Black Sea Project 2016-2018

This research phase focussed on three main themes, all related to reservoir quality prediction.

The first theme characterised a local Crimean provenance architype (report 54); this is distinct from material derived from farther north from the East European Craton. This information was then used to determine the provenance of onshore (report 55) and offshore (report 57) sediments in the Kerch–Taman region to provide insights into the timing, composition and provenance of sediments routed through the Kerch–Taman Strait during the Oligocene onwards.

The second theme characterised the nature of depositional systems supplying the southwestern Black Sea during the Late Cretaceous to Miocene. Building on earlier outcrop work in the East Balkans, report 58 distinguished between depositional systems supplied from the Moesian Platform to the north and the Balkan orogen to the south. These have distinct sediment compositions and predicted reservoir qualities. Additional analytical data on this sample set were presented in report 59. Report 60 established a direct compositional, facies and provenance link between our outcrop studies and samples from three wells within the Samotino field in the Bulgarian offshore.

The final theme compiled data on sediment composition, routing and reservoir quality prediction for the whole of the Black Sea region. Report 61 provided a compilation of U-Pb zircon ages from potential sediment source areas useful for the interpretation of provenance. Lastly, report 62 brought together a wealth of compositional data from Cretaceous and younger samples collected over the last 20+ years. It forms a comprehensive and unparalleled dataset for ranking the quality of siliciclastic reservoir systems within the basin and is an essential tool to help de-risk exploration targets.

BlackSea Project 2016-18
Sample coverage for reservoir quality prediction report 62.

Completed: November 2022.

Contact(s): Stephen Vincent

Reports Issued in This Project

Products