Course and Review of Nine-Year Petroleum Exploration in the Tarim Basin

The discovery of Tazhong-4 Oilfield, the first prolifc oilfield found in hinterland of Tarim Desert, shows that the two devolution of exploration orientation in Tarim area is right and effective, and comprehensive geological study played significant role on forwarding guidance and precise prediction. However, the water flooding occurred in the lower part of Donghe sandstone reservoir in Tazhong-4 oilfield was very out of geologists' expectation. It indicates that human observation is always behind reality, but always gradually toward reality. It also reflected the complicity and difficulty of oil/gas exploration in the Tarim Basin.