AccScience Publishing / JSE / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/JSE025490123
ARTICLE

Seismic characterization and spatial distribution analysis of coal gangue in the deep coalbed of the Northeastern Ordos Basin

Zelei Jiang1,2* Xuri Huang1,2,3,4 Dong Zhang5 Yucong Huang1,2 Yong Wu1,2
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1 State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation, School of Geosciences and Technology, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
2 United Research Institute of Seismic Acquisition and Imaging Method, School of Geosciences and Technology, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
3 Natural Gas Geology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, School of Geosciences and Technology, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
4 Key Laboratory of Piedmont Zone Oil and Gas Geophysical Exploration Technology for Petroleum and Chemical Industry, School of Geosciences and Technology, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
5 Department of Geophysical, Exploration and Development Research Institute, PetroChina Changqing Oilfield Company, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
JSE 2026, 35(2), 025490123 https://doi.org/10.36922/JSE025490123
Submitted: 4 December 2025 | Revised: 21 January 2026 | Accepted: 22 January 2026 | Published: 6 March 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Deep coalbed methane exploration in the Ordos Basin holds significant potential, yet the frequent development of coal gangue severely hinders productivity and complicates horizontal well deployment. Accurately characterizing the spatial distribution of these thin coal gangue layers remains a critical challenge, particularly when constrained by limited seismic resolution and sparse well control. To address this challenge, we propose a novel paleogeomorphology-constrained stochastic seismic inversion workflow applied to the Benxi Formation in the YL area. This approach integrates petrophysical analysis with paleogeomorphic restoration, identifying natural gamma as the most sensitive lithological indicator. Under hierarchical geomorphic constraints, geostatistical simulation was utilized to predict the three-dimensional spatial probability of coal gangue occurrence. Quantitative validation demonstrates a robust correlation between coal gangue thickness and natural gamma response, with the inversion results achieving an accuracy of 81.82% in blind well validation. Spatially, gangue development is controlled by paleotopography, with higher probabilities concentrated in paleo-highs and slopes associated with stronger hydrodynamic conditions, while paleo-depressions exhibit superior coal continuity. This study not only overcomes the resolution limitations of traditional inversion in sparse-well areas but also provides a rigorous quantitative geological basis for sweet-spot identification and trajectory optimization in deep coalbed methane development.

Keywords
Ordos Basin
Coal gangue-sensitive log parameter
Seismic characterization of deep coal gangue
Coal gangue distribution pattern
Deep coalbed methane
Funding
This study was supported by the Sichuan Science and Technology Program (No. 2025ZNSFSC0004), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 42241206), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. U24B2022).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no known financial or personal conflicts of interest that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.
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Journal of Seismic Exploration, Print ISSN: 0963-0651, Published by AccScience Publishing