Correlation and difference between conventional and unconventional reservoirs and their unified genetic classification

Abstract The discovery and large-scale exploration of unconventional oil/gas resources since 1980s have been considered as the most important advancement in the history of petroleum geology. It has not only changed the balance of supply and demand in the global energy market, but also improved our understanding of the formation mechanisms and distribution characteristics of oil/gas reservoirs. However, misconceptions widely exist in studies of different types of petroleum accumulations because of the lack of a unified genetic classification. Unconventional reservoir has been used in the literature as a general name for various oil/gas reservoirs that are formed under complex dynamic mechanisms as long as buoyancy is not the major controlling factor. On the other hand, different terms have been given to the reservoirs even with the same formation mechanism. This paper selected six representative basins in China as the major subject of the study, analyzed the drilling results of 80762 reservoir layers from 12237 exploration wells in these basins. By investigating the progress of unconventional oil/gas exploration in North America in the past 30 years and addressing the distribution characteristics of discovered 52,926 oil/gas reservoirs in 1,186 basins around the world, this study revealed the correlations and differences of formation and distribution characteristics between conventional and unconventional oil and gas reservoirs. It was found that there are five correlations between conventional and unconventional reservoirs, including sharing the same oil and gas source, occurring in strata with the same geological age, coexisting in the same sedimentary basins, being confined in the same petroleum systems, and being enriched in the same reservoir layers. It was also found that there are five differences between conventional and unconventional reservoirs, including differences in hydrocarbon compositions, spatial relations to source rocks, reservoir lithology and quality, distribution in geological settings, and reservoir formation mechanism. Then, the unified genetic classification scheme is put forward to clarify their differences and correlations. All kinds of conventional and unconventional oil and gas resource are classified into 3 categories and 6 subcategories according to their dynamic mechanisms of formation, reclassified into 15 types based on main controlling factors, and further divided into 49 styles considering their underground occurrences. The application results show that all different oil/gas reservoirs can find their corresponding positions in the classification scheme, and all the oil/gas reservoirs with the same genetic mechanism, major controlling factor and occurrence can find their particular position in this classification scheme.