Generation and Emigration of Hydrocarbons in the Meso-Cenozoic Complex of the Black Sea-Caspian Region

As part of the assessment of the oil and gas content of the study area, numerical modeling of hydrocarbon generation and accumulation systems was performed, as a result of which hydrocarbon generation centers located within sedimentary basins were identified. Based on the levels of modern maturity and transformation of organic matter of established and proposed oil and gas source rocks, as well as the obtained estimates of the specific densities of hydrocarbon emigration at different stratigraphic levels, independent generation centers were identified: Middle Jurassic, Lower Cretaceous, Eocene, Maikop, and Miocene. Fluctuations in the sinking rate of basins at different stages of their development had a decisive influence on the realization of their generation potential by oil and gas source strata. As a result, the coeval oil and gas source strata of the basins at different times overcame the critical moment and by now have realized their potential to varying degrees. In basins with low subsidence rates, there is a delay in the emigration process in relation to generation, which is not typical for basins with high rates. The main promising complex within the study area is Cretaceous deposits, the hydrocarbon saturation of which is provided both by their own oil and gas source strata and by outcrops from deeper horizons of the sedimentary cover. The second most important is the Paleogene complex. Periodic tectonic activity within the study area, starting from the end of the Paleogene, created conditions for vertical hydrocarbon flows and the formation of multilayer deposits.