Oil & Gas Geology ›› 2017, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (5): 831-839.doi: 10.11743/ogg20170501

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Significance of oil and gas exploration in NE strike-slip fault belts in Shuntuoguole area of Tarim Basin

Jiao Fangzheng   

  1. Oilfield Business Division, China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, Beijing 100029, China
  • Received:2017-03-01 Revised:2017-07-03 Online:2017-10-28 Published:2017-11-10

Abstract: For years,the carbonate weathering crust of paleo-uplifts has been a major exploration domain in Tarim Basin.A series of strike-slip fault belts were recognized with updated seismic data in the Shuntuoguole low uplift and slopes between the Tazhong and Tabei paleo-uplifts in Tarim Basin.Drilling data from the area revealed great oil or gas potential,and later significant oil and gas discoveries in the south (also called Shunnan) and north (also called Shunbei) parts as well as Shuntuo of the area verified the revelation.The left lateral strike-slip fault belts of north-east trending in the area are characterized by "layered deformation in vertical direction and segmented deformation along strike of the major slip zone in the deep".Echelon normal faults are common in the clastic rocks in the upper Ordovician and layers above it.The lower Ordovican corresponds to the major strike-slip zone developed in carbonates.Local stress field variation in echelon and side joint parts had shaped the strike-slip fault belts into three types of structural patterns:pull-apart negative flower pattern,compressive uplifting positive flower pattern and straight parallel displacement.The strike-slip fault belts with multiple stages of activities formed massive carbonate fracture-vug systems,which provided favorable conditions for the migration and accumulation of oil and gas after a later burial and dissolution process and showed obvious features of "controlling reservoir formation,hydrocarbon accumulation and enrichment".The slope zones of low-uplifts with fully developed Ordovician feature in extensive hydrocarbon accumulation along the fault belts,which is different from those in weathering crust of the exposed and denuded paleo-uplifts.The understanding of the new hydrocarbon accumulation pattern made it possible to obtain another Tahe-like discovery.Currently,about 1.2 billion tons of light oil resources have been confirmed,making the area a main "battlefield" of achieving the goal of reserve growth and productivity construction of oil and gas during the 13th-Five-Year-Plan Period by Sinopec.

Key words: hydrothermal dissolution and modification, reservoir formation controlled by faults, strike-slip fault belt, Shunguotule area, Tarim Basin

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