--> Abstract: Cambrian-Proterozoic of Northern Canada: Analogy with Eastern Siberian Oil and Gas Discoveries, by J. R. Taylor; #91012 (1992).

Datapages, Inc.Print this page

ABSTRACT: Cambrian-Proterozoic of Northern Canada: Analogy with Eastern Siberian Oil and Gas Discoveries

TAYLOR, JAMES R., Mobil Oil Canada, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Five to 15 kilometer thick sections of unmetamorphosed Proterozoic and Cambrian sedimentary rocks are present in the subsurface of the Mackenzie Valley of Northern Canada. Seismic evidence indicates untested, stacked, Proterozoic folds of up to 22 km in wavelength and up to 1200 m in amplitude are widespread in the subsurface of the Colville area. In the same area, along the Keele Arch, small gas/condensate pools are present in the Lower Cambrian capped by salt.

In eastern Siberia, rocks of a similar age, with strikingly similar facies, contain large reserves of oil and gas trapped along the Markova-Angara arch. While Cambrian hydrocarbon pools capped with salt are present, similar to the Canadian case, the bulk of the oil and gas reserves in eastern Siberia is contained in Proterozoic reservoirs.

Paleocontinental reconstruction juxtaposes northern Canada and eastern Siberia in Proterozoic-Cambrian time. This suggests that northern Canada and eastern Siberia represent the matching rifted halves of Proterozoic and possibly Lower Cambrian basins. This may also mean that the stratigraphy and hydrocarbon generation history of the areas may have similarities. The implication for hydrocarbon exploration of this paleocontinental match is that Proterozoic objectives may ultimately become important in northern Canada as they are in eastern Siberia.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91012©1992 AAPG Annual Meeting, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, June 22-25, 1992 (2009)