Upper Pechora Carbonate Bank - Composition, Structural Framework and Petroleum Potential

Integrated interpretation of seismic and limited borehole data in the North Uralian foreland reveals the presence of a large buried Upper Devonian carbonate bank. It is situated in the Upper Pechora foreland extending along the North Urals for 120 km being up to 50 km wide. The bank composes of Late Frasnian- Late Fammenian deposits ranging from 400 to 800 m in thickness. Newly available seismic data allow constraining structural evolutionary framework of this carbonate bank. The bank had been developed on top of a paleo-structural high separating Early Paleozoic- Middle Devonian extensional basins to the west and east. These basins mainly resulted from extensional displacement on deep-seated listric faults. Onset of the Uralian orogeny started in the Late Carboniferous led to burial of the Upper Pechora bank and inversion these basins. A variety of diverse untested hydrocarbon plays are identified in the study area. The Upper Devonian reefs and overlying drapes are regarded as primary exploration objectives.