Oil and gas potential and modern seismicity of the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea

Abstract

Hydrocarbon deposits of the Republic of Azerbaijan are located in the South-Caspian oil and gas basin, on the territory of the Absheron Peninsula and the adjacent waters of the Caspian Sea. There are more than 80 oil and gas fields here. For this purpose, this article presents the geological structure of the South Caspian Depression, as well as the Apsheron-Pribalkhansk zone. Conducted analysis of oil and gas reserves and modern seismicity of the Caspian Sea. Increase in recoverable oil reserves, stabilization of mining at this stage — the task number is one for the oil field. It has been established that in recent years the level of seismic activity in certain areas of the Caspian Sea has risen, and the amount of seismic energy released in the Central Caspian Sea has increased by several dozen times. Distribution of density of epicenters in the whole alpine part of the region carries a weakly expressed wave character, which is represented by an alternation of differentiated zones of elevated and lowered concentration of epicenters. Zones have a predominantly north-western, submeridional and subshirot space. To determine the regularity of the distribution of hypocenter centers in the region, a diagram of the dependence of the number of earthquakes on the depths was built. In the waters of the Caspian Sea, 90 % of the hypocenters are located at a depth of more than 35 km. Together with them meet and close surface earthquakes. It was assumed that the change in the flow of oil in many seabed areas of the northern part of the Absheron-Balkhan storage system is associated with strong (ml>3.0) earthquakes of characteristic type. Besides, there was a schematic model, which characterizes the formation of oil and gas fields in the structures, caused by the stress on the local area. The formation of the zone of localization of oil is associated with the accumulation of stresses in the local geodynamic fields and the formation of cracked media, although in such areas there is a gap, the probability of migration of hydrocarbons and hydrocarbons. On the basis of the above, it is possible to assume that there is a definite regularity between the oil and gas fields and seismicity in one and the same interval.