Oil & Gas Geology ›› 2019, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (4): 875-885.doi: 10.11743/ogg20190416

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Sequence architecture and evolution of shelf-margin deltaic systems of the Late Oligocene in Pearl River Mouth Basin

Zhang Manli1, Lin Changsong1,2, He Min3, Zhang Zhongtao3, Li Hao1   

  1. 1. School of Ocean Sciences, China University of Geosciences(Beijing), Beijing 100083, China;
    2. School of Energy Resources, China University of Geosciences(Beijing), Beijing 100083, China;
    3. Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development of Shenzhen Branch of CNOOC Ltd., Shenzhen, Guangdong 518000, China
  • Received:2018-10-02 Revised:2019-01-20 Online:2019-08-28 Published:2019-06-01

Abstract: Outer-shelf to shelf-margin delta and deep-water slope fan systems, the most important petroleum reservoirs in the Pearl River Mouth Basin(PRMB), were widely developed in the Upper Oligocene of the northern South China Sea.Sequence architecture, sedimentary genetic types, as well as sedimentary evolution and its controlling factors of the shelf-margin deltas and associated slope fans in the Upper Oligocene(Zhuhai Formation) in the southern PRMB were studied based on the integrated analysis of seismic, core and well logging data.The Zhuhai Formation is a composite sequence which can be further divided into four sequences.The shoreline trajectories were mapped by trac-king the changes of shoreline breaks, and the depositional genetic units(transgression, slightly-ascending normal regression, apparently-ascending normal regression and locally-descending forced regression, etc.) were identified.The outer-shelf deltas are characterized by tangential reflections on seismic profiles with the thickness of foresets ranging from100 m to 150 m.In contrast, the shelf-margin deltaic clinoforms, with a thickness of 200-1 000 m, display as S-shaped or sigmoid-tangential seismic reflections, and generally consist of thick beds of delta front bar deposits and large-scale slump and deformed sediments, which are associated with prodelta-slope fan systems.In addition, six deltaic clinoforms were identified in the study area, and their areas tend to extend along their strikes.The composite sequence(CS3) is controlled by both relative sea level changes and tectonic subsidence.The massive sediment supply and regional sea level fall are dominant factors controlling the wide-spread distribution of the shelf-margin delta and prodelta slope fan systems.

Key words: sequence architecture, tectonic subsidence, sea level change, sedimentary genetic type, slope fan, shelf-margin delta, Late Oligocene, Pearl River Mouth Basin

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