Structural geology and favorable exploration prospect belts in northwestern Sichuan Basin, SW China

Chen, Zhuxin; Li, Wei; Wang, Lining; Yue, Lei; Yang, Guang; Zhang, Benjian; Yin, Hong; Yuan, Baoguo

doi:10.1016/s1876-3804(19)60022-4

Cited by 30 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The partial kink block contains secondary thrust faults. Numerous studies have inferred that the buried deformational event in the NW Sichuan Basin is Late Cenozoic in age and perhaps continues to the present (Luo et al, 2009;Jia et al, 2010;Chen et al, 2019). This study simulates mainly the Cenozoic deformation without considering syn-sedimentation.…”

Section: Tectonic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks in a continuous sequence along the eastern side of the northern Longmen Shan belt were shallow dipping, and the folds of the different strata are generally parallel (Luo et al, 2009;Jia et al, 2010). A regional cross-section was constructed to illustrate the combination and distribution characteristics of the large-scale thrust nappes, the NW-dipping autochthonous stacking thrusts, and the huge buried structure from the orogeny to the foreland basin (Luo et al, 2009;Jin et al, 2010;Chen et al, 2019;Li et al, 2019). Seismic and well data indicate that the subsurface blind stacking thrusts are composed of three NW-dipping thrust sheets and a repetitive stratigraphic sequence.…”

Section: Tectonic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The northwestern Sichuan Basin, located on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and the southern front of the Qinling Orogenic Belt (Figure 1a), as a prospective retrogressive foreland basin since the Late Triassic, has been an important location of abundant natural gas resources and a target for development of its vast petroleum resources (Jia et al, 2006;Gorum et al, 2011;Zhao et al, 2012;Chen et al, 2019Chen et al, , 2020. The amalgamation of the Qiangtang Block with the North China-Kunlun-Qaidam Block and the South China Block during the Late Triassic Indosinian Orogeny and the Cenozoic India-Tibet collision (Yin and Nie, 1993;Burchfiel et al, 1995;Meng et al, 2005;Richardson et al, 2008;Royden et al, 2008;Hall, 2012;Zhang et al, 2015;Wang et al, 2016;Yan et al, 2018) accommodated a strong fold-thrust structure and crustal shortening in the Upper Yangtze area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The front belt of the NW Sichuan region exhibits a shallow passive-roof duplex and deep-buried imbricated thrust structures (Jia et al, 2006;Jin et al, 2010;Chen et al, 2019;Fan et al, 2020), which shed some light on the structural features of intracontinental orogenic propagation in the India-Eurasian collision event. The mechanical conditions under multiple detachments (Hubbard et al, 2010;Li et al, 2019;Cui et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2020) or widespread erosion (Meng et al, 2005;Richardson et al, 2008;Yang et al, 2013;Ma et al, 2019;Fan et al, 2020) may be the reason for the adjustments in the regional tectonic stress field for the back thrust.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(a) Topographic map of the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau and the NW Sichuan Basin; (b) enlarged simplified geological map of the study area shown in the yellow box; (c) AA': seismic profile of the study area. Modified afterLuo et al (2009) andChen et al (2019).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Structural Features and Evolution of the Northwestern Sichuan Basin: Insights From Discrete Numerical Simulations

Yin

Jia

et al. 2021

Front. Earth Sci.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The northwestern Sichuan Basin has experienced Meso-Cenozoic intracontinental compressional tectonic processes and formed multi-detachment stratigraphic distribution of foreland basins and fold-thrust belts, which have caused complicated structural deformations in the deep buried layers. Rapid uplift with accelerated erosion and two sets of detachments in the Lower Triassic and Lower Cambrian controlled the multilevel deformation structure. We conducted discrete numerical simulations with double weak detachments and erosion under extrusion conditions in order to examine the mechanics and kinematics of the frontalpiedmont zones of the NW Sichuan Basin. The following findings were made. (1) With continuous compression, the weak detachments promoted the decoupled and ladder-like deformation of the thrust belt, where the deformation above the slip layer extended further than it did below it. Rapid uplift and erosion at the thrust front contributed to the formation of a passive roof fault and a monocline in the upper layer, a series of forward and backward thin-skinned thrust-buried structures in the middle layer sandwiched between two weak detachments and stacking structures in the lower layer. (2) Erosion effectively prevents the deformation from propagating above the upper detachment, but can advance a horizontal transition in the deformation style generated within the middle brittle layer: from oblique and tight fault propagation folds to symmetrical, wide, and gentle detachment folds. (3) The model results consistent with tectonic deformation in the NW Sichuan Basin indicate a possible evolutionary mechanism under compression. There is hierarchical deformation of uncoordinated contraction controlled by the Lower Triassic and Early Cambrian weak layers, with the characteristics of the shallow monocline, the middle thin-skinned thrusts, and the deeper basement-involved folds. Continuous compression contributed a sequential pattern of steps as a whole, from the frontalpiedmont zones to the foreland basin, autochthonous stacking thrusts, and the huge buried structure in the NW Sichuan Basin. During the Himalayan period, syntectonic erosion along with the uplifted thrust front maintained the development of a passive-roof duplex and a huge forward buried structure.

show abstract

Section: Tectonic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Tectonic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Structural Features and Evolution of the Northwestern Sichuan Basin: Insights From Discrete Numerical Simulations

Yin

Jia

et al. 2021

Front. Earth Sci.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Physical simulation experiments of structural deformation and hydrocarbon accumulation in piggyback thrust wedges

Zhao

Cheng-ming

et al. 2022

Geological Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The piggyback thrust wedge is a common structural style in thrust belts, which controls the lateral arrangement of hydrocarbon distribution. This study conducted physical simulation experiments of structural deformation and hydrocarbon accumulation by using the piggyback thrust wedge as the geological model. According to the experimental results, hydrocarbon accumulation patterns were obtained by investigating the evolutionary history of the fault‐sealing performance while inverting the coupling relationship between the fault evolution and hydrocarbon accumulation. The structural deformation experiment showed that the evolution of the fault displacement and dip angle was characterized by gradual and staged progress. The kaolin smear continuity deteriorated with fault evolution. The soybean oil accumulation experiment demonstrated that the fault‐sealing performance in the rear of the thrust wedge was inferior to that in the front. Hydrocarbon migration was mostly lateral in the front of the thrust wedge and mainly vertical in the rear. Quantitative analysis showed that the fault‐sealing performance had three closed, partially closed, and open stages, which gradually deteriorated with the structural evolution. Three hydrocarbon accumulation patterns were identified in the piggyback thrust wedge: synchronized, adjustment, and non‐adjustment patterns. The evolution of the structural deformation and faults‐sealing performance resulted in spatio‐temporal differences in hydrocarbon accumulation in the thrust belts of central‐western China. The front of the thrust wedge had a higher exploration potential than the rear.

show abstract

Pore‐throat structure and fractal characteristics of tight gas sandstone reservoirs: A case study of the second member of the Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation in Zhongba area, western Sichuan depression, China

Liu,

Sang

et al. 2024

Geological Journal

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pore‐throat structure is a key factor that influences the storage and fluid flow capacity of tight sandstone reservoirs. Taking the tight sandstone reservoir of Xu2 Fm in Zhongba area as an example, the reservoir quality, pore‐throat type and pore size distribution of tight sandstone in the study area were described by casting thin section, scanning electron microscope and high‐pressure mercury injection test. In order to quantitatively characterize the complexity and heterogeneity of pore‐throat structure, fractal analysis was performed using mercury saturation and pore size data. This study mainly reveals the relationship between the geometric shape characteristics and fractal dimension of the binary pore structure of ultra‐low permeability tight sandstone and clarifies the influence of different scale pore throats on reservoir physical properties. The results indicate that the physical properties of the reservoir in the study area are poor, the pores are mainly intergranular pores and dissolution pores, the throat is flake and necked and the pore size distribution range is large. The fractal curve obtained by the mercury saturation method shows a significant turning point, and the pore‐throat system is divided into two types: small‐scale and large‐scale. The fractal dimension of large‐scale pore throat is greater than the three‐dimensional Euclidean space dimension, which does not conform to the fractal theory. The fractal dimension of small‐scale pore throat is closely related to the pore‐throat structure and has obvious fractal characteristics. The geometric shape of binary pore‐throat structure in tight sandstone is the main factor affecting the difference of fractal dimension. The development of small pores in sandstone is positively correlated with the total porosity, but its contribution to permeability is relatively low. The physical properties of tight sandstone are mainly controlled by the development degree of large‐scale pore throat.

show abstract

Structural geology and favorable exploration prospect belts in northwestern Sichuan Basin, SW China

Cited by 30 publications

References 14 publications

Structural Features and Evolution of the Northwestern Sichuan Basin: Insights From Discrete Numerical Simulations

Structural Features and Evolution of the Northwestern Sichuan Basin: Insights From Discrete Numerical Simulations

Physical simulation experiments of structural deformation and hydrocarbon accumulation in piggyback thrust wedges

Pore‐throat structure and fractal characteristics of tight gas sandstone reservoirs: A case study of the second member of the Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation in Zhongba area, western Sichuan depression, China

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About