Major factors controlling the development of marine carbonate reservoirs

Through case study of reef-shoal, karst and dolostone reservoirs in the Tarim and Sichuan Basins, the material base and the mechanisms of porosity creation, modification and preservation of carbonate reservoirs were examined carefully in order to figure out the major factors controlling the development of various types of carbonate reservoirs. Three factors control the development of carbonate reservoirs: (1) carbonate sediments of reef-shoal facies are the material base for not only reef-shoal reservoirs, but also dolostone and karst reservoirs; (2) epigenetic environment is crucial for porosity creation, i.e. reservoir space in ancient carbonates includes primary depositional porosity and/or secondary dissolution pores caused by epigenetic, freshwater dissolution; and (3) burial environment is the setting for porosity modification and preservation. There is no carbonate reservoirs of solely one origin, carbonate reservoirs are all the products of the combined effect of the above three factors. The four main controlling factors, reef-shoal sediments, epigenetic karstification, evaporation facies belt and burial-thermal fluid dissolution give rise to the reef-shoal, karst, sedimentary dolostone and burial-hydrothermal alteration dolostone reservoirs respectively.