Characteristics of transfer zones under the influence of preexisting faults and regional stress transformation:Wenchang A subsag,Zhujiang River Mouth Basin,northern South China Sea

A transfer zone in rift basins preserves important information on regional tectonic evolution and plays significant roles in hydrocarbon accumulation.Based on the systematic analysis of 3D seismic data and hydrocarbon accumulation conditions,the geometry,kinematics,and reservoir control of a large synthetic overlapping transfer zone in the south of the Wenchang A subsag in the Zhujiang(Pearl)River Mouth basin were investigated.Results indicate that the development and evolution of the transfer zone was controlled by the interaction between pre-existing faults and regional stress transformation.The intense rifting of the main faults of the transfer zone controlled the development of source rocks and faultcontrolled slope break paleogeomorphology.The strike-slip overprint since the Oligocene is conducive to the formation of a large-scale fault-anticline trap,and the secondary faults in the transfer zone contribute to the hydrocarbon transportation.The conjugate intersection area of the NE-and NW-trending faults offers more opportunity for hydrocarbon migration and accumulation.

Research advances on transfer zones in rift basins and their influence on hydrocarbon accumulation

Transfer zones are structural areas of faults interactions where fault motion or displacement can be transferred from one fault to another, regional strain maintains laterally constant. Transfer zones are widely developed in rift basins and have significance on hydrocarbon accumulation. In this review article, we attempt to summarize recent advances on the types, distance-displacement curves, evolutionary stages and controlling factors of transfer zones in rift basins and their effects on sedimentary systems, reservoir properties, trap formation and hydrocarbon migration. The formation of transfer zones is genetically related to the segmented growth of normal faults. Depending on the degree of interaction between these normal faults, transfer zones in rift basins could be divided into two types: soft-linked and hard-linked, which are further subdivided into transfer slope, oblique anticline, horst and transfer fault based on the combination patterns of normal faults. In general, the development of transfer zones experiences several stages including isolated normal faulting, transfer slope forming, complicating and breaking. During the interaction and growth of segmented normal faults, stress-strain and spatial array of faults, pre-existing basement structures, and mechanical conditions of rocks have a great influence on the location and development processes of transfer zones. A transfer zone is commonly considered as a pathway for conveying sediments from provenance to basin, and it hence exerts an essential control on the distribution of sandbodies. In addition, transfer zone is the area where stresses are concentrated, which facilitates the formation of various types of structural traps, and it is also a favorable conduit for hydrocarbon migration. Consequently, there exists great hydrocarbon potentials in transfer zones to which more attention should be given.

Effect of Sand Body Enrichment Under the Restriction of a Tectonic Transfer Zone: A Case Study on the Pinghu Formation in the Kongqueting Region on the Pinghu Slope

Results of long-term explorations in the Kongqueting region,located in an East China Sea depression,suggest that the strong fault activity during the sedimentary period of the Pinghu formation significantly influenced the development of the sedimentary system.However,the aggregation and enrichment of the sand body under a tectonic background has become a problem that requires an immediate solution.Considering research outcomes of previous studies,this study used three-dimensional seismic and logging data to identify Y-or H-type and the en echelon distribution patterns of the fault plane,as well as identify the locations wherein the fault growth index value is greater than 1 in the study region,indicating the tectonic background of the fault transfer zone in the region.Second,the development type of the fault transfer zone was studied,and the sand body enrichment site was identified based on seismic inversion data and the development position of the fault transfer point.This helps clarify the evolution of sedimentary facies of the Pinghu formation combined with the sedimentary environment of the braided-river delta.Finally,after summarizing the coupling relationship between the synsedimentary fault systems and the sand body enrichment patterns,three sand-control models were determined,namely,the flexural-parallel,the en echelon collinear,and the torsional-reformed superimposed transfer zones.The findings of this study lay a foundation for the subsequent search of tectonic lithologic oil and gas reservoirs.

Oil source and migration process in oblique transfer zone of Fushan Sag,northern South China Sea

The oblique transfer zone in the Fushan Sag, a syndepositional dome sandwiched between the Bailian and Huangtong sub-sags, has been the most important exploration target. The major oil observation occurs in the E_2l_1^(L+M) and the E_2l_3~U. 46 oil and rock samples reveal that the oil in the transfer zone is mostly contributed by the Bailian sub-sag, though the source rock conditions, hydrocarbon generation and expulsion histories of the Bailian and Huangtong sub-sags are similar. The E_2l_3~U oil, characterized by high maturity, Pr/Ph ratio and oleanane/C_(30)-hopane ratio, shows a close genetic affinity with the E_2l_3~b source rocks, while the E_2l_1^(L+M) oil, characterized by lower maturity, Pr/Ph ratio and oleanane/C_(30)-hopane ratio, is suggested to be derived from the E_2l_(1+2)~b source rocks. The homogenization temperatures of aqueous fluid inclusions, taking the burial history of the reservoirs into account, reflect that the oil charge mainly occurred from mid-Miocene to Pliocene in the oblique transfer zone. The oil transporting passages include connected sand bodies, unconformities and faults in the Fushan Sag. Of these, the faults are the most complicated and significant. The faults differ sharply in the west area, the east area and the oblique transfer zone, resulting in different influence on the oil migration and accumulation. During the main hydrocarbon charge stage, the faults in the west area are characterized by bad vertical sealing and spatially dense distribution. As a result, the oil generated by the Huangtong source rocks is mostly lost along the faults during the vertical migration in the west area. This can be the mechanism proposed to explain the little contribution of the Huangtong source rocks to the oil in the oblique transfer zone. Eventually, an oil migration and accumulation model is built in the oblique transfer zone, which may provide theoretical and practical guides for the oil exploration.

Strata Architectural Variability and Facies Distribution in a Structural Transfer Zone: A Case Study of Fushan Sag, Northern South China Sea

Structural transfer zones in a half-graben rift basin play a significant role in controlling sandy sediments and providing a target for hydrocarbon exploration. Previous studies have classified the transfer zone in lacustrine environments into two different patterns: synthetic approaching transfer zones and synthetic overlapping transfer zones. However, the evolution of the depositional pattern and the controlling factors of the above transfer zones are still unclear. In the Fushan Sag, the northern South China Sea, an overlapping transfer zone developed in the early Eocene Epoch, while a synthetic approaching transfer zone developed in the late Eocene, due to tectonic uplift. This evolutionary process provided an opportunity to study the stacking pattern of strata architectural variability and facies distribution in the structural transfer zone of the Eocene lacustrine basin. In this study, following the indications of the oriented sedimentary structures in core samples and heavy mineral assemblages of 18 wells, the evolution of the paleo-hydrodynamic distribution during the early and late Eocene has been reconstructed. The sequence-stratigraphy was then divided and the sand body parameters calculated, according to the seismic data and well log interpretations. During the early Eocene, the lake level was at a low stand, the faults broken displacement in the East block being over 50 m. The prograding delta and turbidites are oriented perpendicular to the structural transfer zone. According to the quantitative analysis of the flow rate and the depositional parameters, we speculate that gravity transportation of the sediment and the sediment-supply are the dominating factors during this period. Up to the late Eocene, the rising lake level and the decreased fault displacement leads the flow to divert to a NE-direction, resulting in it being parallel to the axis of the transfer zone. Thus, we speculate that the accommodation space is predominant in this period. In comparison with the above two periods, a braided river delta with an isolated sand body and turbidites developing in the deep area is prominent in the overlapping transfer zone, while a meandering river delta is characteristic of the synthetic approaching transfer zone.

Dynamics Analysis of the Baiyun Sag in the Pearl River Mouth Basin,North of the South China Sea

The Baiyun sag is a deep one developing on the slope of the Pearl River Mouth Basin. It occurs as a composite graben horizontally, and is composed of two sub-sags versus one low uplift. Vertically, the sedimentary architecture could be divided into three layers, i.e. the faulted layer on the bottom, the faulted-ductile stretching layer in the middle and the draping layer on the top. The main rifting stage of the sag is supposed to be characterized by ductile extension and thinning of the crust. The special deformation pattern is probably attributed to the fact that the Baiyun sag is located in the transfer zone of the pre-existing weak zone, which made the sag a strongly deformed area, characterized by the greatly thinned lithosphere and active magmatism. The highly rising mantle under the Baiyun sag should be an important mechanism responsible for the ductile deformation, which caused partial melting of the upper mantle. Upweiling to the upper crust and the sedimentary layers, the partial melting materials accommodated extensional strain and caused non-faulted vertical subsidence. Magma was collected under the transfer zone after the first stage of rifting, and transferred laterally in a direction perpendicular to the extension to the ENE and WSW parts of the sag and upwelled along the NW-trending basal faults, where WNW-trending shear faults developed in swarms. The faulting activity and sedimentation history of the Baiyun sag may have been affected by the ocean ridge jump around 24 Ma and the cessation of sea floor spreading around 16 Ma.

Differential Tectonic Deformation of the Longmen Mountain Thrust Belt,Western Sichuan Basin,China

Field investigation and seismic section explanation showed that the Longmen Mountain Thrust Belt has obvious differential deformation： zonation, segmentation and stratification. Zonation means that, from NW to NE, the Longmen Mountain Thrust Belt can be divided into the Songpan- Garz~ Tectonic Belt, ductile deformation belt, base involved thrust belt, frontal fold-thrust belt, and foreland depression. Segmentation means that it can be divided into five segments from north to south： the northern segment, the Anxian Transfer Zone, the center segment, the Guanxian Transfer Zone and the southern segment. Stratification means that the detachment layers partition the structural styles in profile. The detachment layers in the Longmen Mountain Thrust Belt can be classified into three categories： the deep-level detachment layers, including the crust-mantle system detachment layer, intracrustal detachment layer, and Presinian system basal detachment layer; the middle-level detachment layers, including Cambrian-Ordovician detachment layer, Silurian detachment layer, etc.; and shallow-level detachment layers, including Upper Triassic Xujiahe Formation detachment layer and the Jurassic detachment layers. The multi-level detachment layers have a very important effect on the shaping and evolution of Longmen Mountain Thrust Belt.