Research Group

Organic-Inorganic Interactions-Hydrocarbon Generation – Reservoir Formation Petroleum Accumulation Group

一、     Recent research interests

Based on the scientific research projects of the National Natural Science Foundation, the Ministry of Science and Technology and petroleum and petrochemical enterprises, the team conducts in-depth research on deep geological processes, organic-inorganic interactions and oil and gas accumulation, aiming to expand new theories and methods of oil and gas accumulation under organic-inorganic interactions, and to enrich and improve the classical petroleum geology theory, providing scientific basis and guiding ideas for new resource exploration and development.

The team focuses on two main fields of scientific principles and fundamental applications.

A. Scientific principles - Organic-Inorganic Interactions.

The processes and mechanisms of deep crust-mantle organic-inorganic interactions on the deep carbon cycle, deep hydrocarbon and mineral enrichment, and the synergistic evolution of biology, environment, and climate in the early Earth and key geological periods need to be urgently explored, and the mechanisms of organic-inorganic medium interactions are not yet fully understood. This field aims to provide evidence and constraints for understanding the mechanisms of deep geological activities.

1) Effects of deep fluids and volcanic activities on palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental changes, biological blooming processes, and organic matter enrichment.

2) Generation and alteration processes of hydrocarbons in deep hydrothermal organic-inorganic interactions.

3) Biological record of geothermal events in deep time sediments, reconstruction of palaeo-oceanic ecosystems and evolution of life.

4) Mechanisms of formation of geothermal resources and abiotic gas resources (H2 , He, CO2 etc.) under deep geological activities.

B. Fundamental Applications - Hydrocarbon Generation – Reservoir Formation Petroleum Accumulation.

In the context of multi-sphere interaction, deep hydrothermal fluids, as a link between the inside and outside of hydrocarbon-bearing basins, involve in the whole process of hydrocarbon generation, reservoir formation and petroleum accumulation by organic-inorganic interaction, but the time, intensity and scope of the interaction and the physicochemical processes and mechanisms remain unclear. This field aims to set the foundation for establishing a new theory of organic-inorganic complex hydrocarbon generation and reservoir formation and exploring the utilization of deep resources.

1) Hydrocarbon generation: Quantification and identification of deep fluid catalysis on the promotion of hydrocarbon production processes and enhancement of hydrocarbon production in different types of organic matter.

2) Reservoir formation: Study of physicochemical processes between deep fluid intrusion and sedimentary basin to explore reservoir formation mechanisms under different geological background and fluid action. Long-term safe storage of artificial CO2 in geological bodies.

3) Petroleum accumulation: Tracing the generation process of oil and gas under deep fluid alteration, determining the possibility of separate accumulation of new associated resources (abiotic methane, H2 , He, etc.) into reservoirs, and elucidating the differential control mechanism of different types of resource accumulation under different geological backgrounds.

二、 Recent Projects

1) National Natural Science Foundation of China, Helium Special Project, Helium Enrichment Mechanism and Key Detection Technology in Tectonically Active Area of Eastern China, 2022-01 to 2025-12, ¥ 7 million, in progress, Chair.

2) National Natural Science Foundation of China, Joint Fund, U20B6001, Deep Geological Processes and New Resource Effect in Sedimentary Basins, 2021-01 to 2024-12, ¥ 12.3 million, in progress, Chair.

3) The "Ten Thousand People Program" of the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, 2019, ¥ 900,000.

4) National Natural Science Foundation of China, Distinguished Young Scholars Project, 41625009, Geochemistry of hydrocarbon generation and reservoir formation, 2017.1-2021.12, ¥ 4 million, completed, Chair.

5) Chinese Academy of Sciences, Strategic Pioneer Research Category A Project, XDA14010404, Influence of organic-inorganic complex interaction on deep oil and gas generation, 2017-01 to 2021-12, ¥ 9.8 million, completed, Chair.

6) National Key Basic R&D Project Topics, 2016YFB0600804, CO2 Thermodynamic properties and carbon migration evolution laws in geological storage and utilization, 2016.7-2020.12, ¥ 7.5 million, completed, Chair.

7) National Natural Science Foundation of China, Excellent Youth Project, 41322016, Natural Gas Geochemistry, 2013/01-2016/12, ¥1.0 million, completed, Chair.

三、 Research Team

The “organic-inorganic interaction” team continues to introduce cutting-edge theoretical and technical talents from home and abroad, and focuses on training a number of young talents, forming an international multidisciplinary team. The team has research experience and original data on oil and gas generation, organic-inorganic interaction, abiogenic gas formation, and deep hydrocarbon cycle mechanism. The team has hosted/participated in more than 10 projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China and the National Natural Science Foundation of the People's Republic of China, mostly involving deep geological interactions. The team has proposed the theory of deep fluid organic-inorganic complex genesis earlier in China. The team is supported by the State Key Laboratory of Shale Oil and Gas Enrichment Mechanisms and Effective Development, which has fine research facilities. The goal of the research team is to clarify the hydrocarbon cycle in the context of cross-stratigraphic organic-inorganic interactions, expand the new theory of hydrocarbon generation under organic-inorganic interactions, and establish the enrichment mechanism of abiogenic gas and geothermal resource, and clarify the comprehensive resource effect of deep geological processes, so as to serve China's future " carbon neutrality & emission peak " strategic goal.

四、 Papers, conferences, patents

Publications

1) Zhu, D., Liu, Q.*, Wang, J., Hu, G., Ding, Q., 2022. Transition of seawater conditions favorable for development of microbial hydrocarbon source – reservoir assemblage system in ancient Precambrian. Precambrian Research, Accepted.

2) Liu, Q.*, Li, P., Jin, Z., Liang, X., Zhu, D., Wu, X., Meng, Q., Liu, J., Fu, Q., Zhao, J., 2021. Preservation of organic matter in shale linked to bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR) and volcanic activity under marine and lacustrine depositional environments. Marine and Petroleum Geology 127, 104950.

3) Xu, H., Liu, Q.*, Zhu, D., Meng, Q., Jin, Z., Fu, Q., George, S.C., 2021. Hydrothermal catalytic conversion and metastable equilibrium of organic compounds in the Jinding Zn/Pb ore deposit. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 307, 133150.

4) Liu, Q.*, Li, P., Jin, Z., Sun, Y., Hu, G., Zhu, D., Huang, Z., Liang, X., Zhang, R., Liu, J., 2021. Organic-rich formation and hydrocarbon enrichment of lacustrine shale strata: A case study of Chang 7 Member. Science China Earth Sciences.

5) 刘全有*, 吴小奇, 朱东亚, 孟庆强, 许汇源, 彭威龙, 黄晓伟, 刘佳宜, 2021. 含油气盆地有机无机作用下非生物烷烃气形成与资源潜力. 天然气地球科学 32, 155-163.

6) Zhu, D., Liu, Q.*, He, Z., Ding, Q., Wang, J., 2020. Early development and late preservation of porosity linked to presence of hydrocarbons in Precambrian microbialite gas reservoirs within the Sichuan Basin, southern China. Precambrian Research 342, 105694.

7) Liu, Q.*, Peng, W., Meng, Q., Zhu, D., Jin, Z., Wu, X., 2020. Fractionation of carbon and hydrogen isotopes of TSR-altered gas products under closed system pyrolysis. Scientific Reports 10, 12921.

8) Liu, Q.*, Peng, W., Li, J., Wu, X., 2020. Source and distribution of mercury in natural gas of major petroliferous basins in China. Science China Earth Sciences 63, 643-648.

9) 刘全有*, 彭威龙, 李剑, 吴小奇, 2020. 中国主要含油气盆地天然气中汞的来源与分布. 中国科学:地球科学 50, 645-650.

10) Liu, Q.*, Zhu, D., Jin, Z., Meng, Q., Li, S., 2019. Influence of volcanic activities on redox chemistry changes linked to the enhancement of the ancient Sinian source rocks in the Yangtze craton. Precambrian Research 327, 1‒13.

11) Liu, Q.*, Zhu, D., Meng, Q., Liu, J., Wu, X., Zhou, B., Fu, Q., Jin, Z., 2019. The scientific connotation of oil and gas formations under deep fluids and organic-inorganic interaction. Science China Earth Sciences 62, 507-528.

12) 刘全有*, 朱东亚, 孟庆强, 刘佳宜, 吴小奇, 周冰, FU, Q., 金之钧, 2019. 深部流体及有机-无机相互作用下油气形成的基本内涵. 中国科学:地球科学 49, 499‒520.

13) Liu, Q.*, Wu, X., Wang, X., Jin, Z., Zhu, D., Meng, Q., Huang, S., Liu, J., Fu, Q., 2019. Carbon and hydrogen isotopes of methane, ethane, and propane: A review of genetic identification of natural gas. Earth-Science Reviews 190, 247-272.

Conferences and workshops

The team has made several invited presentations and received several awards for outstanding papers at conferences such as Goldschmidt, AAPG, China Petroleum Annual Meeting, China Geological Society Annual Meeting, and National Organic Geochemistry Conference.

Recent Patents Granted

1) A water-rock reaction device and operation method for simulating a confined environment of a stratum, 201810265879.0

2) Device for simulating water-rock reactions in closed systems, 201610190992.8

3) A device and method for collecting mercury in natural gas, ZL201710161896.5

4) Device for natural gas sampling, ZL201510420142.8