Assessment of shale gas potential of the lower Permian transitional Shanxi-Taiyuan shales in the southern North China Basin

Pore structure and sorption capacity investigations of Ediacaran and Lower Silurian gas shales from the Upper Yangtze platform, China

“…• Pore structure and gas storage characteristics are evaluated for the first time for Ediacaran Shales from the Upper Yangtze platform • Due to a lower free gas storage capacity and diffusivity, the Ediacaran shale can be regarded as a less favorable shale gas prospect when compared to the Silurian shale • Clay mineral contribution to sorption capacity is evaluated taking clay mineralogy into consideration • Maturity-related changes of organic matter sorption capacity have been discussed on the basis of a compiled data set 1 Introduction Shale gas production in China progressed fast from 0.025 billion cubic meter (bcm) in 2012 to 10.88 bcm in 2018 but is still in an initial stage when compared to the United States (624.40 bcm in 2018) (Zhai et al 2018;Wang et al 2019;Dai et al 2020). Therefore, the identification of additional shale gas prospects is currently prioritized in China (Nie et al 2009;Han et al 2013;Zou et al 2014;Dang et al 2016;Li et al 2020). With respect to the economic potential of shale gas reservoirs, an accurate estimation of the maximum amount of gas stored (Gas in Place, GIP) is essential.…”

Pore structural characteristics and methane adsorption capacity of transitional shale of different depositional and burial processes: a case study of shale from Taiyuan formation of the Southern North China basin

“…The Carboniferous-Permian shales in the SNCB are chiefly developed in Benxi, Taiyuan, Shanxi and Shihezi Formation, which is featured by wide distribution, large thickness and organic matter with mature to over mature maturity (Li et al 2021). Previous studies reveal that the late Paleozoic North China paleocontinent began to intrude from South to North and from Northeast to Southwest in the Late Carboniferous, forming the North China plate, and developed the Late Carboniferous Permian marine-continental facies shale (Meng et al 2019).…”

“…As a Meso-Cenozoic superimposed basin, the SNCB is located between the North China plate in the North and the Dabie orogenic belt in the South (Li et al 2021). The basin has been experienced multi-stage tectonic movements since the late Paleozoic and generally can be divided into flowing tectonic units, including Kaifeng depression, Taikang uplift, Zhoukou depression, Bengbu uplift, Huaibei uplift and Xinyang-Hefei depression (Li et al 2021).…”

“…Specifically, there is no residue of Triassic strata in Niqiuji sag and Gucheng uplift, and the denudation thickness is more than 2000 m, while the tectonic strength in Yanji sag is relatively weak, so the Yanji sag is dominated by normal sedimentary burial, and the strata are well preserved. Due to the enhanced intra-continental collision inside the Dabie Mountains in late Yanshanian (late Cretaceous), the study area was dominated by compression and uplift, resulting in the loss of Crestaceous strata in each tectonic belt, while the denudation thickness of Yanji sag and Wanglou slope in the North was less, which is about 100 m (Li et al 2021).…”

Organic matter inputs and depositional palaeoenvironment recorded by biomarkers of marine‐terrestrial transitional shale in the Southern North China Basin

“…A rapid burial period was experienced in the SCNB from the Late Carboniferous to the Late Jurassic (Yu et al, 2018), and the Carboniferous‐Permian strata of the SNCB were mainly deposited in an epeiric sea environment and consisted of mudstone, shale, sandstone, and coal. The SNCB widely developed marine–terrestrial transitional shale in Carboniferous‐Permian strata, and it is generally recognized that the Upper Palaeozoic coal‐bearing strata, including the Benxi, Taiyuan, Shanxi, Low and Upper Shihezi formations, are characterized by great shale gas exploration potential (Li et al, 2021; F. Sun, Cao, Xing, Yu, & Fang, 2021).…”