PETROLEUM EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Volume 47, Issue 2, April 2020

Online English edition of the Chinese language journal

Cite this article as: PETROL. EXPLOR. DEVELOP., 2020, 47(2): 306–317. RESEARCH PAPER

Origin, hydrocarbon accumulation and oil-gas enrichment

of fault-karst carbonate reservoirs: A case study of
Ordovician carbonate reservoirs in South Tahe area of
Halahatang oilfield, Tarim Basin
DING Zhiwen*, WANG Rujun, CHEN Fangfang, YANG Jianping, ZHU Zhongqian, YANG Zhimin,
SUN Xiaohui, XIAN Bo, LI Erpeng, SHI Tao, ZUO Chao, LI Yang
PetroChina Tarim Oilfield Company, Korla 841000, China

Abstract: Based on comprehensive analysis of tectonic and fault evolution, core, well logging, seismic, drilling, and production data,
the reservoir space characteristic, distribution, origin of fault-karst carbonate reservoir in Yueman block of South Tahe area, Halahatang
oilfield, Tarim Basin, were studied systematically. And the regular pattern of hydrocarbon accumulation and enrichment was analyzed
systematically based on development practice of the reservoirs. The results show that fault-karst carbonate reservoirs are distributed in the
form of “body by body” discontinuously, heterogeneously and irregularly, which are controlled by the development of faults. Three for-
mation models of fault-karst carbonate reservoirs, namely, the models controlled by the main deep-large fault, the secondary fault and the
secondary internal fault, are built. The hydrocarbon accumulation and enrichment of fault-karst carbonate reservoirs is controlled by the
spatiotemporal matching relation between hydrocarbon generation period and fault activity, and the size and segmentation of fault. The
study results can effectively guide the well deployment and help the efficient development of fault-karst carbonate reservoirs of South
Tahe area, Halahatang oilfield.

Key words: Tarim Basin; Halahatang oilfield; South Tahe area; Ordovician; fault-karst; carbonate reservoir; hydrocarbon accumulation;
oil-gas enrichment

Introduction
Carbonate formations in Tarim Basin, NW China, contain
rich oil and gas resources. The proven reserves in Tarim oil-
field reaches 1108 million tons, among which more than 90%
comes from fractured-vuggy carbonate reservoirs[1–6]. The HA
6, Xinken, Repu and Jinyue blocks in the north of the Tarim
river have been explored and developed successively in Ha-
lahatang oilfield. As the exploration goes from buried hill area,
along- bedding reformation area and then to platform margin
superimposing reformation area, the basic geological under-
standings and key technology series on fractured-vuggy car-
bonate reservoirs have been formed. With the improvement of
seismic data quality and drilling technology, the scope of ex-
ploration and development in Halahatang oilfield is expanding
southward, and major breakthroughs have been made succes-
sively in deep and super-deep (6500–7500 m) carbonate res-
ervoirs in recent years. Lots of wells produced hundreds of
tons of oil daily in the areas of Yueman, Fuyuan and Yuke and
other new districts of Yuemanxi, Guole and Luchang have
been found consecutively. Now the South-Tahe area of Hala-
hatang oilfield with a production capacity of nearly one mil-
lion tons is constructed, and has become the key area of car-
bonate exploration and development in the Tarim Basin[7–8].
By now, the area with oil discovery has reached 5041 km2,
and oil reserves controlled by 18 deep faults have amounted to
more than 163 million tons. According to the “14th Five-Year
Plan”, the region, as a major oil and gas development battle-
field, will have a production capacity of 1.5 million tons of
crude oil and 660 million cubic meters of natural gas con-
structed in 2022.
Just like the South-Tahe area of Halahatang oilfield, the
productivity construction project are promoting steadily and
fast in the neighboring area, ShunBei. The definition of
fault-karst carbonate reservoir was first proposed by LU,
aimed to develop these reservoirs of ShunBei district in Tahe

Received date: 25 Jun. 2019; Revised date: 20 Feb. 2020.

* Corresponding author. E-mail: dingzw-tlm@petrochina.com.cn
Foundation item: Supported by the China National Sicence and Technology Project (2016ZX05004).
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1876-3804(20)60048-9
Copyright © 2020, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, PetroChina. Publishing Services provided by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Com-
munications Co., Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
 DING Zhiwen et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2020, 47(2): 306–317
oilfield[9]. He pointed out that the main deep-large faults belts
formed by the tectonic forces were corroded by the meteoric
water or hydrothermal liquid and thus formed the fault-karst
bodies composed of big caves, holes and fractures. These
fault-karst bodies formed fault-karst reservoirs after capturing
hydrocarbon with the sealing by thick muddy-limestone above
or dense limestone around. With the help of production prac-
tice, the understanding of carbonate fault-karst reservoirs is
deepening. The recognition of carbonate reservoir in Hala-
hatang oilfield has changed from fractured-vuggy reservoirs
to fault-karst reservoirs controlled by the main deep-large
faults which control not only the forming of reserving bodies,
but also the hydrocarbon accumulation and enrichment.
Based on comprehensive analysis of tectonic and fault
evolution, core, well logging, seismic, drilling, and production
data, the reservoir space characteristics, distribution, geologic
formation of fault-karst carbonate reservoirs in the South-Tahe
area of Halahatang oilfield, Tarim Basin, were studied systema-
tically. Further, the pattern of hydrocarbon accumulation and
enrichment were analyzed systematically based on develop-
ment practice of the reservoirs to provide a reference for effi-
cient exploration and development of such similar reservoirs.
1. Geological background
The Halahatang oilfield is located in the west slope of
Lunnan low uplift of the Tabei uplift in Tarim Basin. Adjacent
to Luntai uplift on the north, Amman transition zone on the
south, and Yingmaili low uplift on the west, it is an important
part of Lungu-Tahe-Halahatang huge Ordovician oilfield un-
dergoing multiple tectonic movements and sedimentary evo-
lution. The research area in this work is South-Tarim area of
Halahatang oilfield. Close to the Shunbei oilfield, surrounded
Fig. 1. Distribution of structures and main deep-large faults in the South-Tahe area (a) and columnar section of strata and reser-
voir-forming stages in the Tarim Basin (b).
 307 
by the two main hydrocarbon-generation sags, Manjiaer and
Awati etc., it is a favorable block for oil and gas migration and
accumulation (Fig. 1).
In early Caledonian (Cambrian-Middle Ordovician), car-
bonate platform and marine argillaceous source rock depos-
ited in the South-Tahe area of Halahatang, and the large
Manxi carbonate platform developed in the Tazhong-Tabei
area. After multiple stages and cycles of unconformity and
meteoric water leaching, Yingshan Formation (O1-2y)-Yijian-
fang Formation (O2y) carbonate reservoirs were formed
widely in this area. At the same time, a set of Cam-
brian-Middle Ordovician source rock developed in the Man-
jiaer sag in the east of South-Tahe area[10], providing material
basis for the migration and filling of oil and gas.
TheⅠ-Ⅱepisode of Middle Caledonian was an important
period of transformation of tectonic-sedimentary nature, when
the southern Tianshan ocean subduction became stronger,
Tabei structure uplifted as a whole, and the palaeohighs
formed basically. Under the compression of NE and NS bidi-
rectional in-situ stresses, strike-slip fault systems trending NE
and NW came up in large area, forming the frame of fault
systems in this area, and laying foundation for the formation
of fault-karst bodies later. The strike-slip faults are nearly
vertical or in positive flower structure, which extend down-
ward to the interior of the Cambrian or even through the
Cambrian and upward to the top of the Lianglitage Formation
(O3l) deposited during this period. On the plane, these
strike-slip faults are mostly linear, extending to tens or even
hundreds of kilometers, and appear in echelon or feather ar-
rangement in local part. In the Ⅲ episode of the Middle
Caledonian movement, due to the effect of global transgres-
sion, carbonate platform deposition ended and mixed shelf
 DING Zhiwen et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2020, 47(2): 306–317

deposition started in this area. The Sangtamu muddy forma-
tion of 600–700 m thick was formed, providing a high-quality
regional caprock for the Ordovician carbonate reservoirs.
From Late Caledonian to Early Hercynian (Silurian-De-
vonian), under the effect of collision between the middle
Kunlun island arc, the middle Kunlun terrene and the strong
compression of the Altyn orogenic belt[11–12], the Tabei uplift
underwent three times of strong uplifting before the deposi-
tion of the Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous. The Luntai
uplift and Lunnan low uplift also continuously uplifted, the
Halahatang and Hadson nose structures were formed succes-
sively, and the Tabei palaeohigh basically finalized in shape.
During this period, the NE and NW-trending faults developed
successively, cutting down to the Cambrian to communicate
with the high-quality source rock at the bottom of the Cam-
brian and reaching up to the Middle-Lower Devonian. The
fault belts continued to extend and deform, forming fault
fracture zones, and the carbonate reservoirs along the fault
zones expanded in scale.
In the Middle-Late Hercynian (Carboniferous-Permian), the
south Tianshan ocean closed like scissors from east to west,
the Tabei uplift tectonic movement extended from east to west,
stronger in the west and weaker in the east, and the Ordovi-
cian structure in Halahatang area was relatively stable. The
successive activity of early strike-slip faults occurred because
of the Permian volcanic eruption and the carbonate reservoirs
along the deep and large fault belts were dissolved by
high-temperature thermal fluid rich in silicon.
During the Indosinan-Yanshanian (Triassic–Cretaceous),
the faulting activity was relatively weak and the whole south
margin in Tabei was relatively stable. During the Himalayan
movement, the Mesozoic and Cenozoic in the Halahatang area
generally tilted to the north, while the Lower Paleozoic re-
mained dipping to the south; and the structural model of
nose-shaped uplift at present finalized.
2. Fault-karst bodies
2.1. Types of storage space
The Ordovician carbonate reservoirs in the South-Tahe area
mainly developed in the Yijianfang (O2y)-Yingshan Formation
(O1-2y). There are many types of storage space, including cave,
dissolved pore and vug (Fig. 2a, 2d), high-angle structural
fracture (Fig. 2b, 2c, 2f), enlarged or filled residual fracture,
intercrystalline pore (Fig. 2e), intergranular pore and mi-
cro-fracture etc.
The different types of storage space differ widely in size.
The large caves can range from several meters to tens of me-
ters, and engineering anomalies such as drilling break and
drilling fluid leakage etc. often occur when drilling into them.
They are often shown as dark spots in imaging logging (Fig.
2g). The dissolved pores and vugs range from several centi-
meters to tens of centimeters, while the intercrystalline and
intergranular pores are only several millimeters in size. The
major storage space is composed of caves, dissolved pores
and vugs and structural fractures, and they are also important
flowing channels; whereas the intercrystalline pores, inter-

Fig. 2. Characteristics of Ordovician carbonate storage space in the South-Tahe area of the Tarim Basin. (a) Well HD27, 6285.5 m, O2y,
light gray arenaceous limestone, with micro-fractures and unfilled cave, core photo; (b) Well Yuke1, 6699.0 m, O2y, a core photo with
suture lines and dissolved pores and vugs filled with asphalt; (c) Well HD25, 6498.0 m, O2y, a cast slice of sparry conglomeratic limestone
with fractures and intragranular dissolved pores; (d) Well HD27, 6291.0 m, O2y, a core photo shows filler in cave with asphalt; (e) Well
YueM22, 7342.4 m, O2y, a cast slice shows a few intergranular and intragranular pores; (f) Well Yuke101, 6498.0–6503.0 m, an imaging
logging picture shows high conductivity fractures. (g) Well Yuke201, 6717.0–6719.0 m, an imaging logging picture shows caves and vugs.
 308 
 DING Zhiwen et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2020, 47(2): 306–317

granular pores and micro-fractures contribute little to storage

and seepage.
CT scan results show the cores of Ordovician carbonate
have an average porosity of 2.1% and average permeability of
0.33×10–3 μm2; the logging interpretation results show that the
carbonate reservoirs have an average porosity of 3.6% and
average permeability of 0.56×10–3 μm2; the interpretation of
well test data shows the carbonate reservoirs have a perme-
ability of (550–3000)×10–3 μm2, which show a wide differ-
ence. In fact, the static data cannot reflect the true storage and
seepage capacity of the reservoir, because the reservoir cores
cannot be easily collected due to the caves or big fractures
developed around wellbore. And the real storage space may be
cave-vuggy bodies related to fault zone.
Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of fault-karst reservoirs in South-
2.2. Spatial distribution Tahe area.

The Ordovician fault-karst bodies of the South-Tahe area

are mainly distributed along the main fault belts. For example,
more than 80% of the high production wells out of the 15
wells deployed along the YueMan 3 fault belt showed drilling
break and drilling fluid leakage when drilling to the target
zone. Well YueM3-5 drilled into the secondary fault zone
more than 800 m from the main fault zone had no drilling
break or drilling fluid leakage with weak gas shows. Conven-
tional logging interpretation showed the reservoirs in this well
were mainly type Ⅲ, and imaging logging showed just a few
high angle fractures. During formation testing, the well had
liquid supply too low to put into production. Later, the well
was sidetracked 500 m toward to the main fault to obtain high
yield industrial oil flow of up to 60 t/d.
2.2.1. Plane distribution
The Ordovician fault-karst bodies in the South-Tahe area
are in band distribution along the fault zones on the plane. But
the fault-karst bodies differ widely in development degree in
different segments of the same fault belt, which is related to
the segmentation of strike-slip fault. According to the state of
stress, the strike-slip fault can be divided into three types:
tension section, extrusion section and translation section. The
tension section and extrusion section occur in stress-releasing
bending position and stress-limiting bending position respec-
tively, while the translation section occurs in relatively stable
stress position[13–16]. For the same fault, the tension section is
most developed, followed by extrusion section, and transla-
tion section is the worst. Olson et al.[17–18] pointed out that the
degree of formation fragmentation controlled by the fault was
mainly affected by the strain energy density around the fault
system. Generally, the strain energy density at the end of the
fault is the strongest, so the formation there is with the highest
degree of fragmentation. Large rock-bridge fracture zone
(pull-apart graben) is likely to occur at the place where faults
overlap and pull apart. The rock-bridge area where two main
faults intersect and overlap is stretched along the fault strike is
more conducive to the reservoir dissolution reformation.
And it is often manifested as a negative flower-like structure
with developed positive fault or small extensional fractures
(Fig. 3a). But in the position of overlapping compression and
torsion, the structure is characterized by positive flower shape
with dense thrusting or small shear fractures, where the
fault-karst bodies are relatively poor due to the limitation of
stress (Fig. 3b). In the translation section where the two walls
of fault mainly slide against each other and secondary frac-
tures only intersecting in small angle with the main deforma-
tion zone come up in the surrounding rock of the two walls of
the fault, fault-karst bodies are poorly developed.
For example, the YueMan 2 fault belt is 29 km long in total.
According to stress analysis, it is divided into nine segments,
including three tensional segments, four extrusion segments
and two translation segments (Fig. 4, Table 1). The tensional
segments are 10.5 km long in total and 0.23–1.95 km wide,
where the fault-karst bodies are large in scale. Eight wells
drilled in these segments have an average single well con-
trolled geological reserves of 82104 t, initial average single
well productivity of 61 t/d and average cumulative output per
unit pressure drop of 1796 t/MPa, showing that the formation
energy is sufficient or fairly sufficient. The extrusion seg-
ments are 12.5 km long in total, and 0.15–1.71 km in fault
width, where the fault-karst bodies are moderate in scale.
Seven wells drilled in these segments have an average single
well controlled geological reserves of 53104 t, average initial
single well productivity of 39 t/d and an average cumulative
output per unit pressure drop of 718 t/MPa, showing that the
formation energy is fairly sufficient or insufficient. The trans-
lation segments are 6 km long in total and 0.12–0.56 km in
fault width. Three wells drilled in these segments have aver-
age controlled single well geological reserves of 25104 t, an
average initial single well productivity of 23 t/d and an aver-
age cumulative output per unit pressure drop of 238 t/MPa,
showing that the formation energy is insufficient and produc-
tion declines rapidly.

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 DING Zhiwen et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2020, 47(2): 306–317

during drilling of wells in Yueman block. It can be seen from

the figure that the reservoirs in different wells are at different
distances from a few meters to 120 m (on average 70 m) from
the O2y top limestone. In most wells, large fracture-vug bod-
ies are encountered less than 70 m down from the O2y top. In
addition, this can also be seen from the "bead" reflection posi-
tion on the seismic section of Yueman block (Fig. 5b). More-
over, the reservoirs may extend several hundred meters verti-
cally through the O2y and O1-2y. For example, Well YueM5
revealed 20 m of the O2y and had a drilling break of 1.2 m.
After completion, it had an initial daily production of 120 t
during test. In 3 years of production, it has remained stable in
tubing pressure and production and has dynamic reserves of
up to 3 million tons. At present, its bottom hole flow tem-
perature is 7.2 C higher than the initial stage of production
and 7.8 C higher than the formation static temperature, which
indicates that the well has deep fluid supply in the later stage
of production. According to the geothermal gradient of 2.4
C/100 m, the height of oil column is estimated at 325 m.

2.3. Genetic mechanism of fault-karst bodies

The Ordovician carbonate fault-karst bodies in the South-

Tahe area are mainly controlled by the faults system com-
posed of deep-large faults, associated faults and fractures
generated due to Caledonian-Hercynian tectonic movements.
And they finalized after superimposed reformation of multi-
stage tectonic movements, fault-controlled karstification and
local hydrothermal fluid dissolution.

Fig. 4. Planar distribution of fault-karst reservoirs in Yueman
block of the South-Tahe area.
2.2.2. Vertical distribution
The first feature of fault-karst bodies in vertical direction is
their irregularity. The fault-karst body is divided into core part
and extension part. Due to fragmented faults and strong dis-
solution, the core part has large fracture-vug bodies developed
and reservoir of larger scale, so it is the main target of drilling.
The extension part has mainly small scale fracture-pore bodies
developed due to associated faults (Fig. 3). The second feature
is that the reservoirs developed in different depths and layers.
Fig. 5a shows the distribution of drilling break and leak points
2.3.1. Formation of fault-karst bodies
2.3.1.1. The lithofacies
Lithofacies is the material basis for the reformation of
fault-karst body. The sedimentary facies of O2y and O1-2y are
mainly open platform and arenaceous oolitic beach at the
platform edge. The rocks are mainly sparry arenite bioclastic
limestone and sparry oolitic limestone of high energy beach
facies at platform edge (Fig. 2c, 2e), which lay a foundation
for the later fragmentation and karstification controlled by
fault. Intragranular micropores in algalclastic was formed due
to the penecontemporaneous erosion of sparry algalclastic
limestone. The formations have more than 95% of carbonate

Table 1. Statistics on development effects of different segments of Yueman 2 fault belt in the South-Tahe area.
Average cumulative output
Segement Fault Stress Fault Fault Geologic Number Initial produc- Formation
per unit pressure
ID nature intensity length/km width/km reserves/104 t of wells tivity/(t·d1) energy
drop/(t·MPa1)
2-1 Translation 4.1 0.12–0.56 50 2 25 250 Weak
2-2 Extrusion Weak 4.6 0.15–0.63 45 1 36 610 Insufficient
2-3 Tension Strong 3.9 0.74–1.95 284 3 68 2 232 Sufficient
2-4 Tension Strong 3.8 0.61–1.85 165 2 62 1 805 Sufficient
2-5 Extrusion Strong 2.3 0.59–1.68 116 2 43 812 Fairly sufficient
2-6 Extrusion Weak 2.5 0.14–0.69 88 2 32 600 Insufficient
2-7 Translation 1.9 0.15–0.41 26 1 20 226 Weak
2-8 Tension Weak 2.8 0.23–0.72 209 3 55 1 351 Fairly sufficient
2-9 Extrusion Strong 3.1 0.55–1.71 120 2 45 850 Fairly sufficient
 310 
 DING Zhiwen et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2020, 47(2): 306–317

Fig. 5. The position of fault-karst bodies (a) and the seismic section (b) of Yueman block in the South-Tahe area.

rocks and few muddy interlayers. Pure and brittle in lithofa-
cies, they are likely to be broken and corroded later.
2.3.1.2. Fragmentation and dissolution controlled by
faults
Fragmentation and dissolution play key roles in the forma-
tion of fault-karst body. There are two groups strike-slip faults
in NE and NW strikes developed in the South-Tahe area.
Among them, the 18 NE deep and large strike-slip faults are
mainly single shear faults formed in the Middle Caledonian
period. They had been active continuously in the Late Cale-
donian-Early Hercynian period and moved successively in the
Late Hercynian-Indochinese period with high fragmentation
degree. There are only 5 NW strike-slip faults. They were
formed in the Early Hercynian period, moved successively in
Late-Hercynian-Indochinese, and were less fragmented.
Fault fragmentation caused by tectonic movement is the
prerequisite for the formation of fault-karst body. According
to the Riedel shear physics simulation experiment[1718], the
formation of strike-slip fault zone can be divided into four
stages. (1) In the initial stage, the main part of strike-slip fault
begins to form, which is distributed in echelon pattern, with a
small faulting range and a complete shape of the initiating end.
(2) In the early stage, with the increase of stress, its influence
scope increases significantly and the fragmentation degree
increases rapidly. The strike-slip fault still appears in echelon
pattern, but increases apparently in fragmented range and
degree. (3) In the middle stage, the fracture range further in-
creases, and the echelon faults connect, giving rise to com-
plete fragmented zone. (4) At the late stage, the fragmentation
degree is the strongest, and the whole fragmented zone ap-
pears in oblique horsetail shape or feather shape (Fig. 6). The
experimental results show that different positions of the same
fault belt are different in fragmentation degree. The stress-re-
lease bending zone is higher in fragmentation degree while
stress-stable zone is lower in fragmentation degree.
It is generally believed that the stronger and longer lasting
the fault activity is, the more favorable it is to form fault zone.
Because the NE faults in this area are more active and lasting
longer in active time, they are higher in fragmentation degree.

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 DING Zhiwen et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2020, 47(2): 306–317
Fig. 6. The different stages of fault zone in Riedel shear physical
simulation experiment (modified from references [17-18]) .
The multi-stage activities and tectonic fragmentation of strike-
slip fault also provide smooth channels for the later leaching
and dissolution of meteoric fresh water and buried dissolution,
Fig. 7. Formation patterns of fault-karst bodies in the South-Tahe area.
 312 
creating good conditions for the subsequent formation of large
caves, dissolved pores and vugs[1921].
2.3.1.3. Local reformation by deep hydrothermal fluids
The results of temperature measurement of inclusions show
that the region has experienced multi-stages of karstification
and filling at different temperatures, and the existence of
high-temperature inclusions more than 120 C prove the area
may have abnormally high-temperature fluid[2021]. In addition,
siliceous masses and granular pyrite are found commonly in
the limestone of Yingshan Formation in Well Shunbei 2 lo-
cated in the adjacent block next to the southwest of the
South-Tahe area, indicating that burial fluid reformation hap-
pened and the reservoir formation may be related to burial
karstification[21]. Some researchers pointed out that there
might be other types of reformation, including dissolutions by
basin compaction fluid and acidic fluid carried with hydro-
carbon, and sulfate thermochemical reduction etc.[2225]. The
flow direction of hydrothermal fluid is generally upward
along deep and large fault and its reformation degree to res-
ervoir depends on whether the hydrothermal channels are
smooth.
2.3.2. Formation pattern of fault-karst bodies
Fault-karst bodies in the South-Tahe area are the product of
joint effect of fragmentation, leaching and hydrothermal fluid
dissolution in local part controlled by faults. According to the
controlling effect of faults, formation patterns of fault-karst
bodies can be classified into 3 types, along main deep-large
fault, along secondary fault and along secondary internal fault
dissolution patterns (Fig. 7).
 DING Zhiwen et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2020, 47(2): 306–317
The pattern along main deep-large fault refers to the forma-
tion of fault-karst body controlled by main deep-large fault.
These kinds of faults all run through the Cambrian, having
strong stress action during formation, and strong breaking
effect on limestone. They can create fault fracture zone about
200 m wide in general. The later karstification of meteoric
water controlled by fault would further dissolve, enlarge and
rebuild the fault fracture zone formed earlier, resulting in
opening fluid channels, further increasing of storage space
and reformation degree. Subsequently, the meteoric water
would enter into a good circulation system and finally lead to
formation of large fracture-vug bodies. At the same time, the
main deep-large faults are also the dominant channels of hy-
drothermal fluid, and the deep abnormally high-temperature
fluid has a certain reformation effect on reservoir bodies dur-
ing the process of flowing from bottom to up. The fault-karst
bodies formed by this way are composed of large caves, dis-
solution pores and vugs and fractures. They have excellent
planar and longitudinal connectivity, good seepage capacity,
and thus are the main drilling targets in the South-Tahe area
( B well and C well in Fig. 7).
The pattern along secondary fault refers to fault-karst body
formed under the control of secondary fault. Second to the
main deep-large fault in scale, the secondary fault can also
extend to the Cambrian formation. But with limited stress
effect, they can’t form large scale of fault fracture zones. The
fluid flow channels are not as smooth as the deep-large faults,
and dissolution and hydrothermal fluid dissolution are less
sufficient. The fault-karst bodies formed by this pattern are
mainly fracture-pore reservoir composed of dissolution pores,
vugs and factures, with connectivity laterally and vertically
but limited scale (well A in Fig. 7).
The pattern along secondary internal fault refers to the for-
mation of small scale fault-kart body controlled by secondary
internal fault which has no economic development value in
general. Secondary internal fault refers to strike-slip fault very
small in scale and they can’t reach downwards to the Cam-
brian and upwards to the Ordovician. With very weak frag-
mentation effect, this kind of fault can’t form fault fracture
zone, and thus is not smooth in fluid flow channel, suffering
little meteoric water leaching and very weak reformation by
deep hydrothermal fluid, hard to form scale fault-karst body
(well D in Fig. 7).
3. Fault-karst reservoirs and hydrocarbon
accumulation
3.1. Reservoirs characteristics and distribution
Crude oil of reservoirs in the South-Tahe area is light
oil-condensate characterized by low density, low viscosity,
and low contents of sulfur, colloid and asphaltene. The surface
oil samples have a density range of 0.7950.877 g/cm3 (0.824
g/cm3 on average), viscosity range at 50 C of 1.2305.470
mPas (2.375 mPas on average), sulfur content range of
0.008%0.700% (0.200%), and colloid + asphaltene content
 313 
range of 0.12%7.71% (1.06% on average). The natural gas
produced in this area is mainly hydrocarbon gas, with a me-
thane content of 63.00%87.50% (73.03% on average),
ethane content of 1.13%30.95% (14.37% on average), and
drying coefficient of 75.67%95.43% (83.74% on average).
The natural gas is mainly gas associated with high maturity
crude oil and condensate gas, same in origin with the crude
oil[6]. The Ordovician reservoirs in the South-Tahe area show
the distribution feature of "east gas and west oil". PVT analy-
sis results show that only reservoirs in Yuke district have fea-
tures of condensate gas reservoir, with gas-oil ratio of more
than 5600 m3/m3; while all the rest blocks west of Yuke dis-
trict shows phase characteristics of weakly volatile light crude
oil (Fig. 8).
3.2. Hydrocarbon accumulation
3.2.1. High quality source rocks and generation-expulsion
conditions of hydrocarbon
The Cambrian source rocks were the main source rock of
Ordovician reservoirs in the South-Tahe area. The first stage
of oil and gas captured in the South-Tahe area was mainly
formed in the late Caledonian period, during which the source
rocks in the Manjiaer sag began to generate and expel hydro-
carbon. The generated oil and gas began to migrate toward
and accumulate in the high parts of the adjacent South-Tahe
area. However, due to the strong tectonic movement in the
early Hercynian, the oil reservoir was damaged and could not
be preserved effectively.
The Manjiaer sag was still in the hydrocarbon generation
and expulsion period in the late Hercynian period, when the
South-Tahe area captured the second stage of oil and gas in
large scale. In this period, a high-quality reservoir-caprock
combination of Yijianfang-Sangtamu Formations had been
formed with good oil and gas preservation conditions, ena-
bling oil and gas accumulation on a large scale.
Fig. 8. The triangle phase diagram of typical wells in the South-
Tahe area.
 DING Zhiwen et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2020, 47(2): 306–317
Fig. 9. Hydrocarbon accumulation mode of fault-karst reservoirs in the South-Tahe area.
In the Indo-Himalayan period, the Manjiaer sag was in a
period of dry gas generation and the eastern part of the South-
Tahe area was subjected to strong gas invasion, whereas the more
westward, the weaker the gas invasion was, giving rise to the
model of "east gas and west oil" in South-Tahe area (Fig. 9).
3.2.2. Hydrocarbon migration and charging
Several large strike-slip faults in the South-Tahe area cut
through the Cambrian. These large strike-slip faults, their
concomitant branches and secondary faults constitute a criss-
cross network system for oil and gas migration. The high ma-
ture or over-mature oil and gas provided by the Cambrian
hydrocarbon source rock in Manjiaer sag migrated from the
southeast to northwest in the South-Tahe area. And they
mainly migrated vertically and charged into the fault-karst
bodies along the deep-large fault zones, and laterally adjusted
to the associated branches and secondary fault zones. Because
the fault zones are obviously segmented, the filling degree of
hydrocarbon varies greatly. The reservoirs are relatively sepa-
rated in the lateral and vertical directions and have no uniform
oil-water contact (Figs. 3 and 9).
The development practice shows that the main deep-large
faults have higher oil and gas charging degree and hydrocar-
bon enrichment degree. And wells drilled in these fault zones
generally produce no water or have longer water free produc-
tion time. The reservoirs along branch faults aren’t fully
charged with oil and gas, so wells drilled in these reservoirs
produce both oil and water, which indicates that the formation
water hasn’t been fully expelled out during hydrocarbon
charging. The internal secondary faults far from the trunk
 314 
faults have very weak oil and gas charging and poorly-de-
veloped reservoirs, so wells drilled in these reservoirs have
rapid drop of tubing pressure and water produced during for-
mation test.
The filling degree of oil and gas is related to the activity of
fault. The NE faults are more active than the NW faults and
are the main migration channels of oil and gas in this region,
so the filling strength of oil and gas along the NE faults is
high and wells drilled in reservoirs along these faults have
higher productivity. In contrast, the NW faults are not active
and in a relatively closed state during the oil-gas filling period,
and thus are lower in oil and gas filling degree. Due to the
difference of stress intensity, different segments of the same
fault differ in activity strength and filling strength of oil and
gas. Generally, the tensional segment and extrusion segment
have stronger oil and gas charging intensity and higher oil and
gas enrichment degree.
3.2.3. Hydrocarbon accumulation mode
According to the spatial configuration of the reservoir and
caprock, the connectivity between reservoirs, the migration
and accumulation strength of oil and gas, the hydrocarbon
accumulation models of fault-karst reservoirs can be divided
into three categories: the model controlled by main deep-large
fault, the model controlled by secondary fault and the model
controlled by secondary internal fault (Fig. 9).
The oil and gas reservoir controlled by main deep-large
fault refers to the one that has fault-karst body controlled by
the main deep-large fault as oil accumulation site, main
deep-large fault as migration pathway and the thick Sangtamu
 DING Zhiwen et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2020, 47(2): 306–317
Formation mudstone as caprock. The main active period of
the NE deep-large faults in the South-Tahe area matched well
with the time and space of oil and gas accumulation. And the
NE deep-large faults were strong in activity and were the
dominant channels of oil and gas migration and filling. In the
accumulation stage, the oil and gas migrated vertically and
adjusted laterally, forming the "T" type migration and accu-
mulation mode (well A, B and D in Fig. 9). The reservoirs of
this type are mostly columnar ones with small horizontal
drainage area but large height of oil column. Some high yield
wells have oil column height of over 300 m, this is because
the large fault-karst bodies in Yijianfang and Yingshan For-
mation controlled by main deep-large faults are well-deve-
loped and some connected with each other as a whole. Reser-
voirs of this kind are the main drilling targets in the
South-Tahe area, controlling more than 80% of reserves and
production in this region.
The oil and gas reservoir controlled by the secondary fault
refers to the one with fault-karst body controlled by the sec-
ondary fault as the oil and gas accumulation site, secondary
fault as the oil and gas migration path, and tight limestone as
lateral seal. Lower in level, although the secondary faults may
reach the Cambrian source rock, they were weaker in activity,
resulting in less sufficient oil and gas filling, smaller oil col-
umn height and smaller controlled geological reserves (well C
in Fig. 9). This kind of reservoir has largely fracture-vug body
which is the result of joint reformation of supergene karstifi-
cation in the early stage and the fault-controlled karstification
in the late stage in Yijianfang Formation as reservoir. Most
wells in this kind of reservoir have fast drop of pressure and
production.
However, the secondary internal fault, lower in level, can’t
communicate with the Cambrian source rock, so the oil and
gas can’t migrate through this kind of fault to form reservoir
(well E in Fig. 9). Wells drilled in this kind of fault usually
have no liquid production in formation test and also fail to
communicate reservoir even with large scale acid fracturing.
3.3. Oil-gas enrichment
The matching relation between fault and accumulation de-
termines the rule of hydrocarbon enrichment. Fault is not only
the main factor controlling the formation of fault-karst bodies,
but also the migration channel of oil and gas. At the same time,
the acidic medium accompanied with hydrocarbon migration
can further reform faults and fault-karst bodies, making them
more conducive to the hydrocarbon accumulation in return.
Generally speaking, whether a fault-karst reservoir has oil and
gas accumulation and enrichment mainly depends on the ma-
tching relationship between the accumulation and fault activ-
ity in time and space, the fault size and the fault segmentation.
3.3.1. Matching relationship between accumulation and
fault activity time
The Ordovician reservoirs in the South-Tahe area experi-
 315 
enced 3 stages of oil and gas accumulation in the late Caledo-
nian-early Hercynian, the late Hercynian and the late Himala-
yan (Fig. 1). The oil and gas accumulated in the late Caledo-
nian-early Hercynian period haven’t been fully preserved, and
mainly appear in the forms of asphalt and heavy oil. Whereas
the oil and gas generated in the late Hercynian and late Hima-
laya period have been completely preserved, mainly in the
forms of mature crude oil and gas.
The main active period of the NE deep-large faults in the
South-Tahe area matched well with the hydrocarbon accumu-
lation period. In the two major oil and gas filling periods of
the late Hercynian and the late Himalayan, these faults were
just in the active stage and had good consistency with the oil
and gas migration direction. Therefore, these faults allowed
strong oil and gas charging, and thus formed large-scale res-
ervoirs.
The activity of the NW faults didn’t match so well with the
hydrocarbon accumulation stage. Although several of them
reached to the Cambrian hydrocarbon source rock, they had
weak hydrocarbon filling and low oil and gas enrichment de-
gree. However, the fault-karst bodies along the NW faults
intersecting with the NE faults could form reservoirs of large
scale because the oil and gas adjusted to the NW faults when
migrated. For example, the fault Yueman 1 is a NW fault
connected with a NE deep-large fault, and out of 13 wells
drilled in this fault zone, 11 have obtained industrial oil flow,
and have an average productivity of 45 t/d.
3.3.2. Oil-gas enrichment controlled by fault level
The development degree of fault-karst bodies and oil-gas
filling strength are mainly controlled by the level of fault, so
oil-gas enrichment is mainly controlled by the level of fault
too.
In the South-Tahe area, the Ordovician oil and gas mainly
enrich along the main deep-large faults, and more than 85% of
high-yield wells are located on this kind of fault belts. Statis-
tics on development effect of 42 wells in Yueman block (Table
2) show that out of 31 wells deployed along the main
deep-large faults, 30 have obtained industrial oil flow, with an
average productivity of 50 t/d and cumulative oil production
of 1438 thousand tons, contributing 94.6% of oil production
of this block. Production data shows the fault karst bodies
have higher oil column height at the core, where the oil wells
have high production than those in the fault karst extension
part.
The secondary faults are smaller in scale, so fault-karst
bodies controlled by them are smaller in scale and less suffi-
cient in oil and gas filling during accumulation, and have
lower enrichment degree. Most of the wells deployed along
the secondary faults have obtained oil and gas flow but no
high production. For example, out of 5 wells deployed along
the secondary faults in Yueman block (Table 2), 4 of them
have obtained industrial oil flow, with an average productivity
of only 20 t/d, and rapid drop of production and pressure.
 DING Zhiwen et al. / Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2020, 47(2): 306–317
As most of the branched faults are smaller in level, reser-
voir bodies along them are smaller in scale, lower in oil
and gas filling degree, and difficult to form oil pool. But along
a few main branched faults closely connected with the main
deep-large faults, the fault-karst bodies often connect with
those along the main deep-large faults, in which oil and gas
can enrich and form oil pools of certain scale. For example, 2
wells deployed in this kind of reservoir have obtained indus-
trial oil flow, with an average productivity of 30 t/d (Table 2).
The secondary internal faults are lowest in level and rela-
tively isolated, difficult to form effective reservoirs and
can’t reach hydrocarbon source. Two wells drilled into this
kind of faults failed (Table 2) to produce liquid and large scale
acid fracturing in them also failed to communicate with the
effective reservoir. The main drilling targets of Ordovician
reservoirs in the South-Tahe area are fault-karst reservoirs
controlled by main deep-large faults, while fault-karst reser-
voirs controlled by secondary faults or main branched faults
are only replacement targets.
3.3.3. Oil-gas enrichment controlled by the nature of fault
segment
The reservoirs formed along the same main deep-large fault
are not connected as a whole, rather they are separated, incon-
sistent in location, scale, oil column height, and oil-water
contact. These differences of them depend on the nature of
fault segments.
For the same fault zone, the tensional segment has the most
developed fault-karst body, extrusion segment comes the sec-
ond and translation segment has the least developed fault-
karst body. Because of different stress effect intensities, dif-
ferent segments of the same fault differ in active strength and
filling intensity of oil and gas. Generally, the tension and ex-
trusion segments have stronger activity and thus higher filling
intensity and enrichment degree of oil and gas. In general, the
tensional segment is the first, extrusion segment comes sec-
ond, and translation segment is the last in oil and gas enrich-
ment degree.
The data in Table 1 shows that the tensional and extrusion
segments are obviously wider in fault width than the transla-
tion segment. The tensional segment has the maximum width
of 1.95 km, indicating that the fault activity is very strong,
which is very favorable for development of fault-karst bodies
and accumulation of oil and gas. For example, the wells in the
Table 2. Statistics on development effect of different-level faults
in Yueman block of the South-Tahe area.
Number Average pro-
Produced Success
Fault level of wells ductivity/
wells rate/%
drilled (td1)
Main deep-large faults 31 30 96.8 50
Secondary faults 5 4 80.0 20
Main branched faults 4 2 50.0 30
Secondary internal faults 2 0 0 0
 316 
second and third segments of Yueman2 fault belt have an av-
erage controlled reserves of 950 thousand tons, average initial
productivity of 68 t/d, cumulative output per unit pressure
drop of up to 2 232 t, and annual natural decline rate of pro-
duction of only 9.5%, indicating that the formation energy is
sufficient and the development effect is very good.
4. Conclusions
The Ordovician fault karst bodies in the South-Tahe area
have segmented feature laterally, irregular and cross-layer
features vertically. The development mode of fault karst bod-
ies was controlled by fragmentation, karstification and hydro-
thermal transformation. According to the size of faults, pattern
of fault-karst bodies formation could be classified into 3 types:
the main deep-large fault model, the secondary fault model
and the secondary internal fault model. The size of fault-karst
bodies controlled by main deep-large faults was the largest
and had high degree of connectivity, followed by the second
one and the last one was the worst.
The main deep large faults, the associated branched faults
and the secondary faults constituted the network system of
hydrocarbon migration channels, and hydrocarbon showed the
"T" type vertical migration and lateral adjustment. The seg-
mented nature of and the level of the faults determined the
characteristics of hydrocarbon "segmented accumulation and
differential enrichment". The main deep large faults played a
decisive role in oil and gas accumulation and controlled most
of the reserves. The oil and gas accumulation degree of the
secondary faults were relatively low, while the oil and gas
accumulation of the secondary internal fault were difficult to
accumulate. In the same fault zone, the tensional segment was
the most abundant, followed by extrusion segment and the
translation segment was the worst.
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