Results and Perspective Directions of Prospecting and Exploration Operations Conducted Within Onshore and Offshore Territories of the Azerbaijan Republic at the Beginning of the XXI Century

Oil and gas-bearing suites are determined in large stratigraphical range of geological structure of the onshore and offshore territory of the Azerbaijan Republic starting from Aalenian subdivision of the Middle Jurassic epoch to the Absheron subdivision of the upper Pliocene. Moreover, middle Pliocene is the basic oil and gas-bearing suite (productive layer) and it prevails according to specific gravity of potential resources and oil and gas-bearing prospectivity. 239 prospecting and exploratory operations have been conducted within the sea water area and onshore territories and 122 oil and gas-bearing areas have been discovered and circa 2 billion ton oil and gas condensate have been produced so far. Recoverable reserves of hydrocarbons with remaining industrial importance is 400 mm t; potential reserves – 300 mm t and resources recoverable from the faults prepared for deep exploration drilling with complex geophysical methods comprise 1700 mm t. They show that there are great opportunities for the prospecting and exploration of the oil and gas fields within the onshore and offshore territories of the republic.