Natural gas migration and accumulation model and favorable exploration targets in Ordovician dolomite in Jingxi, Ordos Basin

The Ordovician dolomite reservoir in Ma55–Ma510 sub-members in Jingxi in Ordos Basin is a newly discovered field with multiple natural gas pools. The gas accumulation patterns of the reservoir are unclear. Considering the geological background, the genesis, migration, and accumulation of natural gas in Jingxi were studied systematically, and favorable exploration targets were predicted. Natural gas in Ma55–Ma510 sub-members is a mixture of Upper Paleozoic and Ordovician products. The Upper Paleozoic coaliferous gas was mainly expulsed downward through the hydrocarbon-providing window where the coal-bearing source rocks made contact with the dolomite reservoirs. The gas then migrated from west to east and accumulated under the condition of lithology variation. The Ordovician petroliferous gas mainly migrated from bottom to top through fractures and mixed with the coaliferous gas in Ma55–Ma510 sub-members. The natural gas reservoir formation model was summarized as the migration of gas over a short distance and partial charging into the dolomite reservoirs from the Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic, and the migration of gas over a long distance and massive charging into the dolomite reservoirs during the Late Cretaceous. Ma55 and Ma56 sub-members are the focus of further exploration, and petroliferous gas in Ma57–Ma510 sub-members deserves attention. The dolomite reservoirs of the hydrocarbon-providing windows and the east of these locations are the favorable exploration targets.