Genesis of the West Siberian Basin and its Petroleum Geology: A Recent Interpretation

Abstract

A prominent Western specialist on the geology of the oil and gas deposits of Russia provides an interpretation of the genesis of the West Siberian basin, relying, in part, on most recent Russian studies as well as information made available in 1994 evaluating the reserves of Russia's most important producing province. From Late Carboniferous through Middle Jurassic time, the region of West Siberia passed through orogenic, rift, and early platform stages. A domal high was present in the region during the orogenic stage, arising from cratonization of the Ural-Mongolian fold belt. Early Triassic rifting was part of a global rifting event and was a precursor to the subsequent crustal sagging that produced the West Siberian basin. The Early-Middle Jurassic was a time of cyclical marine and continental deposition, the sea moving back and forth from the north. The Talinskoye oil field occurs in Lower-Middle Jurassic sandstones that have the form of a river channel that extends more than 200 km. The Priobskoye fi...