Origin and filling model of natural gas in Jiannan Gas Field, Sichuan Basin, China

The chemical and stable isotopic compositions of natural gases from Jiannan Gas Field, Sichuan Basin, China, were investigated to elucidate the origin of the gas and to reconstruct the reservoir filling history. The natural gases in Jiannan Gas Field are dominated by CH4 with low amounts of non-hydrocarbon (e.g. CO2, H2S and N2) components. The stable carbon isotope compositions of methane and its homologues vary widely, with an isotope trend of δ13C1≥ δ13C2< δ13C3. Structural restoration and burial history reconstruction indicated contrasting gas-filling histories for the gas reservoirs. Natural gas in the Carboniferous reservoirs was sourced from oil and gas cracking and thermal decomposition of kerogen in the lower Silurian shale and sealed by Lower Permian shale. Natural gas in the Upper Permian reservoir was derived primarily from Upper Permian mudstone with a minor contribution from Lower Silurian shale. The sulfur-bearing gas was probably sourced from Permian marine source rocks and migrated into the Lower Triassic reservoirs along unconformities and faults. Long-distance vertial migration may have caused the loss of H2S.