New insights and future research focuses on oil and gas exploration in the continental margin deepwater area of the northern South China Sea
The Continental margin deepwater area of the northern South China Sea is an important target of offshore oil and gas exploration in China.However,due to the complex tectonic evolution history,sags in this area are significantly different in sedimentary-tectonic characteristics,(source rock)hydrocarbon generation-(reservoir rock)diagenetic evolution process,and hydrocarbon accumulation model.To clarify the potential and direction of oil and gas exploration in the continental margin deepwater area of the northern South China Sea,based on previous studies and exploration practices,the geological conditions such as source rock,reservoir rock and differential hydrocarbon accumulation were analyzed.Then,the hydrocarbon accumulation characteristics and exploration challenges in the study area were dissected.Finally,the future research focuses were proposed.The study results are obtained in three aspects.First,as a result of crustal detachment and intense thinning,the strata in the study area exhibit unique sedimentary characteristics and diverse petrophysical properties.Second,the differential rise of asthenosphere created the special high heat flow setting in the deepwater area,which promoted the rapid and intense hydrocarbon generation of three types of source kitchens(regional lacustrine facies,coal-measure,and superposed),accompanied with shallowing hydrocarbon generation threshold.Third,deepwater basins vary greatly in evolutional and basin-forming scales,and the tectonic evolution has controlled the basin geometry and the spatiotemporal reservoir distribution.Furthermore,the unique plate tectonic location,complex tectonic evolution history,and geological feature of dramatic temperature and pressure change in the deepwater area have dominated the hydrocarbon accumulation model.It is concluded that the exploration in the deepwater area of the northern South China Sea is challenged technically and economically by,for example,low accuracy of seismic data,difficult prediction of effective and large-scale reservoirs,and high costs.Therefore,it is necessary to(1)define an innovative approach for identifying the differential distribution of high-quality reservoirs in high geothermal setting,and(2)upgrade the exploration equipment and develop/improve key exploration technologies including efficient seismic acquisition,gravity-magnetic-electric-seismic-based geophysical acquisition and processing,dual-derrick drilling,and multi-section drilling in one trip,providing theoretical and technical support for the high-quality operations of deepwater oil and gas exploration and development in China.
Northern South China SeaContinental margin deepwater areaSource rock typeSource kitchenHydrocarbon accumulation modelTectonic evolutionExploration challengeEfficient exploration operation
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