The Tertiary Kamtchia Fluvio-Estuary-Fan System of Eastern Bulgaria

Rudolf Dellmour¹ and Gian Gabriele Ori^2
1OMV Exploration & Production GmbH, Vienna, Austria
²IRSPS, Pescara, Italy

OMV Bulgaria is holding the “Varna Deep Sea” Exploration license in the near offshore from the city of Varna in Eastern Bulgaria. The block covers a large Tertiary fan system sourced from the Balkanide and Carpathian mountains.
The tectonically active Hinterland provided during Eocene to Miocene a vast amount of siliciclastics from eroded crystalline and metamorphic rocks. These sediments were deposited into alluvial plains and alluvial fan aprons during relative high-stands and periods of tectonic quiescence. Relative low-stands produced massive erosion of this detritus which has been funneled through a pronounced Paleo-valley system into the deep sea. This paleovalley system spans over large parts of the Paleogene and Neogene. Two major sequence boundaries have been identified along with several minor unconformities. Today the “Paleo Kamtchia Incised Valley” forms an impressive geomorphologic feature in the landscape south of Varna.
Recent geological fieldwork over the last 3 years revealed the sedimentary history from the Eocene to the Pliocene. Field evidence for this clastic system includes fluvial, tidal and estuary sedimentary environments. This long living system of the Paleo Kamtchia came to an end when the Danube River finally broke through the Carpathians during early Quaternary. After this event the Danube captured the drainage area of the Paleo Kamtchia reducing the Kamtchia River system to a creek of minor importance.
3D seismic data acquired in 2006 reveals a pronounced and complex deepwater fan system connected to this “Paleo Kamtchia Incised Valley”. This fan system opens up a new play in the Bulgarian Black Sea similar to that which has been successfully chased by Explorationist's worldwide over the past 20 years.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90072 © 2007 AAPG and AAPG European Region Conference, Athens, Greece