Petroleum geology of the southern Pre-Uralian Foredeep with reference to the northeastern Pre-Caspian Basin
- Boise State Univ., ID (United States)
- All-Russian Geological Research Institute, St. Petersburg (Russian Federation)
The southern Pre-Uralian Foredeep and the northeastern Pre-Caspian Basin of southern Russia and Kazakhstan are at the juncture of two major oil-producing regions, the Volga-Ural Basin and the new fields of the Northern Caspian Basin (e.g., Tengiz). The southern Pre-Uralian Foredeep has produced little oil; nevertheless, the Permian-Carboniferous stratigraphy and the general fold-thrust structure of the Pre-Uralian Foredeep, and adjacent Pre-Caspian Basin, afford the possibility for classic and largely untested sub-salt and sub-thrust plays. Prior to the onset of Uralian orogenic activity, Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous rifting disrupted the East European continent, forming a series of rift basins including the Kama-Kinel troughs and the Pre-Caspian Basin. The Middle Carbiniferous to Early-Middle Triassic Uralian Orogenic Belt consists of a complicated series of lower Paleozoic continental margin sequences, basement nappes, and accreted terranes, structurally interleaved via large-scale folding and thrusting. The orogen formed as a result of a progressive series of collisions between the East European continent and microcontinental plates and island arcs (the Tagil-Magnitogorsk and Eastern Uralian megazones), and the Kazakhstan and Siberian continents. N-S and W-E divisions of the Uralian Orogenic Belt and Pre-Uralian Foredeep reflect the basic tectonic structure of the orogen. The foredeep developed as a series of regional depressions with up to fourth-order sub-basins. This complex paleogeography also suggests that application of a simple {open_quotes}balanced cross-section{close_quotes} methodology could lead to erroneous results. Also unresolved are the paleogeographic, stratigraphic, and structural relationships between the Pre-Caspian Basin and the Pre-Uralian Foredeep. 41 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.
- OSTI ID:
- 56908
- Journal Information:
- International Geology Review, Journal Name: International Geology Review Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 36; ISSN IGREAP; ISSN 0020-6814
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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