Modern geochemical methods for local oil and gas potential prediction in the Arctic regions of Western and Eastern Siberia: a comparative analysis
https://doi.org/10.21285/2686-9993-2026-49-1-3
EDN: LOKXJK
Abstract
This work is devoted to the study and comparative analysis of the effectiveness of geochemical methods for predicting oil and gas potential in the Arctic regions of Western and Eastern Siberia. The features of geological conditions influencing the selection and implementation of exploration methods are considered. The analysis is given to the historical experience of developing oil and gas resources in the region, starting from the Soviet period and highlighting the achievements of renowned scientists such as V.P. Isaev and others. The work thoroughly examines the theoretical foundations of geochemical prediction including the theory of subvertical hydrocarbon migration and the identification principles of geochemical anomalies. The main geochemical research methods applied in Western and Eastern Siberia are described. Special attention is paid to an integrated approach combining geochemical, geophysical, and geological data. The article provides some examples of successful application of geochemical methods such as identification of promising oil and gas zones in the South-Syuldyukar area and confirming significant resources at the Medvezhye field. Recommendations are given for improving forecasting methods, including the creation of a unified database, automation of data processing, and introduction of new remote sensing technologies. The necessity of international cooperation and interaction between scientific organizations and industrial enterprises to accelerate the adoption of advanced technologies and ensure the sustainable development of Russia’s oil and gas industry is emphasized.
Keywords
About the Authors
I. O. CheremisinRussian Federation
Ilya O. Cheremisin, Lead Engineer of the Laboratory for Comprehensive Arctic Studies
Irkutsk
Competing Interests:
The authors declare no conflict of interests.
E. V. Stukova
Russian Federation
Elizaveta V. Stukova, Geological Engineer
Markova settlement
Competing Interests:
The authors declare no conflict of interests.
References
1. Kontorovich A.E., Fradkin G.S. From the history of Russian geology of oil and gas. Collection of articles. Novosibirsk: Scientific Publishing Center of the Institute of Geology, Geophysics and Mineralogy of the Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences; 1998, Iss. 1, 198 p. (In Russ.).
2. Evdoshenko Yu.V. Geologist N. A. Geologist Nikolai Gedroits and his assessment of oil potential of the North of west Siberia. Severny region: nauka, obrazovanie, kultura. 2022;4:6-17. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.34822/2312-377X-2022-4-6-17. EDN: PZMGVD.
3. Geidroits N.A. Prospects for oil-bearing capacity of Northern Siberia: main results of the work on summarizing of oil-bearing materials. Nedra Arktiki. 1946;1:9-14. (In Russ.).
4. Saks V.N. Geological studies in the north-eastern part of the West Siberian Lowland. In: Trudy Gorno-geologicheskogo upravleniya Glavsevmorputi. Moscow; Leningrad: Glavsevmorputi; 1946, Iss. 22, 76 p. (In Russ.).
5. Akhmedsafin S.K., Rybalchenko V.V., Rybiakov A.N., Sharafutdinov R.F., Smirnov A.S., Nezhdanov A.A., et al. The new life of Medvezhye. 50 years to the day when the first West-Siberian gas giant’s development started. Gas Industry Journal. 2017;S2:58-68. (In Russ.). EDN: GAUIIN.
6. Geidroits N.A. Oil potential of the Soviet Arctic according to 1949 data. Zoning by oil potential prospects In: Proceedings of the Research Institute of Arctic Geology of the Main Directorate of the Northern Sea Route under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Moscow; Leningrad: Glavsevmorput; 1950, 70 p. (In Russ.).
7. Koпtorovich V.А., Belyaev S.Yu., Kontorovich А.Е., Krasavchikov V.О., Kontorovich А.А., Suprunenko О.I. Tectonic structure and history of evolution of the West Siberian geosyneclise in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Russian Geology and Geophysics. 2001;42(11-12):1832-1845. (In Russ.). EDN: USJNNL.
8. Kontorovich A.E., Nesterov I.I., Salmanov F.K., Surkov V.S., Trofimuk A.A., Ervye Yu.G. Geology of oil and gas of Western Siberia. Moscow: Nedra; 1975, 680 p. (In Russ.).
9. Zavatsky M.D., Veduta O.V., Naumenko V.O. Prospecting terrain for surface geo-chemical exploration of oil and gas in West Siberia. Geology, Ecology, and Landscapes. 2024;8(2):276-286. https://doi.org/10.1080/24749508.2022.2132007.
10. Dultsev F.F., Chernykh A.V. Geochemistry of water-dissolved gases of oil-and-gas bearing deposits in Northern and Arctic regions of Western Siberia. In: Earth and Environmental Science: IOP Conference Series. 2020;459(4):042024. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/459/4/042024. EDN: IINAYB.
11. Mel’nikov P.N., Solov’ev A.V., Skvortsov M.B., Grushevskaya O.V., Uvarova I.V., Kravchenko M.N., et al. Main results of geological exploration for hydrocarbons in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation in 2020-2022 and prospects for its further development. Geology of Oil and Gas. 2024;3:5-18. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.47148/0016-7894-2024-3-5-18. EDN: FMWOVW.
12. Lobusev M.A., Lobusev A.V., Bochkarev A.V., Antipova Yu.A. Genetic reasons for the dominant gas content of the Jurassic Cretaceous deposits of the Arctic Area of the West Siberian oil and gas megaprovince. Oil and Gas territory. 2020;1:44-55. (In Russ.).
13. Kopylov I.S. Analysis of geochemical fields in the west of the Siberian Platform and forecasting oil and gas accumulation zones. Problems of mineralogy, petrography and metallogeny. Scientific readings in memory of P.N. Chirvinsky. 2025;28:87-95. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17072/chirvinsky.2025.87. EDN: PPJANC.
14. Bitner A.K., Pozdnyakov V.A. New technologies of geological exploration. Hydrocarbon deposits of the Siberian platform and adjacent territories. Krasnoyarsk: Siberian Federal University; 2017, 324 p. (In Russ.).
15. Petukhov A.V., Starobinets I.S., Zubajraev S.L., et al. Fundamentals of the theory of geochemical fields of hydrocarbon accumulations. Moscow: Nedra; 1993, 287 p. (In Russ.).
16. Petukhov A.V. Geological-geochemical model of an oil and gas deposit. Russian oil and gas geology. 1990;5:10-15. (In Russ.).
17. Kontorovich A.E., Nesterov I.I., Salmanov F.K., Samsonov V.V., Surkov V.S., Trofimuk A.A. Progress in petroleum and gas exploration science in Siberia in 60 year period of the soviet administration. Russian Geology and Geophysics. 1977;18(11):30-39. EDN: QMWUSX.
18. Sokolov V.A. Geochemistry of natural gases. Moscow: Nedra; 1971, 334 p. (In Russ.).
19. Saunders D.F., Burson K.R., Thompson C.K. Model for hydrocarbon microseepage and related near-surface alterations. AAPG Bulletin. 199;83(1):170-185. (In Russ.).
20. Kartsev A.A. Fundamentals of oil and gas geochemistry. Moscow: Nedra; 1969, 272 p. (In Russ.).
21. Bartashevich O.V., Zorkin L.M., Petukhov A.V. et al. Geochemical methods for oil and gas field prospecting. Moscow: Nedra; 1980, 300 p. (In Russ.).
22. Goncharov I.V. Geochemistry of Western Siberian oils. Moscow: Nedra; 1987, 181 p. (In Russ.).
23. Klusman R.W. Rate of vertical migration of light hydrocarbons from oil and gas accumulations. AAPG Bulletin. 2021;105(4):789-808.
24. Yurkevich N.V., Saeva O., Yurkevich N.V., Kolesnikov R., Kuleshova T. Hydrochemical characteristic of the Arctic thermocarst lakes (Gydan Peninsula, Russian). In: 20th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference Proceedings SGEM 2020. 2020;5.1:423-430. https://doi.org/10.5593/sgem2020/5.1/s20.054.
25. Koryukin G.L. Criteria for predictive assessment of oil and gas potential of Arctic water areas based on geochemical studies. Geology of Oil and Gas. 2003;4:36-42. (In Russ.).
26. Starobinets I.S. Geological and geochemical features of gas condensates. Leningrad: Nedra; 1974, 151 p.
27. Prishchepa O.M. Problems of replacing hydrocarbon reserves: Arctic shelf and/or hard-to-recover reserves. Mineral Resources of Russia. Economics and Management. 2016;1-2:18-34. (In Russ.). EDN: VZYNDD.
28. Larskaya E.S. Use of organic matter geochemistry for oil and gas exploration purposes. Geology of Oil and Gas. 1990;10:20-24. (In Russ.).
29. Burshtein L.M. Methodology of an integrated approach to determining the age of intrusive formations of Eastern Siberia. Irkutsk: Institute of the Earth’s Crust SB RAS; 2001, 280 p. (In Russ.).
30. Abrams M.A. Evaluation of near-surface gases in marine sediments to assess subsurface petroleum gas generation and entrapment. Geosciences. 2017;7(2):35. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences7020035. EDN: YGHHYF.
31. Alekseev F.A., Guzhevsky V.A. Fundamentals of lithogeochemical exploration for oil and gas. Novosibirsk: Nauka; 1984, 192 p. (In Russ.).
32. Aluker E.D., Kucheruk E.V., Petukhov A.V. Geochemical methods of oil and gas exploration in the USSR and abroad. Results of Science and Technology. Moscow: VINITI; 1989, vol. 16, р. 177-178. (In Russ.).
33. Kalinin A.I. Prospects of oil and gas content of the north-eastern part of the Aldan anteclise. Oil Industry. 2019;6:22-27. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.24887/0028-2448-2019-6-22-27. EDN: GXRFFY.
34. Dmitrievsky A.N. Fundamental problems of oil and gas geology. Geology, geophysics and development of oil and gas fields. 2004;12:4-7. (In Russ.). EDN: HRYUAV.
35. Andreeva N.N., Borkovsky A.A., Veres S.P., Sokolov A.V., Khmelevsky M.S. Application prospects of direct geochemical methods for prospecting relatively small oil and gas deposits in Western Siberia. Geology of Oil and Gas. 2001;4:53-57. (In Russ.). EDN: VVZCGO.
36. Punanova S.A. Hydrocarbon systems and combined traps of the Lower-Middle Jurassic deposits of the northern regions of Western Siberia. Oil and Gas Exposition. 2021;3:22-27. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.24412/2076-6785-2021-3-22-27. EDN: QZBTVT.
37. Shuster V.L. Prospects for exploration and development of large oil and gas fields in mega-reservoirs of the northern part of the West Siberian oil and gas province. Current Problems of Oil and Gas. 2022;4. https://doi.org/10.29222/ipng.2078-5712.2022-39.art6.
Review
For citations:
Cheremisin I.O., Stukova E.V. Modern geochemical methods for local oil and gas potential prediction in the Arctic regions of Western and Eastern Siberia: a comparative analysis. Earth sciences and subsoil use. 2026;49(1):30-45. https://doi.org/10.21285/2686-9993-2026-49-1-3. EDN: LOKXJK
JATS XML





















