Sediment Transport Pathways and Provenance; Identification of Reservoir-Quality Sandstones in the Caspian-Black Sea Region

Vincent, Stephen J.¹, Andrew C. Morton², Fiona Hyden³, Clare E. Davies⁴, Irene Gómez-Pérez⁵, Mark B. Allen⁶ (1) University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom (2) HM Research Associates, West Midlands, United Kingdom (3) Oil Quest Ltd, Bedford, United Kingdom (4) Woodside Energy Limited, Perth, Australia (5) Repsol Exploracion, 48026 Madrid, Spain (6) University of Durham, Durham, United Kingdom

The hydrocarbon basins of the Caspian-Black Sea region are in varying stages of exploration and development. The South Caspian has proven reserves with an active extraction programme, while the Eastern Black Sea and Central Caspian contain plays that are being tested. Despite their varying maturity, reservoir presence and quality remain critical exploration risks. In the South Caspian Basin, petrographically mature sandstones derived from the Russian Platform form the producing reservoirs. Yet even in this relatively mature basin more data are required to understand the complex interplay between this system and more locally sourced, lesser quality sand systems that prove to be uneconomic. Greater uncertainty exists still in the Central Caspian and Eastern Black Sea basins as to whether Russian Platform sourced depositional systems exist and whether they form economic targets. This paper documents how the use of field-based sedimentology, and petrographic and heavy mineral sandstone provenance analysis can be used to identify potential reservoir-quality depositional systems in the Caspian-Black Sea region and thus reduce some of the uncertainties in the exploration of this region.