Architecture and evolution of the Cenozoic offshore Bohai Bay basin, eastern China

•The Cenozoic OBBB has similar graben-horst configurations as in many rift basins.•Different subbasins in the OBBB have different timing and stratigraphic fill.•The Cenozoic evolution of the OBBB involve rifting and thermal subsidence stages.•Basement fabrics and Tanlu fault zone affect architecture and evolution of the OBBB.