Objectives The complex tectonic characteristics of South China present significant challenges and risks for hydrocarbon exploration, necessitating exploration of breakthrough pathways in structurally complex areas. This study aims to analyze the petroleum oil and gas conditions of the Jiangnan−Xuefeng orogenic belt and identify new exploration directions in this region.

Methods By integrating surface structural mapping, geophysical surveys, drilling data, and geological analyses of paleo−reservoirs and residual oil and gas accumulations, we systematically evaluated key elements including source rocks, reservoirs, cap rocks, and tectonic evolution.

Results (1) Buried marine Mesozoic−Paleozoic "shadow basins" may exist beneath the thrust nappes of the Jiangnan−Xuefeng orogenic belt; (2) Thrust structures, while disrupting some oil and gas accumulations, effectively seal underlying formations to prevent hydrocarbon escape; (3) Oil and gas are primarily sourced from three sets of high−quality Paleozoic source rocks, with final accumulation occurring during the Late Yanshanian phase, coinciding with the orogenic belt's structural stabilization; (4) Thrusting facilitates the development of regional unconformities, creating favorable reservoirs and structural traps, thereby establishing optimal spatiotemporal relationships among source−reservoir−cap systems for secondary oil and gas accumulation and promoting the formation of thrust−nappe−type oil and gas reservoirs.

Conclusions Based on these findings, we innovatively propose a "dual−exploration" approach targeting both conventional natural gas and shale gas within the Jiangnan−Xuefeng orogenic belt, breaking through traditional single−resource exploration models and establishing a new paradigm for integrated oil and gas resource exploration.