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Sediment provenance and facies characteristics of the Lower Cretaceous Qingshuihe Formation in the hinterland of Junggar Basin (NW China) and its exploration implications

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Abstract

The Moxizhuang-Yong** area is structurally located in the hinterland of Junggar Basin, with Lower Cretaceous Qingshuihe Formation being a prospective petroleum exploration target in recent years. However, its sediment provenance and sedimentary facies characteristics are currently subject to debate. In this study, the provenance of sediments in the NW margin of the Junggar Basin was inferred by analyzing lithological characteristics, composition of reservoir rock clastics, formation dip logging, seismic reflection profiles, conglomerate thickness, and heavy minerals. This conclusion was further supported by reconstructions of the paleostructure and paleogeomorphology. Furthermore, the sedimentological signature, authigenic sediment color, grain size, sedimentary structures, wireline well logging curves, seismic attributes, sand body distribution, and well-tie sections were combined to distinguish two sedimentary systems (delta, and lake). These systems contained distributary channel, mouth bar, lakeshore, shallow lake, and deep-lake microfacies. Together, the study is significant in understanding and identifying favorable sedimentary facies belts and distribution of reservoir sands in the Qingshuihe Formation as well as in prospecting for favorable oil and gas reservoirs.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the experts of Elsevier Webshop Support for its linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.

Funding

This study was co-funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.42072172, 41772120), Shandong Province Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (Grant No. JQ201311), and the Graduate Scientific and Technological Innovation Project Financially Supported by Shandong University of Science and Technology (Grant No. SDKDYC190313).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Earth Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, China

    Zhaoyang Wang, **angchun Chang, Yumao Pang & Bingbing Shi

  2. Laboratory for Marine Mineral Resources, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266071, China

    **angchun Chang & Yumao Pang

  3. Shengli Oil Company, Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, Sinopec, Dongying, 257001, China

    Zhongquan Liu & Youde Xu

  4. Jiangsu Design Institute of Geology for Mineral Resources, Xuzhou, 221006, China

    Lixin Mao

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Wang, Z., Chang, X., Liu, Z. et al. Sediment provenance and facies characteristics of the Lower Cretaceous Qingshuihe Formation in the hinterland of Junggar Basin (NW China) and its exploration implications. Arab J Geosci 15, 635 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-09914-6

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