About This Item

Share This Item

The AAPG/Datapages Combined Publications Database

AAPG Bulletin

Abstract

AAPG Bulletin, V. 87, No. 2 (February 2003), P. 335-355.

Copyright ©2003. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.

Paleoenvironments and paleogeography of the Lower and lower Middle Jurassic coal measures in the Turpan-Hami oil-prone coal basin, northwestern China

Longyi Shao,1 Pengfei Zhang,2 Jason Hilton,3 Rod Gayer,4 Yanbin Wang,5 Changyi Zhao,6 Zhong Luo7

1Department of Resources and Earth Sciences, China University of Mining and Technology, D11 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 100083, People's Republic of China; email: [email protected]
2Department of Resources and Earth Sciences, China University of Mining and Technology, D11 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 100083, People's Republic of China
3Department of Geology and Zoology, National Museums of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF, Scotland, United Kingdom
4Department of Earth Sciences, Cardiff University, P.O. Box 914, Cardiff, CF10 3YE, United Kingdom
5Department of Resources and Earth Sciences, China University of Mining and Technology, D11 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 100083, People's Republic of China
6Geology Division, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, CNPC, Beijing 100083, People's Republic of China
7Central Laboratory, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, CNPC, Beijing 100083, People's Republic of China

AUTHORS

Longyi Shao is professor of geology at China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT). He received his B.Sc. degree from Jiaozuo Mining Institute in 1983 and obtained his M.Sc. degree and Ph.D. from the Beijing Graduate School of CUMT in 1986 and 1989, respectively. He is currently leading an active group working on sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of coal and oil basins in China.

Pengfei Zhang is an emeritus professor at China University of Mining and Technology. He obtained his B.Sc. degree from Peking University in 1950, and since then, he has been involved in teaching and research on petrology and sedimentology and has authored several important textbooks in Chinese, including Sedimentary Petrology and Coal-Bearing Sedimentary Environmental Analysis.

Jason Hilton is an NERC Research Fellow and curator of palaeobotany at the National Museums of Scotland. He obtained his B.Sc. degree in environmental earth sciences from Sheffield University in 1992 and his Ph.D. in paleobotany from Cardiff University in 1996. His research focuses on land plant evolution and on geological characterization of fossil plant-bearing sedimentary sequences.

Rod Gayer is reader in tectonics and coal geology in the Department of Earth Sciences at Cardiff University. He studied at Cambridge University, gaining a B.A. degree in 1961 and Ph.D. in 1964. His principal area of research is the evolution of coal-bearing foreland basins and especially the role of basin-scale fluid flow. He has edited several books on tectonics and coal geology. He is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Coal Geology.

Yanbin Wang is a professor at China University of Mining and Technology, working on organic petrology and petroliferous basin analysis. He received his B.Sc. degree from Huainan Mining Institute in 1981 and has obtained his M.Sc. degree and Ph.D. from the Beijing Graduate School of China University of Mining and Technology in 1988 and 1998, respectively.

Changyi Zhao is a senior engineer at the Geology Division, RIPED, CNPC. He received his B.Sc. degree from Fuxin Mining Institute in 1983 and obtained his M.Sc. degree and Ph.D. from the Beijing Graduate School of China University of Mining and Technology in 1988 and 1991, respectively. His major research interests are source rock assessment with organic petrology and geochemistry.

Zhong Luo is a senior engineer at Central Laboratory, RIPED, CNPC. He obtained his B.S. degree from Huainan Mining Institute in 1988 and his M.Sc. degree from the Beijing Graduate School of China University of Mining and Technology in 1991. His major interests are mainly in reservoir evaluation.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (Award 49772129), the Excellent Young Teachers Program (EYTP) of MOE, P.R.C., the Turpan-Hami Petroleum Exploration and Development Bureau CNPC, and a Fellowship from the Cardiff University China Center and the CAIEP to LYS supported this project. Jin Kuili and Tim Jones are thanked for comments on the manuscript. Ai Tianjie, Cao Daiyong, Hou Huimin, Tang Yuegang, Wang Shijun, Yuan Mingsheng, and Zhang Daisheng are thanked for their assistance in the fieldwork. Marc Hendrix and another anonymous referee are thanked for critical comments on the manuscript.

ABSTRACT

Detailed facies and paleogeographical analyses of extensive borehole and outcrop data from Lower and lower Middle Jurassic oil-prone coal-bearing sequences in the Turpan-Hami oil-producing basin of northwest China have led to the reconstruction of a basinwide depositional model. A total of 20 distinct lithofacies have been identified and grouped into braided fluvial plain, meandering fluvial plain, braided delta, meandering channel delta, and lacustrine depositional systems. Coal-forming swamps occur in each depositional system, but the preferred sites of accumulation are interdelta bay and lower delta-plain environments in the braided delta and meandering channel depositional systems, and it is in these sites that major oil-prone source rocks are located. A series of age-specific, basinwide, paleogeographical maps have been constructed leading to a depositional model for the basin. Results indicate that the basin experienced cyclic flooding to produce swamps and lakes, and that these characterize the deposition of the Lower and lower Middle Jurassic coal measures. Analyses indicate that both the Bogda and Harlik Mountains were uplifted prior to the Early Jurassic, and a lake separated the two mountain regions during the Early and early Middle Jurassic. From these results, it is interpreted that major oil-prone coal sequences are to be found in the western part of the Taibei depression of the basin, and thus, the full economic potential of the basin has yet to be fully realized.

Pay-Per-View Purchase Options

The article is available through a document delivery service. Explain these Purchase Options.

Watermarked PDF Document: $14
Open PDF Document: $24

AAPG Member?

Please login with your Member username and password.

Members of AAPG receive access to the full AAPG Bulletin Archives as part of their membership. For more information, contact the AAPG Membership Department at [email protected].