The whole petroleum system: An emerging direction for petroleum geology and an innovative paradigm for oil and gas exploration

The newly established whole petroleum system (WPS) theory has attracted wide attention from both academic and industrial communities. Its related achievements have ranked among the Top 10 Scientific and Technological Advances of PetroChina and the Top 10 Landmark Achievements in China’s Oil and Gas Exploration and Development. Recognized as a major fundamental theoretical innovation in the industry, the WPS theory has prompted new directions for petroleum geology research in theory. Additionally, it provides effective solutions for predicting and evaluating hydrocarbon resources under complex geological conditions, improving the classic paradigms of “buoyancy-driven hydrocarbon migration and accumulation” and “trap-controlled hydrocarbon accumulation”. This WPS theory has several core connotations. First, it contributes to the unification of conventional and unconventional petroleum geology theories. Second, it reveals the mechanisms behind the joint hydrocarbon accumulation of the WPS and offers a unified genetic model and prediction method, laying scientific foundation for predicting and evaluating diverse oil and gas resources. Third, it summarized the hydrocarbon accumulation pattern of the WPS, along with a classification scheme and a quantitative evaluation system. The application of the WPS theory has led to significant achievements in exploration practices, while offering new directions for the evaluation and prediction of oil and gas resources. Currently, the theoretical framework of the WPS is still being constantly refined and developed. In its application to future hydrocarbon exploration practices, the major research directions include the formation, evolution, and distribution of hydrocarbon resources within a WPS, as well as their classification, mutual transformation, and symbiotic pattern. Besides, it is advisable to develop both new-generation basin simulation systems and key technologies for predicting and evaluating hydrocarbon resources based on the WPS theory. These efforts will provide effective guidance for hydrocarbon exploration under complex geological conditions, ultimately facilitating efficient exploration and exploitation of oil and gas resources.