The Deep Structure of the Proterozoic Complex of the Sedimentary Cover of the East European Platform: Oil and Gas Potential

Abstract

The article considers the features of the geological structure and formation of the sedimentary Proterozoic complex. It is shown that the Upper Precambrian deposits on ancient platforms are thick, have similar sedimentation conditions, and are characterized by the presence of oil and gas source strata with high generation potential and the presence of large deposits. The authors scrutinized the main trends and identified the regularities of the geological structure of the Riphean‒Vendian complex of the European part of Russia. Riphean‒Vendian sedimentary deposits are widespread on the East European Platform and fill extensive rift-aulacogen depressions. The largest depressions are the Kamsko-Belsky trough, which is the main zone of Riphean sedimentation in the Volga‒Ural oil and gas province (OGP), the Vychegodsky trough in the Mezen syneclise, and the Pachelma and Central Russian aulacogenes in the Moscow syneclise. The authors performed mathematical processing of materials on the geological structure of the basement surface and Riphean‒Vendian deposits of the Volga‒Ural oil and gas province, which made it possible to establish statistically significant relationships with the ancient basement and regularities in the structure of sedimentary strata. On the territory of the European part of Russia in the Riphean‒Vendian deposits, industrial and non-industrial oil inflows, oil and gas occurrences of various intensity were recorded at various stratigraphic levels, have been established.