Carboniferous and Permian Oil and Gas Potential in the Sverdrup Basin, Canadian Arctic: A New Timan-Pechora?

Benoit Beauchamp¹ and Gregory P. Wahlman^2
1 Geological Survey of Canada, Calgary, AB
² BP Amoco Plc, Houston, TX

Many of Russia's oil and gas riches lie within Carboniferous and Permian strata all along the western shadow of the Ural Mountains. A large number of fields have been found, many of which have been labeled “giants” and “supergiants”. This vast expanse of oil- and gas-rich strata owes its treasures to a unique paleogeographic setting whereby a deep oceanic trough (pre-Uralian trough) received and preserved organic matter from the Late Devonian to the Early Permian. In particular, the Late Devonian Domanik basinal shale facies matured into a prolific source rock that later supplied hydrocarbons to adjacent Devonian through Early Permian shelf and shelf-edge carbonate reservoirs. A similar Late Paleozoic trough existed in the axial regions of the Sverdrup Basin of the Canadian Arctic. This trough resulted from Carboniferous rifting and was a stable paleogeographic feature throughout the Late Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic. It preserved organic matter-rich sediments in anoxic to sub-oxic environments. Shelf and shelf-edge carbonate buildup facies identical to Russia's main reservoir rocks formed a broad belt that surrounded the trough, and porous nearshore and shallow subtidal sandstones occur near the basin margin. Most shelf and shelf edge carbonates lie within the oil window. A multitude of structural and stratigraphic plays can be envisioned. Thirty unsuccessful exploration wells have been drilled in the basin, but they were primarily targeting Mesozoic plays. The next round of exploration in Arctic Canada's could see a much greater level of activities in the Late Paleozoic succession as enticed by its Russian counterpart.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90039©2005 AAPG Calgary, Alberta, June 16-19, 2005