The Genesis of a Thin-Bedded Beach-Bar System Under the Strike-Slip Extensional Tectonic Framework: A Case Study in the Bohai Bay Basin
Source abstract
Abstract
The lower sub-member of Member 2, Dongying Formation (Paleogene) in the HHK Depression hosts an extensively developed thin-bedded beach-bar system characterized by favorable source rock conditions and reservoir properties, indicating significant hydrocarbon exploration potential. Integrating drilling cores, wireline log interpretations, three-dimensional seismic data, geochemical analyses, and palynological data, this study investigates the sedimentary characteristics, sandbody distribution patterns, controlling factors, and genetic model of this lacustrine beach-bar system. Results reveal the following: (1) widespread thin-bedded beach-bar sandbodies dominated by fine-grained sandstones and siltstones, exhibiting wave ripples and low-angle cross-bedding; (2) two vertical stacking patterns, Type A, thick mudstone intervals intercalated with laterally continuous thin sandstone layers, and Type B, composite sandstones comprising thick sandstone units overlain by thin sandstone beds, both demonstrating significant lateral continuity; (3) three identified microfacies: bar-core, beach-core, and beach-margin facies; (4) key controls on sandbody development: paleoenvironmental evolution establishing the depositional framework, secondary fluctuations modulating depositional processes, strike-slip extensional tectonics governing structural zonation, paleobathymetry variations and paleotopography controlling distribution loci, and provenance clastic influx regulating scale and enrichment (confirmed by detrital zircon U-Pb dating documenting a dual provenance system). Collectively, these findings establish a sedimentary model for a thin-bedded beach-bar system under the strike-slip extensional tectonic framework.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Geological formations and processes · Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis · Geological and Geophysical Studies
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
School of Geosciences, Yangtze University, Wuhan 430100, China
Changqing Division, China Petroleum Logging Co., Ltd., Xi’an 710021, China
China United Coalbed Methane Corporation, Ltd., Beijing 100016, China
PetroChina Tuha Oilfield Company, Hami 839009, China
Funding
National Key Technologies R & D Program of China · The National Natural Science Foundation of China
References (51)
Show source-provided references
1. Development of sedimentary geology of petroliferous basins in China10.1016/S1876-3804(16)30107-0 ↗
2. A depositional model for offshore deposits of the lower Blue Gate Member, Mancos Shale, Uinta Basin, Utah, USA10.1111/sed.12359 ↗
3. New fields and resource potential of tight oil and gas and shale oil exploration in the Bohai Sea area
4. Depositional process and sediment dispersal pattern of mass transport complex on a slope with numerous elliptical depressions, northwestern South China Sea10.1016/j.sedgeo.2024.106676 ↗
5. Sandbody Genesis and Hydrocarbon Accumulation Mechanism of Beach Bar Reservoir in Faulted Lacustrine Basins: A Case Study from the Upper of the Fourth Member of Shahejie Formation, Dongying Sag
6. Provenance of the Numidian Formation deposits (Oligo–Miocene) in northern Algeria: Insights from sandstone petrography, palaeocurrent data, geochemistry, and zircon geochronology10.1016/j.sedgeo.2025.106808 ↗
7. Spatial configuration of sand and mud in the lacustrine nearshore sand bar deposits and its geological implications10.1016/S1876-3804(19)60252-1 ↗
8. Fluvial reservoir characterization through channel belt dimension and petrophysical analysis10.1016/j.petsci.2022.09.032 ↗
9. Influence of structural characteristics on oil and gas distribution in block A of the Muglad Basin
10. Tectono-sedimentary evolution of the Sinian in the Northwest Tarim Basin
11. Geochemistry of a paleosol horizon at the base of the Sausar Group, central India: Implications on atmospheric conditions at the Archean–Paleoproterozoic boundary10.1016/j.gsf.2015.10.002 ↗
12. Formation Mechanism of the Thick Layer Lacustrine beach-bar and Its Geological Implications:An Example of the 2nd Member of the Shahejie Formation in Banqiao Sag
13. Sedimentary regularities, main controlling factors, and hydrocarbon exploration potential of the beach-bars of the Member 2 of Paleogene Shahejie Formation in Zhanhua sag, Bohai Bay Basin
14. Sedimentary characteristics of mixed source fine–grained gravity–flow and its significance for shale oil exploration in a lacustrine depression basin: A case study of the Chang 73 Sub-member of the Triassic Yanchang Formation in Ordos Basin, NW China10.1016/j.sedgeo.2024.106629 ↗
15. Architectural characteristics, evolutionary stages, and sedimentary models of clastic beach bars10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2022.105976 ↗
16. Sedimentary characteristics of large-scale lacustrine beach-bars and their formation in the Eocene Boxing Sag of Bohai Bay Basin, East China10.1111/j.1365-3091.2010.01196.x ↗
17. Sag, offshore Bohai Bay Basin and its control on beach-bar sands
18. Sedimentary characteristics and seismic sedimentologic responses of beach-bar deposits in a downfaulted lacustrine basin: A case study of Es1 in the Palaeogene Baxian Sag, Bohai Bay Basin
19. Characteristics and Sedimentary Models of Sheet Sand in Shallow Lacustrine Fluvial–dominated Delta Front: A case study from lower member of Minghuazhen Formation in BZ34 area, Huanghekou Sag
20. Sandstone Distribution and Reservoir Characteristics of Shahejie Formation in Huangheko Sag, Bohai Bay Basin
21. LA–ICP–MS U–Pb Age, Clumped and Stable Isotope Constraints on the Origin of Middle Permian Coarse–Crystalline Dolomite Reservoirs in Northwest Sichuan Basin, Southwest China10.1111/1755-6724.14574 ↗
22. Recycling effects in detrital zircon U–Pb signatures in a foreland basin: Identifying the multicyclic sediment sources of the Eocene–Miocene Jaca basin (southern Pyrenees, Spain)10.1016/j.sedgeo.2023.106500 ↗
23. Structural Characteristics of Tan–Lu Fault Zone in South Area of Bohai Sea and Its Control on Basin Structure
24. Sedimentary aspects and paleoenvironmental evolution of a rift basin: Salta Group (Cretaceous–Paleogene), northwestern Argentina10.1007/s00531-004-0443-2 ↗
25. Unconventional distribution of facies in a continental rift basin: The Pliocene–Pleistocene Mangas Basin, south–western New Mexico, USA10.1111/j.1365-3091.2005.00735.x ↗
26. Sequence architecture, depositional evolution and responses to tectonic subsidence and lacustrine fluctuation in lacustrine rift basin: A case study from Cenozoic Liaodong Bay, Bohai Bay Basin10.1016/j.petrol.2021.109494 ↗
27. Structural controls on facies distribution in a small half-graben basin: Luanping basin, northeast China10.1111/j.1365-2117.2009.00417.x ↗
28. Provenance studies and basin evolution: Insight from the Yukon–Koyukuk Basin, Alaska10.1111/sed.13248 ↗
29. Quantitative evaluation of morphological characteristics of thin sand body: Taking the deltaic distributary channel sand body as an example in Shengtuo oil field of Dongying Depression, east of Bohai Bay Basin10.1016/j.petrol.2021.108749 ↗
30. Geochemical approach for decoding the paleoenvironmental and depositional evolution of a coastal lacustrine Konservat-Lagerstätte (Early Cretaceous, south-Central Pyrenees)10.1016/j.sedgeo.2023.106440 ↗
31. Increased sediment connectivity between deltas and deep-water fans in closed lake basins: A case study from Bozhong Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, China10.1016/j.sedgeo.2023.106561 ↗
32. New insight into East Asian tectonism since the late Mesozoic inferred from erratic inversions of NW-trending faulting within the Bohai Bay Basin10.1016/j.gr.2020.01.022 ↗
33. Cenozoic Episodic Subsidence in the Middle and North Part of Huanghua Depression, Bohai Bay Basin
34. Late Neogene vegetation, climate, and lake evolution in the Taiyuan Basin of China based on palynological analysis10.1016/j.palaeo.2024.112675 ↗
35. Sedimentology and sequence stratigraphy of fan–delta and river–delta deposystems, Pennsylvanian Minturn Formation, Colorado10.1306/03110300127 ↗
36. New model of linkage evolution for the transtensional fault systems in the Nanpu Sag of Bohai Bay Basin: Insight from seismic interpretation and analogue modelling10.1016/j.petsci.2024.02.017 ↗
37. (2023). China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation & Shengli Oilfield Branch Exploration and Development Research Institute of Sinopec. An Integrated Quantitative Restoration Method for Paleobathymetry in Lacustrine Basins. (CN114624775B), Invention Patent.
38. Wind-driven hydrodynamic and depositional patterns in shallow lakes: An exploratory modelling approach based on an archetypal case of Lake Hulun10.1111/sed.13265 ↗
39. Wang, Z., Lin, X., Zhu, S., Fan, J., and Zheng, Y. (2023). Coupling Relationships between Sedimentary Microfacies, Sand Bodies, and Tectonic Fracture Characteristics in Braided River Deltas: A Case Study of the Bashijiqike Formation in the Keshen 2 Area. Minerals, 13.10.3390/min13081020 ↗
40. Genetic types and sedimentary model of sandbodies in a shallow–water delta: A case study of the first Member of Cretaceous Yaojia Formation in Qian’an area, south of Songliao Basin, NE China10.1016/S1876-3804(17)30087-3 ↗
41. Neocene Palaeontlogical Characteristics and Its Paleoenvironment Significance During the Withering Period of the Lacustrine Basin in the Southeastern BOHAI Sea, North CHINA
42. Salinized lacustrine organic–rich shale influenced by marine incursions: Algal-microbial community, paleoenvironment and shale oil potential in the Paleogene Biyang Depression, East China10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110621 ↗
43. Wang, J., Guan, D., Huang, X., He, Y., Li, H., Xu, W., Liu, R., and Feng, B. (2025). Integrated SOM Multi–Attribute Optimization and Seismic Waveform Inversion for Thin Sand Body Characterization: A Case Study of the Paleogene Lower E3d2 Sub–Member in the HHK Depression, Bohai Bay Basin. Appl. Sci., 15.10.3390/app15095134 ↗
44. Provenance discrimination of fine sediments by mid-infrared spectroscopy: Calibration and application to fluvial palaeo-environmental reconstruction10.1111/sed.12678 ↗
45. New Models for Submarine Channel Deposits on Structurally Complex Slopes: Examples from the Niger Delta System10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2021.105040 ↗
46. Topset-dominated deltas: A new model for river delta stratigraphy10.1130/G32358.1 ↗
47. Depositional and sequence stratigraphic controls on diagenesis in the Upper Cambrian-Lower Ordovician Barik Formation, central Oman: Implications for prediction of reservoir porosity in a hybrid-energy delta system10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2023.106611 ↗
48. Variscan post–collisional cooling and uplift of the Tatra Mountains crystalline block constrained by integrated zircon, apatite and titanite LA-(MC)-ICP-MS U-Pb dating and rare earth element analyses10.1016/j.chemgeo.2018.03.012 ↗
49. The Upper Neoproterozoic lacustrine–fan delta depositional systems associated with braided alluvial fans in the Nubian Shield, Egypt10.1016/j.sedgeo.2023.106426 ↗
50. Sequence stratigraphy in continental endorheic basins: New contributions from the case of the northern extensional Teruel Basin10.1016/j.sedgeo.2025.106868 ↗
51. Fine characterization and lithologic trap distribution patterns of delta-beach-bar sedimentary system under high-precision sequence constraints: A case study of the upper submember of the 4th member of the Shahejie Formation in the eastern segment of the southern gentle slope of Dongying Sag, Jiyang Depression, Bohai Bay Basin