Abstract:

Geological structures in China developed as the results of multi-cycle tectonic evolution of three plates and three tectonic domains, and several types of superimposed sedimentary basins are formed, such as craton/foreland, rift/depression and foreland/depression superimposed basins. The country's major petroleum resources are concentrated in the large superimposed basins. Rich in conventional and unconventional oil and gas resources, China has 1075×10⁸ t of conventional oil, 83×10¹² m³ of conventional natural gas, 134×10⁸ t of tight oil, 21×10¹² m³ of tight sandstone gas, 335×10⁸ t of shale oil, and 56×10¹² m³ of shale gas reserves. Onshore oil and gas resources are mainly distributed in Bohai Bay (onshore), Songliao, Ordos, Tarim, Sichuan, Junggar and Qaidam basins, while offshore oil and gas resources are mainly distributed in Bohai Bay (offshore) and East China Sea, and in Pearl River Estuary, Beibu Gulf, Yinggehai, and Qiongdongnan basins, northern South China Sea. In future, China's oil and gas exploration should adhere to the “secure resources supply, stabilize oil production, increase gas production” strategy and the proactive exploration idea, that is “develop conventional and unconventional resources in parallel, plan sea and land as a whole”. The key areas for conventional oil and gas exploration in China are stratigraphic-lithologic traps, foreland basins, marine carbonate reservoirs, and buried hills for onshore oil; carbonate reservoirs and foreland basins for onshore gas; marine strata and bedrock buried-hills of Bohai Sea for offshore oil; and deep-water lithologic traps and marine strata of South China Sea for offshore gas. And unconventional oil and gas exploration is to focus on the seven onshore oil and gas basins with tight oil and shale oil/gas resource potentials, and technical support for exploration and development should be strengthened.

Key words: resource potential, resource distribution, exploration fields, onshore and offshore