oa Tectonic Development of the Precaspian Basin

We can recognize the following stages of the Precaspian basin development: (1) Ordovician – rift phase; (2) Silurian to early Devonian – postrift subsidence; (3) Middle Devonian to Frasnian – main rift phase; (4) late Frasnian to Tournasian – postrift subsidence; (5) Carboniferous to Permian – postrift subsidence complicated by foreland basin origination for the Uralian and Scythian orogens; (6) Triassic – regional synrift subsidence; (7) late Triassic to Hettangian – synorogenic sedimentation and regional erosion; (8) Jurassic to Eocene - regional platformal sedimentation; (9) Oligocene to Quaternary – synorogenic sedimentation and erosion. Ordovician and Devonian rifting took place in a back-arc tectonic environments. Since the Late Devonian the basin was a deep-water trough. The Carboniferous to Permian history of the basin was a combination of postrift subsidence and foreland basin development. We discuss main possible reservoirs and hydrocarbon system of the Precaspian basin.