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The nature and origins of decameter-scale porosity in Ordovician carbonate

rocks, Halahatang oilfield, Tarim Basin, China

Article in Journal of the Geological Society · April 2020

DOI: 10.1144/jgs2019-156

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Research article Journal of the Geological Society

Published Online First https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2019-156

The nature and origins of decametre-scale porosity in Ordovician

carbonate rocks, Halahatang oilfield, Tarim Basin, China
Estibalitz Ukar1*, Vinyet Baqués1, Stephen E. Laubach1 and Randall Marrett2
1
Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, University Station Box X,
Austin, TX 78713-8924, USA
2
PO Box 432, Island Park, ID 83429, USA
EU, 0000-0002-1913-6843; RM, 0000-0002-7124-0680
* Correspondence: esti.ukar@gmail.com

Abstract: At >7 km depths in the Tarim Basin, hydrocarbon reservoirs in Ordovician rocks of the Yijianfang Formation
contain large cavities (c. 10 m or more), vugs, fractures and porous fault rocks. Although some Yijianfang Formation outcrops
contain shallow (formed near surface) palaeokarst features, cores from the Halahatang oilfield lack penetrative palaeokarst
evidence. Outcrop palaeokarst cavities and opening-mode fractures are mostly mineral filled but some show evidence of
secondary dissolution and fault rocks are locally highly (c. 30%) porous. Cores contain textural evidence of repeated formation
of dissolution cavities and subsequent filling by cement. Calcite isotopic analyses indicate depths between c. 220 and 2000 m.
Correlation of core and image logs shows abundant cement-filled vugs associated with decametre-scale fractured zones with
open cavities that host hydrocarbons. A Sm–Nd isochron age of 400 ± 37 Ma for fracture-filling fluorite indicates that cavities
in core formed and were partially cemented prior to the Carboniferous, predating Permian oil emplacement. Repeated creation
and filling of vugs, timing constraints and the association of vugs with large cavities suggest dissolution related to fractures and
faults. In the current high-strain-rate regime, corroborated by velocity gradient tensor analysis of global positioning system
(GPS) data, rapid horizontal extension could promote connection of porous and/or solution-enlarged fault rock, fractures and
cavities.
Supplementary material: Stable isotopic analyses and the velocity gradient tensor and principal direction and magnitude
calculation are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4946046
Thematic collection: This article is part of the The Geology of Fractured Reservoirs collection available at: https://www.
lyellcollection.org/cc/the-geology-of-fractured-reservoirs
Received 26 September 2019; revised 3 March 2020; accepted 8 April 2020

Hydrocarbon reservoirs in carbonate rocks in which pores and
fractures have been enlarged by dissolution are common in many
petroliferous basins in the world (Loucks 1999; Ahr 2011; Garland
et al. 2012). These reservoirs typically have low to moderate
recovery efficiencies (Wardlaw and Cassan 1978) owing to
heterogeneity and anisotropy in the size, spatial arrangement, and
connectivity of open pores and fractures. The behaviour of such
reservoirs is notoriously challenging to characterize and predict. In
some instances, a palaeokarst model is a useful paradigm for
predicting open pores and fractures. In modern karst settings,
corrosive surficial conditions and groundwaters form various
subsurface and geomorphological (landscape) features, including
caves (e.g. Ford and Williams 1989). Some of these features
collapse and coalesce during subsequent burial (Lohmann 1988;
Mazzullo & Harris 1991; James and Choquette 2012). Such
palaeokarst features are typically marked by evidence of near-
surface conditions at the time of formation, including cave-fill
sediments and distributions that match palaeotopography.
Palaeokarst porosity is reduced by cavity-fill sediments, compaction
(stylolites) and mineralization. Mineral fills might not be diagnostic
of porosity formation at shallow depths, as cements may accumulate
during subsequent burial or hydrothermal fluid flow. Such
reservoirs are widely recognized in China (e.g. Tian et al. 2016).
However, deep-seated dissolution and cavity formation (e.g.
Giles and de Boer 1990; Vahrenkamp et al. 2004) as well as
structural processes create pore space in carbonate rocks, and
cavities and cavity-filling minerals may both be deep burial
phenomena. Dissolution along fractures, for example, is widely
reported (Nelson 1985; Narr et al. 2006). If deep-seated
(mesogenetic; Choquette and Pray 1970) dissolution is important
in a given reservoir, predictions based on shallow (epigenetic)
dissolution and palaeokarst processes may be misleading. The
possibility of large-scale (volumetrically significant) dissolution at
great depth (>1 km) has been doubted (e.g. Ehrenberg 2006;
Ehrenberg et al. 2012). But workers agree that discerning cavities
formed by shallow (epigenetic) from those owing to deep-seated
(mesogenetic) dissolution is challenging, as by definition the
cavities themselves preserve scant evidence of their origin.
In this study, we use observations from outcrops and core to show
that fracture-related, deep dissolution and porous fault rock are
widespread in Yijianfang Formation rocks. Evidence from the
Keping Uplift outcrops, 100 km SW from producing Yijianfang
Formation carbonate rocks in the Halahatang oilfield show that
multiple stages of fracture-related dissolution are common in exposed
Middle Ordovician rocks. Stable isotopic analyses indicate cavity-
filling cements precipitated from fluids at depths of c. 220–2000 m.
Crosscutting relations and abutting show that some fractures and vugs
formed and became cement filled prior to later dissolution events and
formation of subsequent generations of fractures and vugs. Together
these relations show that dissolution (probably multiple instances),
not only cementation, occurred at depth.
In core, a key isochron age from a fluorite-bearing fracture that
postdates several types and stages of mineral-filled vugs (dissol-
ution pores) provides evidence that substantial dissolution had

© 2020 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/). Published by The Geological Society of London. Publishing disclaimer: www.geolsoc.org.uk/pub_ethics
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E. Ukar et al.

occurred in Middle Ordovician carbonates by the end of the
Devonian. We present a geological model based on our data and
reported structural, petrological, geochemical, geophysical, petro-
physical, radiometric and kinematic findings to show the evolution
of the mechanisms and timing of dissolution that led to the
formation of cavities in the Yijianfang Formation. The estimated
fault-related porosity volume is at least c. 0.5%, which is augmented
by fault-related mesogenetic dissolution and fault-transverse
extension.
Geological setting
The Halahatang oilfield is part of the Tabei Uplift, one of the most
prolific hydrocarbon accumulation zones in the Tarim Basin (Li
et al. 1996; Jia 1997; Pang et al. 2010) (Fig. 1). The Tabei Uplift has
the largest proven oil/gas reserves of the Tarim Basin with over
3 billion tons oil-equivalent (c. 21.5 billion barrels oil-equivalent)
discovered in Ordovician carbonate rocks currently at 6000–7000 m
depth (Zhu et al. 2016). Recently, giant oil accumulations have been
discovered in the lower Paleozoic section at depths >8000 m (Zhu
et al. 2019).
The Tabei Uplift is an inherited structural high formed on the pre-
Sinian metamorphic basement (Zou 2012; Zhu et al. 2013a). This
area experienced Sinian–Ordovician rifting during the Caledonian
orogeny, followed by Silurian–Permian uplift during the Hercynian
orogeny (290–250 Ma), transition into a foreland basin (forebulge)
in the Triassic–Jurassic during the Indo-China orogeny,
Cretaceous–Neogene extension related to the Yanshan orogeny,
and late Neogene–Quaternary rapid subsidence (foreland basin)
during the Himalayan orogeny (Zhu et al. 2013b, 2017, 2019;
Fig. 2). The Halahatang oilfield is located in the Halahatang
Depression and it is bordered by the Luntai Fault to the north, the
Shuntuoguole Low Uplift to the south, the Lunnan Low to the east,
and the Yingmaili Low Uplift to the west (Zhu et al. 2012; Chang
et al. 2013). Other important oilfields in the Tabei Uplift include the
Tahe and Lunnan oilfields to the east (Chang et al. 2013) (Fig. 1).
During the Cambrian, dolomitic sequences with intercalated
gypsum and salt layers were deposited in an array of half-grabens
developed as a result of regional extension (Lin et al. 2012; Gao and
Fan 2013) (Fig. 2). Throughout the Ordovician, thick reef and shoal
deposits accumulated in intra-platform, platform-margin and slope
environments in a series of uplifts (i.e. Tazhong–Bachu, Tabei uplifts)
with intervening depressions (i.e. Kuqa, Awati, Manjiaer) (Li et al.
1996; Jia 1997; Kang 2003; Gao and Fan 2013). In the Late
Ordovician, the carbonate platform was drowned and overlain by a
thick section of deepwater continental shelf- and slope-facies of dark
mudstone and carbonaceous mudstone. The Silurian–Devonian
was characterized by widespread marine sandstone deposition in
intracratonic contractional basins (Liu et al. 2013; Zhao et al.
2016), giving way to alternate marine–nonmarine deposition in the

Fig. 1. (a) Simplified tectonic map of the Tarim Basin showing uplifts and depressions (after Zhao et al. 2014). Dashed lines mark boundaries of tectonic
regions. Rectangle shows area with the selected 98 GPS stations between 77 and 81°E and between 39 and 44°N, from the northern Tarim Basin across the
Tian Shan (after Zubovich et al. 2010). (b) Main oilfields in Halahatang Depression and Lunnan Uplift (after Chang et al. 2017a). 1, Halahatang; 2, Tahe;
3, Lunnan.
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Deep-seated dissolution in the Halahatang oilfield
Fig. 2. Stratigraphy and lithology of Paleozoic–Cenozoic sediments in the
Tarim Basin, showing main unconformities and tectonic orogenies
(modified from Chang et al. 2013 and Zhao et al. 2014). Fracture (F) and
vug (V) types as reported by Baqués et al. (2020).
Carboniferous–Permian (Zhang et al. 1983; Liu and Xiong 1991).
Almost continuous Paleozoic sedimentation was interrupted by
sporadic volcanism, including the Permian flood basalt magma-
tism of the Tarim Large Igneous Province (e.g. Xu et al. 2014).
From the Triassic to the Quaternary, the Tarim Basin has been
dominated by terrestrial siliciclastic deposition (Jia et al. 1995).
Hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Tabei Uplift mainly occur in Middle
Ordovician Yingshan and Yijianfang Formations in the Lunnan Low
Uplift and Halahatang Depression areas (Zhu et al. 2016, 2017)
(Fig. 1). Muddy limestones and mudstones of the Tumuxiuke,
Lianglitage and Sangtamu Formations form the caprocks of these
reservoirs.
Results
This study builds on analyses of 227 hand samples from 16 cores
and visual inspection of c. 450 m of full-bore formation
microimages (FMI) and log data of the studied cores (Baqués
et al. 2020). Baques et al. reported an in-depth description of the
diagenetic history recorded in these cores by means of detailed
petrographic, isotopic and fluid inclusion analyses of fracture and
vug cements. Here we focus on constraining the timing of each
diagenetic event in the microstructural sequence and tie them to
outcrop observations and the geological history of the area (see
Appendix A for methods).
Fractures and vugs in core
In the carbonate reservoirs studied, porosity does not correlate with
permeability (Zhu et al. 2019). Such rocks constitute Type 1
‘fracture type’ and ‘dissolution vug–fracture type’ or ‘fracture–
cavity’ reservoirs, with very low porosity and permeability where most
of the reservoir permeability is controlled by fractures and vugs (Nelson
1985; Bagrintseva et al. 1989). Based on petrological, cross-cutting,
SEM-EDS, cathodoluminescence (CL), isotopic, and fluid inclusion
thermometric and compositional analyses, Baqués et al. (2020)
identified seven main groups of fractures (F) and associated vugs (V)
in Halahatang Middle Ordovician carbonate core samples (group 1
oldest, group 7 youngest; Figs 2 and 3). Fractures and vugs were
grouped on the basis of cross-cutting relationships, mineral fill and
isotopic compositions irrespective of their orientations because
individual fractures are highly variable in orientation so that the latter
is not a good measure of timing (set) and/or type. Fractures show a
spectrum of cement-fill degree that is dependent on size. Consequently,
the conventional terms ‘vein’ and ‘joint’ are not helpful. We use the
unambiguous descriptive term ‘fracture’ to refer to opening-mode
fractures and specify the cement attributes where necessary.
The oldest group of fractures (F1) comprises bed-perpendicular
and bed-oblique, compacted (distorted) fractures filled with calcite
cement that grades from equant to palisade morphology (Fig. 3a).
Some F1 fractures contain a small amount of internal yellow
carbonate sediment. The second group of fractures (F2) consists of
bed-perpendicular, oblique and subhorizontal fractures filled with
blocky calcite (Fig. 3a). F3 fractures are bed-perpendicular and
oblique, calcite and bitumen-filled (Fig. 3b), and may preserve as
much as 20% partial open porosity in fractures c. 1 mm wide. A
fourth group (F4) encompasses bed-perpendicular and oblique
fractures filled with calcite ± bitumen ± minor late pyrite cement
(Fig. 3c). Some F4 are partially corroded. F5 fractures are infilled by
euhedral fluorite, barite, celestite and calcite cements in variable
proportions, and are associated with calcite, celestite and/or calcite
filled silica host-rock replacement (Fig. 3d). F6 fractures are calcite-
filled (Fig. 3e) and show elevated 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratios compared
with the host rock. Finally, group 7 comprises bedding-oblique,
stylolitic and sheared fractures (F7) containing insoluble residual
material, bitumen, dolomite and sheared calcite cement (Fig. 3f).
Some fractures in this category contain cement bridges and crack-seal
textures indicating cementation synchronous with fracture opening
(see Lander & Laubach 2015; Ukar & Laubach 2016; Baqués et al.
2020) (Fig. 3g). Such fractures may preserve up to 25% porosity.
Several dissolution features are evident in core including bed-
parallel (S1) to bed-perpendicular stylolites (S2) (Fig. 3b, g and i),
an early diagenetic alteration of the host rock (‘mottle fabrics’)
(Fig. 3h), and several types of vugs (dissolution pores larger than the
average grains (c. 20 µm)) up to 2 mm in diameter (Fig. 3b–i)
(Baqués et al. 2020). Vugs are usually associated with fractures and
an increased abundance of both occurs where the core is highly
broken (bagged pieces) and FMI show decimetre- to decametre-
scale fractured zones adjacent to open cavities (Fig. 4). The earliest
generation of vugs (V1) are infilled by carbonate sediment having
mottled textures (Fig. 3h), whereas subsequently formed V2–V7
(youngest) vugs (Fig. 3b, c, g and i) are mainly infilled by blocky
calcite cement with different isotopic and cathodoluminescence
characteristics similar to those of fracture cements (see Baqués et al.
2020). The most widespread and abundant type of vugs (V3) are
filled with calcite and bitumen, and are usually associated with F3
fractures, stylolites and V1 mottled fabrics, highlighting the
connection between fractures and dissolution in these rocks
(Fig. 3h and i). We did not observe vugs associated with F5
fractures, but based on the fact that this association is common for all
other identified fracture and vug groups, V5 vugs are probable.
Similar to vugs, stylolites, both bed-parallel and tectonic, are
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E. Ukar et al.

Fig. 3. Plane-light optical photomicrographs of fractures and vugs in core. (a) F1 fracture filled with equant to palisade calcite cement cut by an F2 fracture
filled with blocky cement. (b) V2 vug filled with blocky calcite cement cut by an F3 fracture filled with calcite and bitumen. Both terminate at a bed-
parallel stylolite (S1) containing bitumen. (c) Pyrite-bearing F4 fracture associated with a V4 vug filled with calcite (+ bitumen + minor late pyrite, outside
of the field of view) cement. (d) F5 fracture infilled by euhedral fluorite, barite, celestite and calcite cement associated with silica host-rock replacement. (e)
F6 fracture cutting F4 fractures filled by calcite cement. (f ) Bedding-oblique, stylolitic and sheared F7 fractures containing insoluble material, bitumen,
dolomite and calcite cement cutting and displacing a cemented F4 fracture. (g) V7 vugs cutting a F7 fracture partially filled with synkinematic calcite
bridges. Porosity-bearing F7 fractures may have acted as corrosive fluid conduits. Group 7 fractures and vugs terminate against an S2 stylolite. (h) V1 vugs
infilled by carbonate sediment (mottle fabrics) cut by F3 fractures. (i) V3 vugs lined by calcite and later filled by bitumen. Vugs terminate against or are cut
by bitumen-bearing S1 stylolites.

ubiquitous and formed throughout the geological history of these
rocks. All stylolites contain bitumen and some bed-parallel
stylolites also contain dolomite and replacement silica (Fig. 3).
Highly variable, but generally high (>80°C) homogenization
temperatures of fluid inclusions within fracture and vug cements, as
well as high salinities (5–20% NaCl equiv.) indicate that fluid
inclusions probably re-equilibrated with high-temperature burial
fluids and do not provide information on the true temperature and
depth of precipitation of the cements. Consequently, Baqués et al.
(2020) determined fracture and vug cementation depths on the basis
of stable isotopic analyses (Craig 1965; Machel 1999) assuming a
geothermal gradient of 2.79°C per 100 m for the Tabei Uplift during
the Middle Ordovician (Wang et al. 2014). Because cemented
fractures and vugs are cross-cut by the next generation of filled
fractures and vugs, the calculated depths of cement precipitation
based on stable isotopic analyses represent dissolution depths. Host
rock diagenesis, including mottled fabrics (V1), developed at
<220 m, within the shallow burial diagenetic environment, whereas
F1 fractures formed and were cemented near the surface within the
marine–phreatic level. Group 2 fractures and vugs (F2, V2)
developed within the shallow burial diagenetic environment
(c. 220 m), group 3 within the intermediate burial diagenetic
environment (c. 625 m) and group 4 within the deep burial diagenetic
environment (c. 2000 m). Groups 5–7 are probably the result of
reported hydrothermal activity in the area (e.g. Liu et al. 2017a,b) and
Mg-rich fluid infiltration, and their depth is undetermined. All
fracture and vug cements of group 3 (included) and younger contain
primary inclusions of oil indicating the presence of hydrocarbons in
the system at the time of their filling by cement.
Sm–Nd fluorite date from core
To decipher timing of fluorite mineralization in the Halahatang
oilfield, we conducted Sm–Nd radiometric dating of fluorite, barite
and calcite aliquots of one F5 fracture fill from core RP4 (Fig. 5).
Fluorite typically contains elevated REE concentrations that may
show sufficient variations in Sm/Nd ratios to allow dating using the
isochron approach (Turner et al. 2003). The 147Sm/144Nd ratios of the
samples analysed range from 0.083 (calcite) to 0.14 (fluorite +
calcite + barite; whole fracture). All five analysed samples plot in a
linear array and yield an age of 400 ± 37 Ma, with an initial εNd value
of 0.511566 ± 0.000025 (2σ, MSWD = 0.78) (Table 1; Fig. 5).
Fractures, faults and dissolution vugs in outcrop
Redissolved palaeokarst
Structural diagenetic features in outcrops in the Bachu–Keping
Uplift region, western Tarim Basin (Fig. 1), share many
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Deep-seated dissolution in the Halahatang oilfield

Fig. 4. (a) Stratigraphic section and FMI from RP7 core (see Fig. 11 for location of well). (b) Hand sample and plane-light optical photomicrograph
showing a highly fractured interval. Sample is from the highly fractured area, preserved in bags because of the multiple centimetre- to decimetre-scale
fragments. Highly fractured and dissolution-enhanced area shown in FMI was unrecovered by core.

characteristics with Ordovician rocks in core from producing parts
of the basin, although with some important differences. Karstic
palaeotopography (karst towers and dolines) and cave-fill sediments
(chaotic breccias and laminated cave-sediment fill) are present in
the topmost section of the Yingshan Formation in the XikeEr
outcrop, indicating that subaerial exposure and karstification
occurred prior to deposition of unconformable Silurian red beds
(Fig. 6a). Approximately 60 m below the unconformity, large
polymictic breccia bodies are exposed. The breccia clasts consist of
Ordovician carbonate clasts and the matrix consists of a reddish
muddy to sandy sediment (Fig. 6b). Cave breccias and cave
sediment fills show evidence of sedimentation and cementation in
the vadose zone such as laminated and geopetal structures (Fig. 6c).
Laminated cave-sediment fillings consist of non-luminescent to
bright-red-luminescent subhedral calcite crystals (Fig. 6d). Silica
and barite mineralization postdate calcite overgrowths. These
phases probably reflect interaction with silica-rich fluids that
percolated through overlying Silurian siliciclastic rocks or high-
temperature fluids (Fig. 6e). The palaeokarst is affected by
redissolution that is best developed on the top surface of the
karstic system (karst towers) (Fig. 6f ), forming vugs and cavities
that are partially cemented by palisade calcite crystals that can be
over 30 cm thick (Fig. 6g). Such vugs closely resemble those
widespread in Halahatang cores. Oxygen and carbon isotopic
analyses, especially the depleted values in δ18O compared with
cave-sediment fill and host-rock calcite overgrowths within cave
infills and palisade calcite, indicate precipitation from higher-
temperature fluids (Fig. 7; Table 2).
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E. Ukar et al.

Fig. 5. (a) Photograph of RP4 core (see Fig. 11 for location of well) showing fluorite-, barite- and calcite-bearing fracture used for Sm–Nd radiometric
dating. (b) 147Sm/144Nd v. 143Nd/144Nd isochron showing the results of the five analysed samples and the calculated age.

Porous and dissolution-enhanced faults
In the Yijianfang and Keping outcrops (Fig. 1), opening-mode
fractures and centimetre- to decametre-scale faults are common
(Figs 8 and 9). Crosscutting and abutting relations constrain a
relative time sequence of the fractures. Calcite-filled fractures
striking NNE–SSW are oldest, followed by east–west-, NW–SE-
and barren NNE–SSW-striking fractures (Fig. 8a and b). Thrust and
strike-slip faults strike predominantly N–S and NE–SW, respect-
ively (Fig. 8c and d). At the Yijianfang outcrop, NW–SE-striking
opening-mode fractures (Fig. 9a) have primary porosity and
secondary vugs and caves similar to those in the XikeEr outcrop.
Secondary caves are infilled by fluorite, coarse crystalline calcite,
and in some cases gypsum (Fig. 9b and c). Calcite δ18O and δ13C
values within NW–SE fractures are similar to those of the host rock,
indicating high rock–fluid interaction (Fig. 7). These stable isotopic
makeups resemble those of Middle Ordovician marine carbonates.
In contrast, NE–SW strike-slip faults have damage and fault-core
zones of highly porous and slightly calcite-cemented fault breccias
with as much as 30% remaining macroscopic porosity ( point-count
estimate) (Fig. 9d). Similar porous fault rocks are present along
decametre-scale damage zones of NE–SW strike-slip faults in
dolomitized Pengliaba Formation, within the Dabantagh outcrop
(Fig. 9e and f ). In these field examples, fault damage zones are
several metres wide (Fig. 9e). The high-porosity rock is discon-
tinuous over c. 10 m, but the finite size of the outcrop (tens of
metres) precludes assessment of the continuity pattern.
Present-day strain rates
The India–Eurasia collision drives roughly north–south contraction
in the Tarim Basin (e.g. Tapponnier and Molnar 1979; Heidbach
et al. 2018). The northern Tarim Basin and the Tian Shan account
for a considerable amount, perhaps as much as 50–60%, of modern
convergence between India and Eurasia (Zubovich et al. 2010). The
rate of deformation near the Tian Shan exceeds that in the Himalaya
and Tibet, so the Tian Shan effectively marks the plate boundary
between Eurasia and India.
The velocity gradient tensor we determined from global position-
ing system (GPS) data of Zubovich et al. (2010), (Appendix B)
surrounding the Halahatang oilfield indicates that the minimum (most
negative, most contractional) extension rate trends 174° and measures
−36.5 nstrain a−1 (Supplementary material), comparable in magni-
tude with strain rates surrounding the Pacific–North America plate
boundary in the California borderland (Shen et al. 2001). Positive
extension rate occurs in the intermediate principal direction, trending
084° and measuring 7.9 nstrain a−1, and the maximum principal rate
of extension is approximately vertical and measures 28.6 nstrain a−1.
Analysis was validated by comparing observed velocity data with
calculated velocities (Fig. 10). Model velocity vectors match
observed velocities within 2 mm a−1 (length of vectorial residual)
at 94 out of 98 stations (Supplementary material; red rows highlight
counter-examples).
Discussion
Bright spots, bit drops, cavities and faults
Ordovician carbonate rocks in the Tabei Uplift have been described
as thoroughly karsted (Wang et al. 1992; Gu 1999; Liu et al. 2004;
Zou et al. 2009; Zeng et al. 2011a) on the basis of sudden increases
in drilling rates, bit drops, blowouts and mud loss (Tian et al. 2016).
In the Tahe oilfield, such drilling abnormalities have been
encountered in c. 39% of the total number of wells (He et al.
2010; Tian et al. 2016). Bit drops of c. 1 m are common in central
(Tazhong) and northern Tarim Basin (Tabei; HA8, 2 m; HA9,

Table 1. Isotopic analyses of fluorite-, barite- and calcite-bearing F5 fracture used for the calculation of an isochron age
147
Sm/144Nd ±2σ 143
Nd/144Nd ±2σ [Nd] (ppm) ±2σ [Sm] (ppm) ±2σ
RP4 10 WF 0.10959 0.00207 0.511844 0.000014 1.090 0.004 0.197 0.004
RP4-11 WF 0.14148 0.00076 0.511939 0.000012 1.200 0.005 0.281 0.001
RP4 10 B + C1 0.08657 0.00046 0.511798 0.000012 7.011 0.029 1.003 0.003
RP4 10 B + C2 0.08331 0.00045 0.511783 0.000012 5.784 0.024 0.797 0.003
RP4 10 B + C3 0.08681 0.00046 0.511793 0.000012 7.066 0.029 1.014 0.003
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Deep-seated dissolution in the Halahatang oilfield

Fig. 6. (a) Outcrop photograph showing karstic palaeotopography (karst towers and dolines) and collapse deformation structures, and karstic chaotic
breccias present on the topmost section of the Yingshan Formation in the XikeEr outcrop. Silurian red beds unconformably overlie Ordovician carbonates,
indicating subaerial exposure. (b) Polymictic breccia bodies exposed c. 60 m below the unconformity. (c) Cave-sediment fill showing laminated sediments
and geopetal structures evidencing their deposition in the vadose zone. (d) Laminated cave-sediment fillings showing non-luminescent to bright-red-
luminescent concentric calcite overgrowths as seen under optical cathodoluminescence (CL). (e) Silica and barite mineralization postdating calcite
overgrowths. (f ) Redissolution cavities and calcite precipitated in cavities developed at the top surface of the karstic system (karst towers). (g) Palisade
calcite crystals, over 30 cm thick, precipitated in the remaining open porosity of the redissolved cavities.

1.5 m; Yang et al. 2012) and some recorded bit drops in the Tabei
Uplift are tens of metres (Yang et al. 2012; Zhao et al. 2014). Mud
and drilling fluid losses before well completion may be upwards of
2300 m3 (Zhao et al. 2014; Tian et al. 2016).
Yingshan and Yijianfang Formations in northern and central
Tarim Basin are characterized by areas of anomalously high-
amplitude seismic reflections (bright spots) at c. 4000–6500 m
depth (Zeng et al. 2011a, b; Zhao et al. 2014; Zhu et al. 2017; Yang
et al. 2018) and the presence of bright spots has recently been
confirmed in superdeep (>8000 m) Paleozoic reservoirs in southern
Halahatang (Zhu et al. 2019). Bright spots are reflective of
hydrocarbon-filled cavities that cause bit drops (Zeng et al. 2011a;
Yang et al. 2018; Zhu et al. 2019). Such cavities have been inferred
to be the main source of hydrocarbon storage and permeability and
are the main target for exploration (Yang et al. 2012; Zhao et al.
2014; Zhu et al. 2019) with more than 80% success rate (Zeng et al.
2011a).
Many researchers have interpreted such cavities to be the result
of palaeokarst (shallow or epigenetic dissolution) (e.g. Tian et al.
2017; Xu et al. 2017; Zhang et al. 2018). Cavities having such an
origin are typically marked by dissolution, sediment fillings,
chemical precipitates and localized fracturing, brecciation and
collapse of cave walls and ceilings (Loucks 1999). In oilfields east
of Halahatang (Tahe, Lunnan), reservoirs with well-attested
palaeokarst features are widespread (Gu 1999; Liu et al. 2004;
Zeng et al. 2011a; Zhao et al. 2014). In the Lunnan field, karst
features occur mainly in the subsurface Yingshan Formation, which
is overlain directly by Carboniferous siliciclastic rocks (Zeng et al.
2011a; Zhao et al. 2014), indicating a strong association of the karst
is found with the unconformity. Evidence of collapsed and filled
caves are found in outcrops or strata in the reservoir interval, for
example, near Keping, where Ordovician carbonates are also
directly overlain by Silurian red beds (Fig. 6a).
Few large caves have been documented below 3 km, an
observation that previously led some workers to conclude that
significant shallow palaeokarst cavities would not survive deep
burial (Loucks 1999). Evidence for substantial cavities in what are
clearly palaeokarst structures (e.g. Gao et al. 2018) shows that
cavities do persist at depth. Also, rock tests and geomechanical
modelling show that cavities can be stable under great loads, even in
the absence of overpressure (e.g. Davis et al. 2017). Together, these
considerations show that shallow palaeokarst is a plausible
explanation for the cavities encountered in the Halahatang oilfield.
Other evidence, however, suggests a more nuanced interpretation
of cavities in the Halahatang oilfield. With the exception of the
northernmost part of the area, a pervasive unconformity with
Silurian siliciclastic rocks is absent in the palaeo-structurally lower
Halahatang, indicating that subaerial exposure was short-lived and
vadose–phreatic cave formation less likely compared with the up to
120 myr hiatus to the NE (Liu et al. 2004; Zeng et al. 2011a; Zhao
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E. Ukar et al.
Fig. 7. δ18O and δ13C cross-plots of host rocks and calcite cements
precipitated in vugs and fractures from XikeEr outcrop (a), Yijianfang and
Keping outcrops (b), and Dabantagh outcrop (c). Arrows show isotopic
trends over time as established based on cross-cutting relationships.
et al. 2014). Seismic data lack the characteristic erosional
topography and geomorphological patterns associated with uncon-
formities such as sinuous fluvial channels and canyons, fluvial
valleys, sinkholes, and tower karsts and hills identified in
documented karsted areas of the Tarim Basin (Zeng et al. 2011a).
Moreover, Halahatang oilfield cores lack pervasive sediment-filled
cavities and breccias characteristic of subaerial palaeokarst (Fu
2019; Baqués et al. 2020). Although in the northern and
central Halahatang bright spots are c. 50–150 m beneath the top
of the Middle Ordovician, they are also found away from the
unconformity and into the underlying Yingshan Formation (Zhao
et al. 2014; Ning 2017), providing further evidence for the lack of an
association between cavities and subaerial exposure soon after
deposition.
Many bright spots are aligned with both NNE and NNW fault
traces (Yang et al. 2012; Zhao et al. 2014; Ning 2017; Zhu et al.
2019). For those bright spots that appear unconnected or isolated, an
association with faults may not be ruled out because the apparent
isolation may be the result of the low resolution of seismic data
(Zhao et al. 2014). Highest-yield wells are located near deep faults,
with oil production increasing with increasing proximity to faults
(Sun et al. 2015; Yin et al. 2016; Wu et al. 2016, 2019b; Lu et al.
2017; Zhu et al. 2019). These observations are consistent with
cavities formed by structural processes along faults and/or by deep-
seated dissolution along faults.
In outcrop, many NNE- and NNW-striking fault zones comprise
porous fault rock, and dissolution along fractures formed caves lined
with calcite and minerals precipitated from deep-sourced fluids
(Fig. 9). Dissolution-enhanced fault rocks have been reported in
core in the Halahatang area (Wu et al. 2019a). Both porous fault
rock and dissolution-enhanced cavities could provide hydrocarbon
storage and migration pathways in the subsurface. Based on the
fragile character of the fault rock in outcrop, we infer that a bit
encountering brecciated material in fault damage zones would
sustain little resistance so drilling response might be indistinguish-
able from a cavity-related bit drop. Both types of structure could be
associated with the observed large drilling mud losses. Based on the
association between small-scale vugs and fractures and metre- to
decametre-scale fractured zones with open cavities observed in core
and image logs (Fig. 4), we interpret these dissolution-enhanced
features to be the small-scale equivalents of fractured zones and
open cavities responsible for bright spots and bit drops.
Corrosive agents such as acidic fluids associated with sulfur-rich
oil, hydrothermal fluids, CO2-rich fluids derived from underlying
strata, meteoric waters or a combination of these could migrate
along fractures and faults and form the dissolution cavities observed
in core and inferred from seismic data, FMIs and production data.
Away from faults, such fluids would flow laterally, along the
unconformity with overlying, impermeable Tumuxiuke Formation.
A combination of these processes, fault-parallel and lateral flow,
provides an explanation for bright spots localized along the
Ordovician unconformity (Ning 2017; Wu et al. 2019b) as well
as those that penetrate as far down as 800 m into the Yingshan
Formation (Yang et al. 2018; Zhu et al. 2019).
Based on our GPS analyses, Andersonian mechanics predict
ideal movement on orthorhombic faults having mixed strike-slip
kinematics (Reches and Dieterich 1983). Steeply dipping fractures
that strike parallel to the Tian Shan (Figs 1 and 11a) should show
rapid present-day horizontal contraction, whereas steeply dipping
fractures at high angle to the Tian Shan should show active
extension. Conjugate components of strike-slip movement probably
accompany both. Thus, our GPS analysis predicts that active
movement on steeply dipping discontinuities having both NNE and
NNW strikes, the main orientations of pre-existing faults in
Halahatang (Fig. 11a), is extensional if not actively opening.
The calculated strain tensor agrees with in situ stress measure-
ments at c. 7 km depth in the central part of the Tarim Basin south of
our study area, which show that maximum extension is vertical (Sun
et al. 2017). In contrast to both, vertical maximum compression is
typical of modern (non-tectonic) sedimentary basins, but here we
address an ancient (although now tectonic) sedimentary basin.
Stress maps show north–south compression (e.g. Heidbach et al.
2018). Sun et al. (2017) reported in situ orientations of minimum
compression c. N140–N170°, which would cause active extension
along NNE-striking faults. Rapid (recent and current) tectonic
extension along high-angle pre-existing faults in strong Ordovician
carbonate rocks could lead to formation of wide extension fractures,
especially near releasing bends of faults, such as those documented
in carbonate rocks in Oman (e.g. Hilgers et al. 2006; Holland and
Urai 2010). If rate of opening movement exceeds the rate at which
chemical processes can fill voids (calcite cementation) and/or if
dissolution prevails in fractures, porosity and permeability along
fractures are likely to persist and increase through time.
Cavity formation by protracted deep-seated dissolution
Because observations at Halahatang are inconsistent with palaeo-
karst formed in the shallow subsurface, an effective geological
model for the mechanisms and timing of dissolution that led to the
formation of cavities is necessary to guide exploration. Below we
present a model of the geological evolution of the Yijianfang
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Deep-seated dissolution in the Halahatang oilfield

Table 2. Stable isotopic analyses

13 18
Sample type Outcrop Formation Mineralogy δ CVPDB δ OVPDB

Yinshan Fm XikeEr Yingshan Calcite 0.19 −6.54

Yinshan Fm XikeEr Yingshan Calcite 0.36 −6.39
Laminated cave-sediment fill XikeEr Yingshan Non-pure calcite 0.33 −5.11
Calcite overgrowth XikeEr Yingshan Non-pure calcite −1.13 −9.92
Calcite overgrowth XikeEr Yingshan Non-pure calcite −0.53 −9.92
Calcite in vugs XikeEr Yingshan Calcite −1.09 −7.63
Calcite in vugs XikeEr Yingshan Calcite −0.37 −10.90
Palisade calcite in cavities XikeEr Yingshan Calcite −1.42 −13.29
Palisade calcite in cavities XikeEr Yingshan Calcite −1.52 −13.27
Pengliaba Fm Dabantagh Pengliaba Dolomite −1.71 −8.23
Dolomite cement in NE-SW fractures Dabantagh Pengliaba Dolomite −1.95 −8.66
Dolomite cement in NE-SW fractures Dabantagh Pengliaba Dolomite −0.50 −8.18
Dolomite cement within fault breccia Dabantagh Pengliaba Dolomite −1.96 −9.08
Calcite cement within fault breccia Dabantagh Pengliaba Calcite −1.43 −10.52
Yijianfang Fm Yijianfang Yijianfang Calcite 0.04 −6.57
Yijianfang Fm Yijianfang Yijianfang Calcite −0.22 −5.38
Yijianfang Fm Keping Yijianfang Calcite 0.78 −5.93
Calcite cement in NNE–SSW fractures Keping Yijianfang Calcite −1.12 −12.95
Calcite cement in NNE–SSW fractures Keping Yijianfang Calcite −1.17 −13.21
Calcite cement in NNE–SSW fractures Yijianfang Yijianfang Calcite −2.12 −12.08
Calcite cement in NW–SE fractures Yijianfang Yijianfang Calcite −0.24 −6.77
Calcite cement in NW–SE fractures Yijianfang Yijianfang Calcite 0.30 −6.17
Calcite cement in NW–SE fractures Yijianfang Yijianfang Calcite 1.02 −5.06
Calcite cement in NE–SW faults Yijianfang Yijianfang Calcite −0.85 −10.77
Calcite cement in NE–SW faults Keping Yijianfang Calcite −0.18 −8.47
Calcite cement in NE–SW faults Keping Yingshan Calcite −0.98 −11.24
Calcite cement in N–S faults Yijianfang Yijianfang Calcite 0.70 −5.92
Calcite cement in N–S faults Yijianfang Lianglitage Calcite 0.14 −5.71

Fig. 8. (a) Cross-cutting relationships between opening-mode fractures in the Yijianfang outcrop. (b) Late, barren NNE–SSW fractures. (c) NE–SW-striking
thrust fault carrying Middle Ordovician Yijianfang Formation over Upper Ordovician Lianglitage Formation (Yijianfang outcrop) (Fig. 1). (d) Core of
NE–SW strike-slip fault (Yijianfang outcrop).
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E. Ukar et al.

Fig. 9. (a) NW–SE-striking opening-mode fractures (Yijianfang outcrop) with secondary caves filled with fluorite and coarse-crystalline calcite and in some
cases gypsum. (b) Plane-light optical photomicrograph showing fluorite and calcite cements precipitated in cavities. (c) Plane-light optical photomicrograph
showing palisade gypsum cement precipitated along a fracture wall. (d) NE–SW strike-slip faults showing damage zones and fault cores of highly porous
and weakly calcite-cemented fault breccias with as much as 30% residual porosity (Yijianfang outcrop). (e) Decametre-scale damage zones of NE–SW
strike-slip faults in dolomitized Pengliaba Formation within the Dabantagh outcrop. (f ) Porous fault rocks along damage zones.

Formation reservoir that integrates petrological, structural, geo-
chemical, geophysical, petrophysical, temporal (cross-cutting
relations and Sm–Nd isotopic dating), outcrop analogue and
kinematic evidence summarized in this study.
The Yingshan and Yijianfang Formations were deposited in inner
and middle-shelf to outer-shelf environments (Lin et al. 2012).
During the middle Caledonian orogeny that resulted from the
collision of the Kunlun island arc and the Tarim plate (Yu et al.
2011), uplift and erosion caused subaerial exposure of the Yijianfang
Formation and an angular unconformity with the overlying
Tumuxiuke Formation (Lin et al. 2012). In the Halahatang area,
subaerial exposure was short-lived, resulting in the absence of
penetrative palaeokarst in our study area. Instead, incipient
dissolution with minor infiltration of soil sediment (V1) and F1
fractures (group 1; Fig. 3a and h) developed near the surface within
the marine–phreatic environment at this stage (Figs 12 and 13a).
Renewed uplift during the middle Caledonian orogeny was
succeeded by a disconformity between the Lianglitage Formation
and overlying Sangtamu Formation (Fig. 2) following deposition in
a low- to moderate-energy environment (Lin et al. 2012; Zhao et al.
2014). The western part of the Tabei palaeo-uplift experienced a
notable, regional angular unconformity and a network of caves and
karstic breccias that are absent at Halahatang (Baqués et al. 2020).
Group 2 fractures and vugs (Fig. 3a and b) formed during burial and
compaction and cements precipitated from marine to formation
fluids in the marine to shallow burial environment (c. 220 m)
(Fig. 13b). At least some F2 probably follow similar orientations to
Caledonian faults, striking NNE and NNW (Cai et al. 2015).
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Deep-seated dissolution in the Halahatang oilfield

Fig. 10. Validation plot comparing observed velocity data and velocity
calculated using the new method described in Appendix B.

Following uplift, the Early Silurian sedimentary environment

changed to nearshore and shallow-marine deposition. The first oil
and gas accumulation phase occurred at this time (Lu et al. 2008b;
Wang et al. 2008) (Fig. 12). Oil and gas migrated northward along
unconformities and through faults and accumulated preferentially
within Late Caledonian anticlinal traps (Zhu et al. 2013b). Fluids,
including hydrocarbons and acidic fluids associated with sulfur-rich
oil, flowed along group 3 fractures as indicated by the presence of
oil inclusions in fracture calcite cement (Baqués et al. 2020), and
laterally within Middle Ordovician strata, causing localized
dissolution and formation of group 3 vugs and caves (Fig. 3b, 3h
and 3i). Dissolution caused enlargement of dissolution-prone pre-
existing mottle fabrics. Calcite cements precipitated in fractures and
vugs from formation fluids in the intermediate burial realm
(c. 625 m).
An unconformity formed in the Devonian during the Early
Hercynian orogeny (Li et al. 2010; Chen et al. 2012) leading to
extensive karstification of Ordovician strata in the nearby Tahe and
Lunnan oilfields (Li et al. 2011; Yan et al. 2011; Yang et al. 2014;
Tian et al. 2016; Fig. 1). In the Halahatang area, the Yijianfang and
Yingshan Formations remained buried (c. 500–1000 m) and no
widespread subaerial karst developed. Fluids circulated along Early
Hercynian strike-slip faults and group 4 and 5 fractures (Fig. 3c to
3f ). Owing to the impermeable nature of the Tumuxiuke Formation,
fluids localized within Middle Ordovician strata flowed laterally,
causing further dissolution and enlargement of vugs and caves and
precipitation of calcite cements within the deep burial environment
(c. 2000 m; Baqués et al. 2020) (Fig. 13d). Corrosive fluids
associated with precipitation of pyrite and/or fluorite (Esteban and
Taberner 2003) most likely caused partial dissolution of F4
fractures.
The Sm–Nd age we report indicates that fluorite-bearing fractures
(F5; Figs. 3d and 5a) filled at this time. Fluorite and other minerals
precipitated from high-temperature fluids present in cores in the
Central Uplift (Tazhong; Fig. 1) and in outcrop in the Bachu–
Keping region (Fig. 9b) are thought to be linked to widespread
Permian magmatic activity (Jin et al. 2006; Wang et al. 2015) or to
low-temperature meteoric circular hydrothermal fluids in the late
Yanshanian–Himalayan (Zhang et al. 2006), but this radiometric
age indicates that fluorite is younger at Halahatang. Our dated
Fig. 11. (a) Simplified map of main fault traces in the Halahatang area
(after Chang et al. 2017b and Wu et al. 2019b) used in the calculation of
strain as measured along the marked east–west scanline. Faults within the
shaded area were projected onto the scanline. Numbers indicate picked
faults. (b) Fault locations and lengths measured along the scanline shown
in (a).
fluorite cement confirms that widespread mesogenetic dissolution
cavities (V2–V4; Fig. 3b, c, h and e) existed in Middle Ordovician
carbonates by the end of the Devonian (Figs 2 and 13c, d).
In the Carboniferous, regional unconformities formed between
the Carboniferous and underlying Silurian–Devonian strata in the
Manjia-er and Tabei area (Lu et al. 2008a; Zhu et al. 2012; Fig. 1).
Fluvial and lacustrine facies were deposited in an interior basin
setting (Zhu et al. 2012). Further cementation of previously formed
fractures and vugs probably occurred at this time.
The Permian was a period of extensive magmatism, both
extrusive and intrusive, in NW Tarim Basin (Yang et al. 2007;
Tian et al. 2010; Xu et al. 2014; Shangguan et al. 2016) as well as
associated normal faulting especially in the middle Permian (Liu
et al. 2017b). Cements in group 6 fractures and vugs (Fig. 3e) show
depleted δ18O and δ13C and high 87Sr/86Sr similar to those reported
for Permian magmatism consistent with precipitation from Permian
hydrothermal fluids of igneous origin (Baqués et al. 2020)
(Fig. 13e).
In the Hercynian (Permian), Early–Middle Ordovician source
rocks entered the maximum hydrocarbon generation window in the
south of the Tabei area (Zhang et al. 2004; Zhang and Luo 2011;
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E. Ukar et al.
Zhu et al. 2013a, b, 2017; Ge et al. 2020; Fig. 12). This was the
main period of hydrocarbon generation and expulsion from
Cambrian–Ordovician source rocks in the Tarim Basin (Li et al.
2010; Ge et al. 2020). Oil migrated from the south to the north and
infilled previously formed vugs and cavities (Fig. 13e). In the latest
Permian to earliest Triassic, thrust faults that penetrate pre-Jurassic
strata developed (Liu et al. 2017a). This new episode of reactivation
along pre-existing faults probably caused further milling of porous
fault rock within fault damage zones, similar to that present in
outcrop (Fig. 9e and f ), so that the rocks became prone to
hydrocarbon storage. Main oil pools in Ordovician rocks were
formed in the Permian (Zhu et al. 2013a; Ge et al. 2020) so that
Hercynian tectonism is crucial to petroleum generation and
accumulation in the Tarim Basin.
Following terrestrial sediment deposition in the Triassic (Lin
et al. 2012; Zhu et al. 2013b), and uplift related to the late
Indosinian orogeny (Tang et al. 2014; Zhao et al. 2014), two
regional unconformities formed as a result of the Yanshanian
orogeny at the end of the Jurassic (Middle Yanshanian) and at the
end of the Cretaceous (Later Yanshanian) (Tang et al. 2014)
(Fig. 2). Although Meso-Cenozoic thrust faults dominate (Zhang
et al. 1996; Sobel and Dumitru 1997; Yin et al. 1998; Bullen et al.
2003; Meng et al. 2008; Li et al. 2009, 2010; Zheng et al. 2009), the
Tarim Basin also experienced local extension in the Jurassic–Early
Cretaceous when maximum compression was NE–SW, forming
left-lateral ENE and right lateral north–south transtensional fault
zones (Li et al. 2013). Under NNE–SSW maximum principal
compression (σ1) (Li et al. 2013), pre-existing faults in this
orientation would have experienced opening, providing further
volume for hydrocarbon storage. Group 7 sheared fractures (Fig. 3f )
and tectonic stylolites and stylobreccias (Baqués et al. 2020) most
probably formed associated with this faulting, probably during a
period of Mg-rich fluid upwelling as indicated by the presence of
dolomite (Baqués et al. 2020) (Figs 12 and 13f ).
In the Late Cretaceous–late Cenozoic, conjugate NNE-striking
right-lateral and east–west-striking left-lateral transtensional fault
zones formed in the Tabei Uplift (Li et al. 2013) whereas
the direction of maximum compression was NE–SW during the
Fig. 12. Estimated timing and depths of
formation of Groups (G) 1–7 fractures and
vugs in the context of a burial history
model calculated for one of the wells in
our studied area (see Fig. 11a).
Himalayan orogeny (Guo 1993; Sobel and Dumitru 1997; Li et al.
2001). Pre-existing faults that strike NW–SE were reactivated in
extension at this time (Li et al. 2013). Driven by thick Cretaceous–
Tertiary accumulations derived from the Tian Shan, Mid- to Late
Ordovician strata in the Halahatang Depression entered the
hydrocarbon generation window, leading to a second phase of
hydrocarbon charge (Chang et al. 2013) (Fig. 12). Hydrocarbons
migrated from the south to the north along faults and possibly also
unconformities (Lu et al. 2008b). During the Pliocene–Quaternary,
the Halahatang Depression experienced rapid burial (Zhu et al.
2017). South of the study area, Cambrian-sourced oil remains
uncracked because the residence time at temperatures greater than
c. 150°C has been relatively short (Zhu et al. 2018, 2019).
Consistent with Heidbach et al. (2018), our velocity-gradient
tensor analysis shows that at present day, the maximum rate of
contraction is oriented roughly north–south and absolute extension
persists along both steeply dipping fault orientations (NNE–SSW
and NNW–SSE) that dominate in the study volume (Fig. 11a).
Progressive extension allows large cavities along faults to enlarge
and stay connected at depth (Fig. 13g). Near-vertical fissures
formed under current conditions would connect pre-existing pores,
vugs and caverns along faults and enhance reservoir permeability,
especially near releasing bends that evolved during fault segment
linkage. Growth of the fracture network may have been promoted by
the corrosive fluids (Laubach et al. 2019). Although in northern
Halahatang normal pressure systems indicate a well-developed
fracture–cavity system, to the south, moderate overpressures with
high pressure coefficients indicate that cavities remained isolated
and with low connectivity (Zhu et al. 2019).
Porosity estimate
As a rough proxy for porosity along faults, we inferred opening
strain accumulated by major (mapped) faults in the Halahatang area
along an east–west scanline across the study area (Fig. 11). Both
NNE- and NNW-striking faults were included under the assumption
that they are equally likely to contribute to fault-related strain. Field
observations (Fig. 9e) and subsurface mapping (Wu et al. 2019b)
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Deep-seated dissolution in the Halahatang oilfield
Fig. 13. Evolution of fault- and fracture-related dissolution cavities in
Ordovician Yijianfang Formation at the Halahatang oilfield. Oys,
Yingshan Formation; Oyj, Yijianfang Formation; Ol, Lianglitage
Formation. Vertical exaggeration 17×.
document that these faults have cores of considerable width. We
measured porous fault cores and damaged zones of 2.5 m for small-
displacement (>10 m) faults (Fig. 9e). Longer faults may have fault
damage zones of up to 1100 m based on inferences from seismic
and production data by Wu et al. (2019b). The relationship of fault
core width to fault length, if there is one, as reported by many
researchers (e.g. Walsh and Watterson 1987; La Bruna et al. 2018;
Scholz 2019), is unknown. As a crude approximation, we assumed
that the fault length (in kilometres) corresponds to a fault-core width
(in metres) (see Robertson 1983; Scholz 1987; Hull 1988; Marrett
and Allmendinger 1990, and references therein). Fracture strain was
calculated as the sum of fault core widths divided by the length of
the scanline. Calculated fault-related strain is c. 0.4% (Table 3). This
is a minimum estimate because only major faults were taken into
account; addition of smaller, unmapped faults and faults that are
below seismic resolution would increase, perhaps even double, this
estimate.
Fig. 13. Continued.
Porosity was assumed to be as much as 30% of the fault material
on the basis of limited examples from outcrop (Fig. 9d–f ). This
estimated fault porosity is within the mid to high end of the
estimated volume of rock occupied by unconfined caves in
carbonate aquifers (0.004–0.48%) (Worthington 1999;
Worthington et al. 2000; Klimchouk 2006) and low end of those
occupied by confined caves (c. 1–5%) (Heward et al. 2000;
Klimchouk 2006; Albert et al. 2015) in both shallow and deeply
buried, collapsed karst (0.3–3%) (Weber and Bakker 1981, and
references therein). Reported porosity in Paleozoic reservoirs of the
Tarim Basin (including karst) is 5–12% (Gu et al. 2002), suggesting
that mesogenetic dissolution and mechanical openings such as
releasing bends along faults increased, by at least 10 times, total
reservoir porosity.
Conclusions
Large cavities associated with high oil production and decametre-
scale bit drops in the Halahatang oilfield have been ascribed to
shallow (epigenetic) dissolution and well-developed palaeokarst
that governs production from other Ordovician carbonate rocks in
the Tabei Uplift, where subaerial exposure during the Hercynian
orogeny was comparatively long lived. However, for the Halahatang
oilfield rocks, cavernous porosity probably formed at depths of c.
220–2000 m as a result of the flow of organic acidic, high-
temperature formation waters, and Mg-rich corrosive fluids along
fractures and especially faults.
Core observations of open and filled vugs and fractures show that
the Halahatang area experienced several stages of fracture and
associated dissolution marked by multiple generations of cross-
cutting fractures and vugs (large pores) containing cements with
distinct petrological, isotopic and geochemical characteristics.
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E. Ukar et al.

Table 3. Mapped fault dimensions and calculated strain benefited from discussion with B. Loucks, Qilong Fu, Chaozhong Ning and
L. Sivila, and the comments of journal referees J. Garland, V. La Bruna and an
Distance east–west (km) Fault trace length (km) Average strike anonymous reviewer. Publication was authorized by the Director, Bureau of
Economic Geology.
0.4 4.04 NE
5.65 14.79 NW
0.47 5.64 NE Funding This study was funded by CNPC-USA and CNPC-Tarim Oilfield
Company, and by the Fracture Research and Application Consortium at the
0.4 10.97 NW Bureau of Economic Geology. Our work on fracture pattern development and
0.52 2.58 NE diagenesis is partly supported by grant DE-FG02-03ER15430 from Chemical
4.85 7.77 NE Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences Division, Office of Basic Energy
0.66 3.84 NE Sciences, Office of Science, US Department of Energy.
0.95 6.1 NW
2.2 7.3 NE Author contributions EU: conceptualization (lead), data curation
0.38 2.51 NW (equal), funding acquisition (equal), investigation (equal), methodology
1.61 6.22 NW (equal), project administration (lead), supervision (lead), writing – original
draft (lead); VB: conceptualization (equal), data curation (lead), formal analysis
2.65 7.19 NE
(lead), investigation (equal), methodology (equal), writing – review & editing
1.23 2.38 NW (supporting); SEL: conceptualization (supporting), formal analysis (supporting),
3.03 2.27 NE funding acquisition (equal), methodology (supporting), writing – review &
0.64 15.07 NW editing (supporting); RM: conceptualization (supporting), formal analysis
0.26 2.53 NW (supporting), writing – original draft (supporting).
3.31 1.26 NE
0.17 6.26 NE Data availability statement All data generated or analysed during this
0.2 2.21 NE study are included in this published article (and its supplementary information
3.81 10.52 NE files).
3.81 21.52 NW
4.04 5 NW Scientific editing by Robert Holdsworth
2.25 8.65 NW
1.44 2.33 NE
0.95 17.25 NW
Appendix A: Methods
0.71 6.47 NW Fieldwork was conducted in the Bachu–Keping Uplift region in the
2.68 western Tarim Basin. A total of 36 oriented carbonate rock samples
49.27 182.67 Total were collected from the Dabantagh, Yijianfang, XikeEr and Keping
L construed as aperture (m) 182 outcrops (Bachu Uplift, NW Tarim Basin) (Fig. 1).
Scanline length (m) 49452.67
Five fracture-filling fluorite, barite and calcite mineral
Strain 0.0037
separates and whole-fracture aliquots from core RP4 were
crushed to fine-grained powders in an agate mortar for
radiometric dating. Mineral separates and whole-fracture
Cemented fractures and vugs are cut by subsequent generations of powders were spiked with a mixed 150Nd–149Sm spike and
structural diagenetic features indicating that episodes of both dissolved in alternating rounds of nitric acid, aqua regia, and
dissolution and cementation occurred at mesogenetic depths. Based boric acid on a hotplate at 150°C at the class 100 Radiogenic
on O–C isotopic values, and linking values to thermal history, vugs Isotope Clean Laboratory, The University of Texas at Austin. All
may have formed at depths as great as 2 km. A Sm–Nd isochron age reagents used were either optima grade or double distilled.
of 400 ± 37 Ma for fracture-filling fluorite indicates that some vugs Dissolution steps were repeated multiple times to achieve
and probably associated dissolution-enhanced fault zones formed complete decomposition of more resistant mineral phases
prior to the attested main period of hydrocarbon generation and (barite and fluorite). Rare earth elements (REE) were isolated
expulsion in the late Hercynian (Permian). A complex tectonic using column chromatography by means of BioRad RE-Spec
history resulted in multi-stage reactivation of faults both in shear and resin and nitric acid. Sm and Nd were isolated from the REE
extension, and formation of porous fault rock and dissolution- fractions using BioRad LN Spec and dilute hydrochloric acid.
enhanced cavities, as evidenced by fault rocks exposed in nearby Nd and Sm separates were analysed by thermal ionization mass
outcrops. Estimates based on fault porosity and abundance and core spectrometry on a Triton system using double rhenium
observations suggest that mesogenetic porosity enhancement of as filaments. An in-house macro was used to deconvolve the
much as 5–10% is locally plausible. Values are probably much spike. The Excel macro contains the spike information and
lower averaged over the entire Halahatang structure. Both porous iteratively corrects for spike and analytical mass bias until the
fault rock and dissolution-enhanced cavities and fractures could corrections converge on the same value. Ages were calculated
provide hydrocarbon storage and migration pathways and be using Isoplot 4.
responsible for decametre-scale bit drops and large volumes of Aliquots of c. 0.3 mg were analysed for δ13C and δ18O using a
drilling mud losses. ThermoFisher Scientific GasBench II coupled to a
We used published GPS data to estimate deformation rates. ThermoFisher Scientific MAT 253 isotope ratio mass spectrom-
Analysis indicates that, in agreement with previous work, the main eter (Révész and Landwehr 2002; Spötl and Vennemann 2003)
faults in the Halahatang area (striking NNE–SSW and NNW–SSE) at The University of Texas at Austin. Samples were reacted in
currently experience extension. Rapid extension promotes open helium-flushed vials with 103% H3PO4 at 50°C for 3 h. Data
fractures connecting pre-existing pores, vugs and caverns. were calibrated using calcite standards NBS-18 (δ18OVPDB =
−23.0‰, δ13CVPDB = −5.0‰) and NBS-19 (δ18OVPDB =
−2.3‰, δ13CVPDB = 1.95‰). Twelve replicates of an internal
carbonate standard were analysed throughout the analytical
Acknowledgements We would like to thank S. Loewy and S. Hsia for session to account for analytical drift and precision. Analytical
Sm–Nd geochronological dating, and T. Larson for stable isotopic analyses. We
are grateful for access to the field and for fruitful discussions to Haijun Yang, precision of ±0.06‰ for δ13CVPDB and ±0.10‰ for δ18OVPDB
Zhibin Huang, Chunyan Qi, Wenqing Pan, Kuanzhi Zhao and Yu Ye. This paper were routinely achieved.
 Downloaded from http://jgs.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Texas At Austin on June 3, 2020

Deep-seated dissolution in the Halahatang oilfield

To better quantify active deformation in the Halahatang equations, which yields

oilfield, we analysed data published by Zubovich et al. (2010) P P P P
from geodetic GPS stations (N = 400+) representing 16 years of p2ypx vx  px py py vx
rvxx ¼ P P 2 P 2
observations. We limited data geographically to an area 2
px py  px py
comprising 98 GPS stations (Fig. 1) to constrain a least- P 2P P P
squares estimate of the velocity gradient tensor, from which px py vx  px py px vx
rvxy ¼ P 2P 2  P 2
principal directions and magnitudes of strain rate were px py  px py
determined (Appendix B). Using the analysis, present-day P 2P P P (B3)
kinematics were evaluated for orientations of faults and fractures py px vy  px py py vy
rvyx ¼ P 2P 2 P 2
observed in outcrop, and in wells and seismic data. px py  px py
P 2P P P
px py vy  px py px vy
rvyy ¼ P 2P 2 P 2 :
Appendix B: Velocity gradient tensor and principal px py  px py
direction and magnitude calculation method It should be noted that rvxx and rvxy are independent of vy , whereas
For approximately homogeneous deformation, the velocity gradient rvyx and rvyy are independent of vx . The velocity gradient tensor is
tensor (rv) relates the vector from the coordinate origin to the inherently asymmetric (rvxy = rvyx ), so the anti-symmetric part
location of a particle ( p) with the velocity vector (v) of the same quantifies average rotation rate about a vertical axis for the study
particle via matrix multiplication (Ramsay and Huber 1983; area. The symmetric part of the velocity gradient tensor (i.e. strain
Allmendinger et al. 2012): rate tensor) quantifies distortional and dilational components of
deformation, and excludes the rotational component (Ramsay and
Huber 1983; Allmendinger et al. 2012). Based on assumption that
v ¼ rv † p: (B1) the rate of volume change equals zero, the vertical rate of strain
equals

Although the problem at hand is fundamentally three-dimensional,
GPS data yield ineffective constraints in the vertical direction owing
to large uncertainties that stem from satellite geometry. For this
reason, we analyse only horizontal components of GPS data, and
assume that the vertical is a principal direction of strain rate. The
assumption is justified by the footprint of the geodetic network,
which is large in comparison with both the amplitudes of surface
topography and crustal thickness, so Anderson’s theory of faulting
(Anderson 1951) predicts that the vertical should be a principal
direction of stress. We apply equation (B1) in the horizontal plane,
and ignore curvature of the Earth’s surface. Provided that the rate of
crustal volume change is zero, principal strain rates in the horizontal
plane yield a complementary estimate of strain rate in the vertical
direction. Computation is simplified by demanding that v and p
observations share not only coordinate system but also units of
measure.
A local Cartesian coordinate system was defined by an origin
located at the centre of mass for GPS receiver coordinates in the
study area, at which point model velocity equals the average velocity
among all GPS stations. Averages were subtracted from published
values of v and p, and all length units were converted to kilometres.
If deformation is approximately homogeneous, then each GPS
receiver (associated values of v and p) constitutes a partial constraint
on a common velocity gradient tensor. In concert, the GPS dataset
(N = 98) dramatically over-constrains the velocity gradient tensor,
so we seek the unique solution that best fits the dataset in a least-
squares sense. The sums of component-wise squares for residuals
between model velocity (v0 ) and observed velocity (v) were
minimized across the scope of the dataset:
X
N X
N reservoirs in the Halahatang Depression (Tarim Basin, NW China) determined
(v0 x  vx )2 ¼ (rvxx  px þ rvxy  py  vx )2
i¼1 i¼1
(B2)
X
N X
N
0
(v y  vy ) ¼
2
(rvyx  px þ rvyy  py  vy )2
i¼1 i¼1
where positive x and y signify geographical eastward and northward
directions, respectively. Minimization was achieved by setting
partial derivatives to zero for each component of the velocity
gradient tensor, and solving the consequent system of four
rvzz ¼ (rvxx þ rvyy ) (B4)
regardless of whether the vertical is a principal direction or not. If a
principal direction is approximately vertical, then
rvxz ¼ rvzx ¼ rvyz ¼ rvzy ffi 0: (B5)
Conventional analysis of the velocity gradient tensor yields
principal directions and rates of strain in all three spatial dimensions.
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