Deformation characteristics and exploration potential of the West Kunlun foreland fold-and-thrust belt
Abstract view|122|times PDF download|54|times
Abstract
The West Kunlun foreland is dominated by segmented fold-and-thrust belts with significant potential for hydrocarbon exploration, while the extent of exploration in this area has been relatively limited. In this paper, by conducting complex structural interpretation, the geometric and kinematic characteristics, as well as the variations in the segmented fold-and-thrust belts within this region are revealed. The West Kunlun foreland fold-and-thrust belts are divided into three structural segments, which exhibit distinct structural styles. The Pusha-Kedong segment in the east is characterized by large-scale northward propagation, with high-angle basement-involved faults in the root belt and thin-skinned thrusts in the front belt. Additionally, three-row anticlines developed in the middle to the upper structural layers. The Kashi-Yecheng segment, located in the middle, is characterized by strike-slip faults and basement-involved structural wedges transitioning to detachment structures. Within this segment, the Sugaite structure in the mountain front is a wedge structure composed of basement-involved faults and an upper back-thrust fault. Meanwhile, the Yingjisha structure in the thrust front consists of a fold in the lower part and a back-thrust system above it. The lower fold is controlled by the Cambrian detachment thrust, which terminates upward in the Paleogene, while the back-thrust faults truncate upper structural layers and terminate downwards in the Miocene strata. The Wupoer segment in the northwest is controlled by the Main Pamir Thrust and the Front Pamir Thrust, which are low angular forward thrust faults with an arc distribution. A piggyback basin has developed in the root belt and upper structural layer since the Pliocene. Based on the deformation characteristics and the accumulation of oil-gas reservoirs discovered so far, two types of oil and gas-rich thrust belts with different hydrocarbon exploration fields in the West Kunlun foreland are described.
Document Type: Original article
Cited as: Jiang, L., Dong, H., Li, Y., Zhao, W., Zhang, Y., Bo, D. Deformation characteristics and exploration potential of the West Kunlun foreland fold-and-thrust belt. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2024, 11(3): 181-193. https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2024.03.03
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Burtman, V. Cenozoic crustal shortening between the Pamir and Tien Shan and a reconstruction of the Pamir-Tien Shan transition zone for the Cretaceous and Palaeogene. Tectonophysics, 2000, 319(2), 69-92.
Cao, K., Wang, G., Bernet, M., et al. Exhumation history of the West Kunlun Mountains, northwestern Tibet: Evidence for a long-lived, rejuvenated orogen. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2015, 432: 391-403.
Chen, H., Lin, X., Cheng, X., et al. Two-phase intracontinental deformation mode in the context of India-Eurasia collision: insights from a structural analysis of the West Kunlun-Southern Junggar transect along the NW margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Journal of the Geological Society, 2022, 179(2): 202-229.
Chen, L., Jiang, Z., Liu, K., et al. Quantitative characterization of micropore structure for organic-rich Lower Silurian shale in the Upper Yangtze Platform, South China: Implications for shale gas adsorption capacity. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2017, 1(2): 112-123.
Cheng, X., Chen, H., Lin, X., et al. Deformation geometry and timing of theWupoer thrust belt in the NE Pamir and its tectonic implications. Frontiers of Earth Science, 2016, 10: 751-760.
Cheng, X., Chen, H., Lin, X., et al. Geometry and kinematic evolution of the Hotan-Tiklik segment of the western Kunlun thrust belt: Constrained by structural analyses and apatite fission track thermochronology. The Journal of Geology, 2017, 125(1): 65-82.
Cowgill, E. Tectonic evolution of the Altyn Tagh-Western Kunlun fault system, northwestern China. University of California, Los Angeles, 2001.
Cowgill, E., Yin, A., Harrison, T., et al. Reconstruction of the Altyn Tagh fault based on U-Pb geochronology: Role of back thrusts, mantle sutures, and heterogeneous crustal strength in forming the Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 2003, 108(7): 101-113.
Dong, D., Li, H., Du, D., et al. Structural characteristics and formation evolution of Tumu shock fault zone in Bachu Uplift, Tarim Basin. Natural Gas Geoscience, 2018, 29(7): 951-960. (in Chinese)
Gao, R., Huang, D., Lu, D., et al. Deep seismic reflection profile across the juncture zone between the Tarim Basin and the West Kunlun Mountains. Chinese Science Bulletin, 2000, 45: 2281-2286.
He, J., Xu, B., Li, D., et al. Newly discovered early Neoproterozoic (ca. 900 Ma) andesitic rocks in the northwestern Tarim Craton: Implications for the reconstruction of the Rodinia supercontinent. Precambrian Research, 2019, 325: 55-68.
Huang, W., Yu, S., Zhang, H., et al. Diamondoid fractionation and implications for the Kekeya condensate field in the Southwestern Depression of the Tarim Basin, NW China. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2022, 138: 105551.
Jia, C., Chen, Z., Lei Y., et al. Deformation mechanisms and structural models of the fold-thrust belts of central and western China. Earth Science Frontiers, 2022a, 29(6): 156-174.
Jia, C., Ma, D., Yuan, J., et al. Structural characteristics, formation & evolution and genetic mechanisms of strizke-slip faults in the Tarim Basin. Natural Gas Industry B, 2022b, 9(1): 51-62.
Laborde, A., Barrier, L., Simoes, M., et al. Cenozoic deformation of the Tarim Basin and surrounding ranges (Xinjiang, China): A regional overview. Earth-Science Reviews, 2019, 197: 102891.
Li, D., Liang, D., Jia, C., et al. Hydrocarbon accumulations in the Tarim basin, China. AAPG Bulletin, 1996, 80(10): 1587-1603.
Lu, X., Wang, Y., Yang, D., et al. Characterization of paleokarst reservoir and faulted karst reservoir in Tahe Oilfield, Tarim Basin, China. Advances in Geo-Energy Research, 2020, 4(3): 339-348.
Molnar, P., Tapponnier, P. Cenozoic Tectonics of Asia: Effects of a Continental Collision: Features of recent continental tectonics in Asia can be interpreted as results of the India-Eurasia collision. Science, 1975, 189(4201), 419-426.
Tang, L., Yu, Y., Jia, C., et al. Differential deformed saltrelated tectonics of the kuqa foreland fold-thrust belt, Tarim Basin, Northwest China. Paper Presented at AAPG Annual Convention, Long Beach, California, 1-4 April, 2007.
Tapponnier, P., Peltzer, G., Armijo, R. On the mechanics of the collision between India and Asia. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 1986, 19(1): 113-157.
Tian, F., He, D., Chen, J., et al. Vertical differential structural deformation of the main strike-slip fault zones in the Shunbei Area, Central Tarim Basin: Structural characteristics, deformation mechanisms, and hydrocarbon accumulation significance. Acta Geologica Sinica-English Edition, 2022, 96(4): 1415-1431.
Wang, C., Chen, H., Cheng, X., et al. Evaluating the role of syn-thrusting sedimentation and interaction with frictional detachment in the structural evolution of the SW Tarim basin, NW China: Insights from analogue modeling. Tectonophysics, 2013, 608: 642-652.
Wang, C., Cheng, X., Chen, H, et al. The effect of foreland palaeo-uplift on deformation mechanism in the Wupoer fold-and-thrust belt, NE Pamir: Constraints from analogue modelling. Journal of Geodynamics, 2016, 100: 115-129.
Wang, Y., Luo, T., Gao, Y., et al. Pearson correlation analysis of factors controlling the high abundance of rearranged hopanes in crude oils from the Southwest Depression of the Tarim Basin, China. Geochemical Journal, 2020, 54(3): 105-115.
Wu, G., Ma, B., Han, J., et al. Origin and growth mechanisms of strike-slip faults in the central Tarim cratonic basin, NW China. Petroleum Exploration and Development, 2021a, 48(3): 595-607.
Wu, H., Cheng, X., Chen, H., et al. Tectonic switch from Triassic contraction to Jurassic-Cretaceous extension in the Western Tarim Basin, Northwest China: New insights into the evolution of the Paleo-Tethyan Orogenic Belt. Frontiers in Earth Science, 2021b, 9: 636383.
Wu, X., Tao, X., Hu, G. Geochemical characteristics and source of natural gases from Southwest Depression of the Tarim Basin, NW China. Organic Geochemistry, 2014, 74: 106-115.
Xie, H., Wang, C., Wang, Z., et al. The effect of spatial distribution of basement detachment on deformation in a fold and thrust belt: An analogue modeling approach an example of West Kunlun fold-and-thrust belt. Geological Journal of China Universities, 2012, 18(4): 701-710.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46690/ager.2024.03.03
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2024 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.