Structure and hydrocarbon prospects of the North Urals thrust belt

The North Urals thrust belt holds significant hydrocarbon resources hosted mainly in thrust-related anticlines mapped at the surface. New seismic and drilling data have permitted the identification of new exploration targets. The most attractive structural plays are considered to be associated with the buried antiformal stacks in front of the belt. Stacks of folded thrust sheets involve the regionally productive Silurian-Lower Permian carbonates and sandstones encased by thick Artinskian shales, which provide both the source rocks and sealing. Untested structural closures in the buried wedge-shaped thrust sheets are the primary targets for exploration. Additional prospects are predicted in the autochthonous section of the thrust belt. This play includes a subthrust continuation of inverted anticlinal zones of the Pechora-Kolva aulacogen.