Assessment on gas accumulation potential and favorable plays within the Xu-1, 3 and 5 Members of the Xujiahe Formation in the Sichuan Basin

Natural gas exploration and discovery of hydrocarbons in the Xujiahe Formation in the Sichuan Basin are mainly concentrated in the Xu-2, 4 and 6 Members. The discovered gas reservoirs are characterized by a low filling degree, high water saturation in lower intervals, low levels of produced reserves and a limited number of gas-bearing reservoirs. The Xu-1, 3 and 5 Members are identified as source rocks. Based on the study of natural gas accumulations and several gas production wells in the Xu-1, 3 and 5 Members, this paper proposes that large scale sand bodies are developed in the Xu-1, 3 and 5 Members in the northwest, southwest and central parts of the Sichuan Basin. In each member, the favorable gas bearing area is about 5 000-11 000 km2, the reservoir rocks have good continuity with single layer extensions of up to 15-20 km. It is believed that these sand bodies have favorable conditions for gas accumulation within source kitchens to form lithologic or structural-lithologic gas reservoirs and have better accumulation potential and higher gas-bearing abundance than that of the Xu-2, 4 and 6 Members. Exploration practices have revealed that economic gas reserves may be generated. It is suggested that more efforts be made to study the gas accumulation conditions in the Xu-1, 3 and 5 Members (especially the Xu-3 and Xu-5 Members) and more exploration work be conducted in these strata.