Geological background

Abstract

Crude oil and natural gas deposits are considered to be stratabound ore deposits, because of similar mechanisms of formation. The necessary geological conditions for the formation of oil and gas deposits are petroleum source rock, reservoir rock, caprock, and trap, all of which require a favorable time and space association. Details about these geological conditions, tectonic factors, and locations of oil fields are delineated for the inland petroliferous basins of west China, such as the Tarim, Junggar, Turpan, Qaidam, and West Jiuquan basins, and the coastal shelf petroliferous basins in the East and South China Seas, such as the Liaohe, Beibu Gulf, and Zhujiang Mouth Basins.