Combination and superimposition of source kitchens and their effects on hydrocarbon accumulation in the hinterland of the Junggar Basin, west China

Abstract

In the hinterland of the Junggar Basin, there are multiple depressions with multiple sets of source rocks. Therefore, the conditions of hydrocarbon sources are complex, and the geochemical characteristics and sources of hydrocarbon vary in different structural belts. The evolution of the Che-Mo palaeohigh affected the formation of hydrocarbon source kitchens and hydrocarbon migration. We studied the combination and superimposition of hydrocarbon source kitchens, using as an example the hinterland of the Junggar Basin (including the Yongjin, Zhengshacun, Moxizhuang and Luliang uplift areas). The study was based on geochemical analyses of crude oil and fluid inclusions, and the histories of tectonic evolution and hydrocarbon generation. The results indicated that before the Paleogene there were two hydrocarbon-generating depressions: the Western Well Pen1 depression and the Changji depression on the south and north sides of the Che-Mo palaeohigh, respectively. The Permian source kitchen had been generating hydrocarbon continuously since Triassic and reached high maturity stage in the Cretaceous period. After Paleogene, the adjustment of the Che-Mo palaeohigh led to the subsidence of the Changji depression and the Jurassic source rocks reached mature stage and became the main source kitchens. However, the Jurassic source rocks in the Western Well Pen1 depression were still in a low maturity stage and did not generate oil because of the adjustment of tectonic movements. As a result, in the central and southern parts of the Junggar Basin, Jurassic source rocks generated oil, but in the Luliang uplift, the crude oil was from the Permian source rocks in the Western Well Pen1 depression and the Jurassic source rocks did not contribute. The crude oil in the central Zhengshacun-Moxizhuang belt was from the Permian source rocks in two depressions, and partially from the Jurassic source rocks. The crude oil in the Luliang uplift was from the source rocks of the lower Permian Fengcheng Formation and middle Permian Wuerhe Formation, which is characterized by superimposition of two sets of source kitchens and three accumulation stages. The crude oil in the Yongjin tectonic belt was from the lower Permian, middle Permian and Jurassic source rocks, which is characterized by superimposition of three sets of source kitchens and two accumulation stages. The crude oil in the Zhengshacun tectonic belt was from a combination of source kitchens of lower Permian and middle Permian in the Western Well Pen1 depression in the early stage and from the superimposition of Jurassic source rocks in the Changji depression in the late stage.