Ordovician Basement Hydrocarbon Reservoirs in the Tarim Basin, China

Abstract  Ordovician marine carbonate basement traps are widely developed in the paleo‐highs and paleo‐slopes in the Tarim Basin. Reservoirs are mainly altered pore‐cavity‐fissure reservoirs. Oil sources are marine carbonate rocks of the Lower Paleozoic. Thus, the paleo‐highs and paleo‐slopes have good reservoiring conditions and they are the main areas to explore giant and large‐scale oil reservoirs. The main factors for their reservoiring are: (1) Effective combination of fenestral pore‐cavity‐fracture reservoirs, resulting from multi‐stage, multi‐cyclic karstification (paleo‐hypergene and deep buried) and fracturing, with effective overlying seals, especially mudstone and gypsum mudstone in the Carboniferous Bachu Formation, is essential to hydrocarbon reservoiring and high and stable production; (2) Long‐term inherited large rises and multi‐stage fracture systems confine the development range of karst reservoirs and control hydrocarbon migration, accumulation and reservoiring; (3) Long‐term multi‐source hydrocarbon supply, early reservoiring alteration and late charging adjustment are important reservoiring mechanisms and determine the resource structure and oil and gas properties. Favorable areas for exploration of Ordovician carbonate basement hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Tarim Basin are the Akekule rise, Katahe uplift, Hetianhe paleo‐high and Yakela faulted rise.