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• Resource-Richness Analogy Approach used in less explored reservoirs is proposed. • Genesis-Statistics Assessment Approach for heterogeneous tight oil is proposed. • The parameter criteria of lacustrine tight oil resource assessment are established. • In-place tight oil resources in China's major basins are estimated of 12.6 × 109 t. • 15 most favorable plays are outlined with in-place resources of 5.3 × 109 t. Large-scale commercial development of shale gas and tight oil resources in North American and continuous discoveries of tight oil in China lead to the recognition of the importance of assessment on tight oil resources. Based on the characteristics of China's tight oil reservoirs and exploration status, this paper discusses a workflow focusing on in-place resource evaluation. In the workflow, a Resource-Richness Analogy Approach (RR-AA) is proposed for assessment of tight oil resources in less explored areas, a Genesis-Statistics Assessment Approach (GS-AA) for lacustrine tight oil resources with strong heterogeneity and regions where more delicate assessment is required, and an EUR Analogy Approach (EUR-AA) for assessment on recoverable tight oil by fully using available EUR data of production wells. After analyzing the geological characteristics of the formation of tight oil in the Ordos, Bohai Bay, Songliao, Junggar, Sichuan and other major Basins, the distributions of essential parameters such as reservoir thickness, area and porosity have been defined, and the parameter evaluation criteria have been established. Finally, the tight oil resource potentials in the major basins in China have been evaluated using one of the three methods and the prospective areas of high resource abundance are outlined in each of basins. The results from this study show that China's tight oil resources have a large potential and good exploration future. The estimated in-place tight oil resources are 12.580 × 109 tons, mainly distributed in the Ordos, Songliao, Bohai Bay and Junggar Basins. 15 most favorable zones are proposed having in-place resources of 5.296 × 109 tons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Zircon fission track analyses of the pre-Cretaceous sandstones are reported. • ZFT data constrain the low-temperature evolution or sediment provenance. • The westward decreasing trend in age represents a Mesozoic intracontinental orogeny. • Sediments source from the Qinling orogen due to its multistage evolution. The Xuefeng Intracontinental Tectonic System (XITS) is a large-scale compressional tectonic system in the central South China block. It is characterized by northeast-trending fold-thrust belts involving the Xuefeng zone, the Chevron syncline fold-thrust zone, the Chevron anticline fold-thrust zone and the Central Sichuan basin. This paper reports detrital zircon fission track (ZFT) analyses of the sandstones sampled from Neoproterozoic to Middle Jurassic sequences, and further discusses their relation with low-temperature tectonic evolution and sediment provenance. The totally annealed ZFT data of 452–377 Ma from the Neoproterozoic and Devonian sandstones were related to an Early Paleozoic low-temperature exhumation of the Jiangnan orogen due to intracontinental orogeny in the South China block. Those annealed ZFT components from Triassic to Jurassic sandstones, grouped 236–189 Ma, 189–142 Ma, and 142–124 Ma decreasingly from east to west structurally imply a northwestward progressively squeezing by the Xuefeng intracontinental orogeny as a result of the Paleo-Pacific subduction. The unannealed age components (411 Ma, 362–377 Ma, 270–216 Ma, and 209–183 Ma) of the Upper Triassic to Middle Jurassic sandstones, are comparable to the multistage tectonic evolution of the Qinling orogen through subduction, accretion and collision and are therefore indicative of sample potential provenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Emei Shan stands on the southeast side of the Longmen Shan. It marks the southeastern most edge of the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau (EMTP) and towers above the Sichuan Basin to its east, with the highest peak being 3099 m. A large number of structural and thermo-chronological studies have been published focused on the Longmen Shan orogen, which is considered to be the northern part of the EMTP. However, for the southern part of the EMTP where the Emei Shan lies, its tectonics and uplift history are still poorly understood. This paper dates five granite samples from the Emei Shan batholith using the apatite fission track (AFT) method. The boundary faults of the Emei Shan and structural deformation in adjacent region are also investigated and mapped in detail. (1) In Miocene time, compressional stress from the eastward extrusion of the EMTP caused large-scale thrusting and mountain uplift along narrow Longmen Shan in northern EMTP, in contrast to southern EMTP where a broad and gentle Yaan−Emei Shan fold belt absorbed most of the stress. By Pliocene time, the southeastward extrusion of the Tibetan Plateau caused the transpressional stress and rotated the Chuandian fragment along the Xianshuihe−Xiaojiang fault belt. As a consequence, the Emei Shan region was intended northeastwards into the Sichuan Basin, bounded by two strike-slip faults on its north and southeast sides. (2) The AFT results show the Emei Shan uplifted since ∼25–20 Ma ago. The threshold and main stage of uplift of the Emei Shan possibly lagged behind the Longmen Shan of approximately 5 Myr. As the leading edge of fold belt, uplift of the Emei Shan indicated the eastward propagation of the EMTP was time-transgressive from Late Oligocene to Middle Miocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distinctive features of the Lower Devonian rocks of the Longmenshan area in southwestern China are brachiopod shell concentrations, especially in the Bailiuping, Ganxi and Xiejiawan Formations, where brachiopod shell concentrations occur widely throughout. Depending on the dominant skeletal elements, six types of shell concentrations can be distinguished: Protochonete , Acrospirifer , Howellella , Orientospirifer , polyspecific shell and polyspecific fragments concentrations. According to the shell features, taphonomic signature, host sediments and their relationships, four genetic models of the various shell concentrations are described in this paper. The genetic processes and distributions along an onshore–offshore area were clarified on the base of taphonomic analysis. Pavements of opportunistic species of Protochonetes are autochthonous assemblages living in quieter, deeper, more offshore waters near the maximum storm wave base. The pavements are the result of reduced sedimentation; the substrate was silty and water-saturated with variable turbidity soupy-mud. Transport by high-energy processes is interpreted as the final formation process of polyspecific fragments concentrations with most extensive scope from intertidal zone to the maximum storm wave base. The Acrospirifer , Howellella , and Orientospirifer concentrations have been stirred by storm wave action and quickly buried after short transport tempestite model. They are most easily preserved around the average storm wave-base. The polyspecific shell concentrations, which include large bivalves are autochthonous assemblages living in shallow and relatively quieter water near shore environments. Autochthonous assemblages of the opportunist Protochonetes bailiupingensis occurring in the Bailiuping Formation of the Longmenshan area not only record of storm events, but are also important features to identify and correlate the Bailiuping Formation in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fold-and-thrust belt in the eastern Sichuan basin is represented by a series of subparallel chevron anticlines. Under the orogenic tectonic setting within the South China Block in Meso-Cenozoic period and the influence of the multi-layer detachment fault, the deformation of the thrust belt exhibits remarkably layered and large-scale intracontinental thrusting structural characteristics. In this paper, we focus on the structural geometry and deformational mechanisms using the latest two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) seismic reflection data in combination with well and outcrop data. The multi-layer detachment faults, especially the upper gypsum-bearing detachment in the Middle Triassic Jialingjiang Formation and lower detachment with gypsum or shale in the Lower–Middle Cambrian system, directly control the deformational styles of the study area. Interpretation of seismic sections indicates that the fold-and-thrust belt has various deformational styles during folding, including fault-propagation fold, fault-bend fold, and detachment fold with box-fold or pop-up structural geometry. Regional location and structural boundaries play significant roles in controlling the deformational styles, and distinct differences exist among the different anticlines. The Huayingshan anticline located at the front of the thrust belt shows intense structural deformation with northwestward thrusting direction and a relatively weak opposite southeastward thrusting. In addition, the anticlines exhibit structural differences along strike and the fold-and-thrust belt in the northern segment is influenced by the North China Block. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Pure microbial carbonates and marine fibrous cements can record the original Precambrian seawater chemistry. • Carbonate rocks of the Ediacaran Dengying Formation were deposited from seawater under suboxic conditions with high salinity. • Seawater oxygen concentration increased and salinity decreased gradually during the deposition of the Dengying Formation. • The suboxic and high-salinity seawater contributed to the development of the Precambrian microbial carbonates. Abundant microbial carbonates with well-preserved primary textures occur in the upper Ediacaran Dengying Formation in the Sichuan Basin, southwest China, providing an opportunity to study the paleoceanographic conditions and the origin of Precambrian microbial carbonates. However, paleoenvironmental studies of these microbial carbonates are relatively rare, especially with respect to the comparison between the upper and lower parts of the Dengying Formation. In this paper, we present new analyses of carbon and oxygen isotopes and major, trace, and rare earth elements (REEs) for carbonate rocks from the Dengying Formation, in order to reveal the paleoceanographic redox and salinity conditions of the seawater from which these rocks were deposited. These rocks have shale-normalized REE and Y patterns that display weak negative Ce anomalies, weak positive Eu anomalies, and moderate middle REE enrichment, indicating the suboxic seawater for their deposition. From the lower to upper parts of the Dengying Formation, negative Ce anomalies become more prominent, while positive Eu anomalies and middle REE enrichment weaken, suggesting a gradual increase in the seawater oxygen concentration. The heavier oxygen isotopes of the carbonate matrixes and fibrous cements in the second member of the lower part of the Dengying Formation reflect a higher seawater salinity, conforming to the thick evaporates in the second member. The elevated oxygen content and decreased salinity in the seawater promoted the emergence of metazoans that inhibited the growth of microbes, causing the decreasing development of microbial carbonates in the upper part of the Dengying Formation compared to the lower part. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The shale gas resource potential of the Longmaxi Formation was evaluated by using mud gas isotope logging technology. • The reservoir properties of shale were evaluated based on gas isotope fractionation effects. • The shale gas in the Changning area belongs to late kerogen cracking gas. • The lower part of the Longmaxi Formation has a better shale gas exploration potential. The Longmaxi Formation in the Sichuan Basin is one of the most important shale gas producing formations in China. Previous studies of shale gas were mostly carried out on based on laboratory analyses and did not provide effective guidelines for shale gas exploration. In this paper, we present a large amount of carbon isotopic data from mud gas isotope logging and rock-cutting headspace gas in wellsites. The δ13C 1 values showed a significant decrease at the bottom of the Longmaxi Formation. The δ13C 1 and δ13C 2 values in the Changning area were observed to be heavier than those in the Weiyuan and Jiaoshiba areas. The second half of the N216H27-3 horizontal well had obvious outgassing and carbon isotope fractionation effects. This indicates that the bottom of the Longmaxi Formation has better shale gas exploration potential. The shale gas of the Longmaxi Formation in the Changning area belongs to late kerogen cracking gas, where exploration prospects are poorer than those in the Weiyuan and Jiaoshiba areas. There were more oil cracking gas resources and better reservoir conditions at the end of the N216H27-3 horizontal well; therefore, drilling should be continued at this site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Late Triassic basin prototype maps in Western Yangtze Block have been established. • The results indicate two separated foreland basins developed at early stage. • A composite foreland basin related to two orogens developed at late stage. Due to the formation of the Qinling and Sanjiang Orogenic Belts along the northern and southwestern margins, the western Yangtze Block experienced a complex basin-orogen tectonic transformation, forming a unique pattern for a basin-orogen system in the late Triassic that should be recorded by sediments in the Sichuan Basin. This paper combines with regional tectonics, field observations, and borehole and seismic exploration data to establish the prototypes of the basins and tectonic frameworks of basin-orogen from Member 1 (M 1) to 6 (M 6) of the Xujiahe Formation during the late Triassic in the western Yangtze Block. From stage M 1 to M 2 , a set of deltaic deposits formed and extended parallel to the Qinling Orogenic Belt, indicating that the start of the scissor-type collision in the northern margin of the western Yangtze Block led to the development of the northern Sichuan Basin and Songpan-Ganzi peripheral foreland basin. Meanwhile, a set of deltaic deposits, which occur in the Southeastern Sichuan Basin, were controlled by the uplift of the Jiangnan-Xuefeng Tectonic Belt, transforming into a denuded zone at that time. A set of deltaic deposits developed in the southwestern part of the western Yangtze Block, indicating the beginning of the initial stage of the related foreland basin in this area at stage M 2. From stage M 3 , the intensive activity of orogenic belts surrounding the western Yangtze Block shaped the tectono-sedimentary features along the margin of the western Yangtze Block. The successive development of delta plain and alluvial fan deposits and their westward and eastward expansions respectively in the north and southwest margins of the western Yangtze Block reflect the uplift of the Qinling and Sanjiang Orogenic Belts; while the formation of a set of deltaic deposits in the southeastern part of the western Yangtze Block results from the persistent uplift of the Jiangnan-Xuefeng Tectonic Belt. During stages M 5 to M 6 , the lacustrine-swamp deposits began expansion and became the main sedimentary facies in the western Yangtze Block. Southward and northward migrations of the aforementioned two separated foreland basins, respectively controlled by Qinling and Sanjiang Orogenic Belts, caused these two separated foreland basins to connect with each other and to form a single unified complex foreland basin that was controlled by these two orogenic belts. These results suggest a two-stage foreland basin evolution mode for the western Yangtze Block during the late Triassic. At stage I (M 1 to M 4), two separated foreland basins developed in the northern and southwestern margins of the western Yangtze Block, controlled respectively by the Qinling and Sanjiang Orogenic Belts. During Stage II (M 5 to M 6), these two separated foreland basins connected with each other to form a single composite foreland basin related to those two orogenic belts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]