Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources of the West Siberian Basin and Timan-Pechora Basin Provinces, Russian Federation

Christopher J. Schenk
US Geological Survey, Denver, CO.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the West Siberian Basin and Timan-Pechora Basin Provinces of the Russian Federation as part of the USGS Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal program. In the northern part of the West Siberian Basin Province, the USGS defined the Northern West Siberian Mesozoic Composite Total Petroleum System (TPS) and the Northern West Siberian Onshore Gas Assessment Unit (AU) and the South Kara Sea Offshore AU within it. The total estimated mean volumes of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in this TPS are 3.7 billion barrels of oil (BBO) and 651 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (TCFG). Of these means, the Northern West Siberian Onshore Gas AU was estimated to contain 1.1 BBO and 29 TCFG and the South Kara Sea Offshore AU was estimated to contain 2.5 BBO and 622 TCFG.

In the Timan-Pechora Basin Province, the Domanik-Paleozoic TPS encompasses the Main Basin Platform AU and the Foredeep Basins AU. For this TPS, the estimated means of undiscovered resources are 1.7 BBO and 9.0 TCFG, with 1.6 BBO and 5.0 TCFG estimated to be in the Main Basin Platform AU and 0.1 BBO and 4.0 TCFG in the Foredeep Basins AU. These assessment results reflect only those portions of each TPS and AU that are north of the Arctic Circle.

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