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Petroliferous and PPBs of the Arctic Ocean and adjacent onshore areas, modified after (Bogoavlenskii et al., 2011). (1) Petroliferous basins: (WB) West Barents, (EB) East Barents, (TP) Timan-Pechora, (SK) South Kara, (YEKH) Yenisei-Khaa tanga, (NA) North Alaska, (BM) Beaufort-Mackenzie, (CV), Sverdrup, (WG-EC) West Greenland-East Canada; (2) Potenn tially PBs of the shelf: (NK) North Kara, (AL) Anabar-Laptev, (NS-NCH) New Siberian-North Chukotka, (SCH) South Chukotka, (EG) East Greenland; (3) underwater and island uplifts with hydrocarbonnbearing features; (4) PPBs of underwater ridges and depressions (UWRD), continental slope (CS), and Chukotka-Northwind (CHN); (5) wells.
Source publication
Criteria for defining petroleum source rocks (PSR) in the Arctic region are analyzed. Lithological composition of rocks, quantitative parameters of organic matter in them, biomarker composition of hydro-carbons, and carbon isotope compositions of bitumens and oils are given. Based on the synthesis of these materials, the formation conditions of org...
Contexts in source publication
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... the characteristic of PSRs is given for the following best studied petroliferous areas of the Cirr cummArctic belt: Norwegian, West Russian, and North American (Fig. ...
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... same is true of the Kimmeridgian sequence distributed through the most part of the East Barents PB, since it appears to be involved only locally into the upper part of the main oil generation zone in a small area of the depocenter in the South Barents depress sion. In the West and East Barents PBs, the main proven petroleum resource potential is confined to the TriassicJurassic rock complex (Bogoyavlenskii et al., 2011), which encloses the giant Shtokmanovskoe, large Ledovoe, Ludlovskoe, Luninskoe, and Murmanskoe fields, as well as the medium Snokhvit, Goliat, and other fields (Fig. 2). ...
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... the composition and ratios of biomarkers, the Upper Jurassic sediments in different basins of the West Russian sector demonstrate many features in common with sequences, which contain large volumes of planktonogenic OM (He et al., 2011). ...
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... North American petroliferous sector with the adjacent Chukotka-Beaufort shelf and Canada Arctic Archipelago is located in the CircummPolar Arctic west of the Greenwich meridian. It comprises the North Alaska (or North Slope of Alaska), Beaufort-Mackk enzie, and Sverdrup oil and gas basins with relatively well investigated source rocks and oils (Figs. 1, 3). In the two last basins, the Lower-Middle Paleozoic terr rigenous-carbonate section includes Ordovician-Sill urian graptolitic and Devonian clayey shales. ...
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... belt. Data on the structure of these shelves is known only from geophysical sounding, since no drilling works were carried out in these areas. The New Sibee rian-Chukotka, South Chukotka, and Laptev sedii mentary basins defined in the offshore part of the East Russian sector are considered as being potentially petroliferous basins (PPB in Fig. 1). At present, it is impossible to define correctly the position of PSRs in the sedimentary cover of these basins let alone unamm biguously estimate their hydrocarbonngenerating potential. In this work, their prediction is based on conditional correlation of the stratigraphic position of PSRs defined in the neighboring shelf, onshore ...
Citations
... The Barents Sea shelf (BSS) is located between northern Norway, northwestern Russia, Svalbard, Franz Joseph Land and Novaya Zemlya ( Figures 1A, B), covers approximately 1.4 million km 2 , and consists of a complex system of sedimentary basins, platforms, and structural highs ( Figure 1B), with substantial hydrocarbon resources (e.g., Doré et al., 2022). In this large province, Upper Triassic to Jurassic prolific reservoirs host strategic hydrocarbon fields (e.g., Snøhvit, Albatross, Goliat, Askellad, Ludlovskaya, and Shtokmanovskaya) (Duran et al., 2013;Polyakova, 2015). In the Norwegian part of the shelf (western BSS, NBSS; Figure 1B), hydrocarbon exploration has been conducted since the 1970s with the first wells drilled in the 1980s. ...
... The Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic BSS succession is a hydrocarbon-rich interval (Polyakova, 2015), which has been tectonostratigraphically related to evolution of the Novaya Zemlya orogeny (Figure 1) bounding the BSS margin to the east (e.g., Bergan and Knarud, 1993;Olaussen et al., 2018;Martins et al., 2022). It has been suggested that far-field tectonism related to this orogeny triggered processes such as structural reactivation and salt mobilization (e.g., Indrevaer et al., 2017;Hassaan et al., 2020;Martins et al., 2023), though regional ties to Novaya Zemlya tectonism are still under debate (e.g., Olaussen et al., 2018;Müller et al., 2019;Gilmullina et al., 2021). ...
The Upper Triassic–Lower Jurassic succession of the Barents Sea Shelf (BSS) represents one of Europe’s most prolific and strategic petroleum systems. This succession reflects various depositional environments and tectonostratigraphic events. Even though these strata are considered largely well-understood, connections with far-field stresses triggered by regional tectonics remain a subject of investigation. This study presents new interpretations that focus on relationships between the stratigraphic succession across the south-central BSS and Triassic–Jurassic Novaya Zemlya compressional tectonics. By applying the “tectophase model,” developed in the Appalachian Basin, to analyze this succession, the presence of foreland-basin depozones and associated far-field processes related to compressional tectonics in an adjacent orogen are suggested. This model addresses unconformity development, lithostratigraphic succession, and reactivation of structures. Use of this model suggests far-field tectonostratigraphic responses during two episodes of Novaya Zemlya tectonism, reflected in the coeval BSS stratigraphy. Overall, this tectonostratigraphic study aligns with other research suggesting a Late Triassic inception for Novaya Zemlya compressional tectonism, which influenced larger parts of the BSS through extensive clastic sedimentation, far-field structural reactivation, and flexural responses to deformational loading triggered by tectonics.
... Hydrocarbon exploration wells on the west coast acquired limited data over shallow parts but provide no evidence of a sealing permafrost interval. However, wellbore temperature data from the western fjord of Isfjorden shows the evidence of a thin permafrost interval (UNIS CO 2 Lab AS, 2015;SNSK, 1994). At Kapp Laila, on the southern Isfjorden coast, the permafrost interval is apparently ice-bearing, while around the town of Longyearbyen the permafrost interval is not, likely due to the presence of saline fluids. ...
... Much of the Circum-Arctic shares a similar geological history with Svalbard. A major source of migrating gas in Svalbard is likely from the Mesozoic source rocks (Ohm et al., 2019), which can also be found in the Russian and North American Arctic (Leith et al., 1993;Polyakova, 2015). Recent uplift caused by isostatic rebound has left fluids in the subsurface on the Barents and Svalbard out of pressure equilibrium and driving present-day migration . ...
Permafrost is widespread in the High Arctic, including the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. The uppermost permafrost intervals have been well studied, but the processes at its base and the impacts of the underlying geology have been largely overlooked. More than a century of coal, hydrocarbon, and scientific drilling through the permafrost in Svalbard shows that accumulations of natural gas trapped at the base of permafrost are common. These accumulations exist in several stratigraphic intervals throughout Svalbard and show both thermogenic and biogenic origins. The gas, combined with the relatively young permafrost age, is evidence of ongoing gas migration throughout Svalbard. The accumulation sizes are uncertain, but one case demonstrably produced several million cubic metres of gas over 8 years. Heavier gas encountered in two boreholes on Hopen may be situated in the gas hydrate stability zone. While permafrost is demonstrably ice-saturated and acting as seal to gas in lowland areas, in the highlands permafrost is more complex and often dry and permeable. Svalbard shares a similar geological and glacial history with much of the Circum-Arctic, suggesting that sub-permafrost gas accumulations are regionally common. With permafrost thawing in the Arctic, there is a risk that the impacts of releasing of methane trapped beneath permafrost will lead to positive climatic feedback effects.
... The BSS, located north of the Norway and Russia (Fig. 1B, index map), is a largely frontier, Arctic, hydrocarbon province, divided by Russia (RBSS) and Norway (NBSS) that includes a complex system of basins and platforms. Most economic hydrocarbon discoveries across the BSS have occurred in Jurassic clastic reservoirs (e.g., the Shtokmanovskoe giant and Snøhvit fields; Duran et al., 2013;Polyakova et al., 2015), whereas only few discoveries have been made in Paleozoic strata. The lack of Paleozoic discoveries is in large part due to lack of drilling, and hence, BSS Paleozoic tectonostratigraphy and petroleum systems are not as well-understood as those in younger strata. ...
... In general, the tectonostratigraphic framework of the BSS is represented by a clastic-carbonate-clastic succession (Figures 2 and 3) that reflects complex relationships among tectonics, eustasy, palaeogeography, and palaeoclimate. Ordovician to Middle Devonian rocks have only been identified in the eastern BSS basins and include organic-rich rocks that sourced large volumes of hydrocarbons (Alsgaard, 1993;Guo et al., 2010;He et al., 2012;Polyakova, 2015;Stoupakova et al., 2011Stoupakova et al., , 2015. During Early Devonian to Early Carboniferous time, the BSS migrated out of equatorial and into subtropical conditions (Lopes et al., 2016;Worsley, 2008). ...
... As the Uralides evolved, large volumes of clastics, initially consisting of prolific organicrich muds (Figures 2 and 3), were deposited across the BSS (Anell et al., 2014(Anell et al., , 2016Brekke et al., 1999;Johansen et al., 1993;Konyukhov, 2016;Lundschien et al., 2014;Riis et al., 2008;Uchman et al., 2016). During Mid Triassic-Early Jurassic time, uplifted Uralian source areas to the east contributed large volumes of prograding clastic sediments, whereas on parts of the western shelf, deposition of source-prone black shales predominated (Georgiev et al., 2017;Ohm et al., 2008;Polyakova, 2015;Stupakova et al., 2012 Serck et al., 2017). Events associated with the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean may have started as early as Late Palaeozoic-earliest Triassic and persisted into Cenozoic time (Amantov & Fjeldskaar, 2018;Knutsen & Larsen, 1997;Ryseth et al., 2003;Stemmerik & Worsley, 2005). ...
... Colored lines on the right-hand margins of each section represent tectophases in the main Uralian (purple) and Novaya Zemlya (orange and black) orogenies. Key references, but not the only references, used in constructing the section include: Timan-Pechora Basin (e.g., Abrams et al., 1999;Prischepa et al., 2011;Schenk, 2011); Pechora Basin (e.g., Ivanova, 1997;Norina et al., 2014;Suvorova & Matveeva, 2014;Zhuravlev et al., 2014); Novaya Zemlya (e.g., Drachev, 2016;Henriksen et al., 2011;Nakrem, 2007;Zhang et al., 2018); BSS (e.g., Burguto et al., 2016;Dalland et al., 1988;Grogan et al., 1999;Johansen et al., 1993;Larssen et al., 2002;Leonchik & Senin, 2010;Margulis, 2008;NPD, 2017;Olaussen et al., 2018;Polyakova, 2015;Smelror et al., 2009;Stoupakova et al., 2011;Tugarova et al., 2008;Ustritskiy & Tugarova, 2013); eastern Spitsbergen (e.g., Dallmann et al., 2015;Nicolaisen et al., 2019;Riis et al., 2008;Stemmerik & Worsley, 2005) N-S linear belt, at least 2,500 km in length (Figure 4a), which represents the Palaeozoic collision of at least two intra-oceanic arcs at the eastern margin of Baltica, followed by continent-continent collision (Brown, Spadea, et al., 2006;Puchkov, 2009). ...
The US Appalachian Basin and the Arctic Norwegian and Russian Barents Sea shelf (BSS) areas are two strategic provinces for the energy industry. The Appalachian Basin is a well‐studied, mature, onshore basin, whereas the offshore BSS is still considered a frontier area. This study suggests that the Appalachian Basin may be an appropriate analogue for understanding the BSS and contribute to development of a tectonostratigraphic framework for the area. Although the Appalachian and BSS areas reflect different times and settings, both areas began as passive margins that were subsequently subjected to subduction and continent collision associated with the closure of an adjacent ocean basin. As a result, both areas exhibited multi‐phase subduction‐type orogenies, a rising hinterland that sourced sediments, and a foreland‐basin sedimentary system that periodically overflowed onto an adjacent intracratonic area of basins and platforms with underlying basement structures. Foreland‐basin sedimentary systems in the Mid‐to‐Late Paleozoic Appalachian Basin are composed of unconformity‐bound cycles, related to specific orogenic pulses called tectophases. Each tectophase gave rise to a distinct sequence of lithologies related to flexural events in the orogen. In this study, similar sequences are recognized in both BSS foreland‐basin and adjacent intracratonic sedimentary sequences that formed in response to the Late Paleozoic–Mesozoic Uralian‐Pai‐Khoi‐Novaya Zemlya Orogeny, suggesting that the processes generating the sequences are analogous to the tectophase cycles in the Appalachian Basin. Hence, this pioneering use of the Appalachian area and its succession as large‐scale tectonostratigraphic analogues for the BSS may further enhance understanding of Upper Paleozoic to Middle Jurassic stratigraphy across the BSS.
Permafrost has become an increasingly important subject in the High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. However, whilst the uppermost permafrost intervals have been well studied, the processes at its base and the impacts of the underlying geology have been largely overlooked. More than a century of coal, hydrocarbon and scientific drilling through the permafrost interval shows that accumulations of natural gas trapped at the base permafrost is common. They exist throughout Svalbard in several stratigraphic intervals and show both thermogenic and biogenic origins. These accumulations combined with the relatively young permafrost age indicate gas migration, driven by isostatic rebound, is presently ongoing throughout Svalbard. The accumulation sizes are uncertain, but one case demonstrably produced several million cubic metres of gas over eight years. Gas encountered in two boreholes on the island of Hopen appears to be situated in the gas hydrate stability zone and thusly extremely voluminous. While permafrost is demonstrably ice-saturated and acting as seal to gas in lowland areas, in the highlands it appears to be more complex, and often dry and permeable. Svalbard shares a similar geological and glacial history with much of the Circum-Arctic meaning that sub-permafrost gas accumulations are regionally common. With permafrost thawing in arctic regions, there is a risk that the impacts of releasing of sub-permafrost trapped methane is largely overlooked when assessing positive climatic feedback effects.
