Based on a set of high-resolution 3D seismic data from the northern continental margin of the South China Sea,the lithospheric structure,thinning mechanisms and related syn-rift tectonic deformation response processes...Based on a set of high-resolution 3D seismic data from the northern continental margin of the South China Sea,the lithospheric structure,thinning mechanisms and related syn-rift tectonic deformation response processes in the crustal necking zone in the deepwater area of the Pearl River Mouth Basin were systematically analyzed,and the petroleum geological significance was discussed.The necking zone investigated in the study is located in the Baiyun Sag and Kaiping Sag in the deepwater area of the Pearl River Mouth Basin.These areas show extreme crustal thinned geometries of central thinning and flank thickening,characterized by multi-level and multi-dipping detachment fault systems.The necking zone exhibits pronounced lateral heterogeneity in structural architectures,which can be classified into four types of thinned crustal architectures,i.e.the wedge-shaped extremely thinned crustal architecture in the Baiyun Main Sub-sag,dumbbell-shaped moderately thinned crustal architecture in the Baiyun West Sub-sag,box-shaped weakly thinned crustal architecture in eastern Baiyun Sag,and metamorphic core complex weakly thinned crustal architecture in the Kaiping Sag.This shows great variations in the degree and style of crustal thinning,types of detachment faults,distribution of syn-rift sedimentary sequences,and intensity of magmatism.The thinning of the necking zone is controlled by the heterogeneous rheological stratification of lithosphere,intensity of mantle-derived magmatism,and deformation modes of detachment faults.The syn-rift tectonic deformation of the necking zone evolved through three phases,i.e.uniform stretching during the early Wenchang Formation deposition period,necking during the late Wenchang Formation deposition period,and hyperextension during the Enping Formation deposition period.The crustal thinning extent and architectural differentiation in these phases were primarily controlled by three distinct mechanisms,i.e.the pure shear deformation activation of pre-existing thrust faults,the simple shear deformation of crust-mantle and inter-crust detachment faults,and differential coupling of lower crustal flow and ductile domes with main detachment faults.The hydrocarbon accumulation and enrichment in the necking zone exhibit marked spatial heterogeneity.Four distinct crustal thinned architecture-hydrocarbon accumulation models were identified in this study.The hydrocarbon accumulations in the shallow part exhibit significant correlations with their deep crustal thinned architectures.The unique lithospheric structure and deformation process predominantly control the favorable hydrocarbon accumulation zones with excellent source-fault-ridge-sand configurations,which is critical to reservoir-forming.The most promising exploration targets are mainly identified on the uplift zones and their seaward-dipping flanks associated with the middle and lower crustal domes.This research provides additional insights into lithospheric thinning-breakup process at intermediate continental margins of marine sedimentary basins,being significant for guiding the deepwater petroleum exploration in the Pearl River Mouth Basin.展开更多
Based on the practice of oil and gas exploration in the Huizhou Sag of the Pearl River Mouth Basin,the geochemical indexes of source rocks were measured,the reservoir development morphology was restored,the rocks and ...Based on the practice of oil and gas exploration in the Huizhou Sag of the Pearl River Mouth Basin,the geochemical indexes of source rocks were measured,the reservoir development morphology was restored,the rocks and minerals were characterized microscopically,the measured trap sealing indexes were compared,the biomarker compounds of crude oil were extracted,the genesis of condensate gas was identified,and the reservoir-forming conditions were examined.On this basis,the Paleogene Enping Formation in the Huizhou 26 subsag was systematically analyzed for the potential of oil and gas resources,the development characteristics of large-scale high-quality conglomerate reservoirs,the trapping effectiveness of faults,the hydrocarbon migration and accumulation model,and the formation conditions and exploration targets of large-and medium-sized glutenite-rich oil and gas fields.The research results were obtained in four aspects.First,the Paleogene Wenchang Formation in the Huizhou 26 subsag develops extensive and thick high-quality source rocks of semi-deep to deep lacustrine subfacies,which have typical hydrocarbon expulsion characteristics of"great oil generation in the early stage and huge gas expulsion in the late stage",providing a sufficient material basis for hydrocarbon accumulation in the Enping Formation.Second,under the joint control of the steep slope zone and transition zone of the fault within the sag,the large-scale near-source glutenite reservoirs are highly heterogeneous,with the development scale dominated hierarchically by three factors(favorable facies zone,particle component,and microfracture).The(subaqueous)distributary channels near the fault system,with equal grains,a low mud content(<5%),and a high content of feldspar composition,are conducive to the development of sweet spot reservoirs.Third,the strike-slip pressurization trap covered by stable lake flooding mudstone is a necessary condition for oil and gas preservation,and the NE and nearly EW faults obliquely to the principal stress have the best control on traps.Fourth,the spatiotemporal configuration of high-quality source rocks,fault transport/sealing,and glutenite reservoirs controls the degree of hydrocarbon enrichment.From top to bottom,three hydrocarbon accumulation units,i.e.low-fill zone,transition zone,and high-fill zone,are recognized.The main area of the channel in the nearly pressurized source-connecting fault zone is favorable for large-scale hydrocarbon enrichment.The research results suggest a new direction for the exploration of large-scale glutenite-rich reservoirs in the Enping Formation of the Pearl River Mouth Basin,and present a major breakthrough in oil and gas exploration.展开更多
By conducting organic geochemical analysis of the samples taken from the drilled wells in Baiyun Sag of Pearl River Mouth Basin,China,the development characteristics of hydrocarbon source rocks in the sag are clarifie...By conducting organic geochemical analysis of the samples taken from the drilled wells in Baiyun Sag of Pearl River Mouth Basin,China,the development characteristics of hydrocarbon source rocks in the sag are clarified.Reconstruct the current geothermal field of the sag and restore the tectonic-thermal evolution process to predict the type,scale,and distribution of resources in Baiyun Sag through thermal pressure simulation experiments and numerical simulation.The Baiyun Sag is characterized by the development of Paleogene shallow lacustrine source rocks,which are deposited in a slightly oxidizing environment.The source rocks are mainly composed of terrestrial higher plants,with algae making a certain contribution,and are oil and gas source rocks.Current geothermal field of the sag was reconstructed,in which the range of geothermal gradients is(3.5–5.2)℃/100 m,showing an overall increasing trend from northwest to southeast,with significant differences in geothermal gradients across different sub-sags.Baiyun Sag has undergone two distinct periods of extensional process,the Eocene and Miocene,since the Cenozoic era.These two periods of heating and warming events have been identified,accelerating the maturation and evolution of source rocks.The main body of ancient basal heat flow value reached its highest at 13.82 Ma.The basin modelling results show that the maturity of source rocks is significantly higher in Baiyun main sub-sag than that in other sub-sags.The Eocene Wenchang Formation is currently in the stage of high maturity to over maturity,while the Eocene Enping Formation has reached the stage of maturity to high maturity.The rock thermal simulation experiment shows that the shallow lacustrine mudstone of the Wenchang Formation has a good potential of generating gas from kerogen cracking with high gas yield and long period of gas window.Shallow lacustrine mudstone of the Enping Formation has a good ability to generate light oil,and has ability to generate kerogen cracking gas in the late stage.The gas yield of shallow lacustrine mudstone of the Enping Formation is less than that of shallow lacustrine mudstone of the Wenchang Formation and the delta coal-bearing mudstone of the Enping Formation.The numerical simulation results indicate that the source rocks of Baiyun main sub-sag generate hydrocarbons earlier and have significantly higher hydrocarbon generation intensity than other sub-sags,with an average of about 1200×10^(4)t/km^(2).Oil and gas resources were mainly distributed in Baiyun main sub-sag and the main source rocks are distributed in the 3^(rd)and 4^(th)members of Wenchang Formation.Four favorable zones are selected for the division and evaluation of migration and aggregation units:No.(1)Panyu 30 nose-shaped structural belt,No.(3)Liuhua 29 nose-shaped uplift belt and Liwan 3 nose-shaped uplift belt,No.(2)gentle slope belt of Baiyun east sag,and No.(8)Baiyun 1 low-uplift.展开更多
The eastern main sub-sag(E-MSS)of the Baiyun Sag was the main zone for gas exploration in the deep-water area of the Zhujiang River(Pearl River)Mouth Basin at its early exploration stage,but the main goal of searching...The eastern main sub-sag(E-MSS)of the Baiyun Sag was the main zone for gas exploration in the deep-water area of the Zhujiang River(Pearl River)Mouth Basin at its early exploration stage,but the main goal of searching gas in this area was broken through by the successful exploration of the W3-2 and H34B volatile oil reservoirs,which provides a new insight for exploration of the Paleogene oil reservoirs in the E-MSS.Nevertheless,it is not clear on the distribution of“gas accumulated in the upper layer,oil accumulated in the lower layer”(Gas_(upper)-Oil_(lower))under the high heat flow,different source-rock beds,multi-stages of oil and gas charge,and multi-fluid phases,and not yet a definite understanding of the genetic relationship and formation mechanism among volatile oil,light oil and condensate gas reservoirs,and the migration and sequential charge model of oil and gas.These puzzles directly lead to the lack of a clear direction for oil exploration and drilling zone in this area.In this work,the PVT fluid phase,the origin of crude oil and condensate,the secondary alteration of oil and gas reservoirs,the evolution sequence of oil and gas formation,the phase state of oil and gas migration,and the configuration of fault activity were analyzed,which established the migration and accumulation model of Gas_(upper)-Oil_(lower)cocontrolled by source and heat,and fractionation controlled by facies in the E-MSS.Meanwhile,the fractionation evolution model among common black reservoirs,volatile reservoirs,condensate reservoirs and gas reservoirs is discussed,which proposed that the distribution pattern of Gas_(upper)-Oil_(lower)in the E-MSS is controlled by the generation attribute of oil and gas from source rocks,the difference of thermal evolution,and the fractionation controlled by phases after mixing the oil and gas.Overall,we suggest that residual oil reservoirs should be found in the lower strata of the discovered gas reservoirs in the oil-source fault and diapir-developed areas,while volatile oil reservoirs should be found in the deeper strata near the sag with no oil-source fault area.展开更多
It has been a challenge to distinguish between seismic anomalies caused by complex lithology and hydrocarbon reservoirs using conventional fluid identification techniques,leading to difficulties in accurately predicti...It has been a challenge to distinguish between seismic anomalies caused by complex lithology and hydrocarbon reservoirs using conventional fluid identification techniques,leading to difficulties in accurately predicting hydrocarbon-bearing properties and determining oil-water contacts in reservoirs.In this study,we built a petrophysical model tailored to the deep-water area of the Baiyun Sag in the eastern South China Sea based on seismic data and explored the feasibility of the tri-parameter direct inversion method in the fluid identification of complex lithology reservoirs,offering a more precise alternative to conventional techniques.Our research found that the fluid modulus can successfully eliminate seismic amplitude anomalies caused by lithological variations.Furthermore,the seismic databased direct inversion for fluid modulus can remove the cumulative errors caused by indirect inversion and the influence of porosity.We discovered that traditional methods using seismic amplitude anomalies were ineffective in detecting fluids,determining gas-water contacts,or delineating high-quality reservoirs.However,the fluid factor Kf,derived from solid-liquid decoupling,proved to be sensitive to the identification of hydrocarbon-bearing properties,distinguishing between high-quality and poor-quality gas zones.Our findings confirm the value of the fluid modulus in fluid identification and demonstrate that the tri-parameter direct inversion method can significantly enhance hydrocarbon exploration in deep-water areas,reducing associated risks.展开更多
Due to the limited number of exploration wells in Paleogene mudstones,as well as the complex and diverse types of delta,lacustrine,and marine source rocks in locations in the marineecontinental transitional zone,there...Due to the limited number of exploration wells in Paleogene mudstones,as well as the complex and diverse types of delta,lacustrine,and marine source rocks in locations in the marineecontinental transitional zone,there have been few studies of the gas generation mechanism of source rocks in Baiyun Sag.This has resulted in a long-term dispute about the types and stratigraphic sequences of the main gas source rocks.In this study,gas generation simulation experiments were performed using a high-temperature and high-pressure gold tube closed system on various types of source rocks(i.e.,semi-deep lacustrine,shallow lacustrine,delta,and marine transgression/marine facies)from three sets of strata from the Wenchang,Enping,and Zhuhai Formations drilled in Baiyun Sag.Then,the hydrocarbon-generation processes and production characteristics of different types of source rocks at different stratigraphic sequences were rebuilt,and the composition and carbon isotope characteristics of the natural gas generated from these source rocks at different evolution stages were identified.Based on established natural gas generation kinetic modeling of virtual well points in different structural parts of Baiyun Sag,and constrained by the present gas reservoir characteristics and accumulation periods,it was demonstrated that the third and fourth members of the Wenchang Formation in the slopeedepression area of the main subsag would have been the main gas source kitchens in Baiyun Sag.However,due to the overall high degree of thermal evolution in the depression area,the generation of natural gas with maturity comparable to the present gas reservoirs was too earlydthat is,before 20 Madto be effectively captured.展开更多
基金Supported by the Prospective Basic Research Project of CNOOC China Limited(KJQZ-2023-2001)Major Science and Technology Project of CNOOC(KJGG2022-0103-03).
文摘Based on a set of high-resolution 3D seismic data from the northern continental margin of the South China Sea,the lithospheric structure,thinning mechanisms and related syn-rift tectonic deformation response processes in the crustal necking zone in the deepwater area of the Pearl River Mouth Basin were systematically analyzed,and the petroleum geological significance was discussed.The necking zone investigated in the study is located in the Baiyun Sag and Kaiping Sag in the deepwater area of the Pearl River Mouth Basin.These areas show extreme crustal thinned geometries of central thinning and flank thickening,characterized by multi-level and multi-dipping detachment fault systems.The necking zone exhibits pronounced lateral heterogeneity in structural architectures,which can be classified into four types of thinned crustal architectures,i.e.the wedge-shaped extremely thinned crustal architecture in the Baiyun Main Sub-sag,dumbbell-shaped moderately thinned crustal architecture in the Baiyun West Sub-sag,box-shaped weakly thinned crustal architecture in eastern Baiyun Sag,and metamorphic core complex weakly thinned crustal architecture in the Kaiping Sag.This shows great variations in the degree and style of crustal thinning,types of detachment faults,distribution of syn-rift sedimentary sequences,and intensity of magmatism.The thinning of the necking zone is controlled by the heterogeneous rheological stratification of lithosphere,intensity of mantle-derived magmatism,and deformation modes of detachment faults.The syn-rift tectonic deformation of the necking zone evolved through three phases,i.e.uniform stretching during the early Wenchang Formation deposition period,necking during the late Wenchang Formation deposition period,and hyperextension during the Enping Formation deposition period.The crustal thinning extent and architectural differentiation in these phases were primarily controlled by three distinct mechanisms,i.e.the pure shear deformation activation of pre-existing thrust faults,the simple shear deformation of crust-mantle and inter-crust detachment faults,and differential coupling of lower crustal flow and ductile domes with main detachment faults.The hydrocarbon accumulation and enrichment in the necking zone exhibit marked spatial heterogeneity.Four distinct crustal thinned architecture-hydrocarbon accumulation models were identified in this study.The hydrocarbon accumulations in the shallow part exhibit significant correlations with their deep crustal thinned architectures.The unique lithospheric structure and deformation process predominantly control the favorable hydrocarbon accumulation zones with excellent source-fault-ridge-sand configurations,which is critical to reservoir-forming.The most promising exploration targets are mainly identified on the uplift zones and their seaward-dipping flanks associated with the middle and lower crustal domes.This research provides additional insights into lithospheric thinning-breakup process at intermediate continental margins of marine sedimentary basins,being significant for guiding the deepwater petroleum exploration in the Pearl River Mouth Basin.
基金Supported by the CNOOC Major Technology Project During the 14th FIVE-YEAR PLAN PERIOD(KJGG2022-0403)CNOOC Major Technology Project(KJZH-2021-0003-00).
文摘Based on the practice of oil and gas exploration in the Huizhou Sag of the Pearl River Mouth Basin,the geochemical indexes of source rocks were measured,the reservoir development morphology was restored,the rocks and minerals were characterized microscopically,the measured trap sealing indexes were compared,the biomarker compounds of crude oil were extracted,the genesis of condensate gas was identified,and the reservoir-forming conditions were examined.On this basis,the Paleogene Enping Formation in the Huizhou 26 subsag was systematically analyzed for the potential of oil and gas resources,the development characteristics of large-scale high-quality conglomerate reservoirs,the trapping effectiveness of faults,the hydrocarbon migration and accumulation model,and the formation conditions and exploration targets of large-and medium-sized glutenite-rich oil and gas fields.The research results were obtained in four aspects.First,the Paleogene Wenchang Formation in the Huizhou 26 subsag develops extensive and thick high-quality source rocks of semi-deep to deep lacustrine subfacies,which have typical hydrocarbon expulsion characteristics of"great oil generation in the early stage and huge gas expulsion in the late stage",providing a sufficient material basis for hydrocarbon accumulation in the Enping Formation.Second,under the joint control of the steep slope zone and transition zone of the fault within the sag,the large-scale near-source glutenite reservoirs are highly heterogeneous,with the development scale dominated hierarchically by three factors(favorable facies zone,particle component,and microfracture).The(subaqueous)distributary channels near the fault system,with equal grains,a low mud content(<5%),and a high content of feldspar composition,are conducive to the development of sweet spot reservoirs.Third,the strike-slip pressurization trap covered by stable lake flooding mudstone is a necessary condition for oil and gas preservation,and the NE and nearly EW faults obliquely to the principal stress have the best control on traps.Fourth,the spatiotemporal configuration of high-quality source rocks,fault transport/sealing,and glutenite reservoirs controls the degree of hydrocarbon enrichment.From top to bottom,three hydrocarbon accumulation units,i.e.low-fill zone,transition zone,and high-fill zone,are recognized.The main area of the channel in the nearly pressurized source-connecting fault zone is favorable for large-scale hydrocarbon enrichment.The research results suggest a new direction for the exploration of large-scale glutenite-rich reservoirs in the Enping Formation of the Pearl River Mouth Basin,and present a major breakthrough in oil and gas exploration.
基金Supported by the National Oil and Gas Resource Evaluation Project for the 14th Five Year Plan of the Ministry of Natural Resources(QGYQZYPJ2022-3)China National Offshore Oil Corporation"14th Five Year Plan"Major Science and Technology Project(KJGG2022-0103-03)。
文摘By conducting organic geochemical analysis of the samples taken from the drilled wells in Baiyun Sag of Pearl River Mouth Basin,China,the development characteristics of hydrocarbon source rocks in the sag are clarified.Reconstruct the current geothermal field of the sag and restore the tectonic-thermal evolution process to predict the type,scale,and distribution of resources in Baiyun Sag through thermal pressure simulation experiments and numerical simulation.The Baiyun Sag is characterized by the development of Paleogene shallow lacustrine source rocks,which are deposited in a slightly oxidizing environment.The source rocks are mainly composed of terrestrial higher plants,with algae making a certain contribution,and are oil and gas source rocks.Current geothermal field of the sag was reconstructed,in which the range of geothermal gradients is(3.5–5.2)℃/100 m,showing an overall increasing trend from northwest to southeast,with significant differences in geothermal gradients across different sub-sags.Baiyun Sag has undergone two distinct periods of extensional process,the Eocene and Miocene,since the Cenozoic era.These two periods of heating and warming events have been identified,accelerating the maturation and evolution of source rocks.The main body of ancient basal heat flow value reached its highest at 13.82 Ma.The basin modelling results show that the maturity of source rocks is significantly higher in Baiyun main sub-sag than that in other sub-sags.The Eocene Wenchang Formation is currently in the stage of high maturity to over maturity,while the Eocene Enping Formation has reached the stage of maturity to high maturity.The rock thermal simulation experiment shows that the shallow lacustrine mudstone of the Wenchang Formation has a good potential of generating gas from kerogen cracking with high gas yield and long period of gas window.Shallow lacustrine mudstone of the Enping Formation has a good ability to generate light oil,and has ability to generate kerogen cracking gas in the late stage.The gas yield of shallow lacustrine mudstone of the Enping Formation is less than that of shallow lacustrine mudstone of the Wenchang Formation and the delta coal-bearing mudstone of the Enping Formation.The numerical simulation results indicate that the source rocks of Baiyun main sub-sag generate hydrocarbons earlier and have significantly higher hydrocarbon generation intensity than other sub-sags,with an average of about 1200×10^(4)t/km^(2).Oil and gas resources were mainly distributed in Baiyun main sub-sag and the main source rocks are distributed in the 3^(rd)and 4^(th)members of Wenchang Formation.Four favorable zones are selected for the division and evaluation of migration and aggregation units:No.(1)Panyu 30 nose-shaped structural belt,No.(3)Liuhua 29 nose-shaped uplift belt and Liwan 3 nose-shaped uplift belt,No.(2)gentle slope belt of Baiyun east sag,and No.(8)Baiyun 1 low-uplift.
基金The Major Science and Technology Project of China National Offshore Oil Corporation during the“14th Five-Year Plan”under contact No.KJGG2022-0103-03。
文摘The eastern main sub-sag(E-MSS)of the Baiyun Sag was the main zone for gas exploration in the deep-water area of the Zhujiang River(Pearl River)Mouth Basin at its early exploration stage,but the main goal of searching gas in this area was broken through by the successful exploration of the W3-2 and H34B volatile oil reservoirs,which provides a new insight for exploration of the Paleogene oil reservoirs in the E-MSS.Nevertheless,it is not clear on the distribution of“gas accumulated in the upper layer,oil accumulated in the lower layer”(Gas_(upper)-Oil_(lower))under the high heat flow,different source-rock beds,multi-stages of oil and gas charge,and multi-fluid phases,and not yet a definite understanding of the genetic relationship and formation mechanism among volatile oil,light oil and condensate gas reservoirs,and the migration and sequential charge model of oil and gas.These puzzles directly lead to the lack of a clear direction for oil exploration and drilling zone in this area.In this work,the PVT fluid phase,the origin of crude oil and condensate,the secondary alteration of oil and gas reservoirs,the evolution sequence of oil and gas formation,the phase state of oil and gas migration,and the configuration of fault activity were analyzed,which established the migration and accumulation model of Gas_(upper)-Oil_(lower)cocontrolled by source and heat,and fractionation controlled by facies in the E-MSS.Meanwhile,the fractionation evolution model among common black reservoirs,volatile reservoirs,condensate reservoirs and gas reservoirs is discussed,which proposed that the distribution pattern of Gas_(upper)-Oil_(lower)in the E-MSS is controlled by the generation attribute of oil and gas from source rocks,the difference of thermal evolution,and the fractionation controlled by phases after mixing the oil and gas.Overall,we suggest that residual oil reservoirs should be found in the lower strata of the discovered gas reservoirs in the oil-source fault and diapir-developed areas,while volatile oil reservoirs should be found in the deeper strata near the sag with no oil-source fault area.
文摘It has been a challenge to distinguish between seismic anomalies caused by complex lithology and hydrocarbon reservoirs using conventional fluid identification techniques,leading to difficulties in accurately predicting hydrocarbon-bearing properties and determining oil-water contacts in reservoirs.In this study,we built a petrophysical model tailored to the deep-water area of the Baiyun Sag in the eastern South China Sea based on seismic data and explored the feasibility of the tri-parameter direct inversion method in the fluid identification of complex lithology reservoirs,offering a more precise alternative to conventional techniques.Our research found that the fluid modulus can successfully eliminate seismic amplitude anomalies caused by lithological variations.Furthermore,the seismic databased direct inversion for fluid modulus can remove the cumulative errors caused by indirect inversion and the influence of porosity.We discovered that traditional methods using seismic amplitude anomalies were ineffective in detecting fluids,determining gas-water contacts,or delineating high-quality reservoirs.However,the fluid factor Kf,derived from solid-liquid decoupling,proved to be sensitive to the identification of hydrocarbon-bearing properties,distinguishing between high-quality and poor-quality gas zones.Our findings confirm the value of the fluid modulus in fluid identification and demonstrate that the tri-parameter direct inversion method can significantly enhance hydrocarbon exploration in deep-water areas,reducing associated risks.
文摘Due to the limited number of exploration wells in Paleogene mudstones,as well as the complex and diverse types of delta,lacustrine,and marine source rocks in locations in the marineecontinental transitional zone,there have been few studies of the gas generation mechanism of source rocks in Baiyun Sag.This has resulted in a long-term dispute about the types and stratigraphic sequences of the main gas source rocks.In this study,gas generation simulation experiments were performed using a high-temperature and high-pressure gold tube closed system on various types of source rocks(i.e.,semi-deep lacustrine,shallow lacustrine,delta,and marine transgression/marine facies)from three sets of strata from the Wenchang,Enping,and Zhuhai Formations drilled in Baiyun Sag.Then,the hydrocarbon-generation processes and production characteristics of different types of source rocks at different stratigraphic sequences were rebuilt,and the composition and carbon isotope characteristics of the natural gas generated from these source rocks at different evolution stages were identified.Based on established natural gas generation kinetic modeling of virtual well points in different structural parts of Baiyun Sag,and constrained by the present gas reservoir characteristics and accumulation periods,it was demonstrated that the third and fourth members of the Wenchang Formation in the slopeedepression area of the main subsag would have been the main gas source kitchens in Baiyun Sag.However,due to the overall high degree of thermal evolution in the depression area,the generation of natural gas with maturity comparable to the present gas reservoirs was too earlydthat is,before 20 Madto be effectively captured.