Earth Science Frontiers ›› 2021, Vol. 28 ›› Issue (6): 79-94.DOI: 10.13745/j.esf.sf.2021.1.43

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Metallogenic model for the coexistence of potassium-rich brine and natural gas in the same strata: An example from the Middle Triassic Leikoupo Formation in the Moxi Anticline, Central Sichuan Basin, Southwest China

CHEN Xiao'er1,2, ZHANG Bing3,*, FAN Kun4, YANG Kai3, ZHANG Saimin3   

  1. 1. Institute of Sedimentary Geology, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China;
    2. Geophysical Technology Research Centre, BGP, CNPC, Chengdu 610213, China;
    3. Key Laboratory of Earth Exploration and Information Technology of Ministry of Education, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China;
    4. Southwest Geophysical Research Institute, BGP, CNPC, Chengdu 610213, China
  • Received:2020-12-05 Revised:2021-01-27 Online:2021-11-25 Published:2021-11-25

Abstract: Various types of Middle Triassic potash developed in the Leikoupo Formation in the Sichuan Basin, a key target strata for potassium prospecting in China. Brine from the Leikoupo Formation in the Moxi gas field is rich in K, Li, Br and B and has been classified as high-quality industrial grade saline solution, with its contents of minerals including KCl, LiCl, Br- and B2O3 exceeding the grade standards. The brine deposit in Leikoupo Formation shows great prospects for potash exploration. The seismic data interpretation results show that the top-boundary of the Leikoupo Formation appears as a complete anticline with few faults. Potassium-rich brine occurs in the wings of the anticline, while natural gas occupies the upper part of the anticline, both are stored together in the shoal dolomite with dissolved pores in the first member of the Leikoupo Formation, constituting a combined resources of nature gas and potassium-rich brine. Analogous to the concept of petroleum systems, we summarized the key factors affecting the formation, accumulation and preservation of potassium-rich brine into six key elements, namely the source of potassium, reservoir, sealing and trap conditions, transportation, and storage conditions. According to the collocation of these elements in time and space, we performed dynamic analysis of the formations of gas and brine in the same strata of the Leikoupo Formation. Hydrocarbons and halides are unusual substances found in groundwater. Controlled by groundwater dynamics, brine in the Leikoupo Formation continues to move towards the inherited palaeo-uplift upper part—the Moxi Anticline. Under the combined effects of formation water migration and gas reservoir pressure, the initial potassium-rich formation water, formed by gypsum dehydration and ancient seawater evaporation, continuously captures the potassium ions released by the underlying ‘green bean rock’, producing a secondary K+ enrichment, and finally forms the gas-potassium combined resources in the Moxi Anticline. The long-term inherited paleo-uplift is a favorable site not only for hydrocarbon accumulation, but also for secondary migration and accumulation of potassium-rich brine. The result of this research represents a novel approach for “simultaneous exploration of gas and potassium” in the Sichuan Basin and other basins alike.

Key words: Sichuan Basin, Leikoupo Formation, potassium-rich brine, combined resources of natural gas and brine, Moxi Anticline

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