Geological conditions of coal and gas(oil)-bearing basins in China

Abstract

There are various types of coal basins in China. Indosinian movement can be regarded as their evolutionary limit, and the basins can be divided into two developmental stages, three structural patterns and two sedimentary environments. However, only those coal measure strata that have been deeply buried in the earth are possible to be converted into coal and gas (oil)-bearing basins. Among which, only part of the coal measures possess the essential geological conditions to the formation of commercial humic oil. However, humic gas will be the major exploration target for natural gas in China. Among various coal basins, foreland basins have the best prospect for humic gas. Rift (faulted) basins accumulate the most abundance of humic gas, and are most favorable to generate humic oil. Craton basins have relatively low abundance of humic gas, but the evolution is rather great. The three kinds of coal basins mentioned above constitute China’s three primary accumulation areas of humic gas: western, central and offshore areas. The major basins for humic gas field exploration include Tarim, Ordos, Sichuan, East China Sea and Yingqiong basins.