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So far there has been no common opinion on oil source of the Chepaizi swell in the Junggar Basin. Therefore, it is difficult to determine the pathway system and trend of hydrocarbon migration, and this resulted in difficulties in study of oil-gas accumulation patterns. In this paper, study of nitrogen compounds distribution in oils from Chepaizi was carried out in order to classify source rocks of oils stored in different reservoirs in the study area. Then, migration characteristics of oils from the same source were investigated by using nitrogen compounds parameters. The results of nitrogen compounds in a group of oil/oil sand samples from the same source indicate that the oils trapped in the Chepaizi swell experienced an obvious vertical migration. With increasing migration distance, amounts and indices of carbazoles have a regular changing pattern (in a fine linear relationship). By using nitrogen compounds techniques, the analyzed oil/oil sand samples of Chepaizi can be classified into two groups. One is the samples stored in reservoir beds of the Cretaceous and Tertiary, and these oils came from mainly Jurassic source rock with a small amount of Cretaceous rock; the other is those stored in the Jurassic, Permian and Carboniferous beds, and they originated from the Permian source. In addition, a sample of oil from an upper Jurassic reservoir (Well Ka 6), which was generated from Jurassic coal source rock, has a totally different nitrogen compound distribution from those of the above-mentioned two groups of samples, which were generated from mudstone sources. Because of influence from fractionation of oil migration, amounts and ratios of nitrogen compounds with different structures and polarities change regularly with increasing migrating distance, and as a result the samples with the same source follow a good linear relationship in content and ratio, while the oil samples of different sources have obviously different nitrogen compound distribution owing to different organic matter types of their source rocks. These conclusions of oil source study are identical with those obtained by other geochemical bio-markers. Therefore, nitrogen compounds are of great significance in oil type classification and oil/source correlation.

The results obtained in this paper indicate that carbazole-type compounds have high thermal stability and also show stability in oxidation and bio-degradation. This kind of compounds still has a high concentration and complete distribution in the analyzed dry asphalt samples, showing that they are particularly useful in studying petroleum migration of paleo-pool. During the basin's first-stage of oil-gas pool formation in the Silurian in Tazhong and Tabei areas of Tarim Basin (at the end of Silurian period) and the second-stage in the Awati area (in Permian), the petroleum experienced a long-distance migration. During the formation of the Silurian paleo-pools in Tazhong Uplift at the end of Silurian, the petroleum mainly came from the lower and middle Cambrian source rocks in the Manjiaer sag. The petroleum migrated towards the southwest-south entering the Silurian reservoir beds in Tazhong first. Then, it further migrated within Silurian from northwest to southeast along the highs of the Structural Belts to the region of the Silurian pinchout boundary in Tazhong. In Tabei Uplift, during the first-stage of pool formation, the petroleum was also from the lower and middle Cambrian source rocks in the Manjiaer sag. It migrated northwest entering the Silurian reservoir beds in the Tabei Uplift firstly, and then the migration continued in the same direction within the Silurian reservoirs and finally the petroleum was trapped in higher positions. During the second-stage pool formation in the Silurian beds in the areas around Awati sag, the petroleum mainly came from the lower-middle Cambrian source rocks in the Awati sag. The petroleum migrated from the generation center to Silurian reservoirs in all directions around the sag through major paths, and the petroleum was finally trapped in higher locations.

Tarim Basin is the largest petroleum potential in the west of China. Tazhong Areas are located in the centre of the Tarim, and have been thought to be the key region for seeking the large oil–gas fields in the Tarim. Paleozoic is presently the major oil–gas producing strata in the Tazhong Areas, and it is really important to petroleum exploration and development in the basin. Therefore, the basic characteristics of the Paleozoic reservoir beds of the Tazhong Areas were described in detail in this paper by collecting and processing plenty of existing data. Several points about reservoir bed and oil–gas accumulation, which are presently paid close attention to, were discussed based on the reservoir bed characteristics. The results showed that clastic-rock reservoir beds with high porosity and permeability are distributed in the southeastern part of the Tazhong Areas, while carbonate reservoirs with good physical properties are all along the No. 1 Fault belt. Cements (especially carbonate cement) amount is the major factor controlling physical properties of clastic rock reservoir beds, and the sedimentary environment is that controlling those of the carbonate reservoir beds. In the Tazhong Areas, the oil–gas distributions within the Carboniferous and Silurian clastic-rock reservoir beds are closely related to the physical properties; the distributions within the Ordovician carbonates have close relation to the reservoir bed type. Finally, favorable belts for petroleum exploration in the Tazhong Paleozoic strata were predicted on the basis of relationship between oil–gas distributions and reservoir bed characteristics.

There are three formation stages of Silurian hydrocarbon pools in the Tarim Basin. The widely distributed asphaltic sandstones in the Tazhong (central Tarim) and Tabei (northern Tarim) areas are the results of destruction of hydrocarbon pools formed in the first-stage, and the asphaltic sandstones around the Awati Sag were formed in the second-stage. The hydrocarbon migration characteristics reflected by the residual dry asphalts could represent the migration characteristics of hydrocarbons in the Silurian paleo-pools, while the present movable oil in the Silurian reservoirs is related to the later-stage (the third-stage) hydrocarbon accumulation.