Abstract:
With the continuous growth of global energy demand, deep and ultra-deep oil and gas exploration and development have become key areas in the oil and gas industry. The Kuqa Depression in the Tarim Basin, China, is rich in deep and ultra-deep oil and gas resources, but it is affected by intense tectonic compression, leading to complex structural styles and significant variations in in-situ stress distribution, posing major challenges to oil and gas exploration and development. This study aims to clarify the structural deformation patterns and their main controlling factors in the Kelasu tectonic belt, reveal how structure and stress coupling influences hydrocarbon accumulation, optimize strategies for deep and ultra-deep exploration, and improve development efficiency. Taking the Kelasu tectonic belt in the Kuqa Depression, Tarim Basin as the research object, this study explored the characteristics of structural styles, influencing factors, and in-situ stress response characteristics in different segments through structural profile analysis and numerical simulation. The results showed that there were significant differences in structural styles and in-situ stress distribution among different segments of the Kelasu tectonic belt. The western Awate segment developed a "double-layer" thrust-nappe structure under intense compression, exhibiting strong compressional characteristics with high stress values at both ends of the high-angle faults. The eastern Keshen segment was dominated by pop-up and imbricate thrust structures, exhibiting a stress concentration pattern indicative of significant fault slip, with stress concentrated at the tops of faults and the bases of pop-up structures. The Bozi-Dabei segment was characterized by broad and gentle synclines in suprasalt structures, with well-developed salt welds and widely distributed subsalt pop-up structures, accompanied by localized stress concentration. Based on dynamic numerical simulations, a quantitative analysis was conducted on influencing factors, including fault friction coefficient, shortening amount, and fault dip angle. It is concluded that shortening amount and fault dip angle are the main controlling factors causing differences in structural styles and current in-situ stress distribution.