The Geological Structure and Formation of Hydrocarbon Systems in Sedimentary Basins of Russia's Shelf of the Chukchi Sea

Following from the integrated analysis of geological and geophysical, mainly, seismic data, the paper presents a new conception on sedimentary cover stratification in the southern and northern parts of the Chukchi Sea offshore Russia, tectonics of the North- and South-Chukchi basins and the overview of potential hydrocarbon accumulations. Both similarities and differences with the American part were demonstrated in the sedimentary cover in the Northern Russian sector of the Chukchi Sea. In the Russian part, foredeep buildups are degraded due to more extended erosion and development of the series of ledges before the Wrangel-Herald front. Also, the sub-latitudinal marginal uplift is less expressed there (analog of Barrow swell, Alaska). In the South-Chukchi basin in the basal part of the sedimentary cover, transtension structures are widely developed along with rift-related structures. The strike-slip movements are displayed in the Oligocene - Early Miocene section, being well-correlated with the same in other sedimentary basins of the Eastern Arctic. The highest prospective of hydrocarbon discoveries is referred to the North-Chukchi basin.