Depositional and diagenetic controls on the reservoir quality of Upper Triassic Chang-7 tight oil sandstones, southwestern Ordos basin, China

The seventh oil layer of the Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation (Chang-7) tight oil sandstone reservoirs is a major exploration target. A significant amount of hydrocarbons has been discovered in these reservoirs in the southwestern Ordos basin in China. The Chang-7 tight sandstones are characterised as tight with low porosity, low permeability, and strong heterogeneity. This study investigates the sedimentary facies, diagenesis, and their impact on the reservoir quality of the Chang-7 tight oil sandstones. The sandstones were deposited in a deltaic-lacustrine depositional system. Three major depositional facies are identified consisting of delta front fed by braided rivers and meandering rivers, and slump turbidite fans. The depositional environment exerts a key control on reservoir quality. The distinct low-energy sedimentary environment produced fine to very fine-grained sandstones with high matrix and mica contents, characterised by low initial porosity and permeability. Diagenesis mainly comprised mechanical compaction and cementation by quartz, carbonate minerals and various clay minerals. The reservoir properties of the Chang-7 sandstones are generally poor, with porosity of 1.4–20.7% (average porosity 8.6%) and permeability of 0.001–116.7 mD (average 0.2 mD), which are attributed to significant compaction and cementation. Mechanical compaction was more important than cementation for reducing porosity, whereas secondary dissolution porosity was significant for the Chang-7 tight oil sandstones due to closer proximity to the underlying Chang-73 source rocks.