Abstract:

Keping Fault Uplift is located in the northwest margin of the Tarim Basin. Some Early Paleozoic fault structures remain uncharacterized due to the lack of 3D seismic imaging tecniques. In this study, we use the southern Keping area as a case study. The Early Paleozoic fault structures of the Keping Fault Uplift were systematically characterilized based on detailed interpretation of newly acquired 3D seismic data, focusing on geometry, kinematics, and dynamics. We found that the Early Paleozoic fault structures developed in the southern Keping area. The middle Cambrian salt rock acts as the slip surface, dividing the structures into two sets of tectonic deformation layers: the upper and lower salt layers. The pre-salt was predominantly affected by early basement deformation. The fault formed from the end of the Ordovician to the beginning of the Silurian and controlled the distribution of the early NW-trending anticlines. The upper salt layer was influenced by Himalayan tectonic movements, with the cap slip tectonic activity using the middle Cambrian salt rock as the detachment surface. Although the earlier formed anticlines were reformed, and original primary anticlines have been preserved. Primary traps located below the detachment plane of the middle Cambrian salt rock, which were not disrupted by later tectonic movements, are the most promising targets for further exploration.

Key words: Early Paleozoic, fault structure, later transformation, primary anticlines, Keping Fault-Uplift