Northwest China
Several major basins in northwest China produce oil and gas, principally Tarim, Qaidam and Junggar. Although these basins are geographically remote from the population centres of eastern China, their great extent and geological complexity will ensure that they remain a focus for exploration for many years. This will be encouraged by the construction of new pipelines across Central Asia. Lower Palaeozoic carbonates in the Tarim Basin are a recognised play, but more reserves are contained in clastics of late Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic age. Reservoir quality is a key issue in these rocks: many are non-marine, derived from Palaeozoic orogenic belts, and consequently have poor reservoir characteristics. CASP research focused on reservoir quality issues will also inform energy transition strategies in the region.
Map of Region
Regional Expertise
CASP reports on northwest China are derived from a mixture of the Chinese geological literature, fieldwork results and outcrop and subsurface analyses. Fieldwork in the 1990s in the Tarim and Junggar basins and the Hexi Corridor provided data in the form of sedimentary logs and structural sections, and sample sets analysed for petrography, diagenesis, fluid inclusion studies (including hydrocarbons) and organic geochemistry.
Most Recent Reports
- Ordovician carbonate reservoirs of the Tarim Basin CASP.CB.58
- Review of the lower Palaeozoic stratigraphy of NW Tarim CASP.CB.57
- Sedimentology and diagenesis of Ordovician carbonates in the northern-central Tarim Basin, NW China CASP.CB.56
- Middle Jurassic geology of Central Asia: Tectonics and petroleum systems CASP.CAP.6
- Facies sedimentology, diagenesis and reservoir characteristics of oil-stained lower Silurian sandstones form NW Tarim, China CASP.CB.54