Paleobasins – a new concept of modeling the history of geological development and oil and gas bearing of regions

Abstract

“Paleobasin” is an area of long-term and steady subsidence of the Earth’s crust at a certain stage of geological development in the past, during which a body of sedimentary rocks of a mega-regional scale is formed, subsequently subjected to the influence of various kinds of geological processes leading to a reduction in its size, as well as changes in geometry and structure. Paleobasin is not a new concept. However, for petroleum, historical analysis was used only for those sedimentary strata that were not metamorphosed or collapsed into folds. As a result, the side zones of the basins and deep horizons were excluded from the basin modeling. The proposed approach to the analysis of paleobasins, regardless of the degree of their subsequent transformation, makes it possible to assess the petroleum potential of past eras, both primary and residual, especially in those zones and horizons that were previously derived from a general consideration of the prospects for finding oil and gas. The article shows the need for an integrated historical approach to the analysis of the oil and gas potential of the territory, both at the basin level and at the local level, including sedimentary strata and strata, which are often referred to as the “acoustic foundation”. Unfortunately, very often when modeling a promising object and assessing its resources or reserves, some of these attributes are taken for the type of work already done and do not adapt to a single model of oil and gas deposits, which reduces the reliability of the final result.