The Regional Tectonic Characteristic Of Western Of South Asia And Its Implication For Hydrocarbon

The western of South Asia is located in the edge of the South Asian subcontinent. It covers two sedimentary basins of Makran basin and the Balochistan Basin. The Makran basin is a passive continental margin basin, and it is located in the Makran coast zone. The Balochistan Basin is foldbelt from continental subduction, and it is mostly located in western Pakistan, but also extending into southernmost Afghanistan and eastern Iran.The features of basic geology of two basins were firstly analyzed, including regional structural geology, stratigraphic development, distribution of sedimentary facies and evolution of the main characteristics of regional tectonic evolution and its control on strata and deposition. Main conclusions are as followings:1. Prior to the breakup of Gondwanaland, the Afghan Plate, on which the Balochistan Basin is situated, lay adjacent to the Arabian, Lut, and Indian plates.Several phases of compressional movementsin the Late Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene caused folding and reverse faulting of the sedimentary basin fill, and uplift and erosion of the arcs and other high blocks.Present-day architecture of the Makran accretionary prism results from the subduction of the Arabian sea ocean floor, composed of Lut plate,Arabian and Indian oceanic and stretched continental crusts.2.The Balochistan Basin and the Markram Basin are in the same tectonic environment since Paleocene. The dominant deformation is North-south compression, which is displayed as the east-west long axis and well developed thrust faults. During the Paleogene they have the same sedimentary environments and the similar sedimentary strata. In the Neogene period, the Baluchistan Basin was uplifted due to the north-south compression, and its sedimentary environment was changed from marine to terrestrial. the Baluchistan Basin was at the state of erosion for a long time during the Neogene, except the deposition developed in some small depressions.3.Based on the comparison of some research data from the Balochistan Basin and the Markram Basin, some interesting results were obtained. The results of this research indicate that the study of basin tectonic characteristics has a very important significance for the exploration and development of oil and gas. The petroleum geology of two basins indicates some similarities and differences, which are related to their tectonic settings. As the tectonic features has an important impact on the evolution of tectonic and the sedimentary, trap characteristics, and migration, this paper will conduct a detailed analysis of structural characteristics.