Investigation of Oil Potential in Saline Lacustrine Shale: A Case Study of the Middle Permian Pingdiquan Shale (Lucaogou Equivalent) in the Junggar Basin, Northwest China

The Pingdiquan shale (Lucaogou equivalent) is a typical saline lacustrine deposit in China and is one of the most significant petroleum source strata for the oil and natural gas fields in the Junggar Basin in northwestern China, which is widely acknowledged to have a large shale hydrocarbon potential. This article characterizes the Pingdiquan shale in the eastern Junggar Basin from the geochemical and geological perspectives, describes its oil potential, and compares the results with those from freshwater lacustrine shales. The Pingdiquan shale is highly heterogeneous in its mineral composition, with a big variation in each composition compared to that of freshwater lacustrine shales. The Pingdiquan shale can generally be classified into clastic shale and dolomite shale, where the clastic shale is distributed across the eastern Junggar Basin and thins from north to south, whereas the dolomite shale is developed only in the Jimusaer Sag and at the foot of the Kelameili Mountains. The Pingdiquan shale (both the clastic shale and dolomite shale) has a good petroleum potential and primarily consists of types II and III organic matter with thermal maturity ranging from early to late mature. The oil content (S₁) of clastic shale and dolomite shale ranges from 0.01 to 4.96 mg/g and 0.02 to 3.23 mg/g, respectively. The oil content and oil saturation index (OSI) of the Pingdiquan shale reach a maximum value at the early to peak mature zone (Tₘₐₓ of 445–450 °C). Similar trends can be observed in some typical freshwater lacustrine shales. In the Pingdiquan Formation, the dolomite shale has a higher total organic carbon content and genetic potential (S₁ + S₂) than the clastic shale; however, its oil content and OSI are lower than those of the clastic shale, as is its production index (PI). The results of one-dimensional basin modeling show that the dolomite shale and clastic shale have had almost the same petroleum transformation ratio values throughout geological history. However, the permeability of dolomite shale is orders of magnitude larger, which allows for more petroleum to be expelled from source rocks. In addition, positive correlations between specific surface areas and OSI and clay content are observed, indicating that high clay content also assists in maintaining the petroleum within the rocks. Therefore, less oil can be retained within dolomite shale than in clastic shale.