Sedimentary facies and reservoir characteristics of the Western Sulige field Permian He 8 tight sandstones, Ordos Basin, China

The He 8 sandstone unit in the Western Sulige field is one of the most prolific gas-producing intervals in the Ordos Basin. Sedimentologic and reservoir characteristics analysis were conducted to investigate the reservoir's petrological, diagenetic, petrophysical properties, and production characteristics. Three sandstone types and four lithofacies were identified. The two most commonly observed lithofacies are labelled lithofacies C and D. Lithofacies C is composed of fine- to medium-grained litharenites (Sandstone I); lithofacies D includes coarse-grained sublitharenites (Sandstone II) and coarse-grained/gravelly litharenites (Sandstone III). Compared with Lithofacies C, Lithofacies D was deposited as a series of laminated sand sheets in a higher energy fluvial system. The tightness of Sandstone I is a result of an episode of intense compaction of the rock framework causing early-diagenetic dissolution of grains and deformation of ductile rock fragments. The processes that led to the low permeability of Sandstone II and Sandstone III are more complex. In addition to intense compaction, the growth and emplacement of quartz and clay cements are a critical factor. Diagenesis and porosity evolution analysis show that the petrophysical properties of these sandstones were better at the gas charging time. The porosity and permeability values of Sandstones II and III are similar at surface, but significantly different at formation pressure. This leads to differences in gas production rates. Sandstone II has higher gas production rates and cumulative gas production than Sandstone III. The presence or absence of Sandstone II controls the distribution of sweet spots within less productive tight gas reservoirs.