Sequence stratigraphic characteristics and geological significance of the Permian Qixia Stage in northwestern Sichuan Basin

Based on outcrops, drilling, cores, and logging data, the Liangshan Formation and Qixia Formation in the northwestern Sichuan region are analyzed using the theory and method of sequence stratigraphy. Three third-order sequence boundaries are identified, including the basal boundary of Liangshan Formation (type Ⅰ), the boundary between Qi 1 Member and Qi 2 Member (type Ⅱ), and the boundary between the Qixia Formation and the Maokou Formation (type Ⅰ). The Middle Permian Qixia Stage can be subdivided into two third-order sequences (from base to top: SQ1 and SQ2). The SQ1 sequence corresponds to the Liangshan Formation and the Qi 1 Member, and the SQ2 sequence corresponds to the Qi 2 Member. Based on the sequence stratigraphic framework reconstruction of the Qixia Stage, the sedimentary filling pattern of the “onlapping at the base and truncation at the top” is discovered. The contour maps of SQ1 and SQ2 sequence stratigraphic thickness are calculated and plotted. Combined with the stratigraphic filling pattern, the tectonic-palaeogeographical framework of the early SQ1 and SQ2 phases of the Qixia Stage, their geological significance is discussed. At the Qixia Stage, the differentiation between uplift and depression occurs in the northwest and northeast trends. The Hannan uplift, the northern Sichuan uplift, the northern margin uplift and the Guangyuan-Wangcang sag have controlled the sedimentary pattern in the study area. It is indicated that prototype of the Guangyuan-Wangcang Trough began in the Middle Permian Qixia Stage. In the study area, the karst cave-type dolostone reservoir and the karst-type limestone reservoir around the Guangyuan-Wangcang sag rim are favorable exploration areas.