Recent fieldwork has enhanced the knowledge of the regional distribution of pre-Tertiary sediments and their petroleum potential. The Permian section is probably the best target for petroleum exploration. However, pre-Tertiary rocks will probably be gas prone, thus making them longer-term future...

All oil and gas fields in the South China and bordering seas are producing from Tertiary strata. Very little prospecting has been conducted on older stratae. The first works of CCOP were oriented towards a better knowledge of the Tertiary, and prompted the development of prospecting activities...