Characteristics of Tertiary Sediments and Main Source Rocks, Northern South China Sea
南海北部边缘盆地第三系沉积及主要烃源岩发育特征

Basins in Northern South China Sea belong to passive margin basins, and they are located at the junction of the Eurasian, the Pacific and the Indian-Australian plates, and also at the Superposed areas of Palaeo-Tethyan structural regimes and Palaeo-Pacific structural regimes. So the geological settings of these basins are complex, their Tertiary sediments developed well. and the phenomena of petroleum geology are rich and colorful. Based on the characteristics of framework and tectonics, the basins in Northern South China Sea can be classified into two types, strike-slip basins and rift basins. The source rocks of the former are mainly the well-developed, huge thickness ofNeogene marine depression sedimentary rocks and Miocene marine sedimentary rocks; those of the latter are significantly the rift sediments of Paleogene continental facies, and large-scale source rocks of medium-deep lacustrine facies and inshore paludal facies with coal measure strata well-developed.