Caohu Sag is located in the northern extensional part of Manjiar Depression
North Tarim.The main source rock is the Cambrian Ordovician carbonate rock
and the major period of oil generation in Cambrian was in Middle Caledonian Late Hercynian period;that of Ordovician was Hercynian Yenshan period.The source rock of the above mentioned periods used to generate and expel large amount of oil and gas.The oil and gas migrated respectively in Late Paleozoic Early Jurassic and Early Miocene Quaternary along Cambrian and Ordovician sediments to the west
north and east sides.The northern and eastern parts of the sag uplifted intensively during late Hercynian
the erosion lasted for 40 Ma.As a result
not only the Permian sediments there were eroded completely
but also the oil and gas that had generated before escaped along faults.That is why more than ten wells drilled there are all dry.As for the Carboniferous and Triassic traps formed on the slope between Caohu sag and Ackule uplift
they should be taken as targets of oil and gas exploration since they formed earlier