Abstract: The Uteland Butte Member is a representative lacustrine shale oil play within the Green River Formation of the Uinta Basin, USA. Since 2011, exploration and development of the Uteland Butte Member have undergone two significant shifts: from conventional targets to overpressured shale reservoirs in the lacustrine basin center, and from conventional drilling to horizontal wells combined with volumetric fracturing. These transitions led to a major breakthrough in economic development, with single-well estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) reaching hundreds of thousands of barrels over the last decade. This high-efficiency development challenged traditional perceptions and has become a crucial case study for continental shale oil exploration worldwide.This study systematically reviews the exploration and development breakthroughs in the continental shale oil of the Uteland Butte Member in the Uinta Basin, USA. It specifically analyzes its geological characteristics, enrichment control mechanisms, and engineering evolution pathways. The results indicate that the high-efficiency enrichment of this member is a synergistic outcome of multiple factors, including deposition, hydrocarbon generation, overpressure, and complex pore structures. The coupling between the “source-reservoir integration” complex pore structure and the abnormal overpressure system is particularly critical. In terms of engineering technology, the play evolved from early vertical wells with simple fracturing to horizontal wells and “rack-style” three-dimensional development. This led to the establishment of a comprehensive, integrated technical system for “sweet spot evaluation—well-pattern optimization—staged fracturing.” The “rack-style” development model accurately and synergistically taps into multiple vertically stacked thin-bed sweet spots using a three-dimensional well pattern, providing a crucial reference for developing similar “thin interbedded, highly heterogeneous” continental shale oil plays in China. Based on these findings, this paper conducts a differentiated comparative analysis for typical Chinese continental shale oil basins, including Junggar (Jimsar), Jiyang, and Songliao. We found significant differences between these Chinese basins and the Uinta Basin in aspects such as lithology, formation pressure, and in-situ stress. Therefore, we propose a strategy of “tailored and differentiated reference,” offering specific technical and geological recommendations applicable to each basin. This paper aims to distill the core drivers of multi-factor synergy for reservoir formation and, by addressing the unique geological challenges of different Chinese basins, propose a differentiated reference strategy to provide a systematic framework for achieving economic development.

Key words: “Wine-rack style” development model; economic optimization; Green River Formation; mixed lithological system; continental shale oil; Uinta Basin