Particularity and Diversity of the Foreland Basins in the Central and Western China and the Natural Gas Exploration in the Foreland Basins

This paper systematically summarizes the evolution features and distinctiveness of the foreland basins in the central and western China through the all-around analysis of the structural characters, tectonic settings, and geophysical data of the typical foreland basins. It is pointed out that the aggregation and collision of the numerous diverse micro-cratons is the dynamic genesis of the foreland basin group in the central and western China, which also caused the diversity and particularity of these foreland basins. These foreland basins comprise the Hercynian-Indosinian foreland basins and the Himalayan rejuvenated foreland basins, which can also be subdivided into three types: the Hercynian-Indosinian peripheral foreland basins, the Hercynian-Indosinian back-arc foreland basins and the Himalayan rejuvenated foreland basins. According to the basin construction and evolution, these foreland basins can be grouped into four assemblages: the superimposed, the reconstructed, the presenile and the regenerated. In the end, this paper presents five dominant effects to the migration and congregation of oil and gas in the foreland basins of different types.