Hydrocarbon Generation Centers in the Meso-Cenozoic Complex of the Black Sea-Caspian Region

As a result of the studies within the study area, four areas of stable subsidence (hollows) were identified for the entire period of formation of the plate cover: Karkinitskaya, Indolo-Kubanskaya, East Kubanskaya, and Terek-Caspian. Each of the basins is characterized by a unique evolution, which manifests itself in differences in the tectonic regime and the rate of sedimentation. This determined the features of the geological structure of the basins, the sources of generation in them and the critical moment characterizing the process of generation–migration–accumulation of hydrocarbons in the system. In the centers of generation of hydrocarbons, the critical moment happened, when more than 50% of hydrocarbons emigrated from the source rock and accumulated in traps. As a rule, the springs are confined to the most submerged parts of the sedimentary basin, in which the deposits are in more severe thermobaric conditions. Based on the levels of modern maturity and transformation of OM of the identified and proposed oil and gas source rocks, as well as the obtained estimates of the specific densities of hydrocarbon emigration at 5 stratigraphic levels, independent generation centers were identified. The combination of steady subsidence of generation sources and uplift of adjacent areas of the Scythian Plate in the Neogene-Quaternary provided the conditions for long-range migration of hydrocarbons. This significantly expanded the area of probable accumulation and the area of the territory promising for the search for hydrocarbons.