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Petroleum
System of Northern Baku Archipelago,South Caspian
Basin, Azerbaijan
FRYDL, P.M., A. A. NARIMANOV, and J. J. SAWLAN
Even though the South Caspian Basin is the oldest continuously producing area
in the world its petroleum system is not completely understood. In order to
better define the petroleum system we studied a portion of the basin which
contains both prolific hydrocarbon accumulations and barren structures.
A preliminary geological model was combined with results of extensive a
geochemical analyses to provide the initial input into a 3D basin simulator.
Iterative comparisons of simulation results with the observed distribution of
hydrocarbons led to refinements of the geological model and resulted in a better
constrained characterization of the petroleum system.
Geochemical fingerprinting indicates that oil and gas in the area originated
from one type of source rock, deposited in a clastic marine environment. Thermal
modeling narrowed the possible source rock to the lower part of the
Oligocene-lower Miocene Maykop Formation. Two major episodes of petroleum
generation and expulsion were identified. They coincide with periods of rapid
sedimentation over the last 5 million years. Existence of barren structures
adjacent to structures containing petroleum
accumulations is due to local
variations in the rate of subsidence combined with small differences in the
timing of development of structural traps.