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The Ediacaran Dengying Formation fourth member in Central Sichuan Basin is the deep dolomite gas reservoir with the largest natural gas reserves in China, providing an excellent example for understanding the effect of hydrothermal silicification on deep dolomite reservoir quality. By integrating petrology, geochemistry and physical property measurement, this study aims to reveal the genesis of different quartz phase and their corresponding diagenetic events, and to discuss the temporal relationship of diagenetic events and their effects on the quality of deep dolomite reservoir in Dengying fourth member. Three phases of quartz cement are identified in Ediacaran Dengying Formation deep dolomite reservoirs of Central Sichuan Basin as follows: (1) first‐stage quartz filled in primary reservoir spaces, (2) second‐stage quartz mainly filled in secondary reservoir spaces, and (3) third‐stage quartz filled in secondary reservoir spaces with Mississippi Valley‐Type minerals. By analysing petrographic and temporal relationships between these fabrics, it is suggested that the first‐stage quartz precipitated during the syndiagenetic stage, the second‐stage quartz precipitated during middle diagenetic stage, and the third‐stage quartz precipitated during middle diagenetic stage as well. Silicification during syndiagenetic stage is characterized by replacement of cryptocrystalline quartz and cementation of first‐stage quartz within matrix dolomite (MD). After syndiagenetic silicification, the mineral composition of the MD changed from magnesium calcium carbonate to silica, and the later constructive diagenetic alterations were almost ineffective. The distribution of syndiagenetic silicification during syndiagenetic stage gradually decreases from the platform‐interior to the platform‐margin. The second‐stage and third‐stage quartz cements, derived from two‐stage hydrothermal silicification in the middle stage, are both destructive for reservoir preservation. This study, combined with coeval vapour–liquid inclusions Th data and thermal‐burial models, constrains the time of the second‐stage quartz to ca. 403–408 Ma, suggesting an hydrothermal silicification related to the Caledonian movement. The time of the third‐stage quartz cement is constrained to ca. 259.4 Ma, associated with Late Permian eruption of Emeishan flood basalts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Xixiangchi Formation is a significant replacement stratum for natural gas production of deep marine carbonate in the Sichuan basin, which is mainly composed of grain shoal. Basic characteristics and corresponding major controlling factors of the Xixiangchi reservoir are of great importance for hydrocarbon exploration, but the diagenesis sequence and evolution of the reservoir are poorly understood because of their complexity. Based on core and thin-section observations, cathodoluminescence (CL), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and microbiologically induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) data, it is suggested that the Xixiangchi reservoir is comprised of medium crystalline dolostone and grain dolostone in the Central Sichuan basin, with an average porosity of 3.6% and 2.2%, respectively. The corresponding pore-throat type is an intercrystalline pore with a flaky throat and a dissolved intergranular pore with a necking throat. The majority porosity ranges from 2% to 4% (with a distribution frequency of 64.9%), but the permeability distribution is relatively scattered (with a distribution frequency between 10% and 30%). The capillary pressure curve of medium crystalline dolostone is characterized by coarse skewness, relatively flat plateaus, low displacement pressures, and high mercury saturation at relatively low injection pressures. The capillary pressure curve of grain dolostone is characterized by fine skewness, which exhibits relatively poor connectivity and a small value of median pore radius. The deposition of intraplatform grain shoals determines the original property of the Xixiangchi Formation reservoirs. Destructive diagenesis, including compaction and multistage cementation, decreases the physical properties of the Xixiangchi reservoir. Constructive diagenesis, including Caledonian supergene karstification and late-stage burial dissolution, tremendously improves the reservoir quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]