Characteristics and origins of middle Miocene mounds and channels in the northern South China Sea

Numerous elongated mounds and channels were found at the top of the middle Miocene strata using 2D/3D seismic data in the Liwan Sag of Zhujiang River Mouth Basin(ZRMB)and the Beijiao Sag of Qiongdongnan Basin(QDNB).They occur at intervals and are rarely revealed by drilling wells in the deepwater areas.Origins of the mounds and channels are controversial and poorly understood.Based on an integrated analysis of the seismic attribute,palaeotectonics and palaeogeography,and drilling well encountering a mound,research results show that these mounds are dominantly distributed on the depression centres and/or slopes of the Liwan and Beijiao sags and developed in a bathyal sedimentary environment.In the Liwan and Beijiao sags,the mounds between channels(sub)parallel to one another are 1.0–1.5 km and 1.5–2.0 km wide,150–300 m and 150–200 m high,and extend straightly from west to east for 5–15 km and 8–20 km,respectively.Mounds and channels in the Liwan Sag are parallel with the regional slope.Mounds and channels in the Beijiao Sag,however,are at a small angle to the regional slope.According to internal geometry,texture and external morphology of mounds,the mounds in Beijiao Sag are divided into weak amplitude parallel reflections(mound type I),blank or chaotic reflections(mound type II),and internal mounded reflections(mound typeⅢ).The mounds in Liwan Sag,however,have the sole type,i.e.,mound type I.Mound type I originates from the incision of bottom currents and/or gravity flows.Mound type II results from gravity-driven sediments such as turbidite.Mound typeⅢis a result of deposition and incision of bottom currents simultaneously.The channels with high amplitude between mounds in the Beijiao and Liwan sags are a result of gravity-flow sediments and it is suggested they are filled by sandstone.Whereas channels with low-mediate amplitudes are filled by bottom-current sediments only in the Beijiao Sag,where they are dominantly composed of mudstone.This study provides new insights into the origins of the mounds and channels worldwide.

Hydrocarbon accumulation in the deep waters of South China Sea controlled by the tectonic cycles of marginal sea basins

The tectonic cycle of the marginal sea basins in South China Sea(SCS)includes two cycles,i.e.,the formation and contraction of Palaeo-SCS and Neo-SCS.The northern part of SCS is a rift basin on a passive continental margin,while the the Nansha Block is a drifting rift basin.The southern part is a compound compressional basin on an active continental margin;the western part is a shear-extensional basin on a transform continental margin;the eastern part is an accretionary wedge basin on a subduction continental margin.The deep-water basins are mainly distributed on the continental slope and the the Nansha Block.There are three sets of source rocks in the deep-water areas of the northern continental margin in SCS,i.e.,Eocene terrestrial facies,early Oligocene transitional facies and late Oligocene marine facies.A set of Late Cretaceous-Early Oligocene terrestrial marine facies source rocks are developed in the drift-rift basin of SCS.Three sets of Oligocene,early Miocene and Mid-Miocene marine-terrestrial transitional facies source rocks are developed in the deep-water areas of both the southern and western continental margins of SCS.Four sets of reservoirs developed in the northern deep waters of SCS are dominated by deep sea fans.Two sets of reservoirs developed in the the Nansha Block are dominated by delta and biogenic reef.The southern part of SCS is dominated by deep sea fan and biogenic reef.Reservoirs of large channels and other clastic facies were developed in front of the estuaries,while biogenic reef bank was formed in the uplift zone.The hydrocarbon accumulation assemblages are mainly presented as Oligocene-Pliocene in the deep waters on the northern continental margin of SCS,Eocene-Lower Oligocene in the the Nansha Block,Oligocene-Pliocene and Oligocene-Miocene in the deep waters on the southern and western continental margin of SCS,respectively.The major hydrocarbon reservoir types in the deep waters of SCS are related to structural traps,deep water fans and biogenic reefs.The formation of basin,hydrocarbon and reservoir in the deep waters of SCS are controlled by the tectonic cycles of the marginal sea basins,revealing a great potential for hydrocarbon exploration.