Abstract

Burial and thermal history of the Mesozoic marine sequences in the Qiangtang basin, northern Tibetan plateau: implication for the hydrocarbon preservation

Author(s): Zhu Zhengping, Wang Licheng, Pan Renfang, Cui Yi, Gou Mingfu

The Late Triassic to the early Cretaceous marine sequences of the Qiangtang Basin in the northern part of the Tibet Plateau has the best exploration prospect. The prototype basin has undergone multi-stage and complicated tectonic events and significant impact on petroleum preservation. Basin modeling was used to reconstruct the burial and thermal histories. The results showed that there was a rapid uplift and falling of palaeotemperature during the mid-Cretaceous which led no sedimentation of the Late Cretaceous in northern Qiangtang. While in southern Qiangtang, temperature falling was fairly gentle and the sedimentation and burial of the Late Cretaceous made the temperature rising up again. The event could damage the previously formed hydrocarbon traps especially in northern Qiangtang for the dramatically denudation.