Hydrothermal silicification in Ediacaran Dengying Formation fourth member deep dolomite reservoir, Central Sichuan Basin, China: Implications for reservoir quality

The Ediacaran Dengying Formation fourth member in Central Sichuan Basin is the deep dolomite gas reservoir with the largest natural gas reserves in China, providing an excellent example for understanding the effect of hydrothermal silicification on deep dolomite reservoir quality. By integrating petrology, geochemistry and physical property measurement, this study aims to reveal the genesis of different quartz phase and their corresponding diagenetic events, and to discuss the temporal relationship of diagenetic events and their effects on the quality of deep dolomite reservoir in Dengying fourth member. Three phases of quartz cement are identified in Ediacaran Dengying Formation deep dolomite reservoirs of Central Sichuan Basin as follows: (1) first‐stage quartz filled in primary reservoir spaces, (2) second‐stage quartz mainly filled in secondary reservoir spaces, and (3) third‐stage quartz filled in secondary reservoir spaces with Mississippi Valley‐Type minerals. By analysing petrographic and temporal relationships between these fabrics, it is suggested that the first‐stage quartz precipitated during the syndiagenetic stage, the second‐stage quartz precipitated during middle diagenetic stage, and the third‐stage quartz precipitated during middle diagenetic stage as well. Silicification during syndiagenetic stage is characterized by replacement of cryptocrystalline quartz and cementation of first‐stage quartz within matrix dolomite (MD). After syndiagenetic silicification, the mineral composition of the MD changed from magnesium calcium carbonate to silica, and the later constructive diagenetic alterations were almost ineffective. The distribution of syndiagenetic silicification during syndiagenetic stage gradually decreases from the platform‐interior to the platform‐margin. The second‐stage and third‐stage quartz cements, derived from two‐stage hydrothermal silicification in the middle stage, are both destructive for reservoir preservation. This study, combined with coeval vapour–liquid inclusions Th data and thermal‐burial models, constrains the time of the second‐stage quartz to ca. 403–408 Ma, suggesting an hydrothermal silicification related to the Caledonian movement. The time of the third‐stage quartz cement is constrained to ca. 259.4 Ma, associated with Late Permian eruption of Emeishan flood basalts.