Tectonic evolution and hydrocarbon potential in northern area of the South Yellow Sea

Abstract

The northern area of the South Yellow Sea, located in the offshore region of China, resulted from the continental-continental collision orogeny during the Mesozoic and can be divided into four stages in terms of tectonic evolution: (1) pre-orogenic passive continental margin stage (Z-T 2 ); (2) foreland basin stage corresponding with the late phase of the Sulu (苏鲁) orogeny (J 3 -K); (3) post-orogenic intracontinental rifted basin stage (K 2 t-E); and (4) regional subsidence and coverage stage (N-Q). Based on detailed investigation and study of the intracontinental rifted basin, hydrocarbon source rocks of Late Cretaceous Taizhou (泰州) Formation distributed well in the basin, and four reservoir-cap combinations as well as numerous trap structures were found. As a result, the geological conditions would be excellent for reservoir formation in the basin, and the oil resource amount is estimated at about 20×10 8 t, which makes the basin a major target for hydrocarbon exploration in the South Yellow Sea. KEY WORDS: northern area of the South Yellow Sea, tectonic evolution stage, orogeny, sourcereservoir-cap combination, hydrocarbon exploration potential.

P‐wave velocity structure of the Sulu orogenic belt in the Yellow Sea, East China: Evidence from wide‐angle ocean‐bottom seismograph data

“…The South Yellow Sea basin is filled with continental Mesozoic–Cenozoic sediments overlying the pre‐Palaeozoic and Mesozoic–Palaeozoic marine sediments (Li et al., 2016; Yao et al., 2008; Yuan et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2013). The Northern Depression is located in the northern part of the South Yellow Sea basin and the southern part of the Qianliyan Massif.…”

Carboniferous-Early Permian Heterogeneous Porous Carbonate Reservoirs Prediction and Sedimentary Analysis in the Central Uplift of the South Yellow Sea Basin

“…The SYSB region spans from 121°E to 124°E with an exploration area of ~18×10 4 km 2 , the SYSB can be subdivided into five secondary tectonic units, including the Wunansha Uplift, the South Depression, the Central Uplift, the North Depression, and the Qianliyan Uplift from south to north, and they are bounded by regional NE-strike and EW-strike faults [25,27,28,37,38]( Fig 1b). The SYSB stratigraphy comprises Archean-Proterozoic metamorphic rocks, Paleozoic to Triassic marine sediments and Mesozoic-Cenozoic terrigenous sediments [39,40]. The marine sedimentary sequences are throughout the whole basin, whereas the Mesozoic-Cenozoic continental sedimentary sequences mainly developed within the South Depression and the North Depression [41].…”

Hydrocarbon Generation Evaluation, Burial History, and Thermal Maturity of the Lower Triassic–Silurian Organic-Rich Sedimentary Rocks in the Central Uplift of the South Yellow Sea Basin, East Asia

“…The SYSB is a continental shelf basin that stretches from the coastline of Southern Shandong Province to Jiangsu Province, China, and then to the western boundary of the Korean Peninsula (Figure ). The SYSB developed after the Precambrian and then underwent four main stages of tectonic evolution: (1) the pre-Indosinian (Precambrian–Early Triassic) evolution of the passive continental margin, (2) foreland basin evolution related to the collisional orogeny (Qinling–Dabie–Sulu orogenic belt) between the Sino–Korean Platform and Yangtze Craton from the Late Triassic to Jurassic, (3) rifted basin evolution associated with the paleo-Pacific subduction from the Late Jurassic to Miocene, and (4) regional subsidence evolution. − The tectonic framework of the East Asian Continental Margin is mainly dominated by interactions between the West Pacific, Eurasian, and Indian plates during the Mesozoic to Cenozoic. − …”