Exploration history and petroleum systems of the South Sea of Korea: Recent advances and perspectives

초록

The South Sea Shelf Basin has experienced a prolonged exploration hiatus and remain constrained by limited subsurface datasets, leading to persistent uncertainties regarding subsurface geological structures and hydrocarbon prospectivity. In contrast, the adjacent Xihu Basin, which forms part of the East China Sea Basin system, has well-established petroleum systems, with numerous oil and gas fields developed mainly within the Western Slope Belt and the Central Anticline Belt. In this study, we reassess the petroleum system and exploration potential of the South Sea Shelf Basin through an integrated analysis of regional exploration history and recent geological and geophysical studies, with particular emphasis on high-resolution interpretation of newly acquired 3D seismic data from the northern Jeju Basin. The seismic interpretation reveals that the distribution of Eocene-Oligocene sand bodies and the characteristics of fault development in the Jeju Basin exhibit strong similarities to those of the Western Slope Belt in the Xihu Basin. These observations suggest that the Western Slope Belt of the Jeju Basin may represent a previously underexplored yet promising exploration target, and they further highlight the need to re-evaluate existing exploration concepts across the South Sea of Korea. In addition, recent studies incorporating refined analyses of source rocks, reservoirs, and seal characteristics, as well as machine learning-based expansion and enhancement of legacy exploration datasets, progressively indicate the potential for a functioning petroleum system in the South Sea Shelf Basin. Although the currently available data are insufficient to confirm the presence of commercial hydrocarbon accumulations, the integrated geological and geophysical results substantially reduce exploration uncertainty and provide a more robust framework for future evaluations. With the acquisition of additional 3D seismic data and exploratory drilling, combined with continued multidisciplinary research, future efforts are expected to contribute not only to hydrocarbon exploration but also to broader national initiatives, including marine territorial management and the assessment of offshore CO2 storage potential.

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