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The Upper Slochteren Sandstones of the Rotliegend Formation (ROSLU) were studied in offshore Netherlands to evaluate the impact of diagenesis, and more particularly of carbonate diagenesis, on sandstone reservoirs. An integrated study applying petrography, geochemistry (SEM-EDS, XRD, C & O stable isotopes, Sr isotopes), and fluid inclusion measurements, was undertaken. Early phases consisting of silica-bearing minerals (authigenic clays, quartz overgrowths), associated with mechanical compaction plus dissolution of labile grains and/or feldspars, are rare. These are succeeded by a sequence of carbonate cements including non-ferroan dolomite cement, ferroan dolomite cement, and finally siderite. Dolomite cements are associated with fracturing and bleaching of the sandstone. The latest phases consist of another set of authigenic clays, quartz overgrowths, plus sulphate cements. Carbonate pore-filling cements dominate the authigenic phases, representing >50% of the total, of which 80% is dolomite and 20% siderite. Although mechanical compaction is the dominant factor influencing porosity reduction, dolomite cements also have a negative impact on porosity and permeability properties, which do not only depend on sedimentary characteristics. Non-ferroan dolomite precipitated at approximately 100 °C, from highly saline brines migrating downward from the Zechstein. Conversely during the Mid Cimmerian Unconformity (MCU), faulting and fracturing allowed the upward migration of CO 2 -bearing, acidic and reducing, hotter fluids from the Carboniferous, which includes hydrocarbon source rocks. The mixing of the upward and downward migrating fluids resulted in the precipitation of ferroan dolomites. These results indicate an increased risk of encountering pore-filling dolomite cements close to fault/fractured zones in that area, where carbonate cements may not have been properly assessed. Moreover, this study emphasizes again the importance of a combined analytical approach to gain a deeper understanding of carbonate diagenesis, which should be considered with the same caution as clay diagenesis within clastic-hosted reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SEM/SIMS imaging and analysis of δ 18 O and δ 13 C in sandstones from a transect through the Illinois Basin (USA) show systematic μm-scale isotopic zonation of up to 10‰ in both carbonate and quartz cements of the middle-Ordovician St. Peter and Cambrian Mt. Simon formations. Quartz δ 18 O values are broadly consistent with the model of Hyodo et al. (2014), wherein burial and heating in the Illinois Basin is recorded in systematically zoned quartz overgrowths. Observations of zoned dolomite/ankerite cements indicate that they preserve a more extended record of temperature and fluid compositions than quartz, including early diagenesis before or during shallow burial, and late carbonates formed after quartz overgrowths. Many carbonate cements show innermost dolomite with δ 18 O values (21–25‰ VSMOW) that are too low to have formed by deposition at low temperatures from ancient seawater (δ 18 O > − 3‰) and most likely reflect mixing with meteoric water. A sharp increase in Fe content is commonly observed in zoned carbonate cements to be associated with a drop in δ 18 O and an abrupt shift in δ 13 C to higher or lower values. These changes are interpreted to record the passage of hot metal-rich brines through sandstone aquifers, that was associated with Mississippi-Valley Type (MVT) Pb-Zn deposits (ca. 270 Ma) of the Upper Mississippi Valley. Local variability and individual trends in δ 13 C are likely controlled by the sources of carbon and the degree to which carbon is sourced from adjacent carbonate units or thermal maturation of organic matter. Quartz overgrowths in sandstones provide an excellent record of conditions during burial, heating, and pressure-solution, whereas carbonate cements in sandstones preserve a more-extended record including initial pre-burial conditions and punctuated fluid flow events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dolomite reservoirs in the Paleogene Shahejie Formation in the Bozhong area of the Bohai Bay Basin contain a large amount of dolomite cement. Petrologic and mineralogic studies have shown that the dolomite cements can be divided into three types according to their occurrence: coating dolomite (CD), pore-lining dolomite (LD), and pore-filling dolomite (FD). The laser microsampling technique was used to analyze the C and O isotopes in the carbonate minerals. This method is an effective way to produce CO2 gas from a particular carbonate structure in a thin section, and it has a spatial resolution of 20–50 µm and an optimal precision of approximately ±0.22σ for δ13C and δ18O in carbonate standard materials. The carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions and the oxygen isotopic geothermometer results showed that the dolomitization fluid is mainly low temperature fluid, the lake basin environment is relatively closed, and the salinity index Z value is greater than 120, which indicates the invasion of seawater. CD and early-stage LD crystals were mainly very fine crystals with faint cathodoluminescence, which indicates the early formation of diagenesis. The high temperatures of late-stage LD and FD measured by oxygen isotope thermometers indicates that they formed at a deeper depth. The dolomite cements in the study area may have formed in two stages: seepage-reflux dolomitization during the penecontemporaneous period and burial dolomitization.

The dolomite reservoirs in the Paleogene Shahejie Formation in the Bozhong area of the Bohai Bay Basin contain a large amount of dolomite cement. Petrologic and mineralogic studies have shown that the dolomite cements can be divided into three types according to their occurrence: coating dolomite (CD), pore-lining dolomite (LD), and pore-filling dolomite (FD). The laser microsampling technique was used to analyze the C and O isotopes in the carbonate minerals. This method is an effective way to produce CO2 gas from a particular carbonate structure in a thin section, and it has a spatial resolution of 20–50 µm and an optimal precision of approximately ±0.22σ for δ13C and δ18O in carbonate standard materials. The carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions and the oxygen isotopic geothermometer results showed that the dolomitization fluid is mainly low temperature fluid, the lake basin environment is relatively closed, and the salinity index Z value is greater than 120, which indicates the invasion of seawater. CD and early-stage LD crystals were mainly very fine crystals with faint cathodoluminescence, which indicates the early formation of diagenesis. The high temperatures of late-stage LD and FD measured by oxygen isotope thermometers indicates that they formed at a deeper depth. The dolomite cements in the study area may have formed in two stages: seepage-reflux dolomitization during the penecontemporaneous period and burial dolomitization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]