The Qingshankou Formation in the Songliao Basin of northeastern China is an important layer for unconventional oil exploration. To solve the problem of the main controlling factors of shale oil enrichment, to quantitatively analyze the paleosalinity, paleoclimate, paleoredox environment, provenance, and lake productivity, and to clarify the relationship between sedimentary environment and total organic carbon, we have analyzed quantitative reconstruction of the sedimentary environment by using comprehensive analysis of multiple indicators with major and trace elements, fossils, and biomarkers. The results are as follows: the paleosalinity index w(Sr)/ w(Ba) ratio is 0.4–4, the w(B)/ w(Ga) value is 0.7–8.5, and the w(Pr)/ w(Ph) value is 0.8–2.8, which mainly stand for fresh brackish to saline water. The paleoclimate CIW′ (Chemical index of weathering, CIW = [A12O3/(AI203 + CaO+Na20)] × 100 [molecular proportions]) value is 90–100, indicating a warm and humid climate. The redox index w(V)/ w((V + Ni)) value is 0.54–0.89, which mainly belongs to the dysoxic environment. The provenance input of terrigenous debris index w(Ti)/ w(Al) value is 0.026–0.034, mainly standing for low terrigenous debris input. The production index CAL (enrichment degree of Cu) value is 1–3, belonging to high production. We conclude that the humid climate, the fresh brackish to saline and dysoxic water, and the high lake production provide favorable geologic conditions for biological reproduction and then provide a foundation for the formation, enrichment, and preservation of organic matter. The quantitative reconstruction of the paleoenvironment of the Qingshankou Formation has theoretical significance for Gulong shale oil exploration and development.

The mixed deposition constitutes the external clastic, intrabasinal, and pyroclastic components in both marine and lacustrine environments. The finegrained mixed lacustrine source rocks are rich in organic matter and present good unconventional energy resources. However, the mixed lacustrine source rock systems have extremely low permeabilities and need hydraulic fracturing to stimulate oil from the complex nanoscale matrix. The role of rock fabric, organic matter, and mineral compositions in full-scale pore structures is still unclear, especially for the source rock from a mixed sedimentary environment. This restricts sweet spot identification. Here, we use three groups of Permian Lucaogou source rock samples with fine laminated, thick laminated, and massive rock fabric to investigate the relationship between rock fabric, organic matter, and pore structure using a combination of mineralogy, organic geochemistry, low-pressure nitrogen adsorption, micro-CT, and mercury injection capillary pressure data. The results indicate that the Lucaogou source rocks mainly contain type I and type II kerogen and show good to excellent hydrocarbon generation potential. The source rock was deposited in a mixed environment with high contents of carbonate and less siliceous minerals, showing good frackability. The mineralogy-based ternary classification shows that the source rock mainly belongs to high total organic carbon (TOC > 4%) mixed carbonate mudstone and high TOC mixed mudstone. For mixed lacustrine source rock, the full-scale pore-fracture distribution shows that the average percentage values of pore volume for micropores (<10 nm), transitional pores (10−100 nm), mesopores (100−1000 nm), and macropores (fracture) (>1000 nm) are 11.14, 21.62, 10.77, and 56.47%, respectively. However, the average percentage values of pore surface area for the abovementioned pores are 62.45, 30.45, 5.47, and 1.63%, respectively. Both quartz and terrigenous clast present a weak-medium unimodal correlation with the TOC content. Both terrigenous clast and clay minerals control the source rock hydrocarbon generation potential. The carbonate and terrigenous clast mineral content play a significant role in micropores and transitional pores, while the clay mineral presents a negative impact on macropore development. The effect of rock fabric on shale oil potential is negligible compared with organic matter abundance. Shales with thick parallel laminae and medium TOC (2% < TOC < 4%) possess favorable shale oil potential.

Bacterial foraging optimization has drawn great attention and has been applied widely in various fields. However, BFO performs poorly in convergence when coping with more complex optimization problems, especially multimodal and high dimensional tasks. Aiming to address these issues, we therefore seek to propose a hybrid strategy to improve the BFO algorithm in each stage of the bacteria’s’ foraging behavior. Firstly, a non-linear descending strategy of step size is adopted in the process of flipping, where a larger step size is given to the particle at the very beginning of the iteration, promoting the rapid convergence of the algorithm while later on a smaller step size is given, helping enhance the particles’ global search ability. Secondly, an adaptive adjustment strategy of particle aggregation is introduced when calculating step size of the bacteria’s swimming behavior. In this way, the particles will adjust the step size according to the degree of crowding to achieve efficient swimming. Thirdly, a roulette strategy is applied to enable the excellent particles to enjoy higher replication probability in the replication step. A linear descent elimination strategy is adopted finally in the elimination process. The experimental results demonstrate that the improved algorithm performs well in both single-peak function and multi-peak function, having strong convergence ability and search ability.

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The Permian Lucaogou Formation (LCG Fm.) in the Junggar Basin is an organic-rich source rock interval formed in a salinized paleolake, and organic-rich laminated and massive shales are broadly deposited. However, the paleoenvironment difference between laminated and massive shales is still unclear, and the effect of this difference on petrology, pore structure, and organic matter enrichment is significant to shale oil resource evaluation. In this study, organic and element geochemistry, mineralogy, and nitrogen adsorption are used to analyze key differences between laminated and massive shales. The results show that most shale samples present mature thermal stage and oil-prone type II kerogen. Felsic igneous rocks in the continental island arc are their primary mineral component sources. The differences between laminated and massive shales are mainly from their silica origin, paleoclimate, and salinity. The silica origin in laminated shale is primarily from the terrestrial debris influx, while the massive shale is mixed with terrestrial debris and biogenic origin. The silica origin from hydrothermal activities is negligible. The laminated shale prefers to be deposited in a hot and dry climate with weak weathering and relatively higher salinity. However, the massive shale is mainly deposited in a warm and humid climate with moderate weathering and lower salinity conditions. For both laminated and massive shales from the LCG Fm., the warm and humid climate is beneficial to organic matter (OM) accumulation. Paleoproductivity presents an increasingly positive impact on source rocks when the rock fabric transforms from massive to thick laminae. Overall, lower salinity, humid climate, and strong terrigenous clastic input jointly enhance organic matter (OM) accumulation in both laminated and massive shales. Arid and semiarid climates are beneficial to improving the fractability of both laminated and massive shales. The laminated shale presents a relatively wider average nanopore diameter and lower pore volume than massive samples. These findings provide an important insight into the correlation between organic enrichment, laminae, pore structure, and depositional environment. This study has profound implications for understanding the formation mechanisms of laminated and massive shales in the lacustrine paleoenvironment.