The fractal characteristics of the pore throat structure of tight sandstone and its influence on oil content: A case study of the Chang 7 Member of the Ordos Basin, China

Tight oil is the most viable target for unconventional oil and gas exploration, but the complexity of micro-/nanopore throat systems significantly affects the oil content of reservoirs. To investigate the causes of heterogeneity in oil-bearing reservoirs, a high-pressure mercury injection experiment combined with fractal theory was conducted to analyze the micro pore throat structure characteristics of the tight sandstone of Chang 7 Member reservoirs in the Ordos Basin. The factors controlling the variations in oil content among tight sandstone samples were identified based on mineral composition characteristics. The results indicate that the pore throat radius distribution is mainly unimodal an bimodal. In oil-bearing samples, the pore throat distributions align well with the corresponding permeability contribution curves, while in oil-free samples, there is a clear deviation from these curves. Mesopore throats exert the greatest influence on seepage capacity. Differences in fractal characteristics are primarily reflected in D1 values, with oil-free samples exhibiting D1 values close to 3, indicating an extremely nonuniform pore throat structure at this scale. The content of quartz, plagioclase, and chlorite is significantly higher in oil-bearing samples than in oil-free samples, whereas calcite content is lower in oil-bearing samples. There is a positive correlation between the contents of quartz, plagioclase, and chlorite with D1; their increased presence contributes to a more favorable pore throat structure. Conversely, the calcite contents show an inverse relationship with D1. Cementation increases the complexity of pore throat structures, while multiple diagenetic processes simultaneously control these characteristics, leading to variations in oil content.