Basin Evolution and Hydrocarbon Potential of the Northern South China Sea

Ru, Ke; Zhou, Di; Chen, Han-zong

doi:10.1007/978-94-011-0886-7_2

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…1), the rifting continued until the formation of a distinct unconformity at the Oligocene/ Miocene boundary (23 Ma) (Fyhn et al 2009a, b). These observations are consistent to what Ru et al (1994) suggested that the breakup was diachronous and the corresponding unconformity has to be diachronous and turn younger westwards.…”

Section: The Middle Miocene Unconformity (Mmu)supporting

confidence: 93%

Rifting to drifting transition of the Southwest Subbasin of the South China Sea

Song

2015

Mar Geophys Res

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Continental rupturing process and related dynamics on the onset of seafloor spreading remain poorly understood in the opening of the South China Sea. To constrain the timing and cause of major tectonic events, we focus on the rifting-to-drifting transition of the Southwest Subbasin, which has very wide extended continental margins. By carefully interpreting rifting structures and carbonate platforms and reefs, we distinguished two major unconformities, i.e., the breakup unconformity (BRU) and the mid-Miocene unconformity, in the two conjugate margins of the Southwest Subbasin. The age of the BRU in our study area is near the Oligocene/Miocene boundary (*23 Ma). Pre-stack depth migration of a recently acquired multichannel reflection seismic profile reveals complex structures and strong lateral velocity variations associated with a 3.5 km thick syn-rifting sequence developed right at the continent-ocean boundary (COB) of the Southwest Subbasin. This syn-rifting sequence is bounded landwards by a large seaward dipping fault, and tapers out seawards. An erosional truncation, which represents the mid-Miocene unconformity landwards but the older breakup unconformity on the seaward side, occurred at the top of this sequence. The overall transitional deformation style from the rifting to drifting suggests a successive episode of rifting, faulting, compression, tilting, and erosion at the COB during the crustal thinning and mantle upwelling. Localized thick syn-rifting deposition and early deposition beneath the BRU in the oceanic domain exist only at the seaward concave part of the COB, indicating discrete rifting and seafloor spreading prior to the buildup of a unified spreading center for the entire subbasin.

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Section: The Middle Miocene Unconformity (Mmu)supporting

confidence: 93%

Rifting to drifting transition of the Southwest Subbasin of the South China Sea

Song

2015

Mar Geophys Res

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“…According to the age that large-scale granite ceased intrusion under the Pearl River Mouth basin [20] , the turning point should be around 70 Ma (Late Cretaceous). The oldest sediments in the northern marginal basins are dated as about 65 Ma [18] , so the back-arc spreading should not be the main driving force of the continental rifting and breakup. Researches on the northern and southern marginal basins all support the passive rifting theory [23,41] .…”

Section: Back-arc Spreadingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to the passive continental margin model built up by Lister et al [1] , the northern marginal basins and the southern marine plateau are conjugate margins formed when the South China Sea broke up. The rifting of the northern South China Sea margin and the drifting of the sea floor propagated from east to west like a pair of scissors [18] .…”

Section: Back-arc Spreadingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Research on the dynamics of the South China Sea opening: Evidence from analogue modeling

Sun

Zhou

Zeng³

et al. 2006

SCI CHINA SER D

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Independent of Indochina extrusion, the South China Sea experienced a process from passive continental rifting to marginal sea drifting. According to the fault patterns in the Beibu Gulf basin and the Pearl River Mouth basin, the continental rifting and early spreading stage from 32 to 26 Ma were controlled by extensional stress field, which shifted clockwise from southeastward to south southeastward. From 24 Ma on, the sea spread in NW-SE direction and ceased spreading at around 15.5 Ma. Integrated geological information with the assumption that the South China Sea developed along a pre-Cenozoic weakness zone, we did analogue experiments on the South China Sea evolution. Experiments revealed that the pre-existing weakness zone goes roughly along the uplift zone between the present Zhu-1 and Zhu-2 depression. The pre-existing weakness zone is composed of three segments trending NNE, roughly EW and NEE, respectively. The early opening of the South China Sea is accompanied with roughly 15° clockwise rotation, while the SE sub-sea basin opened with SE extension. Tinjar fault was the western boundary of the Nansha block (Dangerous Ground), while Lupar fault was the eastern boundary of the Indochina, NW-trending rift belt known as Zengmu basin developed between above two faults due to block divergent of Indochina from Nansha. In the experiment, transtensional flower structures along NW-trending faults are seen, and slight inversion occurs along some NE-dipping faults. The existence of rigid massifs changed the orientations of some faults and rift belt, and also led to deformation concentrate around the massifs. The rifting and drifting of the South China Sea might be caused by slab pull from the proto South China Sea subducting toward Borneo and/or mantle flow caused by India-Asia collision.

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“…All these basins were developed on an extensional background related with early Tertiary spreading of the SCS, with exception of the YGHB, which was associated with the strike slip along the Red River fault zone. Generally, formation and evolution of these basins experienced a rifting and a post-rifting period, the rifting period consists of multiple episodes of rifting (Ru et al, 1994;Gong, 2004). According to the regional tectonic setting, the evolution of these basins can be subdivided into four stages: pre-spreading initial rifting, syn-spreading intense rifting, post-spreading slow subsidence and post-spreading rapid subsidence (Xie et al, 2011).…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geothermal Characteristics and Hydrocarbon Accumulation of the Northern Marginal Basins, South China Sea

Tang

Zhang³

et al. 2014

Chinese J of Geophysics

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A total of 65 new heat flow data were obtained based on newly determined thermal conductivity and collected temperature logging data. Using these data together with those from previous studies, we constructed a geothermal gradient map as well as a heat flow map for the northern marginal basins of the South China Sea. Furthermore, geothermal characteristics of these basins and their relationship with oil and gas field distribution were analyzed. The results show that the four sub‐basins located in the northern South China Sea, namely the Pearl River Mouth Basin, Qiongdongnan Basin, Beibuwan Basin and Yinggehai Basin, are typical “hot basins” with average heat flow of 68.7±11 mW/m2, 71.1±13 mW/m2, 65.7±8.9 mW/m2, and 74.7±10 mW/m2, respectively. The overall heat flow distribution pattern in the study area, which gradually increases from the shelf to the slope corresponding with crust thinning trend, are generally controlled by regional tectonic setting. Meanwhile some high local heat flow anomalies are likely to be attributed to the fault and magmatic activities. The geothermal field may control and restrict oil and gas accumulation in the study area. In light of exploration results of these basins, we find that the gas fields are mostly located in the high heat flow basins (depressions) while the oil fields more likely lie in relatively lower heat flow basins (depressions).

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Basin Evolution and Hydrocarbon Potential of the Northern South China Sea

Cited by 17 publications

References 3 publications

Rifting to drifting transition of the Southwest Subbasin of the South China Sea

Rifting to drifting transition of the Southwest Subbasin of the South China Sea

Research on the dynamics of the South China Sea opening: Evidence from analogue modeling

Geothermal Characteristics and Hydrocarbon Accumulation of the Northern Marginal Basins, South China Sea

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