Well logging evaluation of clastic reservoir productivity in the Wulanhua depression, Hailaer basin, China

Productivity evaluations are essential for reservoir characterization and development, particularly in low-porosity and low-permeability clastic systems. In the Wulanhua (WH) depression of the Hailaer basin in China, most reservoirs exhibit porosities below 15% and permeabilities lower than 100 × 10 −3 μm 2 , posing significant challenges for reliable productivity prediction. To address this, a multisource tiered evaluation approach is proposed herein that integrates mercury injection capillary pressure, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and conventional well logging data. Quantitative analysis shows that reservoirs with mean pore-throat radii greater than 0.12 μm and displacement pressures below 5 MPa generally achieve natural productivities above 20 t/d, whereas those with radii below 0.05 μm require stimulation to reach industrial levels. NMR-based parameters, including an S 2 + S 3 pore fraction exceeding 65% and a T 2 geometric mean time greater than 20 ms, correspond to high-yield zones (>15 t/d). When only conventional logs are available, deep resistivity (>20 Ω·m), low natural gamma (<70 API), and a resistivity multiplication coefficient (AII) exceeding 1 × 10 6 can effectively be used to discriminate productive intervals. Field validation of this approach demonstrates that the integrated scheme predicts the well productivity with an average deviation of ±15%. The novelty of this study lies in the establishment of a quantitative and multitiered evaluation framework that is adaptable to varying data availability, providing a robust reference for efficient development of tight clastic reservoirs in the WH depression and similar basins.

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Journal
Frontiers in Earth Science
Published
2026-01-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2025.1702495
Primary Topic
Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis
Type
article
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article

Well logging evaluation of clastic reservoir productivity in the Wulanhua depression, Hailaer basin, China

Jianru Tang, Jin Li, Houjiang Fan, Xianhua Huang et al.
Frontiers in Earth Science
Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis
article

Well logging evaluation of clastic reservoir productivity in the Wulanhua depression, Hailaer basin, China

Jianru Tang, Jin Li, Houjiang Fan, Xianhua Huang, Jialin Zhao
article en

Abstract

Productivity evaluations are essential for reservoir characterization and development, particularly in low-porosity and low-permeability clastic systems. In the Wulanhua (WH) depression of the Hailaer basin in China, most reservoirs exhibit porosities below 15% and permeabilities lower than 100 × 10 −3 μm 2 , posing significant challenges for reliable productivity prediction. To address this, a multisource tiered evaluation approach is proposed herein that integrates mercury injection capillary pressure, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and conventional well logging data. Quantitative analysis shows that reservoirs with mean pore-throat radii greater than 0.12 μm and displacement pressures below 5 MPa generally achieve natural productivities above 20 t/d, whereas those with radii below 0.05 μm require stimulation to reach industrial levels. NMR-based parameters, including an S 2 + S 3 pore fraction exceeding 65% and a T 2 geometric mean time greater than 20 ms, correspond to high-yield zones (>15 t/d). When only conventional logs are available, deep resistivity (>20 Ω·m), low natural gamma (<70 API), and a resistivity multiplication coefficient (AII) exceeding 1 × 10 6 can effectively be used to discriminate productive intervals. Field validation of this approach demonstrates that the integrated scheme predicts the well productivity with an average deviation of ±15%. The novelty of this study lies in the establishment of a quantitative and multitiered evaluation framework that is adaptable to varying data availability, providing a robust reference for efficient development of tight clastic reservoirs in the WH depression and similar basins.

Frontiers in Earth ScienceVol. 13
China National Offshore Oil Corporation (China) (CN), Yangtze University (CN), Yibin University (CN), China National Petroleum Corporation (China) (CN)
Reduced inequalities
Openalex Percentile: Top 90%
Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis
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Well logging evaluation of clastic reservoir productivity in the Wulanhua depression, Hailaer basin, China — Jianru Tang, Jin Li, et al. · Frontiers in Earth Science (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS