Fractures in the low porosity and ultra-low permeability glutenite reservoirs: A case study of the late Eocene Hetaoyuan formation in the Anpeng Oilfield, Nanxiang Basin, China

The Naxiang Basin, located within the Qin-and-Dabie Mountains orogenic belt in central China, is a small intermountain faulted basin, in which the late Eocene Hetaoyuan Formation in the Anpeng Oilfield is the low porosity and ultra-low permeability glutenite reservoirs. The large-scale fractures are mainly developed in the thick-bedded conglomerates and gravel-bearing gritstones, the small-scale jointed-fractures bounded by layer are mainly developed in the medium-granular and fine sandstones between the conglomerates or gravel-bearing gritstones. There also developed three kinds of micro-fractures, namely intergranular fractures, intragranular fractures and transgranular fractures, in the tight glutenites. The fractures in the glutenite reservoirs are of chiefly high dip-angles. They assume chiefly the E-W strikes, next are the NE-SW and NW-SE strikes. On the log curve, fractures usually show such responses as a decrease of the deep and shallow lateral resistivities, an increase of the acoustic time difference, a reduction of the density, an increase of the compensation neutrons, an occurrence of middle and high gamma ray and an expansion of the calipers. Fractures make contributions to the low porosity and ultra-low permeability glutenite reservoirs by improving the permeability and then porosity. Micro-fractures are the important channels connecting intergranular and intragranular solution pores, thereby making better the connectivity within the tight glutenite reservoirs. The small- and medium-scale fractures serve as the flow channels within the layers of fine and medium-granular sandstones, while the large-scale fractures serve as the main flow channels for the whole reservoir. Under the impact of the present-day stress, the NE-SW fractures perpendicular to the minimum principal stress assume a tensile state and have good connectivity, large apertures and high permeability, and are the major direction for fluid flow, thereby providing a major basis for a further development.