This article reviews the arduous and tortuous course of oil and gas exploration in Qaidam basin from 1954 to now, which has obvious stages and complexity. From the 1950s to 1960s limited by technological means, the exploration in the basin focused on surface geological survey and exploration in the shallow strata, and more than ten oil fields such as Lenghu were discovered in shallow strata. From the 1970s to 1980s, simulated seismic exploration was carried out on a large scale, and the technology progress promoted the exploration toward the middle-deep layers and eastern part of the basin. During which, not only the Gasikule oilfield was discovered with the oil reserves of 100 million tons, but the prelude of exploring large gas fields was opened in the eastern part of the basin. In the 1990s, the exploration encountered a bottleneck, so deepening geological research and fine evaluation were performed to increase reserves and production. Entering the 21st century, the exploration has been developing in multiple domains and multiple types, and the theory and technology of oil and gas exploration and development have been advanced for the saline lacustrine basin in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and sustainable breakthroughs in oil and gas exploration and rapid growth in reserves have been achieved. The whole exploration process can be divided into four stages: discovery in shallow strata, breakthrough in deep strata, persistent exploration and rapid development. The paper analyzes 5 successful cases of oil and gas field exploration, which can prove the guiding significance of the innovation of scientific and technical theories, the update of exploration ideas and the progress of exploration technology to the exploration breakthrough. Taking history as a mirror, we hope to give enlightenment to future petroleum exploration and development.
