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Basin modeling in the initial stage of exploration: a case study from the North Subbasin of the South Yellow Sea Basin

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Abstract

Basin modeling has become an important tool for analyzing sedimentary basins. The North Subbasin of the South Yellow Sea Basin is filled with thick Meso-Cenozoic terrigenous deposits during the rift evolution stage. The accumulation of data and achievements of geological investigations in recent years have provided the preconditions for basin modeling. The necessary parameters and geological elements for simulations are collated and summarized. Modeling of tectono-thermal evolution is performed and the related trend in heat flow is reconstructed and calibrated. The heat flow value commences from an average level of 61 mW/m2 during Middle-Late Jurassic, rises to about 80 mW/m2 from circa 145 Ma to circa 74 Ma, and then undergoes a gradual decline to 65 mW/m2 until the end of Oligocene.Three evolutionary phases, namely, the initial rifting phase, syn-rifting phase, and post-rifting phase, have been identified. The modeling results show that the North Subbasin generally enters into a stage of strong rifting during Cretaceous and undergoes rapid subsidence until the Late Cretaceous, then follows by a stage of moderate rifting during the Paleogene. The input and general workflow involved in 3-D modeling are introduced. Reconstruction of the petroleum system in the North Subbasin reveals that the threshold depth of hydrocarbon generation is located near the top of the Paleogene Funing formation, and the underlying Jurassic and Cretaceous source rocks have reached or exceeded peak oil generation and have almost completed the generation and expulsion of hydrocarbons. The main generation and expulsion in the Jurassic source rocks take place during the syn-rifting and post-rifting phases, whereas the peak generation and expulsion in the Cretaceous and Paleogene source rocks take place during the post-rifting phase. Although the study area is still a relatively less explored sedimentary basin, the results of modeling can provide valuable information for exploration. A preliminary discussion of the main uncertainty factors is also presented.

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Acknowledgements

Database for basin modeling is supported by Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology (QIMG), China. We thank Duan Jing from Missouri University of Science and Technology for revising the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Earth Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, China

    Yumao Pang & Zuozhen Han

  2. Laboratory for Marine Mineral Resources, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Yumao Pang, Xunhua Zhang, Xingwei Guo & Guolin Xiao

  3. Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy Science, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Yumao Pang

  4. Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Yumao Pang, Xunhua Zhang, Xingwei Guo & Guolin Xiao

  5. Nanjing Center, China Geological Survey, Nanjing, 210016, China

    Xunhua Zhang

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  1. Yumao Pang
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Correspondence to Xunhua Zhang.

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Foundation item: The National Special Project for Marine Geology of China under contract No. DD20160147; the National Basic Research Program (973 Program) of China under contract No. 2013CB429701; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 41210005.

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Pang, Y., Zhang, X., Guo, X. et al. Basin modeling in the initial stage of exploration: a case study from the North Subbasin of the South Yellow Sea Basin. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 36, 65–78 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-017-1112-1

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