Abstract
Global experience in oil exploration and the discovery of the Tupi field in Brazil and the Tiber field in the Gulf of Mexico in the last decade have confirmed the existence of giant oil fields with abnormally high formation pressures at depths of 10 km or greater. Until recently, the discovery of large oil accumulations in deeply buried reservoirs was considered as theoretically impossible. This work suggests that giant oil accumulations at great depths (6–10 km) should be considered important hydrocarbon exploration targets in the Russian Federation and the Eurasian Union. The first-priority oil and gas exploration targets at great depths are deeply buried horizons of the sedimentary cover of the Precaspian basin, whose subsalt hydraulic system is characterized by ubiquitous abnormally high formation pressures. The deeply buried reservoirs in the Astrakhan oil and gas accumulation zone are considered the most promising for the discovery of giant oil accumulations. Data discussed below demonstrate that hydrocarbon exploration and the discovery of giant oil accumulations at great depths require specific exploration procedures and techniques.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study was supported by the RAS Presidium (Program no. 47 “Hydrocarbons from Deep Horizons in Mature Oil and Gas Producing Regions as a New Source of Energy Resources: Theoretical and Applied Aspects”), research supervisor Yu.A. Volozh, Dr. Sci. (Geol.-Mineral.) (Geological Institute, RAS, Moscow), and the State Assignment of GIN RAS (topic “Tectonosedimentary Systems: Structure and Evolution,” project no. 0135-2018-0034), research supervisor N.P. Chamov, Dr. Sci. (Geol.-Mineral.) (Geological Institute, RAS, Moscow).
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Reviewers: A.N. Ovsyuchenko and T.N. Kheraskova
Translated by E. Murashova
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Volozh, Y.A., Gogonenkov, G.N., Deliya, S.V. et al. Hydrocarbon Potential of Deeply Buried Reservoirs in the Astrakhan Oil and Gas Accumulation Zone: Problems and Solutions. Geotecton. 53, 299–318 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016852119030087
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016852119030087