Tectonic history and petroleum geology of the Russian Arctic Shelves: an overview

TLDR

The Russian Arctic shelves, covering the Eastern Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, and western Chukchi seas, contain more than 40 sedimentary basins formed by successive tectonic events—including Caledonian, Uralian, and Cenozoic rifting—that are believed to hold substantial undiscovered hydrocarbon resources. The study integrates regional seismic lines, borehole data, onshore geology, and Arctic‑wide magnetic, bathymetry, and gravity grids to delineate the shelf’s structural elements. This integrated analysis provides a more confident characterization of basin timing, structural styles, lithostratigraphy, and potential hydrocarbon systems, identifying prospective petroleum play elements in frontier areas.

Abstract

Abstract The Eastern Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian seas and the western Chukchi Sea occupy a large part of the Eurasian Arctic epicontinental shelf in the Russian Arctic. Recent studies have shown that this huge region consists of over 40 sedimentary basins of variable age and genesis which are thought to bear significant undiscovered hydrocarbon resources. Important tectonic events controlling the structure and petroleum geology of the basins are the Caledonian collision and orogeny followed by Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous rifting, Late Palaeozoic Baltica–Siberia collision and Uralian orogeny, Triassic and Early Jurassic rifting, Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Canada Basin opening accompanied by closure of the South Anyui Ocean, the Late Mesozoic Verkhoyansk–Brookian orogeny and Cenozoic opening of the Eurasia Oceanic Basin. The majority of the sedimentary basins were formed and developed in a rift and post-rift setting and later modified through a series of structural inversions. Using available regional seismic lines correlated with borehole data, onshore geology in areas with no exploration drilling, and recent Arctic-wide magnetic, bathymetry and gravity grids, we provide more confident characterization of the regional structural elements of the Russian Arctic shelf, and constrain the timing of basin formation, structural styles, lithostratigraphy and possible hydrocarbon systems and petroleum play elements in frontier areas.