Timan–Pechora Composite Tectono-Sedimentary Element, Northwestern Russia

Abstract

Abstract The Timan–Pechora Composite Tectono-Sedimentary Element (CTSE) represents a significant part of the Timan–Pechora petroleum province, which is the second largest in the Circum-Arctic. It contains as much as up to 10 km of Paleozoic and Mesozoic strata hosting the excellent hydrocarbon source rock, the Domanik Formation, and a variety of hydrocarbon plays prolific for both oil and natural gas. The complex tectonic structure of the CTSE formed as result of several tectonic phases: two extensional events, post-rift thermal sag in a passive-margin setting, and a series of late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic compressional events. The latter modified the extensional fabric, and led to the formation of a number of inverted swells and smaller anticlinal structures providing the major trapping capacities. The deposition of source and reservoir facies occurred during the extensional tectonic phases, while the main reservoir-prone sedimentary units were deposited during late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic orogenic phases.