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Abstract

AAPG Bulletin, V. 107, No. 2 (February 2023), P. 331-355.

Copyright ©2023. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.

DOI: 10.1306/11142220110

Linkage and formation of strike-slip faults in deep basins and the implications for petroleum accumulation: A case study from the Shunbei area of the Tarim Basin, China

Yin Liu,1 John Suppe,2 Yingchang Cao,3 Fang Hao,4 Yiduo Liu,5 Xi Wang,6 Kongyou Wu,7 Zicheng Cao,8 and Hehua Wei9

1Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, School of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum (East China) (UPC), Qingdao, Shandong, China; Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas; [email protected]
2Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas; [email protected]
3Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, School of Geosciences, UPC, Qingdao, Shandong, China; [email protected]
4Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, School of Geosciences, UPC, Qingdao, Shandong, China; [email protected]
5Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, Texas; [email protected]
6State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China; [email protected]
7Key Laboratory of Deep Oil and Gas, School of Geosciences, UPC, Qingdao, Shandong, China; [email protected]
8Exploration and Development Research Institute, Sinopec Northwest Oilfield Branch, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China; [email protected]
9Petroleum Exploration and Production Research Institute, Sinopec, Beijing, China; [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Linkage of fault segments is a critical process during the formation of strike-slip faults, and it influences the generation and distribution of related structures. In this study, we investigate the linkage processes and formation mechanism for the strike-slip faults in the Shunbei area of the Tarim Basin based upon newly acquired three-dimensional seismic data. The seismic interpretations suggest that the northeast-trending SB-1 fault and the approximately north-trending SB-5 fault are strike-slip faults with the development of superimposed flower structures in the cross-section views. In the plan view, segments of these faults show a step-like arrangement. We infer that the main activities of these strike-slip faults took place in the Middle and Late Ordovician. The linkage underwent two phases. The first phase was the linkage of R and P shears along with different segments by forming principal displacement zones. The second phase was the linkage of different segments by forming overstepped zones, culminating in the flower structures. Overall, under the influence of the subduction of the Paleo–Asian and Proto–Tethys oceans and the orogenesis surrounding the Tarim craton, the formation of the strike-slip faults in the Shunbei area experienced three stages, including the initial stage in the Cambrian, the highly developed stage in the Middle and Late Ordovician, and the weak activity stage from the Silurian to the early Carboniferous. Through fault linkage, the damaged area of the fault segments was enlarged, with the presence of the overstepped zones and complex internal architectures, which provided efficient pathways for fluid migration.

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