China Petroleum Exploration ›› 2026, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (1): 80-99.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-7703.2026.01.007

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Progressand Future Direction of Oil and Gas Explorationin theTarim Basinduring the “14th Five-Year Plan” Period

Yang Haijun1,2,3,Xu Zhenping1,2,3,Yang Xianzhang1,2,3,Tang Yangang1,2,3,Mo Tao1,2,3,Chen Cai1,2,3,Xie Zhou1,2,3,Luo Xinsheng1,2,3,Wang Bin1,2,3   

  1. 1 PetroChina Tarim Oilfield Company; 2 CNPC R&D Center for Exploration and Development Technology of Ultra-Deep Complex Oil and Gas Reservoirs;3 Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Ultra-Deep Oil and Gas
  • Online:2026-01-15 Published:2026-01-15

Abstract: At the beginning of the "14th Five-Year Plan" period,the Tarim Oilfield faced anurgentt ask of increasing natural gas reserves on alarge scale and an unclear direction for expanding oil reserves. Over the five-year period, focusing on major potential exploration areas, based on anewround of structural modeling and full-strata in terpretation, the fault combination characteristics in the stable-transition zone of the Kelasu structural belt were re-recognized. Atotal of 26 new gas reservoirs were discovered in the Bozi-Dabei area, basically completing the construction of a1-trillion-cubic-meter large gas area. The fault-controlled hydrocarbon accumulation model featuring "multi-stage hydrocarbon supply from the Cambrian, reservoir control by fault fracture zones, in-situ vertical migration and accumulation by strike-slip faults, and segmented enrichment in fault zones" was established. This formed the geological understanding that strike-slip faults control reservoirs, hydrocarbon accumulation, and enrichment, and identified the Fuman1-billion-tonlarge oilfield. Centering on the characterization of hydrocarbon-generating sags, and taking the hydrocarbon-bearing system, near-source regional reservoir-cap combinations, and large-scale hydrocarbon-transporting fault characterization ask eypoints, continuous breakthroughs were achieved in risk exploration in four new areas and fields: the Carboniferous-Permian in the southern Tarim piedmont, the Cretaceous-Triassic in the Kuqa piedmont, the Upper Cambrian in the western northern Tarim, and the Ordovician in the Maigaiti slope of the platform-basin area. During the exploration practice, an efficient exploration path for ultra-deep layers was formed, which is based on high-quality basin-wide frame work research, takes near-source exploration as the direction and basic approach, regards risk exploration as the key, a dheres to the advanced deployment of 3D seismic surveys, and continues to tackle key seismic technologies. In the future, the exploration will be based on hydrocarbon-generating centers and close to source rocks, focusing on five major fields: the southern Tarim piedmont, the middle combination of Kuqa, the western northern Tarim, the periphery of Awati, and the sub-salt of the Cambrian, to find strategicre placement areas.

Key words: Tarim Basin, exploration progress, near-source exploration, risk exploration, exploration direction

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