Petroleum最新文献

{"title":"Fracture cross-layer propagation patterns and stimulation effectiveness evaluation in thin interbedded reservoir models","authors":"Lijun Zhang,&nbsp;Tianwei Sun,&nbsp;Nan Li,&nbsp;Xinwei Xiong,&nbsp;Borui Li,&nbsp;Guodong Zou,&nbsp;Bin Liang,&nbsp;Shuai Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.04.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.04.011","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Offshore thin interbedded reservoirs are characterized by frequent alternation of sandstone and mudstone, strong vertical heterogeneity, and complex fracture cross-layer propagation mechanisms, which constitute a key challenge constraining efficient hydraulic fracturing stimulation. This study investigates a typical thin interbedded sandstone reservoir, quantitatively classifying the reservoir into three representative models based on adjacent layer thickness ratio: homogeneous-dominated, sand-dominated, and mudstone-dominated types. Using the Planar Three-Dimensional (PL3D) fracture propagation model, 235 simulation scenarios were systematically analyzed to reveal the controlling effects of interlayer stress difference and pumping rate on fracture cross-layer propagation capability. Results indicate that interlayer stress difference is the dominant controlling factor for fracture cross-layer propagation, with 8 MPa identified as the critical threshold for thin interbedded cross-layer propagation. When the stress contrast exceeds this value, fractures transition from three-dimensional penetration to single-layer horizontal propagation. Increasing pumping rate primarily drives horizontal fracture extension, constrained by the diminishing marginal effect of net pressure, and an optimal pumping rate range exists for fracture conductivity. Under high stress contrast conditions, simply increasing pumping rate cannot overcome the stress barrier. A quantitative mapping relationship between thin interbedded reservoir models and fracture geometries was systematically established, where fracture geometry evolution controls the spatial distribution characteristics of conductivity and constrains long-term productivity. A multi-dimensional evaluation chart integrating vertical fracture connectivity and stimulated reservoir area efficiency was constructed, delineating the quantitative boundaries of fracture cross-layer propagation capability under different geological and engineering conditions. Long-term development simulation demonstrates that three-dimensional cross-layer stimulation increases cumulative oil production by 2.7 times compared to single-layer stimulation. The research findings provide a theoretical basis and technical support for hydraulic fracturing parameter optimization and three-dimensional stimulation design in offshore thin interbedded reservoirs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37433,"journal":{"name":"Petroleum","volume":"12 3","pages":"Pages 469-484"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148544287","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Study on the dynamic mechanism of wellbore instability in deep fractured formations","authors":"Shuxin Dong,&nbsp;Yang Xia,&nbsp;Jian Xiang,&nbsp;Yan Jin,&nbsp;Yunhu Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.04.013","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.04.013","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Due to the presence of highly discrete rock blocks and extensively developed natural fractures in fractured formations, frequent losses of drilling fluid and wellbore instability incidents occur during the drilling process. Meanwhile, for some extremely fractured formations, even after increasing the density of the drilling fluid, the wellbore instability situation shows no obvious improvement, and even the wellbore collapse becomes more severe. Regarding the highly discrete rock blocks in fractured formations, current research mainly focuses on using the discrete element method (DEM) to reveal the mechanism of wellbore instability in fractured formations. However, the DEM emphasizes the representation of the contact behavior of rock blocks and has difficulty effectively representing the multi-field coupling behavior during the actual drilling process in fractured formations. Therefore, in this paper, a combined modeling method of discrete element method (DEM) + finite element method (FEM) is adopted, comprehensively considering the dual-medium seepage effect of fractures and matrix pores, to conduct numerical simulation studies on the wellbore instability after drilling formations with different degrees of fragmentation. The research indicates that as the degree of fragmentation of formation increases, the situation of wellbore instability becomes more severe. Meanwhile, when the degree of fragmentation of formation is low and the occurrence of natural fractures is within the risk range of wellbore instability, due to the large size of discrete rock blocks in the formation, the wellbore instability mainly stems from the secondary fracturing within the discrete rock blocks; while when the degree of fragmentation of formation is high, the initiation of fractures around the wellbore mainly depends on the opening of natural fractures, thereby causing a large amount of shedding of discrete rock blocks and subsequently leading to wellbore instability. Increasing the bottomhole pressure can effectively inhibit the secondary fracturing of discrete rock blocks. For formations with a low degree of fragmentation, the wellbore instability is mainly caused by the secondary fracturing of discrete rock blocks. Thus, increasing the bottomhole pressure can effectively reduce the risk of wellbore instability; while for highly fractured formations, the wellbore instability is mainly caused by the shedding of discrete rock blocks triggered by the opening of natural fractures in the formation. Therefore, increasing the bottomhole pressure cannot effectively reduce the risk of wellbore instability. In terms of drilling fluid loss, the opening of natural fractures is more conducive to the expansion of the range of drilling fluid loss. Therefore, for highly fractured formations, increasing the bottomhole pressure not only fails to effectively reduce the risk of wellbore instability but also exacerbates the situation of drilling fluid loss. By analyzing the in","PeriodicalId":37433,"journal":{"name":"Petroleum","volume":"12 3","pages":"Pages 406-429"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148544282","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A clustering-guided feature enhancement and Bayesian-optimized LSTM approach for LC temporal anomaly detection","authors":"Yating Lei,&nbsp;He Zhang,&nbsp;Haibo Liang,&nbsp;Yihui Han,&nbsp;Jialing Zou","doi":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.04.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.04.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lost circulation (LC), as one of the high-risk accidents in drilling, usually occurs when the wellbore pressure is greater than the formation pressure, causing a large amount of drilling fluid to seep into the formation and resulting in a significant decrease in the flow rate at the wellhead. Currently, existing LC prediction studies mainly rely on logging parameters for time series prediction, ignoring the problem of the inherent imbalance in the ratio of positive and negative samples in the LC dataset and geological information. To address these issues, this study proposes a clustering-guided feature enhancement and Bayesian optimization Long Short-Term Memory (BO-LSTM) method for LC time series anomaly detection. This method, based on the mud logging and geological structural information of faults and lithology risks, leverages clustering algorithms to uncover the latent structural information within samples to construct enhanced features, which combine with the selected key features, forming a joint representation that is fed into the LSTM model. At the same time, the BO algorithm is introduced to adaptively optimize the LSTM hyperparameters, and finally outputs the LC occurrence's probability. The results show that the proposed method performs well in LC prediction, with an average false negative rate of 0.825%, an average false positive rate of 1.525%, and an average lead time of 4.825 min for effective early warnings, significantly improving the accuracy and timeliness of early LC identification.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37433,"journal":{"name":"Petroleum","volume":"12 3","pages":"Pages 509-522"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148544247","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"GLDA chelation-driven mineral dissolution for enhanced porosity and permeability in coalbed methane reservoirs: An experimental study","authors":"Zexin Chen,&nbsp;Shuya Chen,&nbsp;Shuhao Tan,&nbsp;Chuanjie Deng,&nbsp;Jihua Cai,&nbsp;Xianyu Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.04.016","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.04.016","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Conventional acidification for coalbed methane (CBM) reservoir stimulation is challenged by equipment corrosion, secondary reservoir damage, and environmental pollution. To address these limitations, this study proposes and rigorously evaluates an environmentally friendly alternative to reservoir acidification using low-corrosion, biodegradable chelating agents. Laboratory experiments included static dissolution tests on coal fines, analysis of variations in soluble metal ions, core flooding under simulated reservoir conditions, and porosity measurements. The results indicate that GLDA (<span>l</span>-glutamic acid, N,N-diacetic acid) at 10 wt% and pH = 2 achieved a dissolution rate of 6.55%, with Ca and Fe concentrations in the filtrate reaching 19.66 mg/L and 22.2 mg/L, respectively. Dynamic core flooding tests showed that 10 wt% GLDA (pH = 2) at an injection rate of 0.5 mL/min achieved the maximum permeability enhancement, increasing by 42.08% from 9.03 × 10⁻² mD to 1.283 × 10⁻¹ mD, while simultaneously increasing coal porosity by 13.87%. The effectiveness of GLDA is mainly attributed to the formation of stable chelates with Ca and Fe that remain in the aqueous phase, thereby avoiding secondary reservoir damage associated with precipitation in conventional acid systems. The findings of this study may provide an effective reference guide for CBM acidification.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37433,"journal":{"name":"Petroleum","volume":"12 3","pages":"Pages 444-456"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148544285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interfacial tension modeling in CO2-brine systems using machine learning for enhanced CO2 storage","authors":"Ahmad Azadivash,&nbsp;Ahmad Reza Rabbani","doi":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.03.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.03.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study introduces an advanced machine learning (ML) framework to predict interfacial tension (IFT) in CO₂-brine systems, a key factor in optimizing carbon capture and storage (CCS) processes. Accurate IFT predictions are critical for enhancing CO₂ trapping mechanisms, including structural, residual, solubility, and mineral trapping. Using a dataset of 1255 experimental IFT measurements, comprehensive preprocessing steps—such as outlier detection and feature standardization—were applied to improve data quality. Six ML models, including gradient boosting, extra trees, categorical boosting (CatBoost), random forest, extreme gradient boosting (XGB), and light gradient boosting machine (LGBM), were developed and rigorously evaluated. Among these, CatBoost demonstrated superior performance with an <em>R</em>² of 0.986 and a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 2.349%. A stacking ensemble methodology was employed to enhance predictive accuracy further, integrating base models using Lasso regression. This approach achieved performance metrics: <em>R</em>² = 0.988, RMSE = 1.158 mN/m, and MAPE = 2.202%. Feature importance analysis using SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) identified density difference (DD), pressure (<em>P</em>), and temperature (<em>T</em>) as the most influential features governing IFT. An analytical expression derived from the stacking model provides interpretable insights into the nonlinear relationships between features and IFT. This robust framework minimizes reliance on time-consuming experimental measurements and accelerates CCS project workflows by delivering reliable IFT predictions under diverse conditions. These findings underscore the framework’s potential to advance CCS optimization and contribute to climate change mitigation efforts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37433,"journal":{"name":"Petroleum","volume":"12 3","pages":"Pages 523-539"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148544248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing the properties of heavy crude oil in the Maysan field using low molecular weight solvents in a high-speed extraction unit equipped with top baffles","authors":"Luay Ahmed Khamees,&nbsp;Jasim I. Humadi,&nbsp;Farah Nabeel Abdulrazzaq","doi":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.04.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.04.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Heavy crude oils present major challenges in transportation and front-end processing due to their extremely high viscosity and low API gravity. This work introduces an integrated experimental–statistical–mechanistic framework to evaluate the effect of four low–molecular-weight solvents—toluene, xylene, light naphtha, and n-hexane—on the rheology and density of Missan heavy crude oil using a high-speed baffled extraction unit designed to ensure uniform mixing. Bench-scale experiments were performed at solvent loadings of 4–12 wt% and temperatures of 15–45 °C, with viscosity and API gravity measured before and after dilution. Aromatic solvents (toluene) demonstrated superior upgrading performance, achieving viscosity reductions of 63.2% at 25 °C and 63.4% at 35 °C, and API increasing of 5.3°API at 12 wt% loading and all operating temperatures. One-way ANOVA confirmed that solvent type had a highly significant influence on both viscosity and API gravity across all temperatures (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.0001). Predictive viscosity–temperature correlations of Arrhenius type (<em>μ</em> = <em>A</em>e^−BT, <em>R</em>² &gt; 0.996) and linear dose–response models (VR = <em>a</em> + <em>bC</em>) captured the observed rheological behavior with high fidelity. Mechanistic analysis attributes the superior efficacy of aromatic solvents to strong π–π interactions enabling asphaltene peptization, while aliphatic solvents act primarily through dilution. The results define solvent-selection and dosage windows relevant to pipeline hydraulics and field operations, and demonstrate that optimized aromatic–aliphatic co-blends provide a tunable, low-complexity strategy for improving the flowability of Iraqi heavy crude oils.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37433,"journal":{"name":"Petroleum","volume":"12 3","pages":"Pages 497-508"},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148544214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pre-oxidized PAN/PVP nanofibrous membranes with enhanced mechanical robustness and chemical stability for high-flux separation of oily wastewater from petroleum production","authors":"Zhuo Huang ,&nbsp;Zhenyu Li","doi":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.02.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.02.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Discharge of oily wastewater, generated from oil and gas production can lead to severe marine and soil contamination, posing long-term threats to ecosystems and water security. Therefore, developing environmentally sustainable, high-flux, and chemically robust separation membranes is crucial for green petroleum production and water reuse. In this work, pre-oxidized polyacrylonitrile/polyvinylpyrrolidone (p-PAN/PVP) nanofibrous membrane has been fabricated to address this challenge aforementioned. The PVP, during pre-oxidation, formed cross-linked junctions, reinforcing the mechanical stability and the resistance to harsh chemical conditions. Additionally, our membrane also exhibited superhydrophilicity in air, underwater super-oleophobicity, low oil adhesion, ultrahigh flux (&gt;8500 L·m⁻²·h⁻¹·bar⁻¹), and &gt;99.8% separation efficiency for both crude-oil-in-water and surfactant-stabilized emulsions. More importantly, the p-PAN/PVP membrane could maintain integrity and wettability under acidic, alkaline, and high-salinity environments (1 M HCl, 1 M NaOH, 10 wt% NaCl) as well as in organic solvents (N, N-dimethylformamide, N, N-dimethylacetamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, etc). Our study provides a sustainable strategy to protect vulnerable ecosystems and promote cleaner energy development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37433,"journal":{"name":"Petroleum","volume":"12 2","pages":"Pages 339-349"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148170327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Wellbore strengthening through rock consolidation using diammonium phosphate","authors":"Mahmoud Desouky ,&nbsp;Murtada Saleh Aljawad ,&nbsp;Murtadha J. AlTammar ,&nbsp;Héctor J. González-Pérez ,&nbsp;Ahmed Alqroos","doi":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.03.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.03.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wellbore instability in chalk formations poses significant challenges during drilling and production due to low rock strength, fluid sensitivity, and creep. This study investigates the efficacy of diammonium phosphate (DAP) as a chemical consolidating agent to enhance chalk mechanical properties under simulated reservoir conditions. Austin Chalk core samples were treated with a 1 M DAP solution at 75 °C and 1000 psi confining pressure for 72 h to promote hydroxyapatite precipitation. Triaxial loading tests compared the treated and untreated specimens. Results demonstrated that the DAP treatment improved the confined compressive strength by 16%–8% across confining pressures (400–1600 psi). Mohr-Coulomb failure envelopes revealed a cohesion increase from 600 psi (untreated) to 1350 psi (treated), with unconfined compressive strength doubling to 3200 psi. These enhancements, attributed to hydroxyapatite cementation, indicate DAP’s potential to mitigate wellbore failure by strengthening the formation itself. The findings advance chemical stabilization strategies for chalk, offering a novel solution to reduce non-productive time and improve long-term well integrity in carbonate reservoirs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37433,"journal":{"name":"Petroleum","volume":"12 2","pages":"Pages 254-262"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148170287","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Machine learning-based surrogate correlation for prediction of wax deposition rate in oil and gas pipelines","authors":"Kwame Sarkodie ,&nbsp;Joseph Agyepong ,&nbsp;Emmanuel Agyei ,&nbsp;Godfred Arkoh ,&nbsp;Rhoda Arhin ,&nbsp;Franklin Ankomah ,&nbsp;Caspar Daniel Adenutsi ,&nbsp;Samuel Erzuah","doi":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.03.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.03.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study developed a data-driven surrogate-box correlation to predict wax deposition rates in crude-oil pipelines and help address the limited generalizability of empirical and mechanistic models under variable flow and thermal conditions. Literature-derived dataset of 215 experimental and field observations was compiled with inputs as oil temperature <span><math><msub><mi>T</mi><mi>o</mi></msub></math></span>, wall temperature <span><math><msub><mi>T</mi><mi>w</mi></msub></math></span>, dynamic viscosity <span><math><mrow><mi>μ</mi></mrow></math></span>, wall shear stress <span><math><mrow><mi>σ</mi></mrow></math></span>, flow velocity <span><math><msub><mi>v</mi><mi>f</mi></msub></math></span>, wall temperature gradient <span><math><mrow><mo>Δ</mo><mi>T</mi></mrow></math></span>, and wall concentration gradient <span><math><mrow><mo>Δ</mo><mi>C</mi></mrow></math></span>, and target as wax deposition rate <span><math><msub><mi>δ</mi><mi>W</mi></msub></math></span> (g·m^-².h^-1). After outlier control, standardization, and ANOVA-based feature engineering, Five supervised black-box models; SVR, Random Forest, MLP, Gradient Boosting, and KNN, models were trained with an 80/20 train–test split, 5-fold cross-validated, hyperparameter-tuned and evaluated using MSE, RMSE, MAE, <span><math><mrow><msup><mi>R</mi><mn>2</mn></msup></mrow></math></span>, and AAPRE. The top performing model, KNN, was modeled into an interpretable surrogate via elastic net (benchmarked against polynomial Ridge degree-2/3) to yield a closed-form correlation. KNN achieved excellent test performance (<span><math><mrow><msup><mi>R</mi><mn>2</mn></msup><mo>=</mo><mn>0.985</mn></mrow></math></span>, RMSE ⁓ 0.101, AAPRE ⁓ 5.09%), outperforming alternative models. The Elastic Net surrogate preserved predictive ability with balanced generalization (<span><math><mrow><msup><mi>R</mi><mn>2</mn></msup></mrow></math></span> ≈ 0.61–0.65 for train/validation/test) while exposing parameter level effects and nonlinear interactions among temperature, viscosity, shear stress, velocity, and wall-scale gradients. When compared to a physics-based correlation, the surrogate exhibited tighter clustering to measurements, which indicates improved field relevance. The principal contribution of this study is a hybrid workflow that couples high-accuracy black-box learning with transparent surrogate modeling to help enable real-time monitoring and control, proactive pigging scheduling, and optimized chemical/thermal treatments of oil flow in pipelines. The resulting correlation offers a deployable, interpretable alternative to nontransparent machine learning models or assumption-heavy empirical relations, with clear value for flow-assurance planning and operational reliability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37433,"journal":{"name":"Petroleum","volume":"12 2","pages":"Pages 350-365"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148170282","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Structural evolution and reservoir-control mechanisms of ultra-deep strike–slip fault zones in the Fuman area, Tarim Basin, China","authors":"Peng Cao ,&nbsp;Xiongqi Pang ,&nbsp;Jiajun Chen ,&nbsp;Shaoying Chang ,&nbsp;Jorge Costa Gomes","doi":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.04.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.petlm.2026.04.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The discovery of ultra-deep strike–slip fault–controlled hydrocarbon reservoirs in the central Tarim Basin has renewed interest in the structural evolution and reservoir-controlling mechanisms of intracratonic strike–slip systems. Based on integrated drilling data, high-resolution 3D seismic reflection interpretation, and structural analog modeling, this study investigates the F_I12 and F_I17 fault zones in the Fuman area as representative examples. The results show that ultra-deep strike–slip faults exhibit combined lateral segmented growth and vertical stratified propagation, with secondary shear faults overlapping and stepping in both horizontal and vertical directions. To characterize fault activity in a reproducible manner, a semi-quantitative slip intensity framework is established using fault-zone width, structural relief, and segmentation complexity. Comparative analysis demonstrates that slip intensity is the first-order control on the scale and effectiveness of fault-controlled carbonate reservoirs: fault zones with higher slip intensity develop wider damage zones, stronger fracture connectivity, and larger reservoir volumes. Within individual fault zones, slip intensity is preferentially concentrated at lateral step-overs and relay zones of secondary shear faults, where large-scale fracture corridors form and hydrocarbon productivity is significantly enhanced. In addition, for reservoirs characterized by a lower-source–upper-reservoir configuration, hydrocarbon productivity is positively correlated with the proximity of vertical fault step-overs to the target reservoir interval. Shallower vertical overlap facilitates more efficient upward hydrocarbon migration, resulting in higher hydrocarbon abundance. These results establish a three-dimensional structural control model linking slip intensity, fault architecture, and reservoir effectiveness in ultra-deep carbonate strike–slip systems, providing a robust geological basis for reservoir prediction and exploration risk reduction in complex ultra-deep settings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":37433,"journal":{"name":"Petroleum","volume":"12 2","pages":"Pages 216-229"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148170242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}