Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
is: Azerbaijan 95.6%, Turkmenistan 32.5% and Iran 84.3% of the respective
potential.
If the recoverable reserves and resources are 100% confirmed and
if planned 2010 production levels are reached, the reserves/produc-
tion ratio for Azerbaijan would be: oil + condensate 24, gas 101 years;
for Turkmenistan, respectively, 8 and 35 years, and for Iran 83 and 112
years. Most stressful situation occurs in the onshore fields. It is 14 years
in Azerbaijan and seven years in Turkmenistan (Table 9.4). Considering
low probability of discovering new large fields, supporting the production
levels requires, as noted above, application of production technological
improvements and increase in oil recovery.
The region's fraction of the world's proved А+В+С
1
+С
2
quantities is:
oil and condensate 1.38%, gas 2.44%, hydrocarbons 1.91% (Table 11.4).
In terms of its hydrocarbon potential, the South Caspian Basin (2.2%) is
comparable with the North Sea Basin. The amount there is 6.87 BT of oil
equivalent or close to 2% of the world quantities.
Our study enables us to state that the South Caspian Basin in terms
of its recoverable resources and potential production may be a significant
regional agent on the European hydrocarbon market.
The following needs to be taken into account when evaluating from the
position of the
modern
geo-fluidal dynamics the local structures' potential
in the deepest part of the South Caspian Basin. We mean the structures at
the water depth 250 to 1,000 m where the Productive Sequence (Red-Bed
Sequence) surface is at a depth of 2,000 to 4,500 m. It is vital to keep in mind
that all “nonproductive” structures fringing the step-block deep-water area
and closest to its center represent the objective indication of the imple-
mentation of hydrocarbon generation and subsequent migration and accu-
mulation processes within the Productive Sequence (Red-Bed Sequence).
The central Southern Caspian Sea is remote from the clastic material prov-
enance areas, so the Productive Sequence (Red-Bed Sequence) section has
high clay content. It links with the Basin's flank frameworks by way of high-
amplitude lateral blocks of tectonic, stratigraphic and lithofacies unconfor-
mities. In this sense, the role of the deep central basin appears restricted.
Thus, it limits the probability for discovering large oil/gas accumulations in
its most subsided traps. It also puts a lid on the possibility of the existence
of oil/gas accumulations in the overlying structures under the concept of
hydrocarbons autochthony with the enclosing deposits and the domina-
tion of their migration as stipulated by the differential entrapment model.
The latter statement is supported by a continuous increase from the
Basin's flanks toward its center in the intensity of the hydrodynamic sys-
tem in the Productive Sequence (Red-Bed Sequence). It is expressed in the
