f Structure and Petroleum Habitat of the Uralian Foreland Thrust Belt

Interpretation of oil industry seismic data acquired across the foreland of the Ural fold belt provides new constraints on this fold belt in two aspects. Firstly, it has permitted a better understanding of the architecture of the fold belt revealing considerable along strike structural changes. Lateral structural segmentation is interpreted as being controlled largely by the long-lasting interaction of the inhomogeneous Uralian margin of the East European and Siberian plates and the Altaid collage situated between them. Secondly, these data document the timing of tectonic events which have taken place throughout much of the Phanerozoic. This provides vital links between the development of the Uralian foreland and hinterland.