South Caspian
The South Caspian Basin is a mature hydrocarbon province with some of the largest producing oil and gas fields in Central Asia. Rapid subsidence of the basin in the late Neogene provided accommodation space for up to 6 km of sediment to be deposited from major river systems derived from the Russian Craton and mountainous Tethyan orogenic belt. These sediments overlie the prolific Maykopian source rock. Excellent exposures of Pliocene reservoir equivalent units occur in Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan. The prediction of reservoir presence, distribution and quality is the key issue in this basin.
Map of Region
Regional Expertise
CASP carried out an intensive field campaign around the western and southern margins of the South Caspian Basin between 1998 and 2002. Interpretation of detailed field observations and wide-ranging analysis, integrated with the Soviet literature and local expertise, has resulted in an invaluable and extensive data source that improves our understanding of Cenozoic depositional systems. This work was subsequently augmented by the analysis of Pliocene and recent sediments from the eastern margin of the basin between 2017 and 2020. Heavy mineral studies have been used to understand the provenance of sandstones in the basin using samples from wells offshore and exposures onshore. These studies have enhanced our understanding of the basin’s evolution, helped to delineate different sediment supply systems in time and space and highlighted areas of good reservoir quality.
Most Recent Reports
- Petrography, provenance and detrital zircon U-Pb age signature of palaeo-Amu Darya River sands from Turkmenistan: Implications for reservoir quality in the South Caspian Basin CASP.GCPP2019-20.5
- Detrital zircon U-Pb age data from Jurassic to Cretaceous sediments of the greater Caspian region: Insights into sediment source areas and dispersal patterns CASP.GCPP2019-20.4
- Detrital zircon U-Pb age data from Quaternary sands of the Amu Darya River system CASP.GCPP2019-20.3
- The composition of Quaternary and modern sands from the Amu Darya River system CASP.GCPP2017-18.1
- Provenance studies of the productive series, offshore Azerbaijan; Petrographic and heavy mineral analyses CASP.SCP.AP.1