1 Note to straive CE please check XML not converted

2 Hydrocarbon expulsion mechanism of Lower Cambrian

3 argillaceous source rocks in the Tarim Basin,China

4 JunqingChen 1,2,*
;

5 XiaobinYang ; 2

6 XingangZhang ; 4

7 XiongqiPang ; 3

8 JinyangLuo 5,6
;

9 BoPang ; 3

10 FujieJiang ; 3

11 HaijunYang ; 7

12 JiarunLi8;
13 KanyuanShi 3

1
14 Beijing Key Laboratory of Optical Detection Technology for Oil and Gas
15 China University of Petroleum
16 Beijing, 102249, China
2
17 BasicResearchCenterforEnergy Interdisciplinary, College of Science, China University of
18 Petroleum
19 Beijing, 102249, China
3
20 Collage of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum
21 Beijing, 102249, China
4
22 China Petroleum Changqing Oilfield Exploration and Development Research Institute

23 Xian, 710016, China

5
24 Southwest petroleum university
25 Chengdu, 610500, China
6
26 North China Oilfield Science and Technology Information Department
27 Renqiu, 062552, China
 7
28 Exploration and Development Research Institute of petroChina Tarim Oilfield Company
29 Korla, 841000, China
8
30 China University of Petroleum East China
31 Qingdao, 266580, China
32 *Correspondence: cjq7745@163.com; Tel.: 13581924660

33 Abstract

34 The source of oil and gas in the Tarim Basin's platform has always been controversial.
35 The Lower Cambrian Yurtusi Formation and the Xidashan fFormation–Xishanbulak
36 fFormation argillaceous source rocks are an important set of oil source series in the
37 basin. Based on the principle of conservation of matter, this paper calculates the
38 hydrocarbon expulsion amount of the source rock. Using a phase state hydrocarbon
39 expulsion amount characterization model, the paper reconstructs the evolution process
40 of the hydrocarbon expulsion phase state of the source rock. According to the
41 characterization model of hydrocarbon expulsion dynamics, the relative contribution
42 of each force to hydrocarbon expulsion are evaluated. The hydrocarbon expulsion
43 geologic model of argillaceous source rocks in the Lower Cambrian in the Tarim
44 Basin is established. The results show that this set of source rocks can serve the main
45 source rocks in the basin. The hydrocarbon expulsion of the Lower Cambrian
46 argillaceous source rocks in the Tarim Basin can be divided into three stages. In the
47 first stage,the hydrocarbon expulsion phase is dominated by the water-soluble and
48 diffusion phases. The conversion of clay minerals into dehydration and diffusion
49 forces is the main driving force for the hydrocarbon expulsion. In the second stage,
50 the oil and gas expulsion present the characteristics of multiphase and multidynamic
51 coexistence. In the third stage, the phase state of oil and gas expulsion is mainly free
52 phase. The capillary force difference and the thermal expansion force of the fluid rock
53 are the main driving forces for oil and gas expulsion.The research results of this paper
54 can deepen the understanding of the hydrocarbon expulsion mechanism of the set of
55 source rocks, and then guide oil and gas exploration.

56 Keywords
57 driving forces of hydrocarbon expulsion

58 hydrocarbon expulsion efficiency

59 hydrocarbon expulsion phase state

60 Lower Cambrian source rocks evaluation

61 Tarim Basin

62 Highlights
63 1. This paper obtains the hydrocarbon expulsion amount of the source rock.
64 2. This paper restores the evolution process of the hydrocarbon expulsion phase
65 state of the source rock
66 3. The relative contribution of each expulsion dynamics to hydrocarbon
67 expulsion is evaluated.
68

69 1. INTRODUCTION

70 Two sets of marine source rocks with high abundance (TOC >> 0.5%) have been
71 identified in the platform of the Tarim Basin, which are Cambrian Lower Ordovician
72 and Middle-Upper Ordovician(Xiao et al., 2005; Zhang et al., 2012; Chen et al.,
73 2016). The source rocks of the Tarim Basin HCs are considered to be (a) M-U
74 (Middle and Upper) Ordovician rocks, (b) Lower Cambrian, or (c) a mixed origin
75 from both Ordovician and Cambrian. The debate over the three viewpoints has been
76 protracted(Li et al., 2021).In recent years, the successful drilling of Xinghuo Well 1
77 and Luntan Well 1 located in the Tabei Uplift has revealed that a set of source rocks
78 developed in the Lower Cambrian Yuertus Formation. The lithology of the source
79 rocks is mainly mud shale, with an average total organic carbon (TOC) content of
80 over 3%. The Kerogen type is mainly Type I, with a vitrinite reflectance of over 1.5%
 81 and a maximum production thickness of 30 m. This set of source rocks is likely to be
82 the main source of hydrocarbon in the Cambrian and even in the platform of Tarim
83 Basin(Yang et al., 2020). Meanwhile, there is an argillaceous source rock of
84 Xishanbulak Formation deposited at the same time as Yurtus Formation, and the
85 argillaceous source rock of Xishanshan Formation is developed above it, with an
86 average TOC value of about 2.54%. The Kerogen type is similar to the Yuertus
87 Formation, with a vitrinite reflectance above 2.0%, and the thickness of the source
88 rocks is larger than that of the Yuertus Formation. The thickness in the basin can
89 reach about 100 m. It also exhibits great hydrocarbon generation potential (Gong et
90 al., 2021).However, the current research is mainly focused on the evaluation of the
91 geochemical characteristics of the Lower Cambrian argillaceous source rocks. The
92 research on how hydrocarbon are expelled from the interior of this set of source rocks,
93 i.e.that is, the mechanism of hydrocarbon expulsion from the source rocks, is
94 relatively weak, hindering the evaluation of the resource potential of this set of source
95 rocks and the understanding of the mechanism of oil and gas expulsion. Therefore,
96 according to the principle of conservation of matter, this paper obtains the oil and gas
97 expulsion amount of the source rock based on the calculation of the amounts of
98 hydrocarbon generation and residual hydrocarbon of this source rock. Based on the
99 different phase state hydrocarbon expulsion amount characterization model, this paper
100 restores the evolution process of the hydrocarbon expulsion phase state of the source
101 rock.According to the characterization model of hydrocarbon expulsion dynamics, the
102 magnitude of each force was quantitatively calculated, establishing a geological
103 model of the hydrocarbon expulsion and clarifying the oil and gas expulsion
104 mechanism. The research results are of great significance for deepening the
105 understanding of the hydrocarbon expulsion mechanism.

106 2. GEOLOGICAL SETTING

107 [2.1.] Basin cConfiguration and eExploration hHistory

2
108 Tarim Basin is located in northwest China, with an area of about 56 × 104 km
109 (Figure 1). The basin area is composed of five uplifts (Tabei Uplift, Bachu Uplift,
110 Tadong Low Uplift, Shuntuogule Low Uplift, and Tazhong Low Uplift), three
111 depressions (Awati Depression, Manjiaer Depression, and Tangguzibas Depression),
112 and two slopes (Maigaiti Slope and Kongquehe Slope). Currently, the proven oil and
113 gas reserves in the platform of Tarim Basinexceeds 2.5 billion tons, and the annual oil
114 and gas equivalent production exceeds 14 million tons. The exploration prospect is
115 also good(Zhu et al., 2016; Gong et al., 2021).
116 In the Early Cambrian, the Tarim Basin exhibited a sedimentary pattern of “West
117 Platform East Basin.” Carbonate platform facies and basin facies dominated the west
118 and east, respectively. The stratigraphic division of the western platform facies area
119 was differed from that of the eastern slope basin facies area(Ji et al., 2021).The Lower
120 Cambrian shelf facies sedimentary Yuertus Formation, basin facies sedimentary
121 Xidashan Formation, and Xishanbulake Formation developed argillaceous source
122 rocks(Figure 2). The Yuertus Formation has a thickness of about 30 m, with the
123 bottom layer mainly composed of phosphate-rich siliceous rocks with thin layers of
124 dolomite, the middle layer developed carbonaceous shale with muddy micrite
125 dolomite, and the upper layer developed dolomite (Han et al., 2017). The maximum
126 thickness in the basins of the Xidashan and Xishanbulake Formations can reach more
127 than 100 m, and the lithology is mainly black greygray siliceous mudstone (Xie et al.,
128 2022).

129

130 FIGURE 1.Regional location of the Tarim Basin and distribution of oil and gas fields in the platform

131 basin.

132

133 FIGURE 2. Cambrian stratigraphic division in the Tarim Basin.

134 [2.2.] Development cCharacteristics of hHydrocarbon sSource

135 rRocks

136 [2.2.1.] Geological cCharacteristics

137 FIGURE 3 shows the distribution of hydrocarbon source rocks. The Lower Cambrian
138 argillaceous source rock in the basin is thick in the east, thin in the west, thick in the north
139 and thin in the south, The hydrocarbon source rocks can reach a maximum thickness of
140 100 m, distributed in the Yingdong area.Secondly, the thickness of Source rock in Cambrian
141 platform margin belt in Lunnan area is also large, ranging from 60 m to 80 m. The thickness
142 of Source rock in Manxi platform depression area is between 30 m and 60 m, and the
143 thickness of Lower Cambrian argillaceous Source rock in southwest Tarim area is between
144 10 m and 40 m (Yan et al., 2019).
145

146 FIGURE 3.Thickness distribution of Lower Cambrian argillaceous source rocks in Tarim Basin [12].

147 [2.2.2.] Geochemical cCharacteristics

148 At the end of Cambrian deposition, it was a stable environment (Figure 4).
149 Statistical analysis of TOC content in Lower Cambrian shale shows that most of them
150 are greater than 0.5%,with 59% of the samples having an organic carbon content
151 above 2.0%. The carbon isotopes of kerogen were used to identify the kerogen types,
152 and the results showed that the kerogen types were Types I and II, with a high
153 proportion of Type I samples. Terrestrial higher plants were not developed during the
154 Early PalaeozoicPaleozoic, and the organic parent materials were derived from
155 benthic algae and planktonic algae, with a simple structure.Therefore, the diversity of
156 organic matter types may be caused by the diversity of organic-parent-material(Hu et
157 al., 2014; Chen et al., 2014). It is generally suggested that the kerogen type is mainly
158 Type I. Since no higher plants appeared during the deposition of early
159 PalaeozoicPaleozoic strata, the maturity of Lower Cambrian argillaceous source rocks
160 is evaluated by using rock pyrolysis peak temperature (Tmax) converted into Vitrinite
161 reflectance, as shown in Formula (1)(Jacob et al., 1989; Jarvie et al., 2012; Katz et al.,
162 2021).

163 (1)

164 The reflectance data of vitrinite from Lower Cambrian argillaceous source rocks
165 in Tarim Basin are statistically analysedanalyzed (Table 1). It can be seen that the
166 reflectance of vitrinite is basically above 1.5%, with most being above 2.0%. The
167 Tmax value of the sample is between 400 °C and 550 °C. Overall, the source rock has
168 entered a stage of high over maturity evolution.Generally, the source rock has reached
169 a high-overmature evolution stage. On the plain, the maturity of the eastern region is
170 higher than that of the western region, and the regions with high maturity are located
171 in the depression region (Figure 5).
172

173 FIGURE 4.Burial history of platform in Tarim Basin(Yang et al., 2021).

174 TABLE 1. The statistics of the vitrinite reflectance.

Outcrop or Stratigraphic

well location horizon /% Data source

Xiaoerbulak
Yuertus fFormation 2.63 ~ 2.85
profile Reference (Jiao et al.,

Kuluketag Xishanbulak 2012)

1.92 ~ 2.20
profile fFormation

Tadong-1 Yuertus、Xidas
2.45 ~ 2.75
well fFormation

Tadong-2 Yuertus、Xidas
2.65 ~ 2.95 Petrochina Tarim Oilfield,
well fFormation
Sinopec Northwest
Xinghuo-1
Yuertus fFormation 1.43 ~ 1.50 Petroleum Bureau
well

Kongtan-1 Xidas-Xishanbulak
2.46 ~ 2.62
well fFormation

175

176

177 FIGURE 5.Isocontour of Vitrinite Reflectance in Late Himalayan period of Cambrian bottom boundary

178 in the Tarim Basin.

179 3. METHOD AND WORKFLOW

180 3.1. Workflow

181 The technology roadmap (Figure 6) designed during this study is as follows.
182 Firstly, logging and logging data in the study area and source rock geochemical data
183 are collected. Then, through hydrocarbon generation simulation and residual
184 hydrocarbon simulation, the hydrocarbon generation characteristics and amount of
185 source rock, the characteristics of residual hydrocarbon and the amount of residual
186 hydrocarbon are analysedanalyzed and calculated. Finally, according to the
187 quantitative calculation of different hydrocarbon expulsion dynamics, the oil and gas
188 expulsion mechanism of this set of source rocks was clarified.
189

190 FIGURE 6.Technical Route of evaluating relative contribution of dynamic forces and revealing the

191 hydrocarbon expulsion mechanism.

192 [3.2.] Calculation of the hHydrocarbon eExpulsion aAmount

193 Based on the principle of conservation of matter, this paper subtracts the residual
194 hydrocarbon amount from the hydrocarbon generation amount to obtain the
195 hydrocarbon expulsion amount of the source rock. In terms of elemental composition,
196 kerogen and its products are basically composed of five elements: carbon (C),
197 hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), and the content of five elements
198 can account for more than 99.5% of the total weight of kerogen. From the perspective
199 of material conservation, without considering the external input and the reaction of
200 the above five elements with other substances, the transformation process of kerogen
201 into oil and gas can be regarded as the transformation and conservation process of the
202 above five elements.
203 First, the method of calculating the generated products of source rocks based on
204 the idea of element conservation proposed by Pang Xiongqi et al. in 1993 was used to
205 calculate the amount of oil and gas generated (Pang et al., 1993). The input
206 parameters required for this method include the elemental composition of kerogen and
207 its products and the relative yield of each product, among others. These parameters
208 are generally obtained through pyrolysis experiments and kerogen element analysis
209 experiments.Since the kerogen type of the Lower Cambrian argillaceous source rock
210 in the Tarim Basin is mainly Type I, the calculation of hydrocarbon generation is
211 based on the reference of Type I kerogen data (Table 2).

212 TABLE 2.Optimization calculation of hydrocarbon generation capacity and material balance of Type I

213 argillaceous source rocks (Pang et al., 1993).

Ro/% 0.2 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

Weight/t 1 0.7512 0.60420.4815 0.4229 0.39210.3688 0.3501

Change KC 69.32 76.18 82.86 86.14 88.36 90.22 91.57 92.83

characteristics of
Element KH 10.98 10.92 9.57 7.32 5.01 3.76 2.9 2.32
organic parent
composition/% KO 16.7 11.38 6.04 5.06 5.19 4.57 4.13 3.5
materials
KN 1.7 1.69 1.68 1.77 1.84 1.83 1.81 1.77
KS 1.2 1.18 1.15 1.14 1.14 1.12 1.1 1.05

Elemental KC10 74.37 76.5 78.5 80.5 82.5 84.5 86

composition of
KH10 8.73 8.5 8.45 8.1 7.5 7.3 7.15
liquid
Characteristics KO10 12.75 11.21 9.67 8.13 6.59 5.05 3.51
hydrocarbons/
of products KN10 2.12 1.96 1.8 1.64 1.48 1.32 1.16
%
during KS10 2.03 1.88 1.73 1.58 1.44 1.29 1.15
conversion K10 0.121 0.2 0.1882 0.178 0.1724 0.166 0.1663
Relative
K2 0.5625 0.81180.9406 0.9232 0.90110.8748 0.8512
products of
K3 0.1125 0.68 0.8257 0.8033 0.71310.7477 0.7264
hydrocarbons
K4 0.1812 0.41640.5479 0.5456 0.52940.5112 0.4966
214
215 After the input parameters are determined, a program can be written using the
216 simplex method to calculate the occurrence rates of methane, ethane, propane, butane,
217 carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, hydrogen, water, and liquid hydrocarbons
218 (Ra (i), i = 1,2,3... 10)(Pang et al., 1993). Ra (i) is defined as the amount of
219 hydrocarbon generated when an organic parent material forms 1 ton of organic carbon
220 at different stages of thermal evolution and is presented in Equation (2)(Pang et al.,
221 1993):

222 (2)
 3
223 where Xi is the amount of ten products, m or kg; Mo is the initial weight of

224 the parent material, kg; and is the parent material conversion amount, kg.

225 The initial weight of kerogen is a known condition, and in actual calculations,

226 we can normalize it to 1, So the value of Mo is set to 1. Subsequently, the

227 product occurrence rate is multiplied by the organic carbon content of the unit

228 volume source rock to obtain the hydrocarbon generation amount of the unit

229 volume source rock. In order to restore the complete evolution process of

230 hydrocarbon generation in this set of source rocks, it is first necessary to

231 restore the original organic carbon content (TOCo) The TOCo recovery

232 coefficient chart of type I argillaceous source rocks was used to restore the

233 original organic carbon content of the source rocks (Pang et al., 2014). Then

234 the source rock thickness map and vitrinite reflectance contour map are used

235 to calculate the hydrocarbon generation.

236 Then, the calculation method for residual gaseous hydrocarbon amount in
237 different forms proposed by Pang Xiongqi et al. in 1993 was used to simulate and
238 calculate the residual gaseous hydrocarbon amount in the adsorbed phase, water-
239 soluble phase, and oil-soluble phase(Yan et al., 2019). Equations (3)(Yan et al., 2019)
240 and (4) (Pang et al., 2014) show the light hydrocarbon compensation and heavy
241 hydrocarbon correction formulas, respectively. Finally, combined with the thickness
242 map of the source rock and the vitrinite reflectance contour map, the residual
243 hydrocarbon amount is calculated.

244 (3)

245 where Bk is the recovery coefficient of light hydrocarbons, dimensionless.

246 (4)

247 Where Kzhong is the correction coefficient for heavy hydrocarbons,

248 dimensionless; S1 is residual hydrocarbon, mg/g; and S2 is pyrolysis

249 hydrocarbon, mg/g.

250 [3.3.] Calculation of hHydrocarbon eExpulsion in dDifferent

251 pPhase sStates

252 The hydrocarbon expulsion phase of the source rock include water-soluble phase,
253 oil-soluble phase, diffusion phase, and free phase. The calculation models for the
254 hydrocarbon expulsion amount of the four -phase states are presented (Han et al.,
255 2014).
256 [3.3.1.] Characterization mModel for the aAmount of gGaseous
257 hHydrocarbons eExpelled from the wWater-soluble pPhase

258 (5)

3
259 where Qew is the amount of gaseous hydrocarbon expelled from 1 m of source

3 3 3
260 rock in the water-soluble phase, m /m ; Qp is the 1 m source rock drainage
 3 3
261 volume under compaction, m ; Qp is the fluid expulsion of 1 m source rock

3
262 under compaction; and qw(i) is the dissolved hydrocarbon gas content of 1 m

3 3
263 of formation water, m /m .

264 (6)

265 where 0 and φ are the porosities of the source rock on the surface and

266 underground, %, and So is the oil saturation of the source rock, %.

267 The model for the quantitative calculation of the volume of liquid expelled via
268 clay dehydration is as follows(Pang et al., 2003).

269 (7)

270 (8)

271 (9)

272 where Im is the conversion amount of montmorillonite,%; MMI is the initial

273 content of montmorillonite,%; a is the conversion rate coefficient of

274 montmorillonite, dimensionless; Cclay is the measured clay mineral content in

275 the source rock,%; Itis the measured content of illite in the source rock,%;Z is

276 the depth of the source rock, m; Zm is the burial depth of the source rock
277 during massive dehydration, m; and ρr (Z) is the density of the source rock

3
278 when the burial depth is Z, kg/m .

279 (10)

280 (11)

281 (12)

282 (13)

283 where qw(1,T,P,Xk) is the solubility of CH4 in the formation water affected by

284 formation water salinity, temperature, and pressure, dimensionless; Xk is the

285 salinity of formation water, g/l; qw(i,T,P) is a parameter that determines the

286 solubility of hydrocarbon gases as a function, dimensionless; P is the

287 formation pressure, Pa; T is the formation temperature, °C; i is the type of

288 hydrocarbon gas, and i = 1,2,3 corresponds to methane gas, ethane gas, and

289 butane gas, respectively.

290 [3.3.2.] Characterization mModel for the aAmount of gGaseous
291 hHydrocarbons eExpelledfrom the oOil-soluble pPhase

292 (14)

3
293 Where Qeo is the amount of expelled gaseous hydrocarbon in a 1 m source

3 3
294 rock oil solution phase, m /m ; Qr is the amount of liquid hydrocarbon

3 3 3
295 generated by 1 m source rock, m /m ; Qrm is the amount of the remaining

3 3
296 liquid hydrocarbon, m /m ; and qo(i) is the amount of gaseous hydrocarbon

3 3 3
297 that can be dissolved by 1 m crude oil, m /m (Han et al., 2014).

298 (15)

299 (16)

300 (17)

301 (18)

302 (19)

303 where qo (T, P) is the amount of gaseous hydrocarbons that can be dissolved

3 3 3
304 in 1 m of crude oil at a certain temperature and pressure,m /m ; K(ρo) is the
305 change factor of the residual hydrocarbon gas content in an oil-soluble form

306 with the density of liquid hydrocarbon, dimensionless; qog(T,P) is a function of

307 the amount of oil-soluble gaseous hydrocarbons under the dual effects of

308 temperature and pressure; K(i) is the proportional coefficient, dimensionless;

3
309 and ρo is the density of underground crude oil, kg/m (Yan et al., 2019).

310 [3.3.3.] Characterization mModel for the aAmount of gGaseous

311 hHydrocarbons expelled from the dDiffusion pPhase

312 (20)

313 where Qed is the amount of gaseous hydrocarbon expelled from the diffusion
3 3 3
314 phase of 1 m source rock, m /m ; dC/dZ is the concentration gradient of the
3
315 hydrocarbon gas along the diffusion path; S is the area of 1 m source rock
2 3
316 hydrocarbon gas diffusion, m /m ; t is the time when the hydrocarbon gas undergoes
2
317 diffusion, s; and D is the diffusion coefficient of the hydrocarbon gas, m /s(Yan et al.,
318 2019).
319 The data presented in Table 3 can be used to calculate the diffusion coefficient D.
320 Equations (22) and (23) are used to calculate the hydrocarbon concentration gradient
321 in the diffusion direction of dC/dZ:

322 TABLE 3.Diffusion coefficients of hydrocarbon gases(Luo et al., 1986).

Gas hydrocarbon Methane Ethane Propane Isopropane

Diffusion coefficient/cm2/s 2.12 × 10–-6 1.11 × 10–-6 5.55 × 10–-7 3.75 × 10–-7

Gas hydrocarbon N-butane N-pentane N-hexane N-heptane

Diffusion coefficient/cm2/s 3.00 × 10–-7 1.57 × 10–-7 8.20 × 10–-8 4.30 × 10–-8
323 (21)

324 (22)

325 where Qw(i) is the content of hydrocarbon gas dissolved by the formation of

3 3 3
326 water in the pores of 1 m source rock, m /m .

327 [3.3.4.] Characterization mModel for the aAmount of gGaseous

328 hHydrocarbons eExpelled from the fFree pPhase

3
329 The gaseous hydrocarbon expulsion amount of 1 m source rock of the free phase
330 can be calculated using the following model (Yan et al., 2019):

331 (23)

3
332 where Qes is the amount of gaseous hydrocarbon expelled from 1 m source

3 3
333 rock in the free phase state, m /m , and Qe is the total expulsion volume of 1

3 3 3
334 m source rock, m /m .

335 [3.4.] Evaluation of the mMagnitude of dDifferent

336 hHydrocarbon eExpulsion dDynamics and tTheir rRelative
337 cContribution to the hHydrocarbon eExpulsion

338 Currently, it is widely recognized that the oil and gas expulsion dynamics of
339 source rocks include compaction (Li et al., 2000; Gao et al., 2000; Chen et al., 2004),
340 thermal expansion of fluid rocks (Chen et al., 2004), compatibilization of hydrocarbon
341 generation products (Berg, 1999; Zhang et al., 2017), conversion and dehydration of
342 clay minerals (Shi et al., 2003), capillary force (Berg, 1994; Jenyon et al., 2004), and
343 diffusion force (Leythaeuser et al., 1980; Cha et al., 1994). In 2003, Pang Xiongqi et
344 al characterized the magnitude of different hydrocarbon expulsion forces through the
345 amount of fluid expelled from different forces (Pang et al., 2003). The calculation
346 model is as follows (Pang et al., 2003):

347 (24)

348 where f is the driving force for hydrocarbon expulsion, Pa; dt is the time, s; μ

349 is the viscosity of the fluid, Pa·s; dQ refers to the amount of hydrocarbon

3
350 expelled from the source rock when the burial depth increases by dZ, m ; and

351 dkw is the differential of fluid permeability, μm2. The hydrocarbon expulsion

352 force f here does not include the capillary force, which can be directly

353 calculated by formula. The viscosity and permeability of the fluid in the

354 formula are approximately replaced by the viscosity and permeability of

355 water. The calculation models are as follows (Pang et al., 2003):

356 (25)

357 (26)
358 Based on the above principles, the quantitative calculation models for
359 hydrocarbon expulsion dynamics are as follows:
360 [3.4.1.] Characterization mModel for cCompaction

361 (27)
362 where fPis the compaction, Pa, and dQP is the amount of liquid expelled from

363 the source rock under compaction when the burial depth of the source rock

3
364 increases by dZ, m (Pang et al., 2003).

365 (28)

366 where 1 and 2 are the porosities of the source rock when the burial depth is

367 Z1 and Z2, respectively, %, and QP is the liquid expulsion volume of

3
368 compaction, m (Pang et al., 2003).

369 [3.4.2.] Characterization mModel of the tThermal eExpansion fForce

370 of rRock mMatrix

371 (29)

372 where dQR is the amount of liquid expelled by the source rock under the

3
373 action of thermal expansion of the rock skeleton, m , and fR is the thermal

374 expansion force of the rock Matrix, Pa (Pang et al., 2003).

375 (30)

376 where Ksr1 and Ksr2 are the thermal expansion rates of the source rock when

377 the burial depth is Z1and Z2, respectively, dimensionless, and QR is the liquid
 3
378 expulsion under the action of thermal expansion force of the rock Matrix, m

379 (Pang et al., 2003).

380 The linear expansion rate of mudstone is related to temperature (Lu et al., 1990),
381 and its calculation model is as follows:

382 (31)

383 [3.4.3.] Characterization mModel of the oOil tThermal eExpansion

384 fForce

385 (32)

386 where fO is the thermal expansion force of oil, Pa, and dQOis the amount of

387 liquid expelled under the action of oil thermal expansion force when the

3
388 depth increases by dZ, m (Pang et al., 2003).

389 (33)

390 whereKhvo1and Khvo2 are the thermal expansion rates of liquid hydrocarbons

391 when the burial depth is Z1 and Z2, respectively, dimensionless, and QO is the

392 liquid expulsion amount of the source rock under the action of an oil thermal

3
393 expansion force, m .The thermal expansion rate of oil is related to

394 temperature (Luo et al., 1986), and the calculation model is as follows:
395 (34)

396 [3.4.4.] Thermal eExpansion fForce cCharacterization mModel of

397 wWater

398 (35)

399 wherefW is the thermal expansion force of water, Pa, and dQW is the amount of

400 liquid expelled from the source rock due to the thermal expansion of water

3
401 when the burial depth increases by dZ, m .

402 (36)

403 whereKhvw1 and Khvw2 are the thermal expansion rates of formation water

404 when the burial depths are Z1 and Z2, respectively, dimensionless, and QW is

405 the liquid expulsion amount of the source rock under thermal expansion of

3
406 water, m .

407 The thermal expansion rate of water is related to temperature (Luo Jingtan and
408 Wang Yuncheng, 1986), and the calculation model is as follows (Pang et al., 2003):

409 (37)

410 [3.4.5.] Characterization mModel of the gGas tThermal eExpansion

411 fForce

412 (38)
413 wheredQG is the liquid expulsion amount under the action of the gas thermal

3
414 expansion force when the depth of the source rock increases by dZ, m , and fG

415 is the gas thermal expansion force, Pa (Pang et al., 2003).

416 (39)

417 (40)

418 wherek is the gas volume recovery coefficient when the burial depth changes,

419 dimensionless;QG is the liquid expulsion under the action of gas thermal

3
420 expansion, m ; and SG is gas saturation, %.

421 [3.4.6.] Characterization mModel of the hHydrocarbon gGeneration

422 cCompatibility

423 (41)

424 wheredQPD is the liquid expulison expulsion amount under the effect of the

425 hydrocarbon generation compatibility force when the depth of the source

3
426 rock increases by dZ,m , and fPD is the force that produces compatibilization

427 due to hydrocarbon generation, Pa(Pang et al., 2003).

428 [3.4.7.] Characterization mModel for the cConversion and
429 dDehydration of cClay mMinerals

430 (42)

431 wheredQCW is the liquid expulsion amount under the conversion and

3
432 dehydration of clay minerals when the depth increases by dZ, m , andfCW is

433 the force generated by the conversion and dehydration of clay minerals, Pa.

434 See Equations (8)–(10) for the calculation of clay mineral conversion dehydration
3
435 amount of 1 m hydrocarbon source rock.

436 [3.4.8.] Diffusion fForce cCharacterization mModel:

437 (43)

3
438 where QD is the gas expulsion amount under the action of the diffusion force, m

439 (Pang et al., 1993).

440 Equations (22) and (23) are used to calculate the hydrocarbon concentration
441 gradient in the diffusion direction of dC/dZ.
442 [3.4.9.] Capillary fForce cCharacterization mModel:

443 Capillary force is generally used as a resistance to oil and gas migration.
444 However, when a large amount of hydrocarbons accumulates within the source rock
445 and oil and gas are connected within the source rock, capillary force can be used as a
446 driving force for the initial migration of oil and gas (Barker, 1980). To be precise, the
447 difference in the capillary force between the source rock and the reservoir that results
448 in the occurrence of the initial migration.
449 The calculation formula for capillary force is.
450 (44)

451 (45)

452 wherePcW/O and PcW/Gare the capillary forces between oil–water and gas–

453 water, Pa, respectively; r is the throat radius, 10−−10 m; and δW/O and δW/Gare the

454 interfacial tensions of oil–water and gas–water, N/m.

455 The oil-–water interfacial tension, as well as the interfacial tension between gas
456 and water, is temperature dependent (Bao, 2003). The characterization model is as
457 follows:

458 (46)

459 (47)

460 The throat radius of argillaceous source rocks can be calculated by porosity (Lu
461 et al., 1990) (Equation (49)). Since the hydrocarbon generated by this set of source
462 rocks are mainly stored in the overlying carbonate reservoirs of the Xiaoerbulake and
463 Wusonger Formations, there is a relationship between the permeability of the
464 carbonate rocks and the throat radius (Yan et al., 2015). Therefore, for the throat
465 radius of the carbonate reservoir, the porosity of the carbonate reservoir at different
466 burial depths is obtained according to the relationship between the porosity and depth
467 of the carbonate reservoir in the platform–basin area of the Tarim Basin established
468 by Chen Junqing in 2016 (Equation (50))(Chen et al., 2016). Subsequently, the
469 relationship between the porosity and permeability of the carbonate reservoirs was
470 fitted based on global average porosity and permeability P50 data (Ehrenberg et al.,
471 2005). As shown in Figure 7. The relationship between the measured throat radius
472 and permeability of carbonate rocks from eight wells in the basin (Equation (51)) is
473 then used to obtain the throat radius of carbonate reservoirs at different burial depths.
474 After obtaining the pore throat radius and interfacial tension, the oil–water capillary
475 force difference and the gas–water capillary force difference between the source and
476 reservoir can be calculated using Equations (45) and (46).

477 (48)

478 (49)

479 (50)

480 where K is the permeability, md.

481

482

483 FIGURE 7.Global carbonate porosity and permeability P50 data fitting results.

484 The hydrocarbon expulsion quantity of each force, and its relative contribution to
485 the hydrocarbon expulsion are quantitatively calculated through the corresponding
486 relationship between the forces and the hydrocarbon expulsion phase state (Figure 8).
487 The calculation principle is as follows:
488 Amount of hydrocarbon in the oil-soluble and water-soluble phases expelled by
489 different dynamics for hydrocarbon expulsion (Pang et al., 2003):

490 (51)

491 Where Qds(I) is the hydrocarbon quantity of the oil-soluble and water-soluble

3
492 phases by different dynamics for hydrocarbon expulsion, m ; I is different
493 dynamics for hydrocarbon expulsion; and dF(I) is the magnitude of different

494 dynamics for hydrocarbon expulsion, Pa.

495 Amount of free phase hydrocarbons expelled by different driving forces of the
496 hydrocarbon expulsion(Pang et al., 2003):

497 (52)

498 where Qdfs(I) is the amount of free phases of hydrocarbon expelled by different

3
499 driving forces of the hydrocarbon expulsion, m .

500 Amount of hydrocarbon expelled by the diffusion force that belongs to the
501 diffusion phase(Pang et al., 2003):

502 (53)

3
503 where Qdf (I) is the gas expulsion amount of the diffusion force, m .

504

505 FIGURE 8. Corresponding relationship between different hydrocarbon expulsion dynamics and

506 hydrocarbon expulsion phase states (Pang et al., 2003) (The numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9

507 represent nine different forces for hydrocarbon expulsion, Qi represents the hydrocarbon expulsion

508 amount of nine different forces).

509 4. RESULTS

510 [4.1.] Volume of hHydrocarbon eExpulsion

511 First, the hydrocarbon generation amount was calculated. Figure 9 shows the
512 production rate of each product, and the overall occurrence rate of each product
513 presents gradually increases with the progress of thermal evolution. Among
514 hydrocarbon gases, methane has the highest production rate, followed by ethane,
515 propane, and butane. Among non-hydrocarbon gases, carbon dioxide has the highest
516 production rate. In the generated liquid products, oil has a higher production rate than
517 water. Figure 9 shows the TOCo recovery results. When Ro is 0.5%, the average TOCo
518 is approximately 8.5%, indicating a high organic matter content.
519

520 FIGURE 9.Variation of the production rate of each product with Roand results of TOCo recovery1):

521 hydrocarbon gas; 2): Non hydrocarbon gas; 3): Liquid products 4):results of TOCo recovery.

522 FIGURE 10 shows the computed results of the hydrocarbon generation amount . With the
523 progress of thermal evolution, the cumulative content of methane generation gas, C 2–4 gas,
524 and liquid hydrocarbon of the source rock gradually increased. The maximum amount of
525 methane generation gas, C2–4 gas generation, and liquid hydrocarbon generation can reach 25
3 3 3 3 3
526 m /m , 22 m /m , and 25 kg/m , respectively.
527

528 FIGURE 10.Quantity of methane gas, C2-4 gas, and liquid hydrocarbon generated from source rocks per

529 unit volume.

3 2
530 The maximum gas generation amounts can reach 35 × 108 m /km , the gas
531 generation center is located in Manxitaiao, Lunan area toward the basin and Yingdong
2
532 area, and the maximum oil generation amounts can reach 225 × 104 t/km (Figure 11).
533 The oil generation center basically coincides with the gas generation center. Through
534 calculation, the oil generation amount of the Lower Cambrian argillaceous source
535 rock in the platform area of the Tarim Basin is 4401 × 108 t, and the gas generation
3
536 amount is 743 × 1012 m (Figure 11).
537

538 FIGURE 11.Gas (Left) and oil (Right) generation intensity diagram.

539 Subsequently, the residual hydrocarbon amount was simulated and calculated.
540 Figure 12shows the calculation results of the residual gaseous hydrocarbon amount in
541 different forms. The residual gaseous hydrocarbon content of source rocks generally
542 presents a curve characteristic of increasing first and then decreasing trend. Among
543 the residual gaseous hydrocarbon content of different forms of source rocks, the
544 water-soluble phase and adsorption phase residues are mainly in the early stage, and
545 then the oil-soluble phase residues also account for a certain proportion due to the
546 increase in residual oil content.
547

548 FIGURE 12.Amount of residual gaseous hydrocarbons in different forms (1 and 2); Difference

549 between Measured S1 and Corrected S1 (3); Evolution of residual liquid hydrocarbon content per unit

550 volume of source rock (4).

551 The pyrolysis S1 data of some argillaceous source rocks in the immature to
552 highly mature stages of the Qingshankou Formation I in the Songliao Basin were
553 added to restore the complete evolution process of the residual liquid hydrocarbon
554 content of this set of source rocks (Li et al., 2020). . The results show that S1 exhibits
555 a curve characteristic that firstly increases and then decreases with the evolution trend
556 of Ro. The S1 value reaches the maximum when Ro is about 1.2%, and the corrected S1
557 value is about 3.5 times that of S1 before correction (Figure 12). After the correction,
558 only the unit conversion is required to obtain the residual liquid hydrocarbon content
559 (Figure 12). The residual liquid hydrocarbon content of source rock presents a curve
560 feature that first increases and then decreases, reaching the maximum when Ro is
561 about 1.2%. Furthermore, the maximum residual liquid hydrocarbon content can
562 reach 20 kg.
563 As shown from the contour map of the residual hydrocarbon intensity (Figure
564 13), the maximum amounts of the residual gaseous hydrocarbon can reach
3 2
565 11 × 108 m /km . The center of the residual gaseous hydrocarbon is located in the
566 periphery of the Manjiaer Depression and the Manxi Platform Depression. The
2
567 maximum amounts of the residual liquid hydrocarbon can reach 120 × 104 t/km , and
568 the center of the residual liquid hydrocarbon basically coincides with the center of the
569 residual gaseous hydrocarbon. The calculation shows that the amount of residual gas
570 and oil in the Lower Cambrian argillaceous source rocks in the platform–basin area of
3
571 the Tarim Basin is about 161 × 1012 m and 1456 × 108 t, respectively.
572
573 FIGURE 13.Contour map of residual gas (Left) and oil (Right) intensity .

574 The cumulative methane expulsion gas, C2–4 gas, and liquid hydrocarbon content
575 per unit volume of the source rock continuously increase with thermal
576 evolution(Figure 14). The maximum amounts cumulative methane expulsion gas, C2–4
3 3
577 gas, and liquid hydrocarbon content can reach about 22 m , 19 m , and 28 kg,
578 respectively. As shown in Figure 15, the maximum amounts of gas expulsion
3 2
579 intensity of the source rock can reach 30 × 108 m /km . The gas expulsion center is
580 located in Manxi Tai'ao, Lunan area, toward the basin and Yingdong area, and the
2
581 maximum amounts of oil expulsion intensity can reach 175 × 104 t/km . The oil
582 expulsion center basically coincides with the gas expulsion center. Through
583 calculation, the oil expulsion amount of the Lower Cambrian argillaceous source rock
584 in the platform of the Tarim Basin is 2945 × 108 t, and the gas expulsion amount is
3
585 582 × 1012 m . Combined with the calculation results of oil and gas generation, the
586 gas expulsion efficiency of the Lower Cambrian argillaceous source rocks in the
587 platform of the Tarim Basin is 78%, and the oil expulsion efficiency is 67%.
588

589 FIGURE 14.Content of methane gas, C2–4 gas, and liquid hydrocarbon expelled from the source rock

590 per unit volume.

591

592 FIGURE 15. Isograms of gas (Left)and oil (Right) expulsion Intensity.

593 [4.2.] Hydrocarbon eExpulsion aAmount and eEvolution of the

594 hHydrocarbon eExpulsion pPhase sStates

595 FIGURE 16 shows the calculation results of the hydrocarbon expulsion in each phase state.
596 For the gaseous hydrocarbon expulsion, throughout the entire evolution stage, the
597 hydrocarbon expulsion in the free phase is the largest, followed by the water-soluble and oil-
598 soluble phases, and the hydrocarbon expulsion in the diffusion phase is the smallest. From
599 the perspective of the evolution of a single hydrocarbon expulsion phase, the amount of
600 hydrocarbon expulsion from the water-soluble phase initially increased and then decreased.
601 The amount of hydrocarbon expelled from the oil-soluble phase also presents a first
602 increasing and then a decreasing trend. First, as the thermal evolution of the source rock
603 proceeds, the amount of oil and gas generated and expelled continues to increase, and the
604 amount of hydrocarbon expulsion from the oil-soluble phase also continues to increase,
605 reaching the maximum when Ro is about 1.5%. Subsequently, the amount of hydrocarbon gas
606 expelled from the oil-soluble phase gradually decreases due to the decrease in the amount of
607 oil generated. The hydrocarbon expulsion amount of the diffusion phase also shows a trend
608 of first increasing and then decreasing. When the Ro is about 1.0%, the hydrocarbon
609 expulsion amount of the diffusion phase due to the massive generation of oil and gas also
610 reaches the maximum; however, compared to the hydrocarbon expulsion amount of the
611 water-soluble phase and the oil-soluble phase, the hydrocarbon expulsion amount of the
612 diffusion phase is always the smallest. The amount of hydrocarbon expelled from the free
613 phase generally shows a gradually increasing trend, with the expelled hydrocarbon gases
614 being the largest. In terms of the amount of the expelled liquid hydrocarbon, from the
615 perspective of the entire evolution stage, it is mainly the expulsion of the free phase (Pang et
616 al., 1994). According to the time of hydrocarbon expulsion of the free phase, it is considered
617 that the threshold for methane expulsion (R o) is 0.55%, the threshold for C 2–4 gas expulsion
618 (Ro) is 0.65%, and the threshold for liquid hydrocarbon expulsion (R o) is 0.8%. The threshold
619 for hydrocarbon expulsion of different hydrocarbon components varies.
620

621 FIGURE 16. Phase State and evolution of oil and gas expulsion from unit volume source rock (1, 2 and

622 3); Evolution diagram of expulsion gaseous hydrocarbon phase state (4).

623 The proportion of hydrocarbon expulsion in different phase states at each

624 evolution stage was numerically simulated based on the calculation results of
625 hydrocarbon expulsion in different phase states. As shown in Figure 16, in the early
626 stage (Ro << 0.55%), hydrocarbon expulsion was dominated by water-soluble and
627 diffusion phases, with a large proportion of hydrocarbon expulsion in the water-
628 soluble phase, which can reach 70%. In the middle stage (0.55% < Ro << 2.0%), free -
629 phase gaseous hydrocarbons appear, and the amount of the free -phase hydrocarbon
630 expulsion also increases, with the overall proportion showing a gradually increasing
631 trend. When Ro is about 0.8%, the source rock has reached the liquid hydrocarbon
632 expulsion threshold. Moreover, as the amount of liquid hydrocarbon expulsion
633 gradually increases, the oil-soluble phase gaseous hydrocarbons also account for a
634 certain proportion. In the later stage (Ro >> 2.0%), the proportion of gaseous
635 hydrocarbons expelled from the water-soluble, oil-soluble, and diffusion phases
636 gradually decreases. When Ro is about 3.0%, the proportion of gaseous hydrocarbons
637 expelled from the free phase can reach more than 80%, and the expulsion of
638 hydrocarbon gases is dominated by the free phase.
639 [4.3.] Hydrocarbon eExpulsion dDynamics and mMechanism

640 [4.3.1.] Magnitude of each hHydrocarbon eExpulsion fForce

641 The hydrocarbon expulsion dynamics calculation formula involves many

642 parameters, such as porosity, temperature, and pressure. The following are the
643 statistical results of each parameter.
644 Porosity: Due to the deep burial depth of the Lower Cambrian argillaceous
645 source rock in the basin and the lack of core porosity data, 3236 shale porosity data
646 from the Kuqa Depression were used for fitting. The results showed that with the
647 increase in depth, the porosity gradually decreased, with the surface porosity of about
648 30% (Figure 17). The relationship between porosity and depth can be expressed as
649 follows:

650 (54)
651 Temperature and pressure: The temperature and pressure gradually increase as
652 the burial depth increases. The fitting equations for porosity temperature,, and
653 formation pressure are as follows:

654 (55)

655 (56)
656

657 FIGURE 17.Variation of porosity (1), Temperature (2), and formation pressure (3) with burial depth

658 ; Calculation results of hydrocarbon expulsion dynamics (4).

659 FIGURE 17 shows the calculation results for each hydrocarbon expulsion dynamic. In the
660 depth range of 0–1000 m, the compaction force is the largest, which can reach around 6000 Pa.
661 At this time, the burial depth is relatively shallow, the temperature is relatively low, no oil
662 and gas are generated yet, and the other forces are relatively small. In the depth range of
663 1000–2800 m, the porosity of mudstone decreases rapidly under compaction, so the
664 compressive strength (the amount of liquid expelled due to the compressive strength)
665 decreases rapidly. Montmorillonite gradually releases interlayer water as temperature
666 gradually increases, resulting in a gradual increase in the conversion and dehydration of clay
667 minerals. At this time, the source rock has not yet generated oil and gas (R o has not yet
668 reached 0.2%), and the remaining forces are relatively small. Within the depth range of 2800–
669 7000 m, oil and gas have been continuously generated in the source rock (R o >> 0.2%), and the
670 oil–water capillary pressure difference and gas–water capillary pressure difference have
671 begun to appear, with the maximum being up to 2000 Pa and 7400 Pa, respectively. Since
672 then, due to the high degree of compaction of mudstone, the pore throat radius of the
673 carbonate reservoir under compaction has been continuously reduced, and the capillary
674 pressure difference between the source and reservoir has been continuously reduced.
675 Therefore, both the oil–water capillary force difference and the gas–water capillary force
676 difference are continuously decreasing, but the gas–water capillary force difference remains
677 the largest throughout the stage. In addition to the capillary force difference, when the
678 temperature reaches about 100°C (corresponding to a depth of about 4000 m), the clay
679 minerals begin to remove a large amount of interlayer water, and the conversion dehydration
680 of clay minerals rapidly increases. Later, due to the decrease in dehydration, it rapidly
681 decreases, while the generation of oil and gas continues. The product compatibility force also
682 increases. When the burial depth reaches about 4500 m (corresponding to about 1.5% of R o),
683 the source rock has basically completed the large-scale hydrocarbon generation and
684 expulsion stage, and the product compatibility force reaches a maximum of about 3500 Pa.
685 After that, due to the decrease in the amount of hydrocarbon generated, the product
686 compatibility force also decreases, and the thermal expansion force gradually increases;
687 however, due to the small extent of the increase, the relative size is not large. In the depth
688 range of 7000–9000 m, when the formation temperature is above 150°C, the increase in
689 thermal expansion force also increases. At around 9000 m, the maximum thermal expansion
690 force can reach about 500 Pa, but the gas–water capillary pressure difference is still the largest
691 within this depth range. The compatibility force of hydrocarbon generation products, the
692 conversion and desorption force of clay minerals, and the diffusion force are relatively small.
693 [4.3.2.] Hydrocarbon eExpulsion mMechanism

694 FIGURES 18 shows the hydrocarbon expulsion resulting from different driving forces and
695 their relative contributions to hydrocarbon expulsion. For gas hydrocarbon, hydrocarbon
696 gases begin to expel from the source rock at around 3000 m, with a relatively small amount of
697 gas expelled. The conversion and desorption of clay minerals and the diffusion force are the
698 main expulsion forces. Thereafter, within the depth range of 3000–6000 m, the conversion and
699 desorption of clay minerals show a first increasing and then a decreasing trend, with the gas
700 expulsion reaching its maximum at 4000 m. With the continuous generation of hydrocarbon,
701 the hydrocarbon generation and capacity increasing force also increases. At the same time,
702 with the emergence of free -phase expelled gas (3158 m), the gas–water capillary force
703 difference in the expelled volume also increases. Within this depth range, the hydrocarbon
704 expulsion force shows the coexistence of multiple forces. Between 6000–9000 m, as the
705 temperature increases, the amount of expelled gas generated by thermal expansion and its
706 relative contribution continues to increase. However, at this time, the amount of expelled gas
707 generated by the gas–water capillary force difference and its relative contribution to the
708 hydrocarbon expulsion remain the largest. In this depth range, thermal expansion and the
709 gas–water capillary force difference are the main driving forces that play a major role in the
710 initial migration of hydrocarbon gases, with the gas–water capillary force difference
711 contributing up to 80% to hydrocarbon expulsion.

712

713 FIGURE 18.Evaluation of gas expulsion volume and relative contribution of gas expulsion under

714 different dynamics (1); Evaluation of the amount and relative contribution of liquid hydrocarbon

715 expelled by different dynamics (2).

716 For the expulsion of liquid hydrocarbons (Figure 18), the source rock begins to
717 expel liquid hydrocarbons at about 3400 m. The expulsion of liquid hydrocarbons is
718 primarily in the free phase, and the oil–water capillary pressure difference is currently
719 relatively maximum; therefore, the capillary pressure difference is the primary force
720 for oil expulsion. Between 3400–4000 m, the conversion dehydration of clay minerals
721 continuously increases, reaching its maximum at around 4000 m, and its contribution
722 to the hydrocarbon expulsion also increases. At this depth, the conversion dehydration
723 of clay minerals is the primary driving force for the hydrocarbon expulsion. Between
724 4000–5400 m, the clay mineral conversion dehydration, hydrocarbon generation and
725 compatibilization, as well as oil–water capillary pressure difference all contribute
726 significantly to hydrocarbon expulsion. In this depth range, multiple hydrocarbon
727 expulsion forces coexist. Between 5400–7400 m, the contribution of oil–water
728 capillary pressure difference to hydrocarbon expulsion exceeds 50%, which is the
729 dominant force for hydrocarbon expulsion. The contribution of clay mineral
730 conversion dehydration, hydrocarbon generation capacity enhancement, and pressure
731 strength to hydrocarbon expulsion decreases, while the contribution of thermal
732 expansion force gradually increases. Between 7400–9400 m, the combined
733 contributions of the thermal expansion force and oil–water capillary pressure
734 difference to hydrocarbon expulsion can reach 90%, while the contributions of the
735 remaining forces to hydrocarbon expulsion are approximately 10%. At this stage, the
736 thermal expansion force and oil–water capillary pressure difference are the primary
737 hydrocarbon expulsion forces.
738 A geological model of the hydrocarbon expulsion is established. As shown in
739 Figure 19, based on the evolution characteristics of fluid expulsion geological
740 processes, of the hydrocarbon expulsion phase states, and the relative amount of
741 hydrocarbon expulsion by each force, it is divided into three stages. First, the depth of
742 the source rock is in the middle and deep layers (about 3000 m), and the hydrocarbon
743 expulsion threshold has not yet been reached. The water-soluble and diffusion phases
744 are the main hydrocarbon expulsion phase states of the source rock, although the
745 capillary pressure difference at this stage is already large. However, due to the
746 capillary pressure difference, which only contributes to hydrocarbon expulsion in the
747 free phase and oil-soluble phase, its contribution to hydrocarbon expulsion is 0. The
748 conversion and dehydration of clay minerals and diffusion forces of clay minerals are
749 the main driving forces for hydrocarbon expulsion. At this time, the amount of
750 hydrocarbon expelled from the source rock is small, and it is difficult for the expelled
751 oil and gas to form reservoirs.
752 In the second stage, the source rock is located in the deep layer (3000–6000 m),
753 having reached the hydrocarbon expulsion threshold. The phase state of the expelled
754 oil and gas presents the characteristics of multiphase and multi dynamic coexistence,
755 with a large amount of hydrocarbon expulsion. Additionally, it is easy for the expelled
756 oil and gas to form reservoirs.
757 Eventually, the source rock is located in the ultra-deep layer (6000 m), with the
758 phase state of oil and gas expulsion dominated by the free phase. The capillary
759 pressure difference and the thermal expansion force serve as the primary driving
760 forces for hydrocarbon expulsion. During this stage, the amount of hydrocarbon
761 expelled is substantial.
762

763 FIGURE 19.Geological model of hydrocarbon expulsion of Lower Cambrian argillaceous source rocks

764 in Tarim Basin.

765 5. DISCUSSION

766 [5.1.] Hydrocarbon eExpulsion mMechanism

767 Previous studies on the hydrocarbon expulsion dynamics of mud shale have been
768 extensive, Qin et al. (2007) investigated the dynamic mechanisms of the primary and
769 secondary migration of natural gas. The findings indicated that the primary migration
770 dynamics primarily encompass pressure force, diffusion force and capillary force,
771 while the secondary migration dynamics mainly comprise buoyancy force,
772 hydrodynamic force, and abnormal formation pressure(Qin et al., 2007). Shi et al.
773 (2010) proposed a calculation model for determining source rock oil expulsion based
774 on the principle of sediment compaction and the variance in oil-–water flow. This
775 model is primarily focused on calculating the amounts and locations of oil and gas
776 accumulation in oil and gas evaluation, The model was verified to be reasonable
777 through actual exploration data(Shi et al., 2010). The high pressure generated during
778 the hydrocarbon generation and transformation process of kerogen can facilitate crack
779 growth and have a significant impact on the initial migration of oil and gas (He et al.,
780 2021). The length and duration of fractures produced by different types of kerogen
781 also vary. The microfractures in source rocks containing type I and type II kerogen
782 are shorter than those in source rocks containing type III kerogen, and the former has
783 greater oil potential. Additionally, the speed of oil and gas transformation in type I
784 and type II kerogen is faster than that in type III kerogen (Jin et al., 2010). Based on
785 this, we focused on considering the hydrocarbon generation capacity enhancement
786 effect as one of the driving forces for intra source and primary migration. We
787 conducted calculations and evaluated its contribution to hydrocarbon expulsion. In
788 this study on the relative contribution evaluation of migration dynamics, the main
789 consideration was the relative contributions of different dynamics. However, channels
790 and stages of initial migration needs further study.

791 [5.2.] Alteration of cClay mMinerals

792 Montmorillonite in the sedimentary basin is transformed into illite under the
793 effect of temperature, and a large amount of interlayer water will be removed during
794 the transformation process. The interlayer water entering the rock pores will
795 inevitably lead to the expulsion of fluid in the rock pores, thereby contributing to
796 hydrocarbon expulsion. The oil reservoirs in Akita area in northern Japan may be the
797 result of hydrocarbon expulsion of Palaeogene source rock in this area under the
798 dehydration of clay minerals(Aoyagi et al., 1980).

799 [5.3.] Expulsion fForces and dDynamics

800 Liu et al. (2022) found that there are three driving forces, including buoyancy,
801 pressure and capillary force difference, which play key roles in hydrocarbon
802 accumulation in the Paleogene in Lufeng Sag of the Pearl River Estuary Basin(Liu et
803 al., 2022). In this paper, the types and principles of action are consistent with previous
804 views on hydrocarbon expulsion dynamics. The forces discovered by predecessors are
805 discussed and quantitatively calculated here, including the pressure strength,
806 dehydration of clay mineral conversion, thermal expansion force, hydrocarbon
807 generation capacity enhancement force, capillary force, and diffusion force. Based on
808 these, the innovation of this paper is that it calculates the hydrocarbon expulsion
809 amount of each force according to the relationship between different hydrocarbon
810 expulsion dynamics and the hydrocarbon expulsion phase, and evaluates the relative
811 contribution of each force to hydrocarbon expulsion.

812 [5.4.] Source rRock gGeneration pPotential

813 In response to the issue of identifying the main hydrocarbon source rocks in the
814 platform, most scholars mainly use geochemical indicators such as biomarkers and
815 carbon isotopes to conduct oil source correlation, and then infer the source of crude
816 oil discovered in a certain area. However, these geochemical indicators have multiple
817 interpretations of the source of oil and gas (Fan et al., 2012; Zhu et al., 2012; Li et al.,
818 2021). The hydrocarbon generation, residual hydrocarbon, and hydrocarbon expulsion
819 of this set of source rocks have been calculated in Section 4 of this paper. On this
820 basis, combined with the resource evaluation results, the contribution of this set of
821 source rocks to the generation and accumulation of oil and gas in the basin can be
822 obtained. A contribution value of around 50% indicates that the resource potential
823 generated by the source rock is huge and can be regarded as the main source rock in
824 the basin area. Conversely, it cannot. According to the results of Sinopec Dynamic
825 Resource Assessment, the oil generation amount calculated using the basin simulation
826 method for all oil source series in the whole basin is 8148 × 108 t, and the gas
3
827 generation amount is 19,048 × 108 t. If the natural gas density is 0.79 kg/m , it is
3
828 about 2411 × 1012 m (Ji, 2020). However, the oil generation amount of the Lower
829 Cambrian argillaceous source rock in the whole basin is 4829 × 108 t, and the gas
3
830 generation amount is 812 × 1012 m , so the contribution amount of this set of source
831 rocks to the oil generation and gas generation in the basin is 60% and 34%,
832 respectively, From here, it can be regarded as the main source rock. In the basin, the
833 oil expulsion amount of this set of source rocks is 3205 × 108 t, and the gas expulsion
3
834 is 635 × 1012 m . The migration and accumulation coefficients of conventional oil and
835 natural gas are 1.27% and 0.94%, respectively (Zheng et al., 2019). Therefore, the
836 conventional oil resource amount generated by this set of source rocks is about
3
837 41 × 108 t, and the conventional natural gas resource amount is about 6 × 1012 m . The
838 fourth resource evaluation result of PetroChina shows that the conventional oil
839 resource amount of the entire basin is about 75 × 108 t, and the conventional natural
3
840 gas resources amount to 12 × 1012 m (Jarvie, 2012); therefore, the conventional oil
841 and gas resources generated by this set of source rocks in the basin account for 55%
842 and 50% of the total conventional oil and gas resources in the basin, respectively.
843 Based on the contribution of this set of source rocks to hydrocarbon generation, it can
844 be used as the main source rock.

845 6. CONCLUSIONS

846 The research results of this paper can deepen the understanding of the
847 hydrocarbon expulsion mechanism of this set of source rocks. For example, some oil
848 and gas expulsion forces ignored in the middle and shallow layers may play a leading
849 role in the hydrocarbon expulsion of deep source rocks, thus expanding the scope of
850 Source rock supply.
851 The results indicate that, the Lower Cambrian argillaceous source rocks in the
3
852 platform of the Tarim Basin generate 743 × 1012 m of gas, 4401 × 108 t of oil,
3 3
853 161 × 1012 m of residual gas, 1456 × 108 t of residual oil, 582 × 1012 m of gas
854 expulsion, 2945 × 108 t of oil expulsion, the gas expulsion efficiency is 78%, and the
855 oil expulsion efficiency is 67%. The threshold values (Ro) of methane expulsion gas,
856 C2–4 gas, and liquid hydrocarbon are 0.55%, 0.65%, and 0.8%, respectively. This set
857 of source rocks contributes 47% to hydrocarbon generation in the basin and 50% to
858 conventional oil and gas accumulation; therefore, it can be regarded as the main
859 source rock in the basin area.
860 The hydrocarbon expulsion process can be divided into three stages. First, the
861 source rocks is are in the middle deep layer (about 3000 m). At this time, the
862 hydrocarbon expulsion threshold has not yet been reached. The hydrocarbon
863 expulsion phase is dominated by water-soluble and diffusion phases. The diffusion
864 force and transformation dehydration of clay minerals are the main driving forces.
865 The amount of hydrocarbon expelled is small, and it is difficult for the hydrocarbon to
866 form reservoirs. Secondly, the buried depth of the source rock is located in the deep
867 layer (3000–6000 m). At this time, the source rock has reached the hydrocarbon
868 expulsion threshold, and the hydrocarbon expulsion presents the characteristics of
869 multiphase and multidynamic coexistence. At this stage, the amount of hydrocarbon
870 expulsion is large, and it is easy for the expelled oil and gas to form reservoirs. In the
871 third stage, the buried depth of the source rock is located in the ultra-deep layer
872 (6000 m), and the phase state of oil and gas expulsion is mainly free phase. The
873 differential capillary force and the thermal expansion force of the fluid rock are the
874 main driving forces for hydrocarbon expulsion. Furthermore, it is easy for the
875 expelled natural gas to form reservoirs.

876 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSAcknowledgments

877 This research was supported by the Joint Fund of the National Natural Science
878 Foundation of China (Grant Number. U19B6003-02-04), the National Natural Science
879 Foundation of China, (Grant Number. 42102145), the Science Foundation of China
880 University of Petroleum, Beijing(Grant Number. 2462022YXZZ007).

881 CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENTConflicts of

882 Interest

883 The authors declare there are no conflicts of interest.

884

885

886

887
888

889

890

891

892

893

894

895

896

897

898

899

900

901 REFERENCESReferences

902 Zhang, S. C., Gao,Z. Y., Li, J .J., et al. (2012).Identification and distribution
903 prediction of Cambrian Ordovician marine hydrocarbon source rocks in the
904 Tarim Basin. Petroleum Exploration and Development,39 (3): 285–-294.

905 Xiao,Z. Y., Lu,Y. H., Sang, H., et al.(2005). A typical Cambrian reservoir:
906 Ggenesis analysis of Tazhong 62 well in Tarim bBasinGeochemistry,34 (2):
907 155–-160.

908 Chen,J. Q. (2016).Hydrocarbon expulsion characteristics and effectiveness

909 evaluation of Ordovician low abundance source rocks in the platform basin
910 area of the Tarim Basin [D]. China University of Petroleum (Beijing).
911 Li,F., Zhu,G. Y., Lv,X. X., et al. (2021).Controversy of Paleozoic marine oil
912 and gas source and determination of Cambrian main source rocks in Tarim
913 Basin [J]. Journal of Petroleum, 42 (11): 1417–-1436.

914 Yang,H. J., Chen,Y. Q., Tian,J., et al. (2020).Major discovery and
915 significance of ultra deep oil and gas exploration in Luntan 1 well in Tarim
916 Basin [J]. China Petroleum Exploration, 25 (02): 62–-72.

917 Gong,X., Li,H. H., Zhang,J. L., et al. (2021).Characteristics of the lLower
918 Cambrian shale in the Tadong area and optimization of favorable shale gas
919 areas [J]. Natural Gas Geoscience, 32 (06): 899–-913.

920 Zhu,G. Y., Chen,F. R., Chen,Z. Y., et al.(2016). Discovery and basic
921 characteristics of high-quality source rocks found in the Yuertusi Formation of
922 the Cambrian in Tarim Basin, ChinaChina[J]. Journal of Natural Gas
923 Geoscience,1(1): 21–-33.

924 Ji,T. Y. (2021).Seismic interpretation research on distribution, sedimentary facies

925 and favorable areas of platform margin belt of mMiddle lLower Cambrian in
926 Tarim Basin [D]Northwest University.

927 Han,H. Y. (2017)Analysis on origin and hydrocarbon generation capacity of

928 source rocks of Yuertusi Formation in Tarim Basin [D]. China University of
929 Geosciences (Beijing), 2017.

930 Xie,W., Li,Y. F., Liu,W. W. (2022).Paleoclimate and provenance background

931 of lLower Cambrian shale in the northeastern margin of Tarim Basin [J].
932 Journal ofSedimentology:1-20.

933 Hu,G., Liu,W. H., Teng, G. E., et al. (2014).Tectonic sedimentary

934 environment control factors of hydrocarbon generating biological assemblage
935 of lLower Cambrian argillaceous source rocks in Tarim Basin [J] pPetroleum
936 and nNatural gGasGeology, 35 (05): 685–-695.

937 Yan,L., Zhu,G. Y., Chen,Y. Q., et al. (2019)Distribution of lLower Cambrian
938 sSource rRocks in Tarim Basin [J]. Natural Gas Geoscience, 30 (11): 1569–-
939 1578.

940 Pang,X. Q., Chen,Z. M., Chen,F. J.(1993). Numerical sSimulation sStudy
941 on Geohistory, tThermal hHistory, hHydrocarbon gGeneration, aAccumulation,
942 and eExhaustion hHistory of pPetroleum bBearing bBasins and qQuantitative
943 eEvaluation of sSource rRocks [M]. Beijing: Geological Publishing House.

944 Pang,X. Q., Li,Q.W., Chen,J. F., et al.(2014). PaleoTOC rRecovery

945 mMethod and iIts aApplication for hHigh Overmature sSource rRocks indDeep
946 pPetroleum bBasins [J] .Journal of Paleogeography, 16 (06): 769–-789.

947 Li,J. Y.(2017). Selection and correction of key parameters in quantitative

948 evaluation of shale oil resources [D]. China University of Petroleum (East
949 China), .

950 Pang,X. Q.(2003). Quantitative simulation of geological processes [M]. Beijing:

951 Petroleum Industry Press: 102–-104.

952 Luo,J. T., Wang,Y. C.(1986). Pore structure of oil and gas reservoirs [M].
953 Beijing: Science Press.

954 Chen,Z. H., Cha, M.,Chen,J. P., et al.(2004). Heterogeneity analysis of

955 compacted hydrocarbon expulsion from source rocks in faulted basins: A case
956 study of Dongying dDepression [J]. Oil and Gas Geology and Recovery Factor,
957 (02): 12-14+5.

958 Li,M. C. (2000).Summary of rResearch on pPetroleum and nNatural gGas

959 mMigration [J]. Petroleum Exploration and Development, (04): 3-10+109-117.

960 Gao,G. (2000).Discussion on the rRelationship between cCritical sSaturation of

961 lLow mMature oOil expulsion and mMudstone cCompaction [J]. Offshore Oil
962 and Gas Geology of China, (04): 49–-52.

963 Barker,C.(1972). A quathermal pressuring-role of temperature in development of

964 abnormal-pressure zones[J]. AAPG Bulletin, 56(10): 2068–-2071.

965 Zhang,H. X. (2017),Hydrocarbon generation pressurization and tight oil reservoir

966 formation dynamics [D]Southwest Petroleum University.

967 Berg,R. R., Ganggi,A. F. (1999).Primary mMigration by oOil-gGeneration

968 mMicrofracturing in lLow-pPermeability sSource rRocks: Application to the
969 Austin cChalk, Texas[J]. AAPG Bulletin, 83(5): 727–-756.

970 Shi,Z. S., He,H. J., Chen,S. P., et al. (2003). Study on the role of clay
971 minerals in the primary migration of oil [J]Journal of Xi'an Petroleum Institute
972 (Natural Science Edition), (04): 26-29+2-3.
 973 Berg,R. R.(1994). Capillary pressures in stratigraphic traps[J]. AAPG Bulletin,
974 1975, 59(5): 939-956.

975 JenyonM K.Oil and gas traps, aspects of their seismostratigraphy morphology and
976 development[M]. Oklahoma: John Wiley & Sons: 26-30.

977 Jenyon,M. K. (1994).Oil and gas traps, aspects of their seismostratigraphy

978 morphology and development[M]. Oklahoma: John Wiley & Sons:26–-30.

979 Cha,M., Zhang,X.D.(1994). Simulation study and application of diffusion

980 hydrocarbon expulsion [J]. Journal of Petroleum University (Natural Science
981 Edition), (05): 14–-19.

982 Leythaeuser,D., Schaefer,R., Yükler,A.(1980). Diffusion of light

983 hydrocarbons through near-surface rocks[J]. Nature, 284: 522–525.

984 Pang,X. Q., Jin,Z. J., Jiang,Z. X.(2003). Quantitative model for hydrocarbon
985 accumulation [M]. Beijing: Petroleum Industry Press: 60–-67.

986 Lu,S. X., Chen,T. Y., Shen,Z. H., et al.(1990). Thermal pProperties of oOil
987 sShale in ChinaChina: Thermal eExpansion pProperties of oOil sShale [J].
988 Journal of Petroleum (Petroleum Processing), 6 (2): 95–-99.

989 Barker,C.(1980). Primary migration-the importance of water-organic-mineral

990 matter interactions in the source rock[J]. AAPG Bulletin, 64 (10): 1321–-1334.

991 Bao,C. (1988). Natural gGas gGeology [M]. Beijing: Science Press: 216–-217.
992 You,X. L.(1991). Discussion on evaluation methods of natural gas caprocks [J].
993 Geology of Petroleum and Natural Gas, 12 (3): 261–-275.

994 Yan,Q. B., Chen,M. J., Wang,J., et al.(2015). The relationship between
995 permeability, porosity, and throat radius of carbonate reservoirs [J]. Natural
996 Gas Industry, 35 (06): 30–-36.

997 Ehrenberg,S. N., Nadeau,P. H.,Sandstone,V. (2005).Ccarbonate

998 petroleum reservoirs: A global perspective on porosity-depth and porosity-
999 permeability relationships[J]. AAPG Bulletin, 89(4): 435–-445.

1000 Li,C. R., Pang,X. Q., Huo,Z. P., et al.(2020). A revised method for
1001 reconstructing the hydrocarbon generation and expulsion history and evaluating
1002 the hydrocarbon resource potential: Example from the first member of the
1003 Qingshankou Formation in the nNorthern Songliao Basin, Northeast
1004 ChinaChina[J]. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 121: 104577.

1005 Pang,X. Q., Chen,Z. M., Chen,F. J.(1994). Comprehensive quantitative

1006 evaluation index for oil and gas source rocks and its application [J]. Natural
1007 Gas Industry, (06): 6-11+93.

1008 Qin,F., Zhang,J. O., Wu,H. N., et al. (2007).Analysis of the dDevelopment
1009 tTrend of nNatural gGas rReservoir fFormation dDynamics mMechanism
1010 [J]Journal of Northwest University (Natural Science Edition), (06): 901–-906

1011 Shi,G. R., Zhang,Q. C., Yang,X. S., et al.(2010). Oil and gas assessment of
1012 the Kuqa dDepression of Tarim Basin in western ChinaChina by simple fluid
1013 flow models of primary and secondary migrations of hydrocarbons[J]. Journal
1014 of Petroleum Science and Engineering, 75(1–-2): 77–-90.

1015 Aoyagi,K., Asakawa,T.(1980). Primary migration theory of petroleum and its

1016 application to petroleum exploration[J]. Organic Geochemistry, 2(1): 33–-43

1017 Liu,J., Cai,Z., Pang,X. Q., et al.(2022). Quantitative prediction and evaluation
1018 of the Paleogene multi dynamic multi phase multi factor composite Tibetan
1019 area in Lufeng sSag, the Pearl River River Mouth Basin [J]. Earth ScienceEarth
1020 Sciences,47 (07): 2481–-2493

1021 He,C., Zheng,L. J., Wang,Q.et al.(2021). Current sSituation, aApplication,

1022 and dDevelopment dDirection of hHydrocarbon gGeneration and eExhaustion
1023 sSimulation eExperiment Technology for Source Rocks [J]. Petroleum
1024 Experimental Geology, 43 (05): 862–-870.

1025 Jin, Z.H.,Johnson, S. E.,Fan, Z. Q.(2010).Subcritical propagation and

1026 coalescence of oil-filled cracks: Getting the oil out of low-permeability source
1027 rocks[J]. Geophysical Research Letters,37(1).

1028 Fan,Z. Q.,Jin,Z.H.,Johnson, S. E. (2012).Modelling petroleum migration

1029 through microcrack propagation in transversely isotropic source rocks[J].
1030 Geophysical Journal International,190(1), 179, 187.

1031 Zhu,X. J., Chen,J. F., Wu,J. J., et al.(2017). Carbon isotope composition and
1032 oil source of Paleozoic crude oil in platform basin area of Tarim Basin [J].
1033 Petroleum Exploration and Development,44 (06): 997–-1004.
1034 Ji,F.(2020). Calculation and sSoftware iImplementation of aAnalogical rResources
1035 in Aksu rRegion[D].ChinaChina University of Geosciences(Beijing),001324.

1036 Zheng,M., Li,J. Z., Wu,X. Z., et al.(2019). Oil and gas resource potential and
1037 future key exploration fields in major oil and gas bearing basins in ChinaChina
1038 [J]. Geoscience, 44 (03): 833–-847.

1039 Jarvie,D. M.(2012). Shale resource systems for oil and gas: part2-shale-oil
1040 resource systems[J]. AAPG Memoir, 97: 89–-119.

1041 Jacob,H.(1989). Classification, structure, genesis and practical importance of

1042 natural solid oil bitumen (“migrabitumen”)[J].International Journal of Coal
1043 Geology, 11(1): 65–-79.

1044 Katz,B. J., Lin,F. (2021). Consideration of the limitations of thermal maturity
1045 with respect to vitrinite reflectance, T-max, and other proxies[J].AAPG
1046 Bulletin, (4):105.

1047 Jiao,C. L., He,Z. L., Xing,X. J, et al.(2011). Tectonic hydrothermal dolomite
1048 and its reservoir significance in Tarim Basin [J]Journal of Rocks, 27 (01):
1049 277–-284.

1050 Chen,J., Zhang,X., Chen, Z. (2021). Hydrocarbon expulsion evaluation based

1051 on pyrolysis rRock-eEval data: Implications for Ordovician carbonates
1052 exploration in the Tabei uUplift, Tarim[J].Journal of Petroleum Science &
1053 Engineering, (196-):196.

1054 Yang,X. W., Tian,J., Wang,Q. H., et al.(2021). Geological knowledge and
1055 favorable exploration fields of ultra deep oil and gas in the Tarim Basin [J].
1056 PetroChina Exploration,26 (04): 17–-28

1057