Downward hydrocarbon migration predicted from numerical modeling of fluid overpressure in the Paleozoic Anticosti Basin, eastern Canada.

Chi, Guoxiang; Lavoie, Denis; Bertrand, Rudolf et Lee, Mingkuo (2010). Downward hydrocarbon migration predicted from numerical modeling of fluid overpressure in the Paleozoic Anticosti Basin, eastern Canada. Geofluids , vol. 10 , nº 3. pp. 334-350. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-8123.2010.00280.x.

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Résumé

The Anticosti Basin is a large Paleozoic basin in eastern Canada where potential source and reservoir rocks have been identified but no economic hydrocarbon reservoirs have been found. Potential source rocks of the Upper Ordovician Macasty Formation overlie carbonates of the Middle Ordovician Mingan Formation, which are underlain by dolostones of the Lower Ordovician Romaine Formation. These carbonates have been subjected to dissolution and dolomitization and are potential hydrocarbon reservoirs. Numerical simulations of fluid‐overpressure development related to sediment compaction and hydrocarbon generation were carried out to investigate whether hydrocarbons generated in the Macasty Formation could migrate downward into the underlying Mingan and Romaine formations. The modeling results indicate that, in the central part of the basin, maximum fluid overpressures developed above the Macasty Formation due to rapid sedimentation. This overpressured core dissipated gradually with time, but the overpressure pattern (i.e. maximum overpressure above source rock) was maintained during the generation of oil and gas. The downward impelling force associated with fluid‐overpressure gradients in the central part of the basin was stronger than the buoyancy force for oil, whereas the buoyancy force for gas and for oil generated in the later stage of the basin is stronger than the overpressure‐related force. Based on these results, it is proposed that oil generated from the Macasty Formation in the central part of the basin first moved downward into the Mingan and Romaine formations, and then migrated laterally up‐dip toward the basin margin, whereas gas throughout the basin and oil generated in the northern part of the basin generally moved upward. Consequently, gas reservoirs are predicted to occur in the upper part of the basin, whereas oil reservoirs are more likely to be found in the strata below the source rocks.

Type de document:	Article
Mots-clés libres:	Anticosti basin; fluid overpressure; hydrocarbon generation; basinal fluid flow; hydrocarbon migration; numerical modeling; downward fluid flow
Centre:	Centre Eau Terre Environnement
Date de dépôt:	29 nov. 2019 14:47
Dernière modification:	29 nov. 2019 14:47
URI:	https://espace.inrs.ca/id/eprint/9526

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