Petroleum Exploration and Development (Dec 2018)

Mesh model building and migration and accumulation simulation of 3D hydrocarbon carrier system

  • Qiulin GUO,
  • Jifeng LIU,
  • Ningsheng CHEN,
  • Xiaozhi WU,
  • Hongjia REN,
  • Yanzhao WEI,
  • Gang CHEN,
  • Deyu GONG,
  • Xuanjun YUAN

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 45, no. 6
pp. 1009 – 1022

Abstract

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Migration and accumulation simulation of oil and gas in carrier systems has always been a difficult subject in the quantitative study of petroleum geology. In view of the fact that the traditional geological modeling technology can not establish the interrelation of carriers in three dimensional space, we have proposed a hybrid-dimensional mesh modeling technology consisting of body (stratum), surfaces (faults and unconformities), lines and points, which provides an important research method for the description of geometry of sand bodies, faults and unconformities, the 3D geological modeling of complex tectonic areas, and the simulation of hydrocarbon migration and accumulation. Furthermore, we have advanced a 3D hydrocarbon migration pathway tracking method based on the hybrid-dimensional mesh of the carrier system. The application of this technology in western Luliang Uplift of Junggar Basin shows that the technology can effectively characterize the transport effect of fault planes, unconformities and sand bodies, indicate the hydrocarbon migration pathways, simulate the process of oil accumulation, reservoir adjustment and secondary reservoir formation, predict the hydrocarbon distribution. It is found through the simulation that the areas around the paleo-oil reservoir and covered by migration pathways are favorable sites for oil and gas distribution. Key words: oil and gas migration and accumulation, carrier system, hybrid-dimensional mesh, migration pathway, geological modeling, mesh generation, Junggar Basin, western Luliang Uplift