--> New Opportunities for Petroleum Exploration in the Urals Foreland Fold and Thrust Belt

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New Opportunities for Petroleum Exploration in the Urals Foreland Fold and Thrust Belt

Abstract

The Uralian fold and thrust belt was formed due to a series of collisional events culminated in the Late Paleozoic in course of the Pangea assembly. It was followed by the late orogenic transpressional displacements. The subsurface data from different parts of the foreland thrust belt reveal significant along-strike structural segmentation. Northern and southern segments of the fold belt are characterized by multiple delamination of sedimentary cover, disharmonic folding, and tectonic wedging. The central part of the belt facing the East European craton exhibits simple emerging thrust secession. These changes are broadly correlate with the heterogeneous basement domains flanking the Uralian suture on the west, the corresponding variations in stratigraphic composition of the foreland subbasins, and changes in paleostress orientation within the Uralian suture. Word-class source rocks are recognized in the Uralian foreland. Past exploration campaigns were based on limited low-resolution data, nevertheless they had resulted in several significant discoveries. Majority of the known fields were found in relatively simple structures with direct expression in the surface geology. New exciting opportunities for conventional petroleum exploration were revealed recently due to reinterpretations of vintage data coupled with study of new seismic surveys. More complex structural patterns involving large untested prospects were identified. Of prime interest are subthrust zones, passive-roof duplexes involving repetitions of reservoir units, and zones of carbonate build-ups. Modern exploration technologies are vital for successful unlocking of the exploration potential of the Uralian thrust belt.