Thermal evolution of deeply buried lower Paleozoic strata and its influence on hydrocarbon accumulation in the Tarim Basin, Northwest China

The Ordovician carbonate reservoirs in the Tarim Basin are hotspots for oil and gas exploration in recent years. However, due to the lack of effective paleo-geothermometers in carbonate formations, thermal history studies have been greatly restricted. In this study, we reconstructed thermal history of Ordovician carbonate intervals in Tarim Basin by applying clumped isotopes, equivalent vitrinite reflectance ( Requ) and zircon (U–Th)/He ages as thermal indicators. The modeled results indicated that there are three phases of heat flow evolution in the Shuntuoguole low-uplift. (a) The gradual cooling stage during Ordovician-carboniferous. The heat flow is gradually decreasing during this period. (b) Rapidly raised stage in the early Permian period. The heat flow in Shunbei and Shuntuo area are raised rapidly during this period and the maximum is 51–65 mW/m2, but the SN3 well in Shunnan area increased slightly and the heat flow values of other single wells were still relatively stable. (c) The decline stage since Middle Permian. The tectonic activity is relatively stable and the geothermal heat flow is gradually reduced during this period, but the heat flow in Shunnan area is higher than the Shunbei and Shuntuo areas. Due to the control of thermal evolution, the dissolution of the Ordovician carbonate reservoir in Shuntuoguole area occurred earlier than the formation of large quantities of hydrocarbon materials, and the improvement of reservoir physical properties provided sufficient conditions for the late oil and gas filling, which was conducive to the preservation of large oil and gas reservoirs.