Anomalously high-amplitude seismic reflections are commonly observed in deeply buried Ordovician carbonate strata in the Halahatang area of the northern Tarim Basin. These bright spots have been demonstrated to be generally related to effective oil and gas reservoirs. These bright spot reflections have complex geological origins, because they are deeply buried and have been altered by multi-phase tectonic movement and karstification. Currently, there is no effective geological model for these bright spots to guide hydrocarbon exploration and development. Using core, well logs, and seismic data, the geological origins of bright spot are classified into three types, controlled by karstification, faulting, and volcanic hydrothermal activity. Bright spots differing by geological origin exhibit large differences in seismic reflection character, such as reflection amplitude, curvature, degree of distortion, and the number of vertically stacked bright spots in the seismic section. By categorizing the bright spots and the seismic character of the surrounding strata, their geological origins can after be inferred. Reservoirs formed by early karstification were later altered by epigenetic karstification. Two periods of paleodrainage further altered the early dissolution pores. In addition, faults formed by tectonic uplift also enhanced the dissolution of the flowing karst waters. Some reservoirs were subsequently altered by Permian volcanic hydrothermal fluids.
Skip Nav Destination
Close
Article navigation
Research Article|
July 31, 2018
Geological origins of seismic bright spot reflections in the Ordovician strata in the Halahatang area of the Tarim Basin, western China
Wei Yang;
Wei Yang
a
School of Geoscience and Technology, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China.b
State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Chengdu 610500, China.c
School of Resources and Environment, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China.
Search for other works by this author on:
Xiaoxing Gong;
b
State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Chengdu 610500, China.d
College of Energy Resources, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China.Corresponding author: Xiaoxing Gong (email: wangjunxing2007@126.com).
Search for other works by this author on:
Wenjie Li
Wenjie Li
b
State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, Chengdu 610500, China.d
College of Energy Resources, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China.
Search for other works by this author on:
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (2018) 55 (12): 1297–1311.
Article history
received:
27 Feb 2018
accepted:
13 Jul 2018
first online:
17 Dec 2018
Citation
Wei Yang, Xiaoxing Gong, Wenjie Li; Geological origins of seismic bright spot reflections in the Ordovician strata in the Halahatang area of the Tarim Basin, western China. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences ; 55 (12): 1297–1311. doi: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2018-0055
Download citation file:
Close
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Email alerts
Index Terms/Descriptors
- Asia
- China
- cores
- Far East
- faults
- geophysical methods
- geophysical profiles
- geophysical surveys
- hydrothermal conditions
- lithostratigraphy
- Ordovician
- paleochannels
- paleokarst
- Paleozoic
- petroleum
- petroleum exploration
- reflection methods
- reservoir rocks
- seismic methods
- seismic profiles
- seismic stratigraphy
- surveys
- Tarim Basin
- tectonics
- volcanism
- well logs
- Xinjiang China
- Halahatang
Latitude & Longitude