The basin and range systems and their evolution of the northwestern margin of Junggar Basin,China: Implications for the hydrocarbon accumulation

Abstract

Basin and range system in the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin highly controlled the distribution of sediments and oil and gas. Detailed studies of basin and range system will be helpful in understanding the formation of hydrocarbon resources. Based on the previous studies and geophysical data, we analyze the structural characteristics and their evolution of basin and range system in this area. Although the basement of the Junggar Basin is still uncertain, high resolution of geophysical data suggests that the basement of the basin generally has lower and much stable gravity and magnetic anomalies than that in the orogenic belts around the basin and these anomalies are uneven in the basin, implying the basement may be assembled by different blocks. The amalgamation of these blocks will affect the deformation of the corresponding sedimentary cover. Detailed seismic interpretation across the basin and range system suggest that the imbricate thrust faults are dominant structural styles in this area. The Zaire-Hala’alate mountains were raised after multi-stage tectonic movement, and they started to rise in Late Carboniferous. The evolution of the western margin of the Junggar Basin can be divided into three stages, which are the initial formation stage in Late Carboniferous, the foreland basin developed stage from Permian to Jurassic and the rejuvenated foreland basin stage in Cenozoic. The coupling processes of basin and range system caused the formation, migration, and accumulation of the hydrocarbon resources both in space and time in the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin.

Keywords

Junggar Basin basin and range system structural characteristics

Introduction

Basin and range couplings are mainly focused on the relationship between the margin of the basin and its surrounded orogenic belts (DeCelles and Giles, 1996; Leeder, 2011; Liu et al., 2000, 2012), which are both important tectonic units for studying the geodynamic history of lithosphere. Instead of the separated studies of basin structural characteristics and the evolution of orogenic belts, people pay more and more attention on revealing the internal relationship and formation between the two tectonic units for decades, such as in the famous Basin and Range Province of western United States (Allmendinger et al., 1983; Campagna and Aydin, 1994; Eaton, 1982; Parsons, 2006; Plank and Forsyth, 2016; Wernicke, 1981) and the western China (Fan et al., 2015; Li and Peng, 2010; Liu et al., 2000, 2012; Tang et al., 2012; Wang et al., 2008). Studies suggest that different geodynamic background, including the extension, compression and strike-slip, will generate diverse basin-range coupling processes and mechanisms (Cheng et al., 2015; Donath, 1962; Fan et al., 2015; Liu et al., 2000; Tang et al., 2012). The exploration testified that the basin-range system usually has abundant of mineral and hydrocarbon resources (Jia et al., 2013; Tang et al., 2009), making this area as an important target for the resources exploration. Therefore, the understanding of geodynamic process of basin-range system could provide an effective way to explain the formation and evolution of mineral and hydrocarbon resources.

The Junggar Basin, which is located in the north of Xinjiang Province, is a largest petroliferous sedimentary basin in China and the total area of this basin is approximately 1.36 × 10⁵ km². According to the results of third-round resource assessment on the Junggar Basin, until to 2004, the total oil and gas resources reach to 106.8 × 10⁸ t, including 20.9 × 10⁸ t crude oil and 85.9 × 10⁸ t natural gas (Li, 2005). Therefore, this basin become one of important targets for oil and gas exploration in China. Although a large number of oil and gas resources have been found in this basin, the proven ratios of oil and gas are less than 20.74% and 3.5%, respectively (He et al., 2004), meaning the Junggar Basin has a great exploration potential. The northwestern margin of Junggar Basin is the most petroliferous area of the whole basin, until 2010, the accumulated proven oil and gas reserves reach 16.24 × 10⁸ t, and the total oil and gas resources can reach 33.39 × 10⁸ t (Wang et al., 2012).

The studies of structural deformation and tectonic evolution of the western margin of the Junggar Basin were started in the 1980s, and a complicated overthrust fault zone model was set up (Fan and Zhi, 1984; Lin, 1984; Xie et al., 1984; You, 1983; Zhang and Yang, 1983). Four hydrocarbon gathered area were put forward, including the nappe, the strata beneath the nappe, the fault block in front of the nappe, and the stratigraphic overlap on the nappe. This model has occupied dominant position in the hydrocarbon exploration, until today. In the 1990s, the major fault systems of the western margin of the Junggar basin were descried based on the 2D seismic profiles (Wang et al., 1999; Zhao, 1992; Zhu and Feng, 1994). Since the beginning of the 20th century, the hydrocarbon exploration has been speeded up accompanying the usage of 3D seismic data. More and more new insights about the structural characteristics (Fan et al., 2014; Guo et al., 2012; Meng et al., 2009; Wu et al., 2014, 2015; Yu et al., 2016; Zhang et al., 2011), tectonic evolution (Dong et al., 2015; Qu et al., 2009; Shao et al., 2011; Yan et al., 2015), sedimentary characteristics (Qin et al., 2016; Shi et al., 2010; Wang et al., 2012), oil and gas accumulation (Chen et al., 2014; He et al., 2010; Hou et al., 2009; Kuang et al., 2008, 2014; Shen et al., 2015; Sun et al., 2012; Wei et al., 2014; Xin et al., 2011; Zhang et al., 2010) were discussed by different researchers. Although a lot of excellent works have been done during past decades, some questions are still in debate, such as the basic structural characteristics, tectonic evolution history, the relationship between the boundary mountains and basin, especially with the addition of newly acquired data. Therefore, it is necessary to give further studies on the structural characteristics and evolution of this basin and range system.

Geological setting

The Junggar basin is a part of famous Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB; Figure 1(a)), which is considered as the world’s largest Phanerozoic accretionary orogeny (Kröner et al., 2008; Sengor et al., 1993; Windley et al., 2007). It is located in the junction area of multiple plates, including the Tarim plate to the south, the Siberian plate to the northeast and the Kazakhstan plate to the northwest. Nowadays, the basin is surrounded by a series of mountains. To the northeast is the Kelameili and Qinggelidi mountains, the Yilinheibiergen and Bogeda mountains of the Tianshan range lies to the south, and the Zhayier and Hala'alate mountains stand to the northwest (Figure 1(b)). In the hydrocarbon exploration, the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin is defined as the transition area between the Zhayier-Hala’alate mountains and the basin. It is mainly composed of the Ke-Xia and Hong-Che fault zones, and part of Mahu depression, Zhongguai and Chepaizi uplifts (Figure 1(c)).

Figure 1.

Sketch maps (a) showing the tectonic location of the Junggar Basin in the CAOB (modified after Xu et al., 2015), and the topographic map of the West Junggar and Junggar Basin exhibiting the surrounding mountains and major faults around the basin (b). (c) The geological map of the West Junggar (modified after BGMRXUAR, 1993; Tang et al., 2012; Xu et al., 2012; Yang et al., 2013, 2015) and the tectonic units in the western margin of the Junggar Basin (modified after Xinjiang Oilfield Company). The age of volcanic rocks are from: (1) Chen and Zhu (2011), Gu et al. (2009), Liu et al. (2009), Zhang and Huang (1992); (2) Chen and Jahn (2004), Feng et al. (2012), Han et al. (2006), Su et al.(2006), Xu et al. (2006); (3) BGMRXU (1993), Su et al. (2006), Tang et al. (2012a, 2012b, 2012c).

The Zhayier and Hala'alate, which strike to NE-SW trending, are the boundary mountains in the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin (Figure 1(c)). They separated the Junggar Basin from the Heshituoluogai Basin and Tacheng Basin to the northwest. In the stratigraphic, they are mainly composed of Carboniferous, with large amount of intrusions in the strata, including the Miaoergou, Akbastau, Karamay, Hongshan, Hatu plutons and so on. Chronological data suggest that most of the intrusions were formed during the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian (Figure 1(c)). Besides, an obvious ophiolites belt lies in the Zhayier mountain, however, the formation ages of them were uncertain, the published data suggested that they may be formed at the Early Silurian to the Late Carboniferous. Developed on the Junggar terrane, the Junggar basin is a late Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic superimposed basin (Cao et al., 2005a). A series number of strata deposited in this basin as a sedimentary cover, which has a total thickness over 10 km (Cao et al., 2005a; Carroll et al., 1990). Detailed stratigraphic sequence and lithology of the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin are described in the Figure 2. Seismic data reflect that there are three large unconformity surfaces in the northwestern margin, including that between the Carboniferous and Permian, Permian and Mesozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Eleven regional unconformity surfaces exist among the Permian to the Mesozoic.

Figure 2.

Stratigraphic sequences and lithology of the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin (modified after Xinjiang Oilfield Company).

The NE-SW is the dominant direction of structures. Three large strike-slip faults were developed in this area, including the Barleike, Tuoli, and Darbut faults from the northwest to the south east (Figure 1(b)). The Darbut fault cut through the Zhayier and Hala’alate mountains.

The structural characteristics of the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin

The basement nature of the Junggar Basin

It is widely accepted that the Junggar Basin is composed of the basement and sedimentary cover (Cao et al., 2005a; Han et al., 1999; Hu and Wei, 2003). The basement has a feature of double layer structure, including the crystalline and folded basements (Chen et al., 2002; Zhao, 2013). The folded basement is generally composed of Devonian and the Carboniferous (Song et al., 2015; Zhao, 1992, 2013). However, the nature and formation age of the crystalline basement full of debate, which is due to the facts that no basement rocks are exposed within the basin (Han et al., 1999; Xu et al., 2015). The understanding of the crystalline basement of the basin is very important to explain the tectonic evolution of the basin and useful for the oil and gas exploration. According to the geophysical data of the basin and isotopic data from the igneous rocks around the basin (Figure 1(c)), researchers provided four possible views about the crystalline basement nature of the basin. One view point thinks that the Junggar Basin is underlain by a Precambrian metamorphic crystalline basement with a kind of metamorphic rocks of Precambrian blocks (Fei and Zhang, 1987; Huang et al., 2014; Jun et al., 1998; Wu, 1987; Xu et al., 2015; Zhang et al., 1996). Another point of view indicates that the crystalline basement of the Junggar Basin is a continental crust, however, the Precambrian basement is not sure to exist (Chen and Jahn, 2004; He et al., 2013; Hu and Wei, 2003; Li et al., 2000, 2007). The third view suggests that the crystalline basement of the Junggar Basin is ocean crust (Carroll et al., 1990; Chen and Arakawa, 2005; Jiang, 1984). Besides, some researchers argued that the crystalline basement of the Junggar Basin was assembled by several different arc accretion terrains (Wang et al., 2002; Zeng et al., 2002; Zheng et al., 2000).

Despite a lot of studies have been done on this topic, much of debate made this question get more and more complicated. The causes of these arguments are that the fewer direct evidences could be obtained from the seismic, drilling, and other methods in exploring the basin. Recently, some information was exposed by the newly acquired data of gravity and magnetic anomalies (Figure 3). The basin generally has lower gravity and magnetic anomalies than that in the orogenic belts around the basin, suggesting the relatively stable basement of Junggar Basin than the surrounding orogeny belts. The magnetic anomalies also reflect that the basement is uneven, and it can be divided into several different parts by long and narrow anomalies belts, such as the positive anomies line of the Wuerhe–Shaqiuhe–Dajing–Qitai–Mulei, implying the basement of the Junggar Basin may be assembled by several different blocks, which consists of the accretion of CAOB (Windley and Xiao, 2018; Xiao et al., 2008, 2009). The inner basin volcanic records also reflect the lateral accretion of intra-oceanic arc was a possible way in the crustal growth in Late Paleozoic (He et al., 2013). Whether it is a Precambrian basement or not is still uncertain. However, it is sure that the interaction between different blocks will cause the corresponding structural deformation in the basin (He et al., 2013; Liu et al., 2019), implying the sedimentary cover will be deformed in response to the accretionary process.

Figure 3.

The magnetic anomalies of Junggar Basin (modified after Xinjiang Oilfield Company).

Structural characteristics of the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin

The Ke-Xia and Hong-Che fault zones are the main part of the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin. Seismic interpretation reveals that thousands of faults were developed in this area (Figure 4). Based on the seismic data, detailed studies about the structural characteristics were carried on (Figures 4 and 5).

Figure 4.

Structural map showing the fault system in the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin (modified after Xinjiang Oilfield Company, Liu et al., 2019).

Figure 5.

Seismic profiles across the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin (seismic data were collected from Xinjiang Oilfield Company, modified after Liu et al., 2019), and the location of these profiles can be found in Figure 4.

Ke-Xia fault zone

Ke-Xia fault zone, which spread over 250 km and has the width nearly 20 km, is located between the Karamay and Xiazijie of the Xinjiang Province geographically (Figure 1(c)). This fault zone strikes to NE in the south part and NEE in the north part, and dips to NW, with the dip angle varies from 70°–80° at the top to 15°–20° at the bottom. Seismic data reflect that this fault is composed of five first-order faults, including the Karamay, South Baijiantan, Baikouquan, Wulanlinge, and Xiahongbei faults, and hundreds of small faults (Figure 4). In the plane, these faults inherit the strike of the nearby orogenic belts and slightly curved. In the profile, multiple reverse faults formed an imbricate thrust structure system (Figure 5). Until now, nearly half of the oil and gas resources in the Junggar Basin were found in this area, making the Ke-Xia fault zone as the most important tectonic units in hydrocarbon exploration.

Karamay fault is a long-lived boundary fault in the Ke-Xia fault zone (Figure 5(a)). It strikes to NE and dips to NW, with the total length over 40 km. This fault controlled the deposition of the Permian, Triassic, and Jurassic strata of the Junggar Basin, implying the fault was active from the Hercynian to the Yanshanian period. The displacement of this fault is very large, and the maximum displacement can be over 600 m in the Triassic strata and 800 m in the Jurassic strata, suggesting the decrease of fault activity in the evolution (He et al., 2004). The displacement of the Permian strata cannot be determined because the high erosion causes no strata remnant in the hanging wall. Influenced by the slip of this fault, a series of reverse faults were formed in the hanging wall and make up a fault-terrace zone, which is covered by the Triassic or Jurassic strata on the Carboniferous strata directly. The strata in the thrust sheets usually curved and formed a fault-bended fold.

South Baijiantan fault strikes to NE and dips to NW, with a total length over 20 km. The dip angle of this fault varies from 45° to 70° at the top and 20° at the bottom. It is another boundary fault in the Ke-Xia fault zone, and also controls the deposition of the Permian, Triassic, and Jurassic strata. The displacement of this fault varies. The Triassic strata has a displacement from 200 to 800 m, and the displacement of Jurassic strata varies from 250 to 300 m. The southwest part of the fault generally has larger displacement than the northeast part. In the plane, the South Baijiantan fault is connected with the Karamay fault at the south tip. The main active period of this fault is thought to be the Permian to the Jurassic (Wu et al., 2012).

Baikouquan fault is a major component of the Ke-Xia fault zone. It has a length of 29 km, dips to NW. The fault surface is listric in the cross-section, and the dip angle is nearly 60° at the top and 20°–35° at the bottom. The displacement of this fault is 200–800 m in the Triassic strata and 50–200 m in the Jurassic. The Baikouquan fault is also a long-lived fault, which is considered to continue active from the Late Hercynian to the Middle of Jurassic. This fault connects to the South Baijiantan fault at the southwest tip.

Another two boundary faults are the Xiahongbei (Figure 5(b)) and Wulanlinge faults (Figure 5(c)), which both strike to NE and dip to NW. These two faults show an unconspicuous en-échelon geometry in the plane, and make up an imbricate trust structure system. The fault surface of the Xiahongbei fault usually has a flat, the dip angle changes from 40° to 55° at the top, 0° to 10° in the middle, to 20° to 30° at the bottom. This fault formed in the Late Carboniferous and strongly slipped in the Triassic (He et al., 2004). Wulanlinge fault is 20 km long and the dip angle is similar to the Xiahongbei fault. It is also formed in the Late Carboniferous, and the main active period is Triassic.

In general, the detailed interpretation of high-resolution seismic data suggested that the thrust faults before the Zhayier and Hala’alate mountains were highly developed. However, the deformation of both sides of the Ke-Xia fault zone is quite different. The strata of hanging wall of the trust faults that in front of the Zhayier mountain were slightly deformed, and in the footwall strata there were almost no deformation (Figure 5(a)). In front of the Hala’alate mountain, the strata of both sides of the thrust faults were highly deformed, and the footwall developed obvious fault-related fold, such as the fault-bended fold in the hanging wall of the Xiahongbei fault (Figure 5(b) and (c)).

Although these faults in the western margin of the Junggar Basin have been testified to be thrust faults, the formation mechanism is still uncertain. Some researchers thought the formation of these thrust faults were related to the collision between the Junggar terrane and Kazakhstan plate (Chen et al., 2002; Wei et al., 2004; Wu et al., 2005). However, some new views were put forward by using newly acquired high resolution 3D seismic data recently, including the standpoint of that these faults were formed under the influence of Darbut fault, which is a famous strike-slip fault in the western margin of the Junggar Basin (Allen et al., 1995; Fan et al., 2014; Feng, 1991; Feng et al., 1990; Figure 1(c)).

Darbut fault is a regional deep fault and strikes to NE, with a total length over 400 km. Previous studies realized that this fault is probably formed in the Carboniferous, however, some disputes still exist in whether it formed in the Early Carboniferous (Xie et al., 1984; You, 1983) or the Late Carboniferous (Feng et al., 1990). Besides, the strike-slip period of this fault is also debatable, though many efforts have been done during these years. Allen and Vincent (1997) and Sengor et al. (1993) thought that the Darbut is a dextral strike-slip fault, forming from the end of Permian to the Triassic. Wang (2011) agreed this view and also proposed that the Darbut fault changed into sinistral strike-slip in the Jurassic by using the recognition of fault-related folds and subsidiary faults along the Darbut fault. Shao et al. (2011) also support the change of strike-slip direction of the Darbut fault by using magnetic sounding data, and they thought the conversion time is in the Cenozoic. However, some researchers argued that the strike-slip direction of the Darbut fault was not changed since its forming, and some evidences are from the field observation (Fan et al., 2014). Thus, it can be seen that more persuasive work is urged to figure out the structural characteristics and its implication to the tectonic evolution of the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin.

Some disagreements still exist in discussing the relationship between the strike-slip of the Darbut fault and the formation of the reverse faults in the western margin of the Junggar Basin, however, researchers tend to agree that the slip of the Darbut fault can affect the evolution of the fault system to some extent, and some evidences can support this view. The fault system in the plain view reflects that most of the faults in the Ke-Xia fault zone are NE- and NEE-trending, however, two faults show obvious NW-trending (Figure 4), including the Dazhuluogou and Huangyangquan faults. Field and seismic data reflected that the Dazhuluogou is a typical strike-slip fault, which show a positive flower structure in the seismic profile (Wu et al., 2014). Mechanism explanation argued that the Dazhuluogou take the place of R’ shear in the tectonic mode of strike-slip fault (Wu et al., 2014), which is proposed by (Sylvester, 1988). It is also considered as efficient pathways for hydrocarbon accumulation and transfer zone that connected the NE-trending faults (Jin et al., 2011; Wu et al., 2014). Wang et al. (2015) thought that the trust napper in the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin experienced two stage of deformation, including the compression in the Late Carboniferous to the Permian and the compresso-shear deformation in the Triassic to the Jurassic, and the strike-slip stress filed was related to the Darbut fault. Based on the seismic interpretation, Shao et al. (2011) suggested that the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin was highly affected by the slip of Darbut fault, and the strike-slip structure developed in the Late Permian to the Triassic.

Hong-Che fault zone

Hong-Che fault zone is located in the Hongshanzui and Chepaizi area of the Xinjiang Province. This fault zone has its length over 60 km and strikes to SN, with an “S” shape in plain view. The fault surface is steep in the upper part and becomes very slow in the lower part. Primary measurements suggested that the displacement of this fault varies from 520 to 1500 m (He et al., 2004). The Hong-Che fault zone is composed of hundreds of reverse faults, which formed an apparent imbricate fault system in the profile (Figure 5(d)).

Seismic data reflected that this fault zone was formed in the Early Hercynian, and cut into the Lower Jurassic at the top (Figure 5(d)), meaning it is a long-lived fault. The hanging wall of the fault is Carboniferous, whose top is eroded strongly with thin beds with unconformity on it. To view as a whole, the hanging wall of this fault curved slightly and shows an unconspicuous fold, and the footwall has no deformation.

The formation of the Hong-Che fault zone is considered to relate with the generation of Chepaizi Uplift in the Late Carboniferous (Dong et al., 2015; Yan et al., 2008). The whole formation process of the Chepaizi Uplift last from the Late Carboniferous to the early Jurassic (Dong et al., 2015; He et al., 2008), making the corresponding strata highly deformed in this area (Figure 5). Recent tectonic studies suggest that in the Late Carboniferous, the western Junggar was still in a ridge-subduction environment (Li et al., 2017; Liu et al., 2019), and in the early Permian changed to the foreland basin (Wu et al., 2005). This evolution suggests that the boundary thrust faults, including the Hong-Che fault zone, may start to be active in the Late Carboniferous.

Architecture and evolution of basin-range systems in the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin

Architecture of basin-range systems

Zaire–Hala'alate mountains are the boundary mountain of the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin. They are NE-SW trending, 200 km length of the Zaire mountain and roughly 60 km of the Hala’alate mountain. The elevation of the Zaire mountain is 500–2000 m, with the highest peak near the Miaoergou pluton (Figure 6(a)). By comparison, the elevation of the Hala’alate mountain is obviously lower than the Zaire mountain, at 400–600 m (Figure 6(b)), and the scale of the Zaire mountain is also larger than the Hala’alate mountain (Figure 1(c)). The difference in elevation between the Zaire–Hala’alate mountains and the western margin of the Junggar Basin is about 200–1500 m. Therefore, the basin-range system of the Zaire–Hala’alate mountains has clear mountain–basin topography. However, this topography difference between the Hala’alate mountain and the Junggar Basin is very small because of higher erosion. Multiple detachment surface or the surface between the sedimentary cover and basement provides the requirements for large-scale thrust fault system (Figure 6).

Figure 6.

Cross topographic profiles at the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin. (a) The geomorphology of the Zaire mountain and Junggar Basin. (b) Reflecting the geomorphology of the Hala’alate mountain and Junggar Basin. The seismic profiles in both (a) and (b) show obvious imbricate fault system (data from Xinjiang Oilfield Company). The location of these profiles can be found in Figure 4.

The strata composition of the Zaire-Hala’alate mountains was mainly Carboniferous, with little amount of Ordovician and Silurian. Based on the interpretation of seismic data, most of researchers inferred that the Zaire-Hala’alate mountains were raised after multi-stage tectonic movement, and they initially raised in Late Carboniferous because the major thrust faults of this area were roughly formed at this time (He et al., 2004; Wu et al., 2005), accompanying widespread emplaced intrusions.

The evolution of the western margin of the Junggar Basin

Although the previous studies suggested that the Junggar Basin is a composite superimposed basin, which is formed in complex tectonic background, people still obtained different views about the single basin types of each period in the evolution of the basin. These disputes lead to the confusion of understanding the basin structure. Zhang et al. (1998) suggested that the Junggar Basin is an overlapped foreland basin and nearly all types of the foreland basin can be found in it, including the foreland basins that were related to the subduction and collision, reactivation of orogenic belts, inversion of aulacogen, and intraplate folding and depression. Wu et al. (2005) thought that the Junggar Basin should be a foreland basin, especially in the early stage of the evolution. They argued that this inference can be proved by the seismic reflection because each part in the foreland basin system has the corresponding part in the Junggar Basin, for example, in the NE–SW section, the Yilinheibiergen mountain correspond to the orogenic wedge zone, the North Tianshan depression is the foredeep depozone equivalently, the Central Uplift belongs to the forebulge depozone and the Central Depression equals to the back-bulge depozone. However, some researchers doubt the model of foreland basin, and a most important controversy is the nature of basin in the Permian because some evidence reflects that it should be a rift basin at that time (Cai et al., 2000; Fang et al., 2006). Although, the formation and tectonic evolution of the Junggar Basin is still in debate, most of the studies inclined to admit that the basin was formed in the Late Carboniferous, caused by the collision and amalgamation of the CAOB with the development of a series of thrust faults (Figure 7; Allen and Vincent, 1997; Carroll et al., 1990; Chen et al., 2005; Wu et al., 2005). In the Mesozoic, the Junggar Basin stepped into an intracontinental depression developed stage due to the compression from the northwest and northeast (Cao et al., 2010; Sengör, 1990; Wu et al., 2005), making the formation and reactivation of the internal structure of the basin (Allen and Vincent, 1997; Wu et al., 2013; Yu et al., 2016). This conclusion can be testified by the distribution of sedimentation (Figure 8). Large area of fan delta was developed along the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin from Permian to Jurassic, implying the activities of mountains were continuous processes. From the Neogene to the Quaternary, a rejuvenated foreland basin developed in the Junggar area, and this stage is affected by the collision between the India Ocean Plate and the Eurasian plate (Cao et al., 2005a; Chen et al., 2005; Wu et al., 2005), with the deposition center shift to the front of Tianshan Mountain (Figure 7).

Figure 7.

The balanced cross section showing the evolution of the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin. The location of this section can be found in Figure 4.

Figure 8.

The distribution of fans from Permian to Jurassic in the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin (modified after Yu et al., 2007, the meaning of abbreviations of strata can be found in Figure 2). (a) Fan delta in Permian; (b) fan delta in Triassic; (c) fan delta in Jurassic.

Implications for the hydrocarbon accumulation

The roles of basin and range coupling process in hydrocarbon accumulation can be played in both time and space. Firstly, the special boundary between the mountains and basins controls the distribution of source rocks, sedimentary distribution, migration pathways in the hydrocarbon accumulation (Shen and Mei, 2007; Tan, et al., 2008). Different types of basin and range system will cause different distribution characteristics of hydrocarbon. The fault-block mountains bounded by normal faults and rift basin consist the basin and mountain system in the extensional environment, such as the Bohai Bay Basin in China (Li et al., 2010; Liu et al., 2014). In the contractional environment, the compressional orogeny belts and related basins consist of complex structural system. Based on the structural characteristics mentioned above, it can be seen that a foreland basin system develops in the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin (Figures 5 and 6). It is better known that the foreland basin contains four discrete depozones from the mountain to the basin, including the wedge-top, foredeep, forebulge, and back-bulge depozones (DeCelles and Giles, 1996). The coupling relationship between the mountain and basin makes the wedge-top a good exploration target in the hydrocarbon exploration. In the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin, the Ke-Xia and Hong-Che fault zones act as the trust fault system of the wedge-top and main discoveries of oil and gas are gathered in this area (Liu et al., 2019; Sui, 2015; Xiao et al., 2015). Due to the strongest activities of boundary faults, the deep Mahu Depression were generated in the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian and deposit deep-water facies mudstones in the Fengcheng and Wuerhe formations of Permian. Exploration testified that the thickness of widely distributed source rocks in this area reaches thousands of meters (Chang et al., 2019; Chen et al., 2016; Hu et al., 2018). These source rocks will provide abundant oil and gas source for the potential traps. The high-resolution seismic data suggest that the thrust faults are the dominant developed fault types in this area (Figures 5 and 6). They developed under the influence of the coupling process of the Zaire-Hala'alate mountain and Junggar Basin, forming obvious fault belts along the mountains. Combined with the widely developed unconformities of the area, these faults and unconformities consist complex migration pathways for the hydrocarbon fluids (Cao et al., 2006; Qu et al., 2007; Wu et al., 2015).

Secondly, the coupling processes of the basin and range systems usually endure multi-stage of tectonic movements, which can help in the formation, migration, accumulation, and redistribution of hydrocarbon resources. As mentioned above, the current studies about the basement of the Junggar Basin suggested that the basement of the basin was possibly assembled by a series of blocks (Figure 3). The relative movement and interaction of these blocks formed the structural deformation of the whole basin (Li et al., 2015, 2017; Liu et al., 2019). Accompanied with these coupling processes, the sediments and sedimentary center of the basin will be changed, for example the fan deltas of the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin were changed in both the scale and distribution area from the Permian to the Jurassic (Figure 7). The shift of the depocenters of the basin will change the hydrocarbon source center. Therefore, the hydrocarbon system will also be changed with the coupling process of basin and range system. According to the exploration, the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin developed three large and 11 regional unconformities (Figure 2). These unconformities are strong proofs for multi-stage of basin and range coupling processes, and they also can play key roles in the hydrocarbon migration (Chen et al., 2000; Wu et al., 2003). Besides, the petrological studies and fluid inclusions testified that there were multiple-stage of fluid activities in the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin, accompanied with different stages of hydrocarbon migration (Cao et al., 2005b; Liu et al., 2017). That means the multiple stages of coupling processes made the reactivation of faults in this area and prompted the migration of hydrocarbon fluids.

Conclusion

Much of debate exists in the nature of basement of Junggar Basin. The relatively stable gravity and magnetic anomalies in the basin imply the basement of the Junggar Basin may be assembled by different blocks.

Detailed seismic interpretation of Ke-Xia and Hong-Che faults reflects that the imbricate thrust fault system is dominant structures in the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin.

The internal structures of basin and adjacent mountains are quite different, generating obvious boundaries between foreland basins and mountains. Basin and range systems highly controlled the distribution of sediments and hydrocarbon resources both in space and time in the northwestern margin of the Junggar Basin.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to the Xinjiang Oilfield Company (PetroChina) for providing the geophysical data. We thank the editors and two anonymous reviewers for the constructive comments.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research is jointly supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41702138, 41702198), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (18CX02012A, 17CX02001A), and the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. XDA14010301) and Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation, China (ZR2017BD008).

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