Abstract: Geological Structure and Petroleum System in the Continent of China

TONG XIAOGUANG

The geological structure in the continent of China is extremely complicated. It is a combination of small paleocratons, neocratons, and orogenic belts. The Paleozoic sediments are dominantly marine facies. However, sediments are gradually changed into continental facies from Permian on. Since Late Mesozoic, the geodynamic character of the continent has been controlled by the activities of Indian Plate and Pacific Plate.

There are six large sedimentary basins in the continent. They contain ninety percent (90%) of the total hydrocarbons in China. Four of them are paleocratons and their superposed basins. Two of them are neocratons.

The paleocraton basins have two petroleum systems. The lower system is in marine facies. The upper system is in various continental facies. The neocraton basin is in continental facies.

Small basins are well developed in the continent and represent a large number of rift basins and foreland basins. These basins are mainly Tertiary or Jurassic-Cretaceous sediments which form corresponding petroleum systems.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90942©1997 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Vienna, Austria