Petroleum Systems Dynamics of the South Caspian Basin

The South Caspian Basin represents an extremely young petroleum system in which over 8 kilometres of sediment have been deposited in the past 6-10 million years with up to 3 kilometres in the last 1-2 million years. The high deposition rates have pushed the sedimentary section into significant disequilibrium with respect to temperature and pore pressure evolution. The basin dynamics are expressed in: (1) rapid, vertical and lateral pressure changes that challenge the capacity of seals to build and preserve petroleum columns and (2) in low temperature gradients which delay petroleum generation and reservoir diagenetic processes. Basin Modelling has proven to be the key technology in understanding the South Caspian Basin dynamics and quantifying their impact on petroleum generation, migration and seal capacity evolution, as well as in assessing prospect drillability and field development options.