Home – Home – Jornals – Russian Geology and Geophysics 2003 number 6

The main factors that contribute to postsedimentary salinization of reservoirs are: contact, hydrochemical, and pressure-thermal metamorphism of underground waters and brines; an increase in mineralization of brines on evaporation, freezing, gas hydration, and membrane processes; role of connate waters and mother brine of halmeic basins; effect of trap magmatism; man-induced salinization. They have been discussed and quantitatively estimated.
It has been established that the main and virtually the only reason for regional salinization of subsalt terrigene reservoirs is pressure-thermal metamorphism of brines (decrease in pressure and temperature). All the above-mentioned natural processes contributed to the regional salinization of carbonate basins, and the main one was contact metamorphism of underground waters and brines (their interaction with halmeic-carbonate rocks). The buried brine of halmeic basins and other connate waters had no effect on salinization of reservoirs. The disjunctive activity of trap magmatism accelerated these processes, but thermal action of traps and their subsequent cooling promoted only slight salinization of reservoirs. Man-induced salinization can occur in reservoirs of any type, restricted to local zones around absorbing wells. Some recommendations are given with respect to further study.