Abstract: Shale oil is one of the important unconventional petroleum resources,and its exploration and development has greatly expanded the traditional domain of the industry.The lacustrine shale in the faulted basins of East China has been considered as having great potential for shale oil based on the facts that it has large coverage,high organic matter content,and considerable thickness matched well with shallow buried depth,and that most of it is still within the oil-generating peak stage.Based on comparison with the typical shale oil producing plays in the US,the paper analyzes geological conditions of shale oil in these basins in accordance with their sedimentary facies belt,lithology combination,reservoir space types,hydrocarbon source condition of the organic-rich mudstone and shale.Based on the results,the paper explores characteristics of these reservoirs and classifies three main types of shale oil reservoirs,i.e.pure shale reservoir in deep depression,shale reservoirs within salt layers,and shale reservoirs with thin brittle interbed such as thin sandstone,limestone and dolomite.A preliminary analysis of the exploration potential for shale oil in these basins is also carried out and favorable zones for its exploration are identified.

Key words: accumulation condition, distribution characteristics, shale oil reservoir type, favorable zone, shale oil, faulted basins in East China