Oil and Gas Exploration Prospects of the Analogous Foreland Basins in Central and West China
中国中西部类前陆盆地与典型前陆盆地类比及其油气勘探前景

There are some analogous foreland basins in central and west China, which are somewhat similar to and yet also obviously different from the typical foreland basins in geological structures and oil gas conditions. The former basins have experienced complicated tectonic evolution. They were marine basins before Carboniferous, and evolved into continental basins after Triassic by transformation from the marine facies into the continental facies in Permian. The basins in west China were downfaulted depression basins in Jurassic and Cretaceous, and foreland basins in Cenozoic.These basins formed not only marine facies source rocks (oil type) and reservoirs but also continental facies source rocks (coal type and oil type) and reservoirs. The foreland basins in central and west China have more favorable oil and gas forming conditions than typical foreland basins and hence possess good petroleum exploration prospects.