Three potential exploration areas of Southern Junggar Basin, NW China: Arguments from structural modeling

Abstract

Three potential exploration fields of the Southern Junggar Basin are proposed and discussed through seismic structural interpretation and three-dimensional geological modeling based on quantitative structural analysis techniques. The first field comprises Tertiary imbricate wedges in the core of the second anticlinal belt. These small-scale wedges contribute to different properties of oil, gas and water in different parts of the same anticline. The second field consists of deep Mesozoic structures of the Jurassic-Cretaceous fault-bend folds, which are different in sequences and levels from the overlying Tertiary wedges. The third field is composed of the lateral transfer structures mainly in the second anticlinal belt, which are formed by transfer action between adjacent anticlines. Identification of the above three structural types must be based on pertinent seismic deployment and imagery processing. For the exploration of deep structures, a three-dimensional medium model, in which shear module, Lame's constants and density are specified to truly represent mechanical properties of the rock units, must be constructed first to calculate the restoration strains within the model by using the volumetric restoration technique. The strain data can help predict the fracture azimuth, density and intensity of deep reservoirs. Key words: structural wedge, deep structure, transfer zone, restoration strain, Southern Junggar Basin