Hydrocarbon preservation conditions have restricted exploration in the Middle and Upper Yangtze,and structural deformation and fluid activity have played an important role in the origin and preservation of oil and gas.In order to study that how the deformation and fluid activity impact the hydrocarbon preservation,we did some field work and collected some calcite vein samples for analysis of deformation periods using acoustic emission and fluid inclusions.Combined with previous studies,the strata distribution,tectonic deformation and fluid characteristics show that there are three structural belts in the study area:East Sichuan,West Hunan and Hubei and the northwestern periphery of the Xuefeng Uplift,and that their tectonic deformation style,fluid inclusion characteristics and hydrocarbon preservation are different.The breakthrough thrusts were well developed in the anticline core,and a lot of hydrocarbon inclusions were found in calcite veins around the thrusts in East Sichuan.The breakthrough thrusts were only in the syncline core in West Hunan and Hubei,and the brine inclusions did not contain hydrocarbon in calcite veins around the thrusts.Many breakthrough thrusts were found in the northwestern periphery of the Xuefeng Uplift,where there were only rare calcite veins.The deformation and hydrocarbon inclusion indicated that when there was no fault breakthrough in East Sichuan,the Paleozoic covered by the Triassic regional cap was good for hydrocarbon preservation.The strata above the Lower Paleozoic were denuded,and lots of brine inclusions and deep infiltration of surface water were found in the West Hunan and Hubei,so only the part of the syncline area with a well developed Silurian regional cap had good preservation conditions.Intense tectonic movements and denudation were widely developed in the northwestern periphery of the Xuefeng Uplift,where there were only paleo-reservoirs,non-hydrocarbon fluid activity and poor preservation conditions.
The detailed characteristics of the Paleozoic strike-slip fault zones developed in the northern slope of Tazhong uplift are closely related to hydrocarbon explorations. In this study, five major strike-slip fault zones that cut through the Cambrian-Middle Devonian units are identified, by using 3D seismic data. Each of the strike-slip fault zones is characterized by two styles of deformation, namely deeper strike-slip faults and shallower en-echelon faults. By counting the reverse separation of the horizon along the deeper faults, activity intensity on the deeper strike-slip faults in the south is stronger than that on the northern ones. The angle between the strike of the shallower en-echelon normal faults and the principal displacement zone(PDZ) below them is likely to have a tendency to decrease slightly from the south to the north, which may indicate that activity intensity on the shallower southern en-echelon faults is stronger than that on the northern ones. Comparing the reverse separation along the deeper faults and the fault throw of the shallower faults, activity intensity of the Fault zone S1 is similar across different layers, while the activity intensity of the southern faults is larger than that of the northern ones. It is obvious that both the activity intensity of the same layer in different fault zones and different layers in the same fault zone have a macro characteristic in that the southern faults show stronger activity intensity than the northern ones. The Late Ordovician décollement layer developed in the Tazhong area and the peripheral tectonic events of the Tarim Basin have been considered two main factors in the differential deformation characteristics of the strike-slip fault zones in the northern slope of Tazhong uplift. They controlled the differences in the multi-level and multi-stage deformations of the strike-slip faults, respectively. In particular, peripheral tectonic events of the Tarim Basin were the dynamic source of the formatting and evolution of the strike-slip fault zones,
The salt beds of the Middle-Lower Cambrian are widespread in the middle-west parts of the Central Uplift and adjacent areas, the Tarim Basin. This paper presents the results of seismic interpretation and drilling data analysis, which discovered that the salt beds were formed in an old geologic age, deeply buried, with relatively small scaled flowing and gathering and uneven distribution. As the regional detachment layers, the salt sequences considerably control the structural deformation of the up-salt Paleozoic, forming a series of hydrocarbon traps. In due course, the salt beds of the Middle-Lower Cambrian provide excellent cap rocks and trap conditions; thus the value of exploring hydrocabon reservoir in the target strata of the sub-salt Sinian- Cambrian is greatly increased. Research has shown that the salt-related structures of the Middle-Lower Cambrian in the area mainly exist in the form of salt pillow, salt roller, up-salt anticline, salt diapir, assemblage of the salt arch and up-salt fault-block, assemblage of basement fault and salt anticline, assemblage of the basement fault-block and salt dome, assemblage of salt detachment and fault-related fold, and assemblage of basement fault-block, salt arch and up-salt imbricated thrusts. The evolution and deformation mechanisms of the salt-related structures are controlled largely by basement faulting, compressional shortening, plastic flowing and gathering, superstratum gravitation, and up-salt faulting and detaching. They are distributed in rows or belts along basement faults or fault block belts.
