USGS ScienceSearch

Geology topics

J. W. Clarke

Publications and source records attributed to J. W. Clarke.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

The Timan-Pechora oil-gas basin: A geological review

At the base of the sedimentary section of the Timan-Pechora basin are Late Precambrian rifts, which are filled by unmetamorphosed sedimentary rocks 10 km and more than 10 km thick. The upper parts of these rift deposits have potential for gas. Structurally the Phanerozoic sedimen tary fill of the basin is mildly deformed in the west and central parts into several broad depressions and more narrow intervening highs. The eastern part is strongly deformed by overthrusts that were emplaced in the Late Paleozoic in connection with development of the Ural fold belt. Eight oil-gas plays are recognized in the basin: 1—Ordovician-Lower Devonian, 2—Middle Devonian-lower Frasnian, 3—upper Frasnian-Tournaisian, 4—Lower Carboniferous, 5—upper Visean-Lower Permian, 6—Lower Permian, 7—Upper Permian, and 8—Triassic. The promising oil-gas basin is of great interest for global stratigraphy and tectonics as well as for petroleum exploration.

International Geology Review

Petroleum habitat of east Siberia, Russia

East Siberia comprises three petroleum provinces—Lena-Tunguska, Lena-Vilyuy, and Yenisey-Anabar—that occupy the area of the Siberian craton. Petroleum has been generated and has accumulated in Precambrian rifts beneath the sedimentary basins and, more importantly, within the section of the basin itself. The platformal deposits of the basins extend beneath overthrusts on the east and south and are covered by sedimentary rocks of the West Siberian overthrusts on the east and south and are covered by sedimentary rocks of the West Siberian province on the west. Permafrost and gas hydrate deposits are present throughout most of East Siberia. In the Lena-Tunguska province, rifts that developed during Riphean time are filled by thick sedimentary rocks, in which petroleum deposits have formed. In Early Cambrian time a barrier reef extended across the East Siberian craton from southeast to northwest. A lagoon to the west of this reef was the site of thick rhythmic salt deposits, which are the main seal for petroleum in the province. The sedimentary section of the platform cover ranges in age from Late Proterozoic to Permian. More than 25 oil and gas fields have been discovered in the province, all in Riphean through Lower Cambrian rocks. The Lena-Vilyuy province includes the Vilyuy basin and the Cis-Verkhoyansk foredeep. During Middle Devonian time, a rift formed along the axis of what was to become the Vilyuy basin. This rift is filled by Upper Devonian and Lower Carboniferous basalt, elastics, carbonates, and evaporites. During this rift stage the region that was to become the Cis-Verkhoyansk foredeep was an open geosynclinal sea. The sedimentary cover consists of Permian, coal-bearing sedimentary rocks as well as elastics from the Lower Triassic, Lower Jurassic, Lower Cretaceous, and Upper Cretaceous, the latter only in the Vilyuy basin. In the Lena-Vilyuy petroleum province as many as nine gas and gas-condensate fields have been discovered. The Yenisey-Anabar province is largely an extension of the West Siberian petroleum province. Permian sedimentary rocks are present only in the east, where they consist of elastics and some salt. The Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous each are represented by thick clastic deposits. Total thickness of the sedimentary cover is up to 15 km on the west and 8 km on the east. Twelve gas and gas-condensate fields have been discovered in the western part of the province.

International Geology Review

Genesis of the West Siberian Basin and its petroleum geology: A recent interpretation

A prominent Western specialist on the geology of the oil and gas deposits of Russia provides an interpretation of the genesis of the West Siberian basin, relying, in part, on most recent Russian studies as well as information made available in 1994 evaluating the reserves of Russia's most important producing province. From Late Carboniferous through Middle Jurassic time, the region of West Siberia passed through orogenic, rift, and early platform stages. A domal high was present in the region during the orogenic stage, arising from cratonization of the Ural-Mongolian fold belt. Early Triassic rifting was part of a global rifting event and was a precursor to the subsequent crustal sagging that produced the West Siberian basin. The Early-Middle Jurassic was a time of cyclical marine and continental deposition, the sea moving back and forth from the north. The Talinskoye oil field occurs in Lower-Middle Jurassic sandstones that have the form of a river channel that extends more than 200 km. The Priobskoye field is associated with a Lower Cretaceous clinoform that has been traced N–S for more than 300 km. It is suggested that: (a) the oil in the Lower Cretaceous Neocomian sandstones was sourced by bituminous clays that interfinger with these sandstones on the west; and (b) that Upper Cretaceous Cenomanian gas was sourced in part by deeply buried Paleozoics and by overlying Upper Cretaceous Turonian clays. Predicted discoveries in West Siberia include several thousand small fields with reserves of less than 10 million tons, 250 to 300 medium-sized fields, and several large fields with 30 to 100 million tons.

International Geology Review