--> Abstract: A Genetic Framework for Hydrocarbon Occurrence in the Arctic, by R. J. Ferderer, M. Sullivan, and S. Creaney; #90096 (2009)

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A Genetic Framework for Hydrocarbon Occurrence in the Arctic

Robert J. Ferderer, Michael Sullivan, and Steve Creaney
Business Development, ExxonMobil, Houston, TX.

Establishing a genetic framework for Arctic hydrocarbon occurrence and potential is critical when considering the uncertainty and risk in unexplored areas. A series of primary tectonostratigraphic phases are recognized. The middle to late Paleozoic Caledonian-Ellesmerian Orogeny established the basement upon which the western Barents, North Slope of Alaska, Sverdrup, and East Siberian Sea were developed. Subsequent Carboniferous orogenic collapse and/or plate reorganization and ensuing regional subsidence resulted in deposition of key Triassic and Jurassic sources and reservoirs. Collision of Baltica-Kazakstan-Siberia during the late Paleozoic created the heterogeneous accretionary basement of West Siberia-South Kara. Concurrent erosion of the Urals supplied sediment load that drove maturity in Timan Pechora and supplied source and reservoir to the Eastern Barents Sea. Disintegration of the Arctic Ellesmerian belt during the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous opening of the Canada Basin, together with the contraction of the Brooks Range, resulted in maturation and hydrocarbon migration towards the Barrow Arch rift flank and the creation of Prudhoe Bay. Sediments derived from the Brooks Range and Canadian Rockies were drawn to the southern corner of the Canada Basin, forming the MacKenzie Delta, which was deformed throughout Tertiary time by continued Pacific-driven contraction. The Lena Delta, derived from erosion of the Verkhoyansk and Far Eastern Russia, has undergone Tertiary extension due to the North Atlantic seafloor spreading occurring in the Eurasian Basin. Tertiary intraplate deformation related to Pacific subduction, the India-Eurasia collision, and the opening of the North Atlantic played an important role in creating traps throughout the Arctic.

 

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90096©2009 AAPG 3-P Arctic Conference and Exhibition, Moscow, Russia