Abstract: Exploration for Hydrocarbons Underthrust Belts - A Challenging New Frontier in the Carpathians and Elsewhere

PICHA, FRANK J

New significant reserves of hydrocarbons may occur in autochthonous and parautochthonous subthrust series buried below the thin-skinned frontal zones of some orogenic belts. The subthrust plays have been tested in several thrust belts of the world, of which the Carpathians is one of the best examples.

The arcuate thin-skinned Carpathian orogenic belt, which evolved during Mesozoic and Cenozoic times, is thrust tens of kilometers over its Neogene foredeep and the underlying European plate. Various structural and stratigraphic settings and potential hydrocarbon plays have been recognized within the buried margins of the European plate. These include: Late Paleozoic Hercynian compressional system, Mesozoic rifted margins of Tethys, and Cenozoic synorogenic foreland-type fault system. Possibly, also deeper parautochthonous, inverted, and wrench fault-related structures, documented by examples from the Apennines and Dinarides, might be present below the thin-skinned front of the Carpathian thrust belt. In addition to these structural settings, large Paleogene valleys/submarine canyons have been found within the margins of the European plate. These structural and morphologic features, if combined with source rocks, reservoirs, and proper burial history below the wedge-shaped thrust belt, represent potential hydrocarbon plays.

It is the combination of the long and complex geological history of the European plate, with the impact of the Alpine thrusting and foreland deformation, which created unique conditions for generation, entrapment, and preservation of hydrocarbons in subthrust settings.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90942©1997 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition, Vienna, Austria