Impact of Minerals and Sealing Systems on the Pore Characteristics of the Qiongzhusi Formation Shale in the Southern Sichuan Basin

[Image: see text] The characteristics, distribution, and preservation of pores are vital in controlling the storage and distribution of shale gas. The Qiongzhusi Formation shales taken from different members with similar tectonic and thermal evolutions were used to evaluate the response of pore characteristics to minerals and sealing systems using field-emission scanning electron microscopy and gas adsorption. Because of differences in mineral structure and arrangement, feldspar, organic matter (OM)–clay, OM–rutile, and OM–apatite aggregates facilitate multiple types of pores in the shale and influence the relative proportions of surface porosity for different types of pores owing to differences in mineral structure and arrangement. Rigid frameworks and pressure shadows formed by rigid minerals and OM–mineral aggregates preserved OM and pores to some extent. The sealing capacity of the floor controls the sealing system and hydrocarbon expulsion efficiency of the Qiongzhusi Formation in different members. During thermal evolution, the amount of hydrocarbons generated and expelled affected the stress equilibrium state between the pore pressure and external stress, influencing the compaction intensity of shales. The OM pore development characteristics were evolved with variation in the stress equilibrium state in different sealing systems. Once the stress equilibrium state was disrupted, the OM pores deformed, narrowed, or even closed under the influence of compaction owing to the loss of overpressure support. The pore characteristics of the Qiongzhusi Formation shales responded significantly to different sealing systems. A few OM pores are flat and slitlike in the open system, whereas numerous OM pores are round and elliptical in the semiopen system. Meanwhile, the average diameter of the OM pores in the open system was reduced by approximately 40.2% compared with that of the semiopen system. Furthermore, the pore volume and specific surface area of the mesopores for open system shales were reduced by 38.4% and 37.7%, respectively, compared to the semiopen system. These findings will improve the understanding of the distribution and preservation of pore in shale and help assess the sweet-spot members for the Qiongzhusi Formation shale gas.