaking caused by complex tectonic disruptions. The com-
plex geologic history and high maturity may have resulted in the
much lower porosity of the marine shale reservoir in the Sichuan
Basin comparing to that of most North American shales. The complex
tectonic setting, tight structure and high stress cause almost all the
shale gas wells in the Sichuan Basin have high treatment pressure and
casing deformation problems. Generally, the complex stress fields
and presence of karst and cave resulted in high drilling and
completion cost in China (twice than that of US shales). For example,
the Pengye HF-1 well in SE Sichuan Basin margin encountered serious
drilling fluid loss in karst and cave intervals and it took 2 months to
solve the problem. Also, rugged ground condition, the land with high
density population, water resource shortage, environmental issues,
etc. pose further challenges for shale gas development in the Sichuan
Basin. These challenges and current low oil and gas price probably
explains why shale gas exploration and production for the high po-
tential Silurian Longmaxi marine shale play in the Sichuan Basin has
been moving very slow comparing to North America.
5. Conclusions
(1) The Lower Section of the Lower Silurian Longmaxi shale has
good reservoir quality characterized by intra-shelf low facies,
high TOC, high maturity, high brittle mineral content
contributed mainly by biogenic quartz, and development of
inter-particle and intra-organic matter pores and natural
fractures.
(2) The shale gas tends to accumulate in broad syncline and
anticline in tectonically stable area with shales of high
organic matter content, high quartz content, overpressure,
and high gas content in the shale play fairway areas in the
southeastern and southern Sichuan Basin.
(3) The organic-rich siliceous Longmaxi shale interval in the
areas less influenced by the collision between India and
Eurasia plates are more favorable for hydraulic fracturing, the
hydraulic fracture propogation can be well contained within
the gas bearing reservoir interval and can form complex
network due to small stress contrast. The reservoir quality,
tectonic setting, stress field and completion quality jointly
control the shale gas accumulation, stimulated reservoir
volume and production rate.
(4) The complex tectonic disruptions, complex stress fields,
presence of karst and cave, and rugged terrain etc. are the
major challenges for the exploration and development of the
Silurian Longmaxi marine shale in Sichuan Basin, China.
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by EGI's multi-year China Shale Plays
consortium (100980) and Open fund from Sinopec Key Laboratory
of Shale Oil/Gas Exploration and Production Technology (Grant No.
G5800-15-ZS-2X038). The international collaboration between
PetroChina, Sinopec, CNOOC, China University of Geosciences at
Beijing, China University of Geosciences at Wuhan, China Geolog-
ical Survey and EGI also made this research and paper possible. We
are grateful to Sinopec and China University of Geosciences at
Beijing for providing shale samples. Special thanks are also
extended to SchlumbergereTerraTek and Weatherford for their
help on geomechanics, petrophysics and geochemistry test and NSI
for providing StimPlan™ software.
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