Features of the geological structure and oil and gas content of the shelves of the Far Eastern Seas

Abstract

Russian shelf is one of the most important areas for hydrocarbon forecast and mineral resources development. The main features of the geological structure of the shelves of the Far Eastern seas are discussed in the paper. The most promising basins on the Okhotsk shelf are located around Sakhalin island where the majority of the hydrocarbon fields have been discovered. The Bering and the Japan shelf has not been sufficiently studied by now but nevertheless has high oil and gas potential. The main focus is made on the geological and geophysical data, licensing, lithological and stratigraphic structure, seismic interpretation, oil and gas fields distribution. The structural-tectonic zoning of the entire Far Eastern region has been done in order to identify zones of deep troughs with thick sedimentary cover to predict the sources of hydrocarbon generation.