Abstract: As one of the most representative petroliferous basins worldwide with the development of ancient petroleum systems, the Ediacaran-Cambrian petroleum systems in the northern Oman Basin has typical geological features of complex tectonics in deep strata. This results in the difficulty of oil and gas exploration. Based on the study of the petroleum geology characteristics (including source rocks, oil-source correlation, structural traps, etc), combined with addressing global paleo-tectonic background during the Late Neoproterozoic-Early Paleozoic and sedimentary patterns of the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition period, this study analyzed the exploration potential and risk of the regional petroleum systems in the northern Oman Basin. Results showed that the subduction and aggregation of the South China Block (distant from the Proto-Tethys Ocean) towards to the northern edge of the Gondwana Continent in the Early Paleozoic caused the Oman (Arabia) Basin and the Sichuan (Upper Yangtze) Basin share similar tectonic and sedimentary features during the Ediacaran (Sinian)-Cambrian. The interpretation of the deep seismic profiles revealed a typical extensional structure in the Early Cambrian northern Oman Basin, temporarily termed as “North Oman intracratonic sag”. The paleogeomorphic highlands on both sides of the intracratonic sag develop potentially high-quality dolomite reservoirs, e.g., the Buah and Birba formations. The formation of intracratonic sag is conducive to the deposition of highquality source rocks such as the U/Athel and Dhahaban formations. Petroleum geology evaluation of deep strata indicated that the low assemblage of the northern Oman Basin (Block 5) has good oil and gas exploration prospects.

Key words: Northern Oman Basin, Edicaran-Cambrian petroleum systems, Paleo-tectonic framework, Extensional structure
background, Petroleum geology characteristics